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Some time later, after leaving the garden, Jim found Grady sitting in the cold sand at the edge of the lake. Little glints of quartz lit the area with a soft glow that came from the sand, the walls, even the ceiling far above.

“Mind if I join you?” Jim didn’t wait for an answer as he sat a few feet away, facing the gently rippling lake.

Grady didn’t even look up. Jim found some flat rocks easy at hand that were just perfect for skipping and took a shot. The first one skipped three times before sinking below the surface in the dim light. The second bounced off the surface four times. He’d been good at this in his youth. It was good to see those old skills gained in idle summers at the lake house with his parents hadn’t been lost over the many years since.

“You know, there is a solution to our mutual problem. It’s not one I can say I ever would have entertained before—and I’m not sure Gina will go for it—but we could try it as a threesome.”

There. The proverbial olive branch had been extended. Jim wasn’t sure if it was the right thing to do, but he didn’t see any other choice that would satisfy them all. After his talk with Sam, the least he could do would be to entertain the idea. If the other two potential partners in this little drama were amenable, he’d give it his best shot.

“You mean like Jaci and her mates?” Grady turned to him, acknowledging him for the first time. “From what I have seen, Mike and Dave were best friends even before they met Jaci. You and I have no prior connection. We do not know each other. We have little in common and are not even of the same race. Do you think we could really share Gina’s love?”

“Well, when you put it like that, it does seem difficult…but not impossible. Perhaps we should try to see if we could be friends at least. There’s too much tragedy in this world already. I don’t want to be responsible for yours, if Gina chooses me. On the other hand, I can see this is difficult for her and I want to at least explore any idea that would make it easier. This is all about her happiness as far as I’m concerned.”

“A valid and important point.” Grady nodded, clearly thinking through what Jim had said. “Gina’s happiness is paramount.”

“We agree on that at least.”

“True.” Grady sported a rueful grin, but his eyes held darkness as he gazed out at the rippling lake. “So much is new to me. Emotion, interaction, true friendship…love. I don’t understand a lot of what I’m feeling at times. I know that makes it difficult for you to understand me, and it doesn’t help that I am one of the soldiers responsible for capturing so many humans. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forgive myself for that, and I don’t expect you will either.”

Jim decided to let that statement sit for a while. He was touched by the man’s candor and his regret. Jim didn’t think Grady was sophisticated enough yet to be able to fake the deep emotion Jim sensed from him. Guilt ran deep in Grady Prime’s soul. The feeling was overwhelming. Nearly crippling. It would take time for him to come to terms with that kind of regret.

“So you’re a soldier. And a leader. That’s what Prime means, right?”

Grady seemed surprised at the change in topic, but went with it. “Prime is the designation given to the top of each hereditary line. I am the top Grady on this planet. All other Gradys are my subordinates. The Grady line is the top of the regular soldier lines. There are special ops branches, of course. Sinclairs head up the covert operators and Pfins lead the waterborne forces, but the majority of the regular army reports to me.”

“So you’re like a general. Or maybe a commander in chief.” Jim thought out loud. “I was a special operator, which I assume means the same thing in both our systems. I started my military career in the army, then sought special training to become what we used to call a Green Beret. That was our army’s special forces, but each division of our military had their own brand of special operator. After I got out of the military, I was recruited by the Central Intelligence Agency. That was my country’s covert operations group that would work in secret, in other countries.”

“I am familiar with the concept. I’ve read a lot about the governmental and military structures that existed before my people came here. Justin O’Hara explained quite a bit of it to me as well. I believe he was also a Green Beret at one time.”

Jim thought that was interesting. He recognized the name. He’d known a new recruit named Justin when he was on his way out, right before he’d been hired by the CIA. He hadn’t made the connection until now.

“I think I knew him, but not well. Someday, maybe we’ll have a chance to catch up, but my duty to my people in Colorado means I’ll have to leave here soon. At least for a while. I owe them that much. If Gina and I do get together on a permanent basis, I’ll move heaven and Earth to be with her wherever she wants to be, but I have to square things in Colorado first. I can’t leave them high and dry.”

Grady looked at him with respect. “A good leader does not leave without putting his best man in charge. I made sure the army would be in good hands before I agreed to participate in Mara 12’s experiment.”

“So you’re retired?”

“I thought I was. But the Council recalled me for one special mission.” Grady sighed heavily and threw a rock out into the lake. It didn’t bounce. It made a huge splash about fifty yards away. Jim was impressed. Grady had a good arm. “If they truly understood what the experiment did to me, they never would have sent me on this fool’s errand.”

“They sent you to kill Bill, right?”

Grady scowled. “I am no assassin. That is what special operators are for. I agreed to track him but I never said I would kill him, even though I knew that’s what they wanted. I accepted the mission because I wanted to find him for my own reasons. I knew he’d had the treatment. I wanted to see for myself how it had turned out for him.”

“I can understand that.” The fact that Grady was no longer blindly following orders given by the Alvian High Council said a lot. “So now that you’ve found him, what have you learned?”

“I am left with more questions than answers, but I’m glad to see him stable and coming to terms with his new life.”

“How are you going to square this with the Council? I assume you’re not going to kill him.”

“No. I never thought to try—unless it was an act of mercy. If I found him deranged or posing a threat to others, I would have put him down out of respect for the friendship we once had. The man I knew would not have wanted to live that way.”

“But he’s sane, so everything’s cool. What now?”

“I don’t honestly know. The only thing I know for certain is that the secrecy of this base—and yours—must be maintained. I will not betray the humans living here no matter how this turns out.”

Jim felt a wave of relief for a worry he hadn’t known he carried. “Thank you,” he said with quiet respect.

“It’s the least I can do.”

“Are you two okay?” Gina’s voice came to Jim telepathically. She was nearby.

“Yeah, we’re okay. This Grady guy is an interesting character. Why don’t you come over?”

She hesitated. “I’ll be there in about five minutes.”

“Gina will be here soon,” Jim said to Grady.

“Did she communicate telepathically with you?” Grady’s eyes looked both stormy and wistful.

“Yeah. We both have psychic talents. That bother you?”

“Yes.” Grady was truthful almost to a fault. “That and other things will make any joint relationship difficult.”