“Your predecessor set precedents,” Hicks said, “set up frameworks of cooperation with my predecessor’s predecessor, that lasted into Giraud Nye’s administration of this agency, until the first Ariane’s death and the birth of her successor. And I’m about to invoke one of those arrangements. I can place three squads of my people directly under your authority, as Wing One security, establishing the same sort of arrangement my predecessor had with yourprincipal’s office–two‑way information. A very discreet two‑way flow. It’s not safe for you to keep us in the dark–or–it’s not assafe to have our operations crossing one another at critical moments, and I’d rather prevent that.”
Interesting offer. He did know about the prior arrangement. He’d expected to ask for it himself, once sera took control of Admin. He’d expected to get it without question at that point, whether or not Hicks was still running ReseuneSec. It was a little surprising to have it offered to them without asking.
“You’re worried about Patil and Warrick,” he said to Hicks, but only the dilation of the eyes betrayed Hicks’ reaction. “There’s a leak and you don’t know where it is.”
“Yes. Frankly, yes. And I’m concerned about Warrick and Warrick, the latter being inside your perimeters in themost sensitive area of Reseune.”
“I’m aware of the protocol that existed before my time. But name its details, ser, if you would.”
“Thirty beta‑ and gamma‑class agents, all dedicated to maintaining your security envelope, at your orders, full access to ReseuneSec information, exactly what the first Ari had…with an appropriate clerical staff, and an administrative office sited in Wing One. We could assign supervisory protocols to the Director himself. Or to me, personally, if you’re satisfied with that arrangement.”
“I am aware what specific arrangement the first Ari had with Giraud Nye, ser, and your offer is acceptable if sera is their Supervisor of record.”
“Her youth–”
“My partner and I are alphas, ser, and she’s ourSupervisor.”
“Technically–”
“In actuality, Ser. She has been capable of directing us for a classified length of time, but you may at least conclude it wasn’t yesterday”
Hicks regarded him at some length. “You’re still eighteen.”
“I’m very good at what I do, Ser.”
That got a smile. The best Supervisors could be like that, able to appreciate an azi’s humor. And one had to be wary, not to get sucked in and set too much at ease.
“No buttons available, Ser. She has all mine well‑catalogued.”
The smile persisted. “I’d expect that.”
“I add one more qualification: these agents: their Contracts go to her. Specifically.”
Not outright refusal, but wariness. “That’s notwhat was.”
“That chain‑of‑command may have killed her predecessor. Certainly it was a weakness. My partner and I have studied that arrangement very closely. Their Contracts will be solely to her, ser, or we can’t accept. Also, should we find a problem in any mindset, that agent will be directly dismissed and sent to retraining.”
Hesitation. “I can understand your reasoning. But you weren’t ready to ask for it. You have a lot of responsibilities inside the walls. Yet you don’t feel ready to deal with this increase in scope?”
Supervisor’s question.
“I personally find no great advantage in declining your offer, ser, under the terms I name. You see a need: you made the offer. Should we decline it, we run risks we both foresee, regarding sera’s safety. Should the offer turn out to involve less cooperation than we know we need, we will have to decline it, also for security reasons.”
“You think this office has problems?”
“I have some reservations, knowing a leak of information happened somewhere. We know our own staff. We don’t know yours, Ser. Does the offer stand?”
“It stands.”
“She’ll require their Contracts and their manuals.”
“Pending her approval of this arrangement.”
“If I approve here and now, and I do, the deal is done. Sera will agree.”
A frown. “Irregular transfer of Contracts.”
“My predecessor had similar power. You knew him, you say.”
“Your predecessor was very much older when I knew him.”
“He’s dead now,” Florian said. “My partner and I intend to do better than that.”
A moment of silence. “Quite,” Hicks said. “Quite. Done, then.” He turned to the console, entered a program, and a stick popped up. He passed it across the table. “Valid for every individual in the file. You can reach their Contracts and their personal manuals with this clearance. They’re yours.”
“They’re Sera’s,” he amended that. For a born‑man, Hicks was very easy to work with–plain, direct, and saying what he meant, at least on the surface. Hicks would have the job fairly securely for the next twenty‑odd years–until the next Giraud came of age–if he succeeded in the next few. His office might have problems; so might any office in Reseune, at this point. Sera wasn’t in charge. Other, lesser people made decisions.
And within those twenty years of Hicks’ office, they were going to face the same threats their predecessors had consistently faced, namely a fair number of people wanting power, or having power and intending to hold onto it. Yanni was intent on holding power on sera’s behalf: there was less likely an indication of treachery there, but there were questions, and minds could change, over a decade. The security breach at Planys and Yanni’s dealings with Patil were very likely a case of Yanni trying to ferret out the known problems of a prior generation before Ari had to inherit them, rather than a born‑man trying for power of his own.
But that was an inquiry he planned to make, via the resources which this expanded staff would give him.
At very least Hicks and Yanni and the rest were on their guard–and motivated. If anything adverse did happen in Reseune in the next twenty years, life expectancy for the chief of ReseuneSec would be commensurately short–likewise, the Director’s.
Sera’s life was at issue. Primarily sera’s, most clearly. Any enemy getting power would immediately want a new Ari‑clone to work with, or see all Union space thrown into a power struggle. Certain enemies might think they would like that event. But only the most fringe elements–or Alliance agents from outside Union space–could benefit from losing Ari altogether. Domestic enemies, sensibly bent on unified power, would need to have people on‑staff at Reseune to make sure there was a third Ariane Emory.
Those were the ones to worry about most acutely: their ambitions were far more local. Some individuals with those well‑targeted motives might be inside their perimeters, and Jordan was only the visible problem, the most likely focus of trouble.
“A pleasure to cooperate with you, ser,” Florian said, and took the datastick, got up and gave a little bow. “If I have the requisite materials in this. I’ll handle the other details.”
“Done,” Hicks said. “And that stick is clean, by the way.”
“Of course, ser,” Florian said pleasantly, with every intention of passing it through protocols, even considering it came directly from the man who saw to the safety of all Reseune. “We can’t say that about the card’s data‑strip. But we’ll look forward to the information.”
“Pleasure,” Hicks said, and looked as if he meant it.
So that was that. Kyle AK was waiting to show him out. Florian walked out of that hall, out through a reception area where the number of waiting CITs had nearly doubled.
Elsewhere in the system, in other offices, a number of security‑trained azi were about to hear a keyword to disturb them to the depths. They’d be notified of reassignment to new specific operations, with special training.
They’d be excited, anxious at the same time, vulnerable as their professions never let them be for any other reason.