The Far Shores (The Central Series) (14 page)

He tried to take her
hand, but Alice pulled away.

“You need Auditors,
Alice.” He kept it simple and honest. Alice was pragmatic above all things, and
it seemed best to appeal to her rational side, and hope that it wouldn’t try
and take his head off. “You are deficient in both talent and experience. Let’s
face it – you have Xia, an unstable psychopath with a terrifying protocol he can’t
control, and a bunch of half-trained kids. My protocol is limited – we both
know that. No matter how powerful an energy manipulator I may be, the
limitation of a daily use restricts my value in the field to an occasional
surprise attack, at best. I’ve been implanted to make up for those
deficiencies. A similar surgery to the one Gaul performed on himself, though
the implant itself is very different. Gaul didn’t like the idea any better than
you do – but he saw the necessity, the same way I’m sure you will.”

Alice peered at his
bloodshot eyes, her expression tight and unreadable.

“You mean the surgery that
made Mitzi,” she said softly, her voice cold. “And killed six other people, as
I recall.”

“Like I said, he
continued to work on it during the intervening years, computer modeling and the
like. He made improvements. The risk was much lower,” Michael protested weakly.
“It was worth it. Once I finish adjusting to the implant, I will be able to manipulate
and project any kind of energy. I’ll be able to absorb it. I will be the
Auditor you require, Alice. You need me.”

Michael thought that she
might hit him. The idea must have crossed her mind – her body tensed, her grip
on his neck tight and firm. She settled for grabbing him by the shoulders and
shaking him.

“You are damn right I
do,” Alice snarled. “I need you alive, Mikey. I need there to be someone to
remember for me. Do you know what Auditors do, you fucking idiot? We die. We
all die out there. Why would you want that?”

Michael gently peeled
her hands from him, then he pulled her close, putting his arms around her stiff
shoulders.

“Why would I let you
face that alone?”

***

Alex and Katya sat side by side in
matching office chairs, the kind that companies buy in bulk for call centers
and administrative staff, and watched Dr. Graaf pour hot chocolate from a
brushed-metal carafe into three eggshell-colored mugs with steady, economic
movements. He was still dressed in his “robes” – which, under better light, was
obviously some sort of plastic hazmat suit, the kind of outfit that workers in
chemical plants and brownfields wore. The hood was pulled back to expose his salt-and-pepper
hair, and there was a mask with a ventilator tucked into a kangaroo pocket, along
with a pair of elbow-length gloves.

“A cult, you say? I am
familiar with many of the rumors attached to the Far Shores community, but this
is the first time I have been introduced to that particular variation.”

Dr. Graaf chuckled
pleasantly while he handed around two of the mugs, keeping the third for
himself, taking a seat behind a desk as bare-bones and cheap as the chairs they
sat in. For some reason, his amiable demeanor and faint European accent made
Alex think of a dentist – though he couldn’t recall ever seeing a dentist
anything like that.

“How amusing. I can see
how tonight’s activities would have played very nicely into your suspicions. I
can assure you, however, that we were simply engaging in a study of Etheric
properties – both the stated and actual purpose of the Far Shores, I might add
– best done nocturnally, for reasons that it would take a very long time for me
to explain.”

“Yeah, that makes
sense,” Alex said, shooting Katya a pointed look that she refused to
acknowledge. “I hope we didn’t screw up your experiment.”

“Hardly. You need not
worry, Mr...?”

“Warner. I mean, Alex.
Call me Alex, Dr. Graaf.”

“Well then, Alex, have
no fear. Our observations were largely completed by the time of your discovery,
and more-than-sufficient personnel remain to conclude the work.”

“Oh. Well, good, then.”

Alex sipped his cocoa
and did his best to look apologetic. Katya crossed her arms and glared across
the desk at Dr. Graaf, radiating suspicion.

“Now, if we could return
to my original question, to which I note that I never actually received an
answer – what exactly were you two young people doing out on the beach tonight,
well past curfew?”

Alex glanced at Katya,
but without a great deal of hope. She seemed determined not to cooperate, or
even speak – standard operating procedure for captured assassins. Then again,
they hadn’t been on an operation – they had been spying on their hosts, for
reasons that Alex still wasn’t totally clear on. Nonetheless, it seemed that
the responsibility for getting them out of whatever trouble they were in would
rest solely on his narrow and unreliable shoulders.

“Um. Well, we haven’t
had a chance to look around the place much, since we arrived, and nobody told
us anything about the Far Shores. Plus, you know, we are housed in a basically
empty building, and everything around here looks new, like it was put together
in a hurry, and I guess we got sort of, ah, curious. Suspicious. Whichever.
Katya and I have been through some rough experiences lately, Dr. Graaf, and it
seemed like finding out more about you guys, before we got another surprise, would
be a good idea.”

Dr. Graaf slurped cocoa
noisily while regarding them over the lip of his mug.

“Understandable, given
the circumstances,” Dr. Graaf said, pausing to take a napkin from his desk and
wipe foam from his neatly trimmed moustache. “Our organization is rather
tragically misunderstood, and given what I have been told of the rigors of the
Program, as well as my limited knowledge of your rather difficult personal
circumstances, I believe I can sympathize with your position.”

“I really appreciate
that, Doctor, and...”

“Why at night?”

Katya cut into the
conversation, her voice cold and serious, ignoring the pleading looks that Alex
gave her.

“I’m sorry, dear. What was
your question?”

Katya sneered at Dr.
Graaf’s solicitousness.

“I think you heard me
fine, but whatever. Why did the test need to be done at night, Doctor?”

“Um, Katya, don’t you
think...”

Dr. Graaf held up a
hand, and Alex closed his mouth.

“I believe I explained
that already,” Dr. Graaf said with good humor, his attention totally focused on
Katya. “For the particular tests we were conducting, nocturnal examination
guaranteed the best results. Of course, I can’t share the exact nature of the
tests with you – confidentiality and all – but I assure you, they were entirely
non-nefarious.”

Katya shook her head and
smirked.

“You wanna know what I think?”

Alex shook his head, but
no one was paying him any attention.

“Certainly, my dear.
Please, do share.”

“I don’t think time of
day was important at all,” Katya said, leaning forward to stare directly in Dr.
Graaf’s watery brown eyes. “I think you picked tonight for the same reason that
I did – you knew that Alice Gallow and the rest of the Auditors were out on
assignment. You didn’t want them to discover you doing whatever it was you were
doing.”

They exchanged ambiguous
stares. Alex was torn between anger at Katya’s screwing up his attempt to talk
their way out of trouble, and surprise that she knew the Auditors were in the
field, and picked the time for their unauthorized exploration based on that
information. Clearly, she had more in mind than what she had chosen to share
with him – which left him feeling left out, a little hurt, and more than a
little annoyed.

“Are you certain the
timing isn’t coincidental?”

Dr. Graaf’s suggestion
sounded weak, even to Alex. He was certain Katya would laugh contemptuously,
denounce him as a liar – something dramatic. He was disappointed.

“Could be,” Katya said,
sitting back in her chair and shrugging. “It’s not the kind of thing I
absolutely
must
share with Miss Gallow.”

Dr. Graaf studied her
closely, his expression unreadable. Alex felt like there was a whole other
conversation happening to which he wasn’t privy, despite the fact that they all
occupied the same room.

“The same could be said of
your adventures this evening,” Dr. Graaf suggested, humor creeping back into
his voice. “Assuming there are no repeat incidents.”

“Right back at you, Dr.
Graaf. One test while the Auditors happen to be away, I don’t see how that’s a
big deal. But a policy of conducting tests in secret, well, that’s the sort of
thing that Miss Gallow would want to know about, I would think.”

Dr. Graaf hesitated a
moment longer, then smiled – but to Alex’s eyes, the smile looked false.

“Good,” he said,
clapping his plump hands together. “I’m so glad that we understand each other.
I will have someone escort you back to your rooms. I bid you both a very good
night.”

***

The remaining students clustered in
one corner of the dining hall, which felt particularly enormous in the wake of
the Anathema raid and the relocation of the Program to the Far Shores. Even at
the best of times, the room had never been much more than half full, but now it
barely managed a quarter of capacity at peak times. Eight in the evening was
not a peak time. Unconsciously, they all picked seats facing away from the
empty chairs, even if it meant that some groups clustered unusually close on
one side of the table.

Eerie had to divide her
attention between the tray she was carrying, making sure the milk didn’t slop
out of her cereal bowl, and watching where she was going, so it took quite a
while to cross the room to the table where two others were already seated. She
took the seat they left for her; Sarah on her right hand, tying her matted hair
back with a rubber band, while Vivik shook pepper onto his salad to the left.

“You’re eating food,
Eerie,” Sarah said, eyeing her fruit loops and toast covered with honey, and
then patting her blue head in approval. “Nice job.”

“I am trying,” Eerie
hummed, opening a sugar packet and pouring it on her cereal. “Rebecca says I
have to.”

“It’s probably a good
idea,” Vivik said, cutting a pork chop with a steak knife. “Even if Rebecca
says so.”

“Vivik, be nice,” Sarah
chided. “Rebecca means well.”

“Or so she claims,” he
countered, pausing to chew. “I’m not so sure anymore.”

“You’re really negative
lately,” Sarah observed, wrapping linguini around her fork. “What’s gotten into
you?”

Vivik had to think it
over for a minute.

“Am I? I don’t know.
Maybe you’re right.”

“Sarah is right,” Eerie
agreed, in her singsong voice, tearing open another sugar packet. “Vivik is a
downer.”

“Damn. Well, if you
think so, Eerie, then it must be true,” Vivik said glumly. “I don’t know what’s
bugging me, I guess. Everything lately just seems so...”

Sarah interrupted,
leaning over the table to steal a baby carrot from his salad.

“Maybe you’re just
lonely? I mean, Alex is at the Far Shores, Ana barely even shows up for class
these days, and Renton looks like he might actually graduate.”

“If he does, then it’s
only because Anastasia told him to,” Vivik replied, cutting slightly overcooked
meat from the bone. “And I’m not lonely. I’m actually super busy – I’ve got an
extra math course, and I’m tutoring a couple of kids in statistics.”

“Classes are not a
replacement for friends, Vivik.”

“Maybe not for you.
Besides, why would I miss Alex? He’ll be back on Friday.”

“I miss him, even though
I am busy,” Eerie stated, staring at the brightly colored rings in the spoonful
of milk she held about halfway to her mouth. “Alex is stupid, but I miss him
anyway.”

Sarah laughed gently,
while Eerie took a deep breath, and then swallowed the contents of the spoon
with a reluctance most people reserve for foul-tasting medicine. She spent the
next half a minute making faces and attempting to wash it down with purple
Kool-Aid.

“What do they have you doing
at Processing, Eerie? You’re down there every night until dark. The only time I
see you these days is in class.”

“Upgrades,” Eerie
explained, gasping and pushing her tray away. “The Etheric Network is projected
to see a lot more activity in the coming year, so I’m expanding its
capabilities to handle an influx of new users.”

“New users?” Vivik
looked puzzled. “Like who?”

“Dunno,” Eerie said,
shrugging and removing the cellophane from a piece of hard candy. “They don’t
tell me.” She popped the green cube in her mouth with obvious relish.

“Figures. What about
you, Sarah? Do you have your field study assignment yet?”

Sarah finished chewing
pasta with her hand in front of her mouth before she answered. Vivik found her
to be extremely well mannered, for a girl with dreadlocks.