Justin was there, in the room that held so many bad memorieswalking the narrow margin behind the immense brass-trimmed couch, looking at the paintings. While Florian waited unobtrusively by the barunconscious echo on Florian's part: he and Catlin had never seen the tape.
She chose this place.
Favor for favor.
"I want to know," she said, to his back, across the wide expanse of the wood-floored pit, "what in hell you hoped to accomplish last night."
He turned to face her. Indicated the painting he had been looking at. "That's my favorite. The view of Barnard's. It's so simple. But it affects you, doesn't it?"
She took in her breath. Affects you, indeed. He's Working me, that's what he's after.
"Grant asked me for help," she said. "You've got him scared. I hope you know that. What are you trying to do? Unravel everything? It's damned ungrateful. I kept Giraud off your tail. I kept you out of Detention. I've taken chances for youWhat do you expect I should do, shout across the room? I do you a favor. I do every damn thing I can to help you. What do you do for me? Push me in public. Put me in a situation. I don't think I'm that much smarter than you are, Justin Warrick, so don't tell me you were just going from the gut. I'll tell you you wanted me in a corner. Back you or not, on your damn timetable; and if Tommy Carnath saw it and Florian saw it and 'Stasi Ramirez saw it, you tell me whether Yanni Schwartz or Petros Ivanov or my uncle missed it."
He walked around the edge of the pit, to the front of the bar.
"I apologize."
"Apologize won't handle it. I want to knowsimply and clearlywhat you want."
"You can always ask that. Isn't that the agreement?"
"Don't push me. Don't push me. I'm still trying to save your butt, hear me?"
"I understand you." He leaned against the bar and looked at Florian.
"Florian."
"Ser?"
"Scotch and water. Do you mind?"
"Sera?"
"My usual. His. It's all right, Florian." She walked down the steps and sat down on the couch, and Justin came down and sat. Put his elbow on the couch-back in the same way as all those years ago, unconscious habit or scene-following as deliberate as hers ... she did not know. "All right," she said, "I'm listening."
"Not much to say. Except I trusted you."
"Trusted me! For what, a damned fool?"
"It was justthere. That's all. What would I do? Work in your wing, be your partner another twenty years till Denys dies? Keep my head down and my mouth shut and attend all those damn parties, twenty lousy years of going through every social function, all the department functions, everythingwith every CIT in the House feeling like he has to explain himself to Security or your uncle if he's spotted talking to me? Hell of a life, Ari."
"I'm sorry," she said shortly. Which was true: she had had a dose of it too, in growing up; and she had seen it happen to him and felt it in her gut. "But that still doesn't say why you did it. Why you had to wait for a damned sensitive timeI just got things smoothed over with Denys, I just got things settled, and you throw me a move like that."
"Sorry," he said bitterly.
"Sorry?"
"Times are always sensitive Always. It's always something. I'm cut off from my father again, dammit, because of Giraud. I've got your word he's safe. That's all I've got."
His voice wobbled. Florian set the whiskey down by his hand, on the shelf behind the couch, and ghosted her direction, putting the vodka-and-orange by hers.
"Which," he continued, after a drink, "I don't doubt. But that's why. Others do doubt my father's safety. Giraud is one. So damned easy to have an incidenta confusion on the part of some poor sod of an azi guardisn't it? Terrible lossa Special. But as you say Giraud's dying. What can he care? You underestimate himif you think he's not going to try to be rid of my fatherexceptexcept if he finds things aren't settled at Reseune, and I'm a threat he can't get at. Next to you. Then he'll doubt. And Giraud, scheming bastard that he is, never makes precipitate, reckless moves. I want his attention. I want it on me until he's dead. It's that simple."
It made sense, it made a tangled, out-of-another-mindset sense, if you were Justin Warrick, if you knew Giraud, if you had no power and nothing to bluff with except Ari Emory and a potential for trouble.
"So," he said, "I justsaw a chance. I didn't thoroughly plan it. I just saw what you did with the Carnath girlAmyand thoughtif you blew up, well, maybe I could patch it. If you covered meit'd get to Giraud. Maybe it'd look like more than it was and worry hell out of him. I'm sorry if it's fouled you up; but I doubt it has; fouled up your plans to keep me pure in Security's sight, maybe; worried Denys, I'm sure; but messed up anything for you, personally, I very much doubt it."
"Nothing like the mess you've made for yourself."
"Good. On both counts."
"You're a damned fool! You could tell me, you know, you could trust I can keep an eye to Jordan"
"No, I can't trust that. I can't trust that, when you're not in contact with the military, when you're not in Giraud's position and you're not in Denys' chair either. I can't depend on your knowing what they're up to, I'm sorry."
He didn't know Base One's extent. Had no idea. And there was no telling him. Not on any account. She sipped her vodka-and-orange, set it down and shook her head.
"You could at least have consulted me."
"And put you on your guard? No. Now done's done. I'm being honest, since you've asked. I'm asking you one more thing: run a probe if you like, but don't give the tape to Denys."
"Who said I did?"
"I don't know. I just have my suppositions what would appease Denys. Don't give this one out. It can only harm my father. It sure won't make me look any better to either one of the Nyes."
"Except if I don't they'll be sure I'm going along with what you did."
"So you are turning the tapes over."
"The ones I admit to running. I've never let them have Ari's notes on you. I've never shown them what I did to settle some of the damage Ari left. The unresolved stuff. I've never shown them the little intervention that lets you be here, this close to me, without sweating."
"Without worse than that. Without much worse than that. I'm still getting tape-flash now and again. But most of the charge is gone. I only rememberat much more distance than I've ever hador I never could have done what I did at the party; never could have come here; never could have contemplatedmy real plan for irritating Giraud."
"That being?"
"Going to bed with you."
That jolted, hard. It was so matter-of-fact she was half embarrassed, only dimly offended at first blink.
"Not," he said, "that I thought of doing anything you hadn't flatly asked meonce and twice, and recently. Make you happymake Giraud quite, quite unhappy. And not in a way that could hurt you ... I never wanted that. To be honest, I wasn't sure I could. So I justtook a different course when it offered itself, that's all. I hope I don't offend you. And I wouldn't mention it, except I'd rather explain it with my wits about me, thank you, where I can at least string things together in my own defense. So there you are. That's why."