January 22, 2363 AIA

P5

It was a beautiful day. The open courtyard flowed with eddies of humanity, all moving at various paces. The people who paused on their way gathered in the sunlight. Large flying insects darted through the empty spaces and hovered near the edges. The insects were oddly satisfying to watch, and since they had no interest in humans, they bothered no one. Their sole obsession was the vivid, abundant plants that filled the courtyard.

Adan Vas was oblivious to all of this. He was scanning the crowds.

“He’s late,” Vas grumbled.

“I think he’ll come, Captain,” Tennama said.

“Banderas,” Alix said under her breath.

“Banderas.”

The captain shook his head. “I’m not so sure.”

“During the call he sounded excited.”

“He sounded demented and incoherent.” The captain tried to mimic the immoderate passion of the voice they’d heard. “’Are you mad? Not over the phone!’”

“So the kid’s smart enough to worry about security,” Reyer said. They didn’t really know if he was a kid, but neither of the men corrected her. He had come across as young. “It’s possible he’s already here and checking us out.”

Something about Reyer’s voice sounded different. Vas glanced over, trying to figure out what it was. When he saw her posture, he understood.

She was relaxed.

The three of them were sitting around a small table outside a bistro. Alix had been lucky enough to get the chair that was in the sun. She was lounging back, idly playing with the handle of the cup in front of her.

The captain’s lips twitched as he remembered her perplexed expression when the waitress had held it out. It was Reyer’s first encounter with a European style teacup and saucer. He’d wondered if she would even take it, but however strange the vessel, the tea had met with her approval.

On an impulse, he said, “We need to get you out more.”

Alix put her head to the side and shrugged. Vas thought he knew what the gesture meant: you’re probably right, but what is there to do about it?

He leaned back. “How long do you want to wait?”

“I don’t know. What’s that?” She pointed to his mug.

“Coffee.”

“It doesn’t look like coffee.”

Vas tried not to laugh. Tennama covered his mouth to hide his smile.

“It’s café con leche.” Vas snapped his fingers a few times as he tried to remember the term most planets used for it. “A latte. Coffee and milk.”

“Milk? From a cow?”

“Not here,” Tennama said. “It didn’t cost enough. It’s probably synthesized.”

“That sounds disgusting,” Alix said, still eying the cup.

Adan nudged it toward her. She picked it up, took a sip, and sat back to puzzle over the taste. After another sip, she felt she could render judgment.

“It’s not as bad as normal coffee.”

“I’m glad you approve.” There was an impish smile on the captain’s face. “Shall I order you one?”

“No, but thank you.” She handed him his drink.

Tennama didn’t bother to hide his amusement now. “You’ve really never had a latte before?”

“I’ve never been to a café before.”

Vas and Tennama both sobered. Reyer didn’t notice the abrupt change in mood; she was gazing at an iridescent insect as it floated over their table in confused zig-zags.

“There’s no rush,” Adan said. He glanced at the xeno who gave a single nod to show his agreement. “We can wait as long as it takes. It’ll give us time to enjoy our drinks.”

But Reyer had noticed a figure across the plaza, coming towards them. “I don’t think we’ll need more time.”

The kid was technically an adult—they could see that now—but he had one of those boyish faces that guaranteed he’d be carded for alcohol until he was forty. The way he moved created the illusion that he was crooked. A more careful inspection revealed it was an adopted swagger that was too big for his body.

Without hesitation, he came up to their table.

“Miss Bellerose,” he said. It sounded like an accusation.

Reyer rose and put her hand across the table. As they shook, she said, “I’m Bellerose. These are my friends, Banderas and Taylor.”

When they’d all shaken hands, the kid turned back to Alix. “I think we can talk here. It’s not private, but most people won’t be paying attention to us.”

“Most people?” Vas asked.

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The kid’s smile was wider on one side. It was the only side that moved when he shrugged. “You never know. My name’s Blaze.”

Vas and Tennama stared at him.

“Your name is Blaze?” Vas asked.

“Your real name?” Tennama pressed.

“What? I’m supposed to believe that Taylor is your real name? Caution, gentleman—that’s the name of the game.” Blaze sat down in the last unoccupied chair. After Reyer had resumed her seat, he opened both hands to the sky. “So, what can you tell me?”

“I’m sorry?”

“What can you tell me? I’m a curious man. I want to know everything.”

Reyer tried to hide her bemusement. “Shall I start with the Roman alphabet or basic math and go from there?”

He offered her a lopsided smile. “No-no. Tell me what you know about Tate. Where’s Tate?”

“You know his name?”

“Of course I know his name! Why wouldn’t I know his name? He lived with me! And he was Jane Bonumomnes’s assistant back on Gaoyun. He’s a shadow celebrity. We aren’t known—that’s the point—but those in-the-know would know him.”

It took Reyer a second to understand what the kid was talking about, but once she did, she realized that Joseph Tate would have been all too happy to exploit his infamous reputation.

“Mr. Blaze,” Reyer said, “I was hoping you could tell me where he is.”

The kid froze, then slowly shook his head. “Oh no. That’s not what this is about. You said you knew him!”

“I do know him.”

“Then you tell me where he is.”

“He didn’t tell you where he was going?”

Blaze shut his mouth and stared at her. She waited.

When his silent inspection was done, he shrugged one shoulder. “He left one day. He told me he was going to be looking into a few things. Then…poof!”

Poof.

That was one way of putting it.

Reyer remembered Tate’s last report—if it could be called a report. P5 was heavily monitored, so the only two messages he’d risked sending were both cryptic and short. The first had been the standard “hello-mom” message, letting them know that he’d managed to settle in safely. The only real information it’d contained was a number they could use to reach him.

That had led them to Blaze.

The second message had been a warning.

I’m thinking of going deep cover.

Alix caught herself looking Blaze up and down, considering him as she suspected Tate must have considered him at one point or another.

“How did you meet him?” she asked.

“That’s my question for you.”

“Mr. Blaze, are you trying to make this difficult?”

“You’re the one refusing to answer the question.”

There was a short silence.

“He’s a personal friend of mine,” Reyer said.

“Oh?” Blaze faked a laugh. “Right. Are you guys agents?”

Vas and Reyer glanced at each other.

“What makes you think we’re agents?” Adan asked.

“And agents of what?” Tennama added, clearly bewildered.

“Government agents. You know, Supremacy. Big Brother investigating me, trying to find out what I’m up to.”

Vas had to bite back his laugh; it grunted painfully in his chest.

“No, Blaze. We’re not agents,” Reyer assured him.

“But you want me to believe that you and Tate are personal friends, even though he never mentioned you?”

“Did he ever mention anyone?” Vas pointed out.

The kid looked momentarily baffled, but he rallied around his previous point. “I’m not going to believe it unless you’ve got some kind of evidence.”

Reyer sat there, feeling lost. The conversation had started out strange, and it had only gotten worse. Now she could feel her grasp on the situation slipping away.

The captain pulled out his wallet, extracted a folded picture, and passed it to Blaze. The kid glanced from Alix to the woman in the photo, then pulled the folded back end of the photo up so he could see the other half. It was Tate. He looked years younger—as did Reyer—but he was still easily recognizable, despite the unfamiliar military haircut.

“Ah,” Blaze said. “An old friend. That makes more sense.” He handed the picture to Vas. To Alix, he said, “What kind of a weird reverse harem are you running here?”

She felt her cheeks grow hot but said nothing.

The kid went on, “Okay, I found him on an online forum, didn’t I? He was asking questions it wasn’t really wise to ask, so I invited him somewhere safe so he could learn a bit more. Then he told us who he was.” He let out a whistle. “It turns out we had a lot more questions for him than he had for us, but we told him what we could.”

“Who’s this we?” Vas asked.

“I have a few like-minded friends. Fellow seekers. They also know Tate.”

“Do they have ridiculous nicknames too?”

Vas got a quick lesson in diplomacy when Reyer kicked his shin.

Blaze didn’t seem insulted. He offered them another half shrug. “Maybe.”

Alix said, “What kind of questions did Tate ask you?”

“Why do you want to know?”

“Because it might help us figure out where he went.”

Blaze cast his eyes over all of them this time. “You really are looking for him.”

No one bothered to respond.

“How long ago did you lose him?” Blaze asked.

“A long time ago,” Alix said.

Blaze sighed. It was an utterly human sound. For the first time, he came across as real, rather than as some caricature. “Do you guys even know what he was researching?”

“What do you mean?”

“S. A. L. Sentient alien life. The greatest question answered by the greatest plot of all time.” He looked around at their carefully blank faces. “The xenos? You know about them at least, don’t you?”

Tennama answered with, “We know something about them.”

“Something? That’s a little nonspecific.”

“Caution is the name of the game, Blaze,” Vas said.

The kid leaned forward and tapped the center of the table with his finger. “Come to my house. This evening.”

“Why?” Alix asked.

“I might have something that can help you find him.”

“Why can’t you tell us about it now?”

“No. Only there.” He gestured to the crowd around them. “I’m not going to talk about it in public. Caution, gentleman—”

The captain held up a hand to stop him. “We’ve heard.”

“It’s your choice.”

Alix sighed. “All right, Blaze. Give us a time and an address. We’ll be there.”

After he’d given them the information, he left, swaggering. They watched him until he disappeared around the corner.

Tennama was the first to speak. “Well, that was…interesting.”

“Sure,” the captain said. “We’ll go with interesting.”

“Who are they?”

“Tate called them his conspiracy nuts,” Reyer said.

Tennama laughed silently. “They must be crazy. Imagine believing in something like the xenos.”

“I would question the sanity of anyone who calls himself ‘Blaze,’” Vas said. He stood up. “We should get going. We have enough time to get you some clothes, Tennama, and stop by the ship before we have to go to our crazy-town meeting.”

Reyer and Tennama rose to their feet.

“Do you think they have any evidence to support their theories?” Tennama asked.

“Videos,” Reyer said. “Videos and information from Jane’s website.”

“That’s all?”

Adan said, “If they’d had something more substantial, I don’t think meeting Tate would’ve been such a big deal.”

“Imagine if they met Jane,” Alix added.

Tennama noticed how thoughtful Reyer sounded.

“Yes,” Vas said. “I’ve been thinking about that too.”

“They would know she’s alive,” Reyer pointed out.

“I don’t think they’d tell anyone. Even if they did, I doubt anyone would believe them.” The captain took out his wallet to put away the photograph.

Reyer’s eyes followed the image of herself and Tate, each with an arm wrapped around the other. The edges of the photo were worn down to white paper. The crease in the middle cut off most of Joseph’s arm and shoulder.

“Adan,” she said, “why do you have that picture?”

Vas tucked the photo into place and put his wallet away before he answered. “Tate gave it to me.”

“Tate gave it to you?”

“Yeah.” Vas picked up his jacket from the back of his chair and started walking.

Reyer took her place at his side. Tennama walked a pace behind them.

“Why would he do that?” Alix asked.

“Because I was bitching about the fact I didn’t have a picture of you smiling. He gave it to me and told me now I could remember his pretty face too—a two for one.”

Tennama said in a wry voice, “That was kind of him.”

The captain turned. “I thought so myself.” He faced forward again. “It’s the only picture I have of her.”