He frowned, smiled again. “And what would you want
for this valuable piece of information?”
“My freedom. Melinda’s freedom. We’d stay in the city.
I’d do whatever you want.”
“Oh, I hardly believe you would,” he said.
“Look, Morsfagen, I’m not kidding you. I have some-
thing to tell you that could make a very big difference to
the Alliance. I am not lying, and you must believe that.”
“I’d love to hear it,” he said, dragging this out to relish
every moment of my groveling. “But you must choose
some other reward besides your freedom.”
“Let the girl and me live here together. At least don’t
keep us in separate apartments.”
He smiled, seemed to consider it. “All right. She is some
nice piece, I’ll tell you. That ought to be a big enough
reward. Now tell me what this secret is?”
I started to speak, then stopped abruptly, just as I had
planned, examining him with a great deal of suspicion. I
must have looked pathetic, hunched there on the edge of
the bed, unshaven, trying to bargain for petty favors that
would come without question to a free man. It was the
image I wanted him to have of me. “How do I know I can
trust you?” I asked. “How do I know you’ll keep your
promise?”
He laughed sharply, deeply. “You don’t.”
“But that’s not right!” I said. There was just the edge of
a whine in my voice. I was a broken man, yes I was. I was
just so many pieces for him to break further into dust.
“Fairness doesn’t apply here,” he said. “You’ll just have
to trust me. Or forget it all.”
I hesitated. “I have nothing to lose, I guess,” I said. “So
I’ll tell you.” I hesitated again. Then I spoke: “I lied to
you when I saw it was dangerous for me to go back into
Child’s mind. I just said that to get back into my own body
and to get out of the AC complex. I can go back into him
any time that I want, and I can bring a great deal of
valuable data out to you.”
He burst into loud, almost uncontrolled laughter, his
face growing red. He slapped his sides with his hands,
almost dropping the sheaf of papers, and finally the laugh-
ter turned into a choking cough. When he looked up at
me again, he said, “I thought that much all along. I hadn’t
yet decided to risk sending you back, ’cause you’re too
valuable to lose. In a police state, an esper has more
duties hunting the enemy at home than abroad. Now I can
take the risk and clean out that freak’s mind too. I thank
you for your kind assistance in this decision.” He nodded
sarcastically.
“When will the girl be brought to me?” I asked, though
I knew the answer already.
“You trusted me,” he said. “I appreciate that. It shows
that we will be getting along better than anticipated.”
“I hope so.”
“But there is one thing I think you should learn, for your
own good,” he said. He waited until there was no alterna-
tive but for me to ask him what that lesson was.
“What’s that?” I asked.
“Trust no one,” he said. “The girl will remain in a
separate apartment.”
I made a lunge for him, and the guard beside him
slapped me across the face with the butt of a rifle. It was
a deal more than I had bargained for. My jaws snapped
together, banging my teeth painfully into my gums. I saw
stars, multicolored one with a thousand points each, and
crashed back onto the bed.
I tasted blood, spat it on the sheets. It was curiously
bright there, glistening.
“Have you learned the lesson?” he asked.
“You lied,” I said.
“I guess you’ve learned the lesson, then.”
“That all military men are emasculated power freaks
who can’t make it with a woman but dig beating up on
other men with guns.”
“Keep it up,” he warned.
“Sexless bastard!” I hissed.
“Larry,” he called to the young soldier. The boy
stepped forward, holding his rifle ready. Morsfagen mo-
tioned to me, quite the cavalier, and conveyed the necessi-