Eubeleus moved aside from the doorway, and Gina saw for the first time the two men waiting outside. The Jevlenese woman looked back at her. “Only question is, do you cooperate now and come with us, or do we have to make it undignified?”
Although Gina knew she was powerless to’ change anything, instincts took over. She shrank back against the end of the couch, gripping the edge and shaking her head mutely. The two attendants moved into the room. Iduane voiced a command to activate the coma-wave resonator trained on the couch from a recess in the ceiling . . . and that was the last that Gina knew of anything until several hours later.
She was unaware of being taken to another room where the neurocoupler was situated; of the soft contours of the recliner as she was laid down in it; or the discarnate, exploratory fingers stealing into her mind…
“She’s a fraud, as was suspected,” the machine’s voice announced.
Being the Axis’s headquarters, the Temple in Shiban could always draw on the core part of JEVEX that had been left running. “Her meeting with Hunt aboard the Vishnu was contrived to make her subsequent liaison with the UNSA group seem more natural. Her initial approach to UNSA in Washington was as she described. Caldwell saw it as an opportunity to enlist her help for his own purposes, and Hunt put the proposition to her before she returned to Seattle.”
“What was his purpose?” Eubeleus snapped. “How much was disclosed to her of that?”
“Garuth contacted Hunt direct, privately. The Marin woman happened to be present at the time. The Ganymean was unable to deal with the Jevlenese mentality, and knew that the rehabilitation program was failing. He went for help to those whom he had communicated with effectively in the past. Their mission was to investigate. The woman was to be available to ask questions that would seem inappropriate from scientists.”
While he considered the statement, Eubeleus stared at Gina’s unconscious form—indifferently, in the way he might have regarded a specimen on a laboratory dissection bench. “Why go to Hunt?” he asked. “Why not the proper political channels? Garuth had contacts in those areas, too.”
“He didn’t trust them. He was suspicious that maneuvers were afoot to terminate his administration of Jevlen, but he wanted to complete the task that he had accepted.”
“What about Baumer? How did they get onto him?”
The machine replied. “He has been under suspicion for a while. The Terran, Cullen, knew that Baumer took the Obayin report.”
“What!” Eubeleus exclaimed. “As far back as that? The fool didn’t take sufficient precautions.”
Iduane looked worried. “How much do they know about Uttan?”
“Only the official story,” the machine said, reading further, “but they’re suspicious.”
“Have they connected Baumer to myself or the Axis?” Eubeleus asked.
“No. But discovering his connections is their main priority. Garuth has authorized ZORAC to scan its translation channel for possible leads.”
Eubeleus raised his eyebrows. “They are determined. Well, that’s something worth knowing.” He inclined his head at Iduane. “Make sure that nobody uses that channel for anything sensitive.”
“Of course.”
Eubeleus turned away to stand with his hands clasped behind his back, facing the coupler’s panel of control equipment and thinking rapidly. “We must move quickly,” he murmured. “Contact Garuth
and say that I want to see Calazar again. We need to keep as much pressure as possible on the Thuriens to get us to Uttan.”
“What about Baumer?” Iduane asked.
Eubeleus shrugged contemptuously. “He was careless. His usefulness is over. Eliminate him.”
Iduane nodded.
The Jevienese woman indicated Gina with a wave of her hand. “And her?”
Eubeleus turned his head to stare at the motionless form again. A faint smile of amusement crossed his face. “We can make use of her,” he said. “So, she wanted to play at being a spy, eh? Very well, we’ll send her back. But not just with her recollections of being here erased. That would only make it obvious to them what had happened. Instead, we’ll get JEVEX to implant a different memory sequence of our own devising. That way, I think we could turn her into quite an effective spy—for us. And she will be right inside the group that matters there. That should make her far more useful than Baumer ever was.”