It was a pretty dinky fortune, Pancho thought. Still, she had tried to placate the man. “But Mr. Humphries, other than the flight tests with that beat-up ol’ cruise missile, he hasn’t been doin anything.”
“He’s been flitting all around the fucking world,” Humphries had snapped, “from Kyoto to New York to Geneva to London. He’s been talking to bankers and development agencies—even to the GEC, and he hates the GEC!”
Pancho had tried to be reasonable. “Look, I’m just a rocket jockey. I If says he wants me to test-fly the fusion drive once it’s built but it might be years before that happens.”
“So what does he have you doing in the meantime?” Humphries demanded.
Pancho shrugged. “Nothin’ much. He’s sent me and Mandy here to Selene. His personal orders. We’re supposed to be learnin’ about the asteroids out in the Belt. He’s got an astronomer from the Farside Observatory tutoring us.”
Humphries’s expression grew thoughtful. “Maybe he knows you’re working for me. Maybe he’s just put you on ice for the time being, until he figures out how to get rid of you.”
Pancho didn’t want Humphries to think about the possibility that she had told Randolph everything.
“Wouldn’t it be easier for him just to fire me?” she suggested mildly.
“He’s on his way here right now, you know,” Humphries muttered.
“He is?” Pancho couldn’t hide her surprise.
“You don’t even know where he is?”
“I’m not on the mailing list for his personal itinerary,” Pancho retorted.
“Now you listen to me, lady. I got your name to the top of Astro’s personnel list so that Randolph would take you into this fusion rocket program of his. I’m the one who’s gotten you promoted. I want results! I want to know when Randolph goes to the toilet, I want to know when he inhales and when he exhales.”
“Then get yourself another spy,” Pancho had said, trying to hold on to her swooping temper. “Whatever he’s up to, he hasn’t even been on the same continent with me most of the time. I only saw him that once, at the first flight test in Venezuela. You hired the wrong person, Mr. Humphries. You want somebody who can be his mistress, not a pilot.”
Humphries had glared at her over the dinner table. “You’re probably right,” he had muttered. “Still… I want you on the job. It might take a while, but sooner or later he’s going to use you to test-fly the fusion drive. That’s when you’ll become valuable to me. I just hired you too soon, that’s all.”
He made a forced little smile. “My mistake, I guess.”
Puffing and sweating at the weight machine, Pancho thought, Yep, it’s time for Humphries to meet Mandy. That might solve all my problems.
She laughed to herself. What a setup! Humphries sends Mandy after Randolph and she doesn’t know that I’ve already told Randolph I’m supposed to be spyin’ on him for the Humper. And Mandy would go for it, too; she’d love to have Randolph in her bed.
And meantime, she thought, I can be spyin’ on Humphries for Randolph! Whatta they call that? I’ll be a double agent. Yeah, that’s it. A double agent. Terrific.
But what if Humphries drops me altogether once he sees Amanda?
That’s a possibility. Then you won’t be any kind of an agent; you’ll be out in the cold.
Okay, so what? she told herself. So you won’t be getting the extra money from Humphries, came the answer. So you’ll have to maintain Sis on your Astro salary. Yeah, yeah, she argued back. I’ve been doin’ that for years now, I can keep on doin’ it.
Wait a minute, she said to herself. Humphries can’t fire me. If he tried to, he’d be afraid that I’d tell Randolph everything. The Humper has to keep me on his payroll —or get rid of me altogether.
Pancho got off the weight machine and went to the exercise bike. Pedaling furiously, she thought, The trick is not to get fired by both Humphries and Randolph. I don’t want to be left out in the cold. And I don’t want Humphries to start thinkin’ he’d be better off if I happened to get myself killed. No sir!