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I stand before Mr. Saito’s desk, ramrod straight, poised with the same rigor President Koenigin expected from me whenever I was on the job. The man casts me a couple of odd glances from where he checks his own projects, but otherwise, he doesn’t acknowledge me. Unlike President Koenigin, who rarely showed signs of weariness, his exhaustion is written plainly in the dark circles under his eyes, the droopiness of the skin around his cheeks, and the way his shoulders slouch. I wonder if he got any sleep. He’s still here, though, so that’s promising. He hasn’t been ousted yet.
Finally, he leans back in his chair, rests his arms over his head, and lets out a long sigh. “All right, Verdi. How’d the meeting with Miss Snow go?”
I lick my lips. On one hand, beautifully. The garden... the discussion... that was all wonderful. On the other hand...
“Mixed, sir.”
He cocks an eyebrow but doesn’t move from his resting position. “Explain?”
“The meeting went well. Miss Snow is interested in bringing the company and the public together once this whole matter is cleared.”
“That’s great.” He links his long fingers together and pops his shoulders. “So what’s the problem?”
I take a deep breath. “She wants President Koenigin to stand trial for her crimes and for the company to make public all the details about what was really going on in the labs.”
Mr. Saito snaps upright, and then quickly balances himself before his chair bobs back. His face pales. “How does she know Koenigin is still alive?”
I grimace and take a deep breath to calm my nerves. “I showed her, sir. She didn’t know... she didn’t know the president was her mother.”
“The president was her...” Mr. Saito’s eyes widen, and before I have a chance to assure him it’s the truth, he looks off into the distance, his fingers flashing at a screen I can’t see. Then, as if I’m not even here, he looks down at the floor by his desk. His Network tag shows he’s in the middle of a call—except he’s actually got an internal communications device, a mental augment that lets him respond without ever speaking aloud. Kind of helpful when he wants to keep matters private. I don’t have that enhancement, though. While some of my augments are mental, I still have to rely on speaking aloud to communicate.
After a moment of towering over his desk like a furious, looming beanstalk, he ends the call and sinks back into his chair. “How the hell did she manage to keep that covered?” He looks up at me. “This complicates things.”
“Yes, sir,” I agree.
He works his jaw, rubbing his fingers along the stubble starting to form there. He pauses, frowns at the touch, then groans. “All right. No big deal. I’ll add that to my list of things to work with when the time comes.” He fixes me with a lopsided, frustrated smile. “I trust you haven’t gone around telling anybody else this?”
“No, sir. Just Maria Snow.” I leave out the part that I got the info from Ebs.
“Good. Don’t share this with anyone else. Hopefully Miss Snow will keep quiet as well. I’m sure she’s going to want to reveal it, but the information is sensitive. We need to handle that reveal carefully, or the SNP will turn that against us before we have a chance to say ‘enhanced.’ ” He presses his fingers to the bridge of his nose. “I should reprimand you for disobeying my orders, but you did manage to win potential cooperation from Miss Snow. For now, we’ll see where this leads.” He catches my gaze with his violet eyes and holds it. “But understand, Verdi... if this pans out badly, I will remove you from the ambassador position. I may have been too hasty to put you into a position for which you have had no training. That’s not to say you’ll be removed permanently, but I expect you to follow orders.”
I nod quickly. “Yes, sir.”
“And stop calling me sir.” He grins. “As of four in the afternoon, I became the official acting president. Of course, shareholders may change that in the next meeting, but as long as I don’t botch this, I’ll remain in charge.”
I blink. “Yes, President Saito.”
He nods appreciatively. “Now, while I’m still sorting out this publicity business, I have a huntress job for you. I trust you don’t mind fulfilling two roles?”
“No, President,” I say, but I’m not so sure I want to be a huntress again. What does he want me to do? President Koenigin never sent me on any terrible missions—well, not until the very end—but other corporations have used their huntresses for cutthroat means.
“Good,” President Saito says. “Go see Dr. Johnson. She has the details.”
“Dr. Johnson?” I frown. She’s on house arrest, with limited access to her labs. “But she—”
President Saito fixes me with a cool gaze. “If she goes against my orders, she can very quickly be knocked out, thanks to the implant we’ve added. Besides, you can keep an eye on her for me.”
“Yes, President Saito.” My chest tightens. I don’t want to see Dr. Johnson. She had been all too happy to mar Maria, and all too happy to experiment with the poisons she put in my arms.
“Good. You’re dismissed.”
I give him a quick bow and then hurry out of his office.
I had hoped I wouldn’t be returning to B5 so soon.
