Lewis typed the activation code into the computer.

The screen lit up with the visage of Grumman. The ultra had his mask on and was seated in a dim, dark room.

“Agni has reached Tanisport,” Lewis said.

“And?”

“She tried for Belessar at the location we found. He got away.”

“I trust you didn’t contact me just to deliver bad news.”

“She reports that he is, in fact, a Master. It seems that he demonstrated some sort of mental ability during their encounter.”

“Well. That explains much.” Grumman shook his head. “Your lie seems to be turning true, now.”

Manetti winced inwardly. “Agni reported that his powers were not what we reported. She doesn’t blame us for it, though. According to her, gathering exact information about a Master’s power is virtually impossible.”

“That is true.”

“She gave us an explanation of his powers, as best she can. He can strike out with some kind of psychic force that breaks the concentration of everyone around him.”

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“That explains how he got Gravitic.”

“Also, it doesn’t require line of sight.”

Grumman went quiet for a moment. “A Master power without eye contact is incredibly rare.”

“She believes that it’s limited to breaking a foe’s concentration. It gave her quite a headache.”

“Just a headache?”

“She also mentioned a nosebleed.”

“Hmm.”

“However, she’s confident that he can only use mind control with eye contact. According to her, any mind control power which does not require eye contact would have resulted in her getting captured right then and there. His reactions are incredibly fast.”

“We’ve seen that. What about the girls?”

“She’s now convinced that he has them under his control.”

“Because he has mental powers?”

“Her exact words were that he seemed a typical militarist.”

“Well, it’s a good thing for us that she’s so anti-military. Did she suspect anything of our origins?”

“We gave our names as relatives of some of the girls. Especially Esperanza. Her uncle is willing to cooperate.”

“I won’t ask how you managed that. Good job. Any idea on the timeline?”

“Agni said it’ll take time. She sees him as a hard target. Especially now that the element of surprise is gone.”

“Time is short.”

“We can’t push her too hard, sir.”

“Naturally. I only mention because sooner or later, she will run across something that collapses our story. If she investigates.”

“We’re pressing her to move forward as fast as we dare. Our men are gathering what information they can and sharing it with her.”

“I trust she isn’t speaking to any of them directly.”

“No, sir. Just to me. I’ve indicated that we need to stay secret….”

“Get me results, Lewis. If you do this right, I won’t forget it.”