Andrea turned and looked at us. “I’m not sure that’s true. There were moments on Venus when she could have killed me. There were moments when I’m sure she was trying to. She’s mercurial, but there’s also a kind of logic to her actions. I’m surprised she didn’t produce a hidden gun and come out of that car shooting.”
“She’s good,” said Veraldi. “But no one’s that good.”
Raven shrugged. “I don’t know. Remember that time in Ghent?”
There were a few wry chuckles. I didn’t get the joke.
Andrea straightened up and brushed her hair out of her face with her right hand. “Has Dr. Markov left yet?” Veraldi glanced in her direction as if he was trying to figure something out. “She’s still here,” he said. “She’s scheduled to leave in the morning.”
“Let her know she’ll be needed for a few more days,” she said. I couldn’t read the expression on her face.
Veraldi nodded. “I’ll take care of it, chief.”
He left to talk to Samara, and I realized that Andrea was going to ask her mother to give her a new arm. To replace the arm her other mother had ripped off. It was an understandably awkward situation.
When Andrea turned back to the rest of us, I noticed a clear fluid seeping down from the bare socket where her left arm had been. Neurorelay fluid, the same stuff that now flowed through all four of my limbs. There must have been a wound in her side as well. Blood was starting to seep through her shirt. The fist-sized stain was almost black against the drab blue uniform shirt. She was hardly standing, but her demeanor was one of total self-control.
“No one is to contact the prisoner for any reason. Full quarantine.”
Andrew nodded. “Of course, chief.”
“The way she talks…” Raven shuddered suddenly.
“I know,” said Andrea. “She’ll get inside your head. I want everyone to understand: no communication, not even security audio. Not even visual data.”
“Your word is good enough for me.” Andrew’s jokey and sarcastic attitude was suddenly gone. He seemed completely sincere. “I’ll keep my distance. But…”
“Yes?” She stared at him blankly, and he shifted uncomfortably beneath her gaze.
“Who’s doing the interrogation? Are you sure you’re—”
“I’m conducting the interrogation in the morning.” Her voice was flat. Andrew almost said something, then he seemed to think better of it. He just smiled and nodded. Andrea looked to each of us expectantly. No one said a word. She turned and made her way to the elevators, a trail of blood and neurorelay fluid marking her path.
15
I spent the rest of the day shooting targets and running AR exercises with Raven. She wouldn’t tell me my scores in any of the scenarios, she just kept having me repeat the drills over and over. She seemed obscurely pleased, although she wouldn’t say why. We had a late dinner in the briefing room and traded war stories. The hours fell away until fatigue finally caught up to me around two in the morning. I went back to my room and drifted off, and I slept through the night for the first time in what felt like years.
The next morning I went downstairs to the holding area to meet Andrea for the interrogation. I was the first to arrive, so I leaned against the wall outside of the entrance to the cells and waited for the others. Out of curiosity, I pulled up the intake report on Katerina on my dataspike.
The android’s response to Andrea’s question the other day seemed odd to me. I had a hard time believing that Katerina could do the things I’d seen her do without augments of some kind. I scanned through the report, pausing at the medical evaluation. It noted minor injuries likely sustained during her capture, some scar tissue and calcification consistent with a history of repeated combat stress, but no mention of augments.
Was Katerina really that fast and that strong, or was there something special about her nanosuit? She wasn’t wearing it when Andrea brought her in. Had that been the crucial difference?
I waved away the report and checked the time. Something must have come up, and for whatever reason I was out of the loop. I was on the verge of messaging someone when Raven came in. Her hair was wet.
“Sorry I’m late, I slept through my alarm. Where are the others?”
“I have no idea. Weren’t we supposed to meet Andrea here at nine?”
“That’s definitely what I remember being told. Ah well, it’s for the best. Now Andrea won’t even know I slept in.”
“Good point. Still, aren’t you a little bit concerned?”
“Not really. Did you see the way she looked when she gave us our orders? She probably made it as far as the infirmary and then passed out. I’m sure everyone will turn up before too long.”
“I suppose you’re right. Listen, I wanted to thank you for helping me train yesterday.”
She shrugged. “Of course. I’m the unit’s sharpshooter, so it only makes sense for me to help. Not that you need much anyway. You’re on your way.”
“I wasn’t sure. You wouldn’t tell me any of my scores yesterday.”
“The scores weren’t what you needed to be thinking about. It’s more about breathing, letting your body settle, clearing your thoughts—”
I chuckled. “The Zen of marksmanship?”
“That’s the cliche, but there’s no nirvana at the end of this path. Shooting people is shooting people, after all.” She fell silent for a little while.
It was kind of strange for me. I had started my professional life as an engineer and had only joined the Arbiter Force because of my wife’s death. Had none of that had happened, I would have lived my entire life without ever killing anyone. Now I was up to my neck in other people’s blood, just like Raven and Andrew and all the rest of us.
Raven turned to me. “You know, I’m starting to think we did get the wrong time or something. Do you think we should check?”
“I’ll call Andrew.”
I placed the call on my dataspike, but he didn’t answer, so I sent him a message instead.
With Raven at holding. Did we get the wrong time?
“He isn’t there?” she asked me.
I shook my head. “He’s not picking up, anyway. Should I try Veraldi?”
She frowned and walked down to the end of the hall to see if anyone was approaching. When she came back, she had a slightly worried look on her face. “If we don’t hear back in a few minutes, I say we should go look for them.”
“You look anxious.”
“I guess I am. I’m sure Katerina’s in her cell, but still,” she trailed off.
“You really seem spooked by her.”
“She’s not a normal person. When she was the field commander, there was—” She shook her head, like she was trying to get rid of an unwanted thought.
“There was what?” I asked.
“I don’t know how to explain it. You fought her on that ship. Did she talk to you then?”
“She did, but she was more arrogant than anything else. She did offer to let me get away.”
“She offered to let you get away? Even though you were the one arresting her?”