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'Research. How is she, Doctor?'
'Robust as usual. Good respiratory and heart. Nothing out of the ordinary compared to Miss Oberon's
regular medical reports I've written.'
Briefly translated. Normal for her but would be extra-ordinary for a Baseline human. Whatever the Fey
did with their animal sharing didn't tend to come to the fore at a preliminary medical. Maxine Caruthers
had never persuaded the Fey to carry telemetrical bugs in training. It wasn't on his schedule, but would
be something worth asking the Fey to consider some time.
Kataya smiled at the doctor as she completed buttoning her shirt to just above her breasts. 'Paracrow
tute, Doctor.'
The doctor nodded as the Fey and Blank left. If he was lucky, he might get a couple more hours sleep in
a chair before his official hours started attempted to make sense of the results once again. His immediate
boss seemed to work impossibly early and late hours. There was that odd smell again. Only slight but
unprofessionally unsettling. An early morning dip in the pool would clear his head.
The early morning sea mist clouding them in as they walked across the Compound. It would be a fine day
later, when the rest of the world woke up.
'I wish you'd told me you were using an alias', McKensie started. 'It would have saved some problems
last night'.
'What alias, gorgio?'
'Kisaiya Matchka.'
'Oh that. First thing came into head.'
'Kitty Cat? Matchka's Romany for cat, isn't it?'
'How do you know, gorgio?'
'I do research, Miss Oberon. I read a lot. I like reading.'
'No one there speaks Romany, Mr. McKensie,' Kataya stopped and stared at him, 'Avoid giving clues
about the Stable or self. We Oberon Clan learnt to be secretive generations ago. We travel. Everyone
thing we Romany.'
'But not going as far as saying where you go at night...or what you're doing? You realise there's a
potential assignment that means we might have to leave at short notice? I had no way to contact you. It
was only an accident that I was where I was when we met.'
'Fhuh! Too soon after zoo visit. Scientists think settling down period works best.'
'So what did you do to settle down?'
'Hunting, gorgio. Sharing with tigers quite exhilarating. So is urge to hunt. Want directions for that?
Roamed fifty miles. Then took mates for pub crawl.'
'And after the pub crawl?'
'Is own time, Mr. McKensie. Do with it who and what pleases.'
She stalked off and McKensie had to run a little to keep up. The Fey was obviously pissed about having
to explain her movements, he decided.
'Take a bleeper next time, Miss Oberon. It'll make it easier to reach you.'
'Fhuh!'
End of conversation. Kataya Oberon was in Combat One before McKensie reached the observation
booth. Yesterday's orders had been carried out. Camera positions had been changed. The assault course
had also been modified. All targeting would be based on heat source. Unless the Fey could cut her body
temperature, she would be under heavy attack.
It took half an hour for the Fey to return to the booth. By that time, Combat One was a wreck. Live
ammunition had done serious damage to all the buildings and would need substantial repairs. Camera
telemetry wasn't perfect but the Fey had been caught on film a couple times, largely from
cross-connecting views he'd told the Techs to set up, making it impossible for her to avoid being seen.
'Bostaris! Baleneskoe bostaris! Did Grandfather put you up to this, Mr. McKensie?'
McKensie scratched the back of his neck. 'I got the impression you were finding these exercises too
easy,Miss Oberon.'
'Never get this tough out in world.'
'And the Stable can't afford you to be complacent on assignment. Combat Four after lunch. They should
have finished the upgrade there then. There's an arms specialist coming in tomorrow afternoon. He's to
give you a run-down on these new heat trackers you might be encountering. We need an assessment as
to whether they're being designed with someone like you in mind, but he doesn't need to know that.'
The second night, McKensie parked his pool car a short distance from the pub and waited. Keeping the
Fey busy and occupied should have cut down her night time activities, he decided. According to the door
alarm he set up, the Fey had left her room by eight. She hadn't taken the bleeper. Checking previous [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]