Allie sent Ira a short message, telling him she'd meet him in his office at eight in the morning, and she'd bring a witness to the attempted sabotage she'd found.

Galen was too busy hunting through her refrigerator for breakfast to notice. "Where's all the food?" he asked. "There's nothing in here but ration bars and a tiny block of chocolate."

"Chocolate?" Allie immediately perked up. She was certain she'd eaten the last of it a week ago, and she had yet to find a chocolate shop in the Colony that could satisfy her craving for the Human confection.

"Chocolate is not a breakfast food," Galen said. With a frown, he added, "And nor are ration bars, unless you're starving and there's nothing else."

Allie wisely decided not to tell him that she'd eaten nothing else for most of her time in the Colony. Cooking was not her forte, and while the Mer had promised her a shipment of fresh fish, it hadn't arrived yet. The only meals she'd eaten that weren't survival rations were the ones she'd shared with Galen.

"Maybe we can pick something up from one of the tea or coffee houses on our way to meet with the Watch. I'm sure some of them serve breakfast," she said.

"The Watch?" Galen looked nervous.

Allie was perfectly calm. "Of course. We need to get this evidence into the right hands, where it will be safe. I don't want to keep explosives or nuclear fuel in my apartment. That sort of thing is dangerous."

She summoned an aircar and they were soon zipping through the corridors of the Colony to Ira's office.

"I thought we were going to the Watch," Galen said. "Isn't this...?"

"Metropolis Central, where the master controls for the entire Colony are, and the head of the Watch lives?" Allie smiled. "Indeed it is. For something this serious, I figured we'd go straight to the top."

Galen looked like he wanted to argue, so Allie pushed the bundle of bomb parts into his arms and marched him to the door of Ira's apartment. She was five minutes early, but she had yet to see him in any other state than fully dressed and ready for work. Allie knocked briskly on the door, opened it, and led the way in to Ira's home office.

She dumped the wadded-up wetsuit on Ira's desk and gestured for Galen to do the same with his burden.

"What's this?" Ira asked, poking the wetsuit. Heat from the plutonium had melted it together in places so the canisters were almost completely concealed.

"The makings of a nuclear bomb. In fact, when we found it late last night, it was almost operational. There's enough plutonium in there to destroy the Colony twice over." Allie swallowed as her eyes met Ira's ice-blue ones. "You were right. There are people who would destroy the fragile peace we've created here."

"Plutonium? Only Humans use that, though quite rarely now, as most of it is spent. In fact, the only remaining stocks we're aware of are in the hands of the Humans First terrorists." Ira flicked a glance at Galen.

Allie didn't miss the way Galen stiffened, either.

"It's not only Humans who use it," Galen said. "The siren Halcyon has set off radioactive devices on at least four occasions, starting with the sinking of the Poseidon."

Allie stared at him, not sure what to say to that.

Ira was not similarly constrained. "That's not common knowledge. Where did you hear that?"

"I was there. Only one person survived the Poseidon: me. I managed to get away in a lifeboat before the siren sank her, and when the ship blew up, I was far enough away that all I had to contend with were the waves. I didn't know the explosion was nuclear until the investigation team told me later when they tested my blood for radiation poisoning. I'd asked them to retrieve my parents' bodies when they refloated the ship. The poor guy had to explain to me that there weren't any bodies, as there was barely any ship left to salvage."

Ira and Allie exchanged a glance, but said nothing.

Galen continued, "If you know about the Poseidon, then you know she killed plenty of others during the war. She targeted Human ships, destroying them all in the same way. More people escaped from the later ones, though, so there were plenty of witnesses. And now she's here, trying to destroy the Colony."

"Why do you believe that?" Ira asked.

"It represents peace between Titans and Humans – something she's dead set against. I'm surprised she didn't try to attack the peace talks, but maybe those were too well guarded, so she decided to target this place instead. At first, I thought it was only a rumour that she was in the Colony, but last night confirmed it. I know she's here because I saw her. I'd remember that rusty tail anywhere. She trapped me underwater and if it wasn't for Allie here, I'd be dead," Galen said.

Allie swallowed, trying to moisten her dry mouth. "She was present throughout the peace talks. Halcyon was the Titans' chosen mediator. If she hadn't been there, none of the Titan delegation would have attended. There would be no peace, and the Colony wouldn't exist. Since that time, she's been one of the strongest Titan voices for peace."

Galen snorted. "That's complete stardust. She blew up at least six buildings on Elysium after the peace treaty was signed. All places where both Humans and Titans worked in the same building. She's so pissed off the war ended that she's taken to killing her own people now, too."

"All the attacks on Elysium have been traced back to Humans First activists," Ira said. "There is no mention of Halcyon or in fact any Titan in the official reports. All of the suicide bombers on those occasions were Human."

Galen paled, but his expression grew stony. "I know what I heard, and I know what I saw last night. She was there. Find her, and interrogate her. See what she has to say for herself."

Ira steepled his fingers together. "Perhaps we will. In the meantime, can you recount the events of last night, please?" He set his tablet on the desk, tapping the screen so that it would record Galen's testimony.

Ira listened for a long time, just nodding his head, before Galen ran out of breath. Then Ira had a few questions, just asking him to clarify things he'd said, before he dismissed Galen.

Allie rose to leave, too, but Ira held up his hand. "Stay. I need to speak to you, too," Ira said.

Galen looked torn, like he wanted to stay with Allie but he really, really wanted to get away from Ira. "I'll get you some breakfast, and a coffee, okay? I'll wait for you," he said finally, backing out of the room.

Allie waited until the door had closed behind Galen and his footsteps had faded away. She took a deep breath. "No, he doesn't know. No Human does."

Ira turned his x-ray stare on Allie. "Did you do it?"

"Like you need to ask. The bomb's been made by an amateur, not a professional. Someone who's never made one before, or trying to make it look that way. If it weren't for the plutonium, and the location, I wouldn't have bothered you. And for the record, all four of those ships blew because of poor Human engineering. All I did was sink them. Water, the pressure, and poor storage practices for the nuclear submarine batteries did the rest." Allie waved at the display on the desk. "If this had been my work, the Colony would be dust right now, and we wouldn't be standing here."

Ira nodded. He knew her well enough to know she wouldn't bother blowing stardust up his butt. "Is it possible that another Mer...?"

"No. No one else would dare. They wouldn't defy the Council, and any who would...well, then there's me." Allie thought of Galen's strange behaviour last night. Shock or mind control? She still wasn't sure.

Ira read the doubt in her expression as if he'd read her mind. Perhaps he could. Allie still wasn't certain which Titan race he belonged to, but she had nothing to hide from him. However, if he rummaged too far into her head, he'd stumble across her memories of her bed play with Galen. She almost wanted him to find them, so she could see his expression when he did.

"I want you to speak to the Mer. Make certain it wasn't them. I'll assign some Watch officers to the investigation, and let you know what I find in the surveillance footage." He eyed the mess on his desk. "I take it it's too much to ask for you to take this with you?"

Allie shook her head. "I think you need to keep it safe. The plutonium alone...and what if there's more? I'll ask Col to search the Colony. It might help us find the culprit, but it'll definitely make this place safer." She raised her voice to issue an order to the AI.

It was Ira's turn to shake his head. "You know you're the only person in the entire Colony who talks to the AI, don't you?"

Allie shrugged. "It's intelligent and it obeys orders. Much like any Human or Titan under the control of a siren song. Force of habit, I guess." She rose. "Are we done? If I know Galen, he'll have found something lovely for breakfast and it'll be getting cold. If the Watch find anything useful on the surveillance footage, let Violet know. She'll inform me."

"You're subverting my staff now?"

"Not yet. I don't need to. We're working toward the same goal. I understand you're too busy to keep me informed about everything, so I took the initiative." Allie winked. "In case you're interested, her weakness is chocolate, and I'm sure she'd appreciate some for a job well done. So would I, if you find a good supplier in the Colony. I've run out." She turned and strode out of the office, leaving Ira grumbling under his breath. Allie hid her smile. It was shaping up to be another beautiful day.