He looked exhausted. The laugh lines around his eyes seemed more pronounced. His cheeks were withdrawn. And yet he radiated a kind of magnetic sexual energy that made her watch him. Being in his presence was like having sex without ever approaching orgasm — she could watch and imagine, but he would never be hers and he would never want her the way she wanted him.
He sprawled on the couch, resting his head on the padded arm rest, straightened his legs, and winced. Cramped. Clocking nearly eighty hours in the bionet in one week will do it to you. She'd done it before and it was unpleasant.
Ven nodded at the pseudopaper. "I found these."
Claire glanced at the sheets. The Quattrone Family quote.
"I know Lienne didn't approve this. Nor did she compile the data for the quote."
She didn't feel like lying. "How?"
"Lienne has a best friend, Fotina Heleni. When they were both sixteen, Deo Quattrone stood her up. They were at a party together, and he saw his ex-girlfriend in the crowd with another kid and made a giant scene. It got ugly. Lienne despises him and the whole family. If her hate were a plasma converter, she could launch a thousand spaceships into orbit."
Claire laughed. "Are you trying to hint that your aunt holds grudges?"
"I'm not hinting. I am saying it. So who helped you with these?"
She sighed. "Would it be so terrible if I had done them myself?"
"The quote shows a detailed knowledge of the bionet," he said. "Who is the co-conspirator, Claire? I promise I won't punish anyone. In fact, I may give this person a raise and unload the rest of the quotes on them. Although that would be a punishment in itself, I suppose."
Frustration boiled up in her. "You're right, Ven. A drone like me couldn't possibly understand the expense involved in structuring the spiral cell protection."
He focused on her. "You are not a drone. We've discussed that."
"And you never like to repeat yourself." She had to stop talking.
Ven sat up, propping himself on the armrest. "Why are you upset with me?"
Say nothing. Say nothing. Claire forced her voice to sound even. "I am not upset. I'm just tired."
"I get it," he said. "Unloading all of my work on your shoulders wasn't fair. But I have no choice. You can keep your helper a secret, if you wish. I'll find out eventually anyway."
No, you won't. You can't find someone who doesn't exist.
"You're still looking for your mystery woman?" she asked.
He nodded.
I'm sitting right here. "What's so important about her?"
He sat up. "Have you ever seen a silver shark?"
"No."
Ven reached for her tablet and pulled up the console. His fingers flew over the keys. A large digital screen ignited in the opposite wall. It was intense, deep blue, suffused with rays of pale green light, and she realized she was looking at the depths of the ocean.
Something stirred far in the distance. A hint of movement shifted the water.
A pale silver star winked in the distance.
Another ignited close by it.
Claire leaned forward.
More stars ignited and shimmered with nacre fire, shifting through the entire rainbow spectrum. A serpentine shape swam to her, graceful, beautiful, sheathed with silver scales and rippling with color. The sleek creature paused in front of the camera and coiled, displaying a multitude of wide fins bristling with spikes. There was something hypnotic in the way its body moved, sliding its coils through the water.
"This is what she was...?" Claire asked.
"Yes. It's a silver shark serpent off the Coral Coast. Except she was more like this." Venturo tapped the tablet.
The sea serpent grew, swelling, filling the screen. Her head sprouted ivory horns, tinted with intense electric azure. A mane of silver and blue sheathed her spine, flaring around her head. Some of her fins widened, turning into razor-sharp blades, others grew into wide wheels, rippling with iridescent rainbows. A line of pale blue lights ignited along the serpent's body. She gathered herself.
The lights pulsed.
Sharp blades of ice exploded from the creature, freezing the screen.
That's how he saw her... "How did you get this image?" Claire said, her voice barely above whisper.
"I drew it with imagining software," he said. "From memory. It doesn't do her justice. She was incredible. I wish you could've seen her, Claire."
The admiration vibrated in his voice and suddenly she was intensely jealous of herself.
"I've never seen anyone like her," Ven said. "Every psycher sees the bionet in his own way. I see it as shallow ocean with islands. I was patrolling when I got a ping from one of the Security Forces installations."
"I didn't know Guardian had any Security Force contracts."
"It's not a fact they want us to advertise," he said. "Anyway, I swam that way and saw her. She had accessed a coral tree — the installation's data banks — and was coming back. She had to slither down a spike-studded channel barely wide enough to hold her. Thirty centimeters in either direction and she'd be skewered. It was insane."
He sounded obsessed.
"How do you even know it was a woman?" Claire murmured.
"A feeling I got. I brushed past her mind and it seemed familiar somehow. I've met her before. I've been breaking my brain trying to recall where and nothing." He rubbed his face.
She couldn't help herself. "May be she came to apply for a job."
"No. I would've remembered."
Oh you idiot.
"And I would've hired her." Ven sighed.
Claire set her now empty teacup on the table. "Just out of pure academic curiosity, what are you planning to do if you find her?"
"I'll drop to my knees and propose marriage on the spot."
What?
He leaned back and laughed. "You should've seen your face. I finally managed to rattle the imperturbable Claire Shannon."
She almost hit him. "All this time in the bionet clearly altered your thinking patterns."
"If I see her, I'll try to buy her," he said. "Or kill her. I haven't decided."
"That's a bit extreme."
"If DDS finds her, they will do the same," he said. "Not only is she Grade A psychic, she's been trained. She has the kind of combat expertise that takes years to master. During our fight she cloned herself. She actually made copies of herself and they moved independently of her. They lasted only a second or two, but it would be very useful in a fight. I've been trying to figure out how she did it."
It's not that difficult really. You shed copies of your outer thoughts within milliseconds of each other. Same process that produces your shadow. Claire clamped down on that thought before it turned into words.
"Well, good luck in your quest," she said. "I think I'll go home now. I've spent too much time in this building this week."
"That's an excellent idea." He rolled off the couch and stood next to her. He was half a foot taller and he was standing too close. If she raised her hand, she could touch his face. "Come on a trip with me."
What? "Where?" she asked calmly.
"To the provinces. I need to see a friend of mine anyway, so we can pretend it's a business trip."
"And what would it be really, if not a business trip?" she asked.
He leaned toward her a fraction of an inch. His eyes laughed. "It would be me and you getting away from this building."
What did that mean, exactly? "Your aunt wouldn't approve," she said.
"I can go whole days without giving a damn about what my aunt thinks. Weeks even. Come with me, Claire. You've never been to the provinces and Celino's wife is a fantastic cook."
She hesitated, still not sure if the offer was genuine or if there was some hidden catch.
"It's not an order," Ven said. "Just an invitation from a friend. Whether you accept it or decline will have no bearing on your position with this company. I don't want you to feel obligated."