“So that’s what happened.” The commander reclined into her seat. “It’s highly irregular. When do they go through testing? Eighteen?”
“Yes. Shiloh was just tested this summer.”
“I bet that went over well.”
“I was at Randolph General when they brought the interns in. Poor kid. He was extremely embarrassed about the whole thing, came out red-faced. I’m not sure that I made it any better. Father and I took him shopping afterward to get his mind off it.”
“I think anyone would be embarrassed. Testing is necessary, though. The kids need to find out before they devote two years to an internship that might prove fruitless in the end, as does the senate.”
“I agree. Senator Dubois passed before he became an intern. It’s difficult for me to believe that his situation could have changed so completely between then and now.”
“He either passed, or someone paid good money to make it look like he passed,” Sutton conceded. “Those are the only two options.”
“Paying off the senate doctors doesn’t really make sense. Even if you could accomplish it, which you can’t. The doctors might spend some time at Randolph General, but they are still men of Bullstow. They cannot be bribed. The cost is far too high. It would be treason to falsify a report like that. Besides, the Masson family is comfortably highborn. His mother is only the sixth heir, and Senator Dubois is far from the only Masson son in the New Bristol and Saxony High Houses. There is absolutely no reason for the Masson family to waste the money, the resources, or the effort in getting him into the senate. Not when he’d be found out in two or three years anyway, which he would have, if Jewel hadn’t become enamored with him and muddied the waters.”
“True. People talk, but everyone has assumed that it’s a love match and that Jewel hasn’t been ready to conceive, especially since she hasn’t given him up.”
“It’s worked in his favor.”
Sutton crossed her legs. “The Massons are a computer family. Consoles, software, and the like?”
“Toys and computer games, mostly. They also have their vineyards, but that’s more of a hobby for Chairwoman Masson than a business.”
“Well, I’m not sure I see the use of having another senator either. They don’t have to outvote the damn environmentalists every time they want to add a new well or an oil rig along the Costa Sur. It would be a big risk for little in return.”
“Judging from how much he wants to marry my sister, a political career has never been all that important to him. If it was, I’d expect him to draw things out with Jewel for a while longer. He could have wormed his way into another year or two at High House, but he’s about to throw it all away. From what I can tell, no one seems that bothered by it.”
“No one except you.”
“Because it’s weird. If the Masson family knew he was infertile or that such a malady ran in his line, they could have pushed him toward another career at Bullstow. He could have gone into law, social services, education, the militia. He could have been happy doing something else.”
“Yeah, but there’s much less canoodling with highborn women.”
“Commander, Senator Dubois is very pretty. He could do plenty of that year round in another occupation. If he wanted to marry, he could have done so. Men are allowed to leave government service for that. Bullstow is far too conservative to ever get in the way. He’s beautiful enough to have found a wife among the highborn, and he could have had his pick among the lowborn elite. Even if he couldn’t have children, someone, somewhere, wouldn’t have minded.”
“Perhaps he wanted better. Perhaps he wanted the Randolphs,” Sutton suggested. But the blackcoat offered a quick shake of her head immediately after. “I can’t even suggest that in good conscience. I’ve been around the man for years now. I see no deception in him.”
“Neither do I, and I looked hard. Do you think there is something weird about the whole thing?”
“It does seem a little odd.” She nodded. “I’ve learned to look deeper when I come upon things that don’t quite add up. It’s a consequence of being a security officer, and it’s what makes you a good one. If you think something weird is going on, you might be right.”
“Might be?”
“It could also be that you don’t want this new future of yours.”
Lila looked away from her mentor, not able to refute her.
“Investigate if you need to. Satisfy your curiosity, but don’t obsess, and be prepared to accept what you find.”
Chapter 8
Lila surveyed the city from atop Wolf Tower, a cold burst of wind catching her blackcoat. It mussed her hair and shoved her away from the roof’s edge. She flexed her thighs and stood her ground, listening for any noise below. She heard nothing but the cawing of grackles in the maples. The people in the compound below moved to and fro like ants while the sun dipped below the horizon. The sky burned in orange and pink. Darkness would follow soon.
“You have not done as I asked.”
Lila spun around, hand on her tranq.
A woman stalked forward, ignoring Lila’s weapon. Her long blonde hair shifted in the wind, and her blue eyes traveled over the lawns. She wore leather armor, somewhat faded from the sun and the battlefield, just beginning to crack and show its age. Fur-lined boots covered her feet and calves, the toes marked with flecks of blood. A leather cord drooped at her neck with the weight of two large pearls. The bow and sword that peeked over her shoulder had both seen battle, just like the ancient oracle who wore them.