Chapter 24
The guard snapped to attention when the pair walked up to the elevator, saluting Gavin, and waved them through without so much as a question. Jossey followed, glad she'd asked Gavin to accompany her.
Apparently she was accompanying him, she thought, faintly amused.
The elevator, too, had a guard when they got on. He looked straight ahead as they entered, only quirking an eyebrow when the commander said, "Sublevel 4, Ministry of Intelligence."
Jossey noticed a second door in the elevator, on the opposite wall. She had a vague recollection of it opening onto a secret corridor that ran behind the standard SL-4 ring.
She almost smiled. Tark had loved this type of thing.
Gavin seemed to be thinking the same thing. She glanced sideways at him. He still didn't look at her.
She sighed to herself.
The elevator jumped, and began to descend.
One level. Two. Three.
As they descended, the guard keyed in a code and opened a small panel in the wall. He looked apologetic as he issued them wristbands, activating them with the touch of a button. They both displayed the same sequence of numbers. "For the Ministry's doors," he said. "One-time codes."
Gavin didn't even blink. Clearly he was used to this.
"It's for security, sir, miss," the guard said. "I know who you are."
Jossey took hers without comment. It was thin, made of the plastic material that only the Ministry had access to. It was flexible, and locked onto her wrist immediately when she slipped it on. She didn't know what kind of adhesive they used, but she knew it couldn't be removed without an instrument only security had.
She found it funny that even Commander Tskoulis of Patrol was required to wear a security badge. With a tracker.
In case he went rogue, or something. She didn't know.
She didn't care. She was willing to go through whatever hoops Intelligence required to get to her uncle's office.
The elevator slid open, revealing the second corridor. It was paneled differently than the normal inner and mid tunnels, with blue and green neon lighting strips along the edges, and it was very, very empty. She saw only one guard, pacing up and down.
How depressing, she thought.
She looked in both directions as they exited the elevator. The circle was quite large, the light fading before it curved into oblivion. She followed Gavin silently, half-running to keep up with his stride.
He finally turned to her, looking down at her, face inscrutable.
"If you're going to be on Patrol, you have to keep up," he said flatly.
She stared at him. His eyes were dark. Cold. More like Commander Tskoulis than the Gavin she knew.
She clamped her mouth shut and hurried after him, face burning.
The tunnel curved gently, and they followed the green lights until they came to an unobtrusive door in the outer side. Gavin stepped up to it, keyed in the code on his bracelet. She followed suit.
It hissed open.
They were at the end of a long straight corridor, with another guard at the end. The corridor was chilly.
Seems the Ministry can afford air conditioning, Jossey thought sourly. In a useless outer corridor, no less. Her own living quarters were reasonably cool, but this was freezing. Pleasantly so, but she rubbed her arms as she walked along.
Gavin stopped and waited for her to catch up. She ignored the look he gave her, and stepped up to the door, holding up her wristband for the guard.
The guard looked them over. "Names and business?"
"Jossey Sokol. Engineer. I'm here to see my uncle, Minister Sokol. Gav – Commander Tskoulis is accompanying me. On Patrol business."
The guard looked warily at Gavin, then stepped aside. "Enter."
Sokol's office was gorgeous, Jossey had to admit, glancing around as they stepped through the door. He'd somehow managed to procure plants that seemed fine with artificial light, and they were everywhere. She made a mental note to ask him for one for her living quarters.
Her uncle was seated at the desk, sipping what appeared to be some kind of tea. He smiled and stood, coming around his desk and kissing Jossey lightly on both cheeks.
He shook hands with Gavin.
"Sit, please," he said to them.
Jossey sat. She watched his face. His smile never left, but his eyes were as flat as ever.
She wondered how much of that cold look she had inherited. She certainly felt like it right now. She attempted to smile.
"To what do I owe the pleasure?" the Minister said smoothly.
Gavin was silent. Jossey glanced at him, then looked at her uncle. "Uncle Sokol, I'm here to join Patrol, as you've asked."
Gavin looked faintly pained, but remained silent.
Sokol looked between them. "Commander Tskoulis. So nice to see you again. What brings you here?"
Gavin looked at Jossey. "I was requested to accompany your niece," he said formally. "I am here to – support her in her petition to join Patrol."
Jossey glanced at him sharply.
He did not look at her. "She is a highly competent candidate and I would recommend her without hesitation," he said.
Jossey could feel her face turning pink. "Uncle Sokol," she began.
Her uncle silenced her with a wave of his hand. He turned his attention to Gavin.
"Tskoulis, tell me. Is she aware of the latest developments – "
Latest developments. Tark's remains. Jossey tried not to grimace, tried to keep her face neutral.
Gavin said flatly, "She is aware."
Jossey had asked Gavin to accompany her because she wanted him to hear all of this directly from her uncle, not have it filter down to him through whatever chain of command he was in. Out of line, maybe, but she thought he deserved to have some kind of input, especially as a Patrol commander.
And, more importantly, maybe if he heard it from her uncle, he'd be more agreeable with fast-tracking her to a surface unit.
She hadn't expected him to actually agree with the Minister.
All of this flashed through her mind as the Minister went on. "Very good. And you feel that, given this knowledge, she is in a sufficient state of mind to joi– "
"I do." Gavin's voice was dark.
Jossey looked at him again, stunned.
She'd never heard anyone cut off her uncle. Anyone.
But Sokol seemed more amused than bothered.
"Well, then, Commander. Your professional opinion is well noted."
Sokol turned to Jossey, and his expression became more gentle. She thought she saw a flicker of something in the flatness of his eyes.
"I am deeply sorry to hear about your brother, my dear," he said kindly. "He was my favorite nephew. I am glad we have some closure at last."
He was your only nephew, she thought. But she forced a smile onto her face.
Sokol tapped a couple of things on his desk-screen. Two forms appeared, glowing softly, on the surface. "Shall we, then?"
He beckoned her closer. She approached the desk. She'd never been this close before – last time she'd been here, she had been about six and everything about his office had been intimidating.
Tark had run around touching things until Father had told him to stop, and Uncle Sokol had just laughed. "He can't break anything, Rupert," he had said. Jossey hadn't been so sure.
The desk was beautiful, custom woodwork with an inlaid screen. It was an antique, an heirloom. She felt a slight flicker of jealousy that he'd never taken more of an interest in her life, even after Tark had gone missing and Father had –
She stopped thinking. She'd already lost two family members to the Onlar. She refused to give the creatures any more of her grief. That was why she was here.
The form glowed softly in front of her. She realized she was supposed to read it.
"Sorry," she murmured, taking a closer look.
It had a standard non-liability clause – You may lose life and/or limb in pursuit of your Patrol duties, after which time, if any, Patrol pension is set to provide for any remaining family members so long as they are of minority age – and a selection box.
Which unit do I want to be in?
She glanced at Gavin, who was staring fixedly at the wall, jaw clenched.
"Uncle," she said quietly.
"Yes, my dear?"
Did she want to be in Gavin's unit?
Half of her screamed no. She didn't want to always be Tark's little sister, the one Gavin felt the need to protect. Even if Tark was gone. She felt grateful to him, but –
She'd killed an Onlar. On her own. How much protection did she really need?
And the way Gavin had acted back in the security tunnel – she wasn't sure which Gavin she might be serving under. Her Gavin...or Commander Tskoulis. She gulped.
She nervously glanced at him. He was steadfastly ignoring her.
He doesn't want me to join, she thought. Well, that's too bad.
"What is Gavin's – that is, Commander Tskoulis' – unit?" she asked slyly.
Gavin swung around. "Jossey," he hissed.
"You said you'd protect me," she hissed back. "How are you going to do that if you're in a different unit?"
"The Commander oversees all of Patrol Unit 2," Sokol said calmly. "That is ten subunits. To have you serve directly within his subunit is not feasible, I'm afraid, but you have been assigned to one of the other subunits under his command."
"Understood, Minister." The young commander's voice was cold.
Jossey flushed a little as she realized she really, really hadn't understood how the Patrol units worked, sub- or otherwise, and how arrogant her request had probably sounded.
She almost laughed. The Tiger was all but universally feared within Patrol, probably worked with the elite of the elite, she told herself. She could barely wield a knife. She looked away and muttered, "Yes, sir, that's what I was hoping. Thank you."
So that was why Gavin was so upset, she thought. Not only did he not want her to join, he knew it would probably be very difficult for them to work directly together.
Or maybe he didn't want to work directly with her, or with her at all, after what she'd said to him, she thought unhappily.
She looked at the screen, refusing to make eye contact with either of them.
"I have already assigned you to a subunit, my dear." Sokol tapped a button. A number appeared: 2-5. She glanced at Gavin. His uniform said 2-1. She looked back at the screen.
Sokol tapped the screen again. "As it happens, and as I mentioned to you in our earlier conversation, there is at least one other individual assigned to your subunit with whom you are familiar."
A photo appeared on the desk.
Caspar.
She blinked. She hadn't seen Caspar in days. Hadn't seen any of them. She had a faint memory of a sly grin and amused silver eyes.
Sokol was speaking. She looked up.
"In fact, I believe he is due for an appointment with me shortly. Standard intake procedure. Why don't you wait just a moment? After you sign, of course." He gestured to the desk.
She glanced at her uncle. It seemed odd that she had made a special appointment with him, with almost no warning time, and yet he had an appointment with Caspar directly after hers.
He smiled smoothly at her confused expression. "Naturally, my dear, it only made sense to process everything at once. I'm a busy man."
She wondered how quickly his assistants had had to get THAT set up.
The sheet glowed up at her. She glanced through it.
Life and limb.
Sounds like an adventure.
She didn't look at Gavin, and signed.
-
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