Safe House Part 6

Maj blushed hot and slipped down off the desk to look at a book in a nearby bookshelf, for no reason except to keep her dad from seeing the look. "You think they can get him out?" she said.

"If they can't, they can at least work out who to contact who can actually do the job. Net Force is owed all kinds of favors, all around the world, in some unlikely places."

Maj wondered if this would be enough. "That's a help, anyway."

"Yes. But there are other things on my mind." That worried sound was in his voice again, and it made Maj's head turn. "The Calmani authorities are hardly going to just sit around and let this happen without acting, honey. That's not their style. They're going to do their best to alter this situation to their liking. One good way to put pressure on Armin to do whatever it is they're trying to get him to do would be to threaten Laurent."

"But he's here," Maj said. "What can they-"

Then she stopped. This house was not exactly a security zone. It was an ordinary suburban house with ordinary suburban locks on the doors and windows, and an ordinary security system mostly designed for stopping burglars, not kidnappers. If armed people came along and tried to s.n.a.t.c.h someone who was living here-She opened her mouth to say, "The police-" and then stopped herself again. The police here were good...but were they good enough to take on armed s.n.a.t.c.h operatives? Or fast enough?

"We have a little security that doesn't show," said her father. "And more to be added shortly, at least of the 'pa.s.sive' kind. Some guys will be coming from 'the phone company' to install it over the next day or so, so don't be surprised." He ran one hand over where his hair used to be. "It's a happy coincidence that I asked a month ago to have our lines checked for bandwidth constriction. This will look as if that's being fixed, to the casual observer...but as a result, people on 'our side' will be watching the house and its environs a little more closely than would otherwise be the case, until Laurent's dad makes it safely over to this side of things."

Maj nodded. "Okay," she said. "I a.s.sume part of my job in this is to keep an eye on him."

Her father nodded. "You can't do much during school, I know that, but Mom will be working from home during the business week for the next little while, and she'll be able to keep an eye on him during the day. If you could just keep an eye on his 'recreation time,' that'll be a help."

"Does he have to stay inside?"

"Oh, no. Though he may need a little coaching in how to act when he goes out. He's not a dumb kid. He'll catch on quickly."

Maj knew that already.

"Though," her father said, "you might want to keep an eye on what he's up to online, as well. His father was concerned about that."

"What? About him being in the Net?"

"Yes."

"But they have it, too...."

"Not nearly as wide-bandwidth as ours," her dad said, "and there's not nearly as much for anyone to do. Their country's Net is more or less quarantined from the rest of the worldwide Net...and the quarantine has run both ways. They can't get their hands on the equipment they'd like to have. They've been embargoed for years. And from their side of things, they don't want their own people getting their hands on the kind of 'decadent' liberal entertainment-not to mention news-that's available everywhere else in the world. So our Net is going to look pretty interesting to Laurent. His father sounded concerned about it, asked me very pointedly not to let his son overdo it, or even spend that much time on it, until he got here himself to help guide him through all the content."

Maj nodded. "I'll make sure he doesn't spend all day and all night on it," she said. "I can imagine it would be easy to get sucked into overdoing it."

Her father nodded, ran his hand over his thin spot again. "But at the same time," he said, "if you want to take him 'places' where you can keep an eye on him, and let him have some harmless entertainment..."

"No problem with that," Maj said, and grinned. "I had some plans for one of those places tonight."

"Simming again?"

"Yes, but somebody else's sim," Maj said. "The Group have gotten into it in a big way. We have a battle scheduled this evening."

"Well, if you want to take Laurent along, he'd probably thank you." Her father sighed, rubbed his head again where his hair used to be.

"Daddy," Maj said suddenly, "I have to ask you. Please don't be mad. But why don't you go have that grown back why don't you go have that grown back?"

He looked at her, and then smiled. "Honey," he said, "a lot of my 'bosses' were born, oh, no later than the middle of the last century. They still have that century's values...though reminding them openly of that can be dangerous. Think about it. From their point of view, without being thin on top and looking elderly and respectable, how am I supposed to look as if I deserve my tenure?"

He smiled a most ironic smile, then got up, squeezing her shoulder as he went by, and headed off among the shelves before Maj could think of anything to say.

She looked after him with a ghost of that smile, and then turned and made her way back to the door into her work s.p.a.ce.

4.

About half an hour later she ran into her mother in the kitchen. Her mother was looking frazzled. Plainly she had had a difficult morning on the machine. "Any improvement?" Maj said.

"In their system? Some," her mom said, leaning against the window, more or less as Laurent had, and looking out at the tomatoes. "I've got to get out there and pinch those things back," she said, "or there are going to be eight hundred thousand tomatoes again this August. And I've made all the green tomato chutney I can stand." She glanced down the hallway. "Don't knock on his door, m.u.f.fin mine," she said quickly. "He's still sleeping."

"I was just going to look," said the plaintive little voice from down the hall.

"I know, sweetieMuf. Don't Don't. Just go down and read to your dinosaurs now."

"They're tired of reading."

"Then tell them all about Niko's cows, the ones with the buckets."

"Oh," said the m.u.f.fin, delighted, and ran off down the hall. Her room door shut.

Maj's mother smiled. "She's fascinated with him," she said. "For which he'll probably start being sorry when he wakes up. How is he, do you think?"

"Tired. And there's other stuff going on."

"Yes, his father...Daddy told you?"

"We had a word."

"Yes." Her mother looked suddenly more weary than she had. "I feel for him, poor kid, being thrown out into the world all alone like this all of a sudden.... I don't think there's any luggage coming, either. It seems that was just a 'phantom record' generated by whoever sent him, to keep him from looking abnormal. n.o.body but a government courier gets on a s.p.a.ceplane without any bags, and I think poor Laurent must just have been hustled straight out of the country without any, on the grounds that anyone with with luggage would attract suspicion...." luggage would attract suspicion...."

"Yeah," Maj said. "Well, his stuff came in from the warehouse...it's there on the counter. But, Mom, should I send for some more stuff for him? He's going to need more than just one pair of pants and a shirt. GearOnline has his template."

Her mother nodded. "Sure, honey, that's a good idea. You take care of it." She gave Maj a cautionary look. "Try not to break the bank."

"I won't."

Her mother looked out the window again. "I should get back to hammering on that system. But I've got to take a moment to do something about the aphids out there. Otherwise those nasty little suckers are going to pull those roses up by the roots and fly off with them, there are so many of them all over the bushes...Where's the bug gun?"

"Under the sink," said Maj. Her mother went over and opened the under-sink cupboard, hunting out the spray bottle which held the organic soap insecticide which was the only form of chemical warfare she allowed in her garden.

"Mom, you should really get something more effective," Maj said as her mother went out. "Something systemic, so the bugs'll bite the bushes and die of it."

"Technofreak," her mother said with good-natured scorn as the screen door banged closed behind her.

"Oh, yeah," Maj said, amused.

She glanced up at the kitchen clock. Three o'clock already? Three o'clock already? It was only three hours to the battle. The thought brought chills. The hair stood up all over her. It was only three hours to the battle. The thought brought chills. The hair stood up all over her. Food Food, she thought, and a fast review of our last maneuvers.... and a fast review of our last maneuvers....

She was too jumpy, already, for a big meal. Maj rummaged around in the fridge for a bowl of microwave noodles, made herself some more tea, and settled at the table to slip back into her work s.p.a.ce.

About a second later, it seemed, her bowl was empty, her tea was cold, and Laurent was looking at her from across the table, standing there in the middle of the kitchen and looking slightly bemused. "Maj?" he said. "I am sorry, you are virtual?"

"Huh? Not so it matters," she said, surprised, for it had genuinely taken several moments for her to register him standing there. I'm as preoccupied as he was this morning I'm as preoccupied as he was this morning, she thought. She glanced up at the clock. It was five-thirty. "Hey, your stuff's there on the counter." Maj looked at him carefully. "Are you okay?"

"I feel fine," Laurent said. And indeed he looked fine, better than anyone had a right to who had just been through the day and a half he'd had. "This is it?"

"That package, yeah. Let me know if something doesn't fit. The invoice says they have a pickup van in the area if we need to return anything...all we need to do is call. Meantime, what do you want to eat? We should have something before we go to the battle...you'll be surprised how this kind of 'fighting' takes it out of you."

"Oh." He stood there in his "schoolboy" clothes and looked bemused. "Maybe a sandwich?"

"Every kind of cold cut on earth is in the fridge," Maj said, getting up to put her tea in the microwave. "My brother is kind of a carnivore." She grinned. "We really have to introduce you to him, if you're ever awake at the same time. His hours have been a little weird lately...he has some kind of curling championship coming up."

"'Curling'?"

"It's too weird to explain with mere words. It involves shoving a hunk of rock around on a sheet of ice with brooms and a handle. I'll show you later," she said. "Go on, get changed."

He disappeared down the hall. When he came back, Maj had decided that a sandwich wasn't a bad idea and was rooting around in the "cool" cupboard where the bread was kept for a loaf of rye. She glanced up. "Hey," she said, "that looks good on you."

He grinned, that extremely charming smile that seemed to light up his whole face, partly by contrast. Laurent looked very sober a lot of the rest of the time, which, under the circ.u.mstances, Maj thought, was probably understandable. When he gets old enough When he gets old enough, she thought, he's going to need a stick to beat the girls off with, if he keeps that smile.... he's going to need a stick to beat the girls off with, if he keeps that smile....

"So, here," Maj said. "Baloney, mortadella, regular ham, Mom's favorite smoked Virginia ham, which she will threaten our lives for eating, my father's head cheese, white bread, pumpernickel, rye, mayo..."

"Mustard?" Laurent said.

"In the fridge."

He went to get it. "It did not comment," Laurent said, returning with it.

Maj smiled. "It'll find something to say eventually. I should warn you, don't leave its door open, or it'll call you 'Adrienne.'"

"Oh?"

"The m.u.f.fin likes to stand there and look in, pondering the mysteries of the universe."

"Oh." He started slathering mustard on some of the pumpernickel. "But her proper name is Adrienne...."

"She won't answer to it. She decided some while back that m.u.f.fin is her name, and she won't answer to Adrienne anymore." Maj shrugged. "We'll see if it lasts. She may change her mind in a few years when the other kids at school start ragging her about it." She got a plate for her sandwich, then said, "Speaking of names...we'll keep using Niko, huh? Just so she doesn't get confused. But I know the story behind the cover story."

He nodded, that somber expression in place again. "I am sorry," Laurent said, "not to really be related to you."

The pain in his voice, though he was trying hard to cover it over, was considerable. Maj shook her head. "While you're here," she said, "you are. So forget about it. But what do I call you in private? 'Laurent' seems awfully formal."

"'Lari' is the short form, the-nickname?"

"Oh. 'Larry'?"

"Close," he said. "'Larry,'" he said, a little slowly, as if it were a word in a foreign language-but then again, it was.

"It's just a short form of 'Lawrence.' Your name, but the English version."

"Okay. Larry."

"Great," Maj said. "Now at least I won't have to shout at you and get no answer back all the time."

Laurent grinned. "It must have seemed silly. But it is hard to remember you have a new name." Then the grin fell off, as if he was remembering something that made him uncomfortable. "Larry is better."

"Well, you'll still have to remember around the m.u.f.fin."

"I think I will manage. Is there another plate?" She handed him one, and he put his sandwich on it and cut it in half. "She will keep reminding me, I think...."

They went to sit down, and Maj rooted around in the fridge for her mother's perpetual jug of iced tea and brought it to the table. For a while they sat and ate comfortably enough, not saying anything; but Maj suddenly became aware that Laurent was looking at her, and she raised her eyebrows.

"You look worried," he said.

She opened her mouth to protest that she didn't know what he was talking about...then laughed. "The battle," Maj said. "I always get twitchy before these..."

"But it is virtual," Laurent said, looking somewhat bemused.

"Well," she said, "there's virtual, and then there's virtual. Look-" She pushed the plate away and got up. "We'll be a little early, but there's no harm in being the first ones into the hangar. Though wait half a second-"

She put her head out the back door and looked for her mother. She was crouched down behind some rosebushes, slaughtering aphids. "Mom," she said, "my battle's in a little while. I want to take L-Niko along, but I don't want to sit at the table-"

"You use my machine, honey," her mother said. "Niko can use the chair in the den. I don't think Rick's going to be back until well after you're done."

She let the door close. "My brother usually uses the den link," Maj said. "Fortunately he's out of the picture at the moment. Come on, finish that up and we'll get you settled."

A few minutes later they were both installed in separate rooms. Minutes after that they were in Maj's work s.p.a.ce. Laurent looked around appreciatively again. "Mine is nothing like so nice," he said. "But maybe now it is over here, I can make some changes."

"Your dad had your s.p.a.ce cloned over here?"

"My father took care of it last week, he said." Laurent glanced around him. "But it is very empty compared to this. All these books in the shelves...these are real works somewhere else?"

"Reference stuff mostly. Encyclopedias, almanacs, links to the news services. I'll show you how it's done after I get back from school tomorrow. Meanwhile-"

She paused by the version of her desk that lived in the work s.p.a.ce, and put her hand down on it. "Computer..."

"Wide awake, boss."

"Open access to Cl.u.s.ter Rangers Cl.u.s.ter Rangers. I need a guest authorization."

There was a pause. "Addition to account authorized," said the computer. "Is the authorization intended for the party presently in your work s.p.a.ce?"

"Yes."