by Ellen Clary
Amy blew out a breath and shook her head. “I don’t feel like I’ve done anything, really. Mike, remember I mentioned generic Mike in a report? The one with generic Max the dog? Eventually, he would have gotten Adam to talk to him.”
Catherine smiled. “But that extra social connection helped, and look what you just learned outside the Taqueria.”
Amy raised a hand halfway. “Which we would have learned of anyway.”
“And we have a recent photo now, too.”
Amy dropped her gaze. “Okay, but can I go chasing after someone soon?”
“The very next missing person is yours.”
“All mine!” Amy said in triumph, raising her fists shoulder-height.
CATHERINE WALKED back to her office, and Amy tried to think of something innocuous she could say to Adam. Well, best get this out of my system now. She positioned her headset so she could easily dictate.
Hi Adam,
This is Amy, I’m a secret agent who has been assigned to keep track of you and all your religious nutcase friends, and your impulsive dog, too. Okay, maybe not.
“Message command: delete message.”
“Entire message?”
“Confirm.”
“Message deleted.”
Amy settled more deeply into her chair, steeling herself. “Message command: new message.”
Hi Adam,
I wanted to give you my current messaging address.
Hope your ride back to Choran went smoothly for you all.
Please give my best to Sarah, and a scritch for Levi.
I have a busy schedule at school planned. I get to learn about abnormal personalities and therapeutic methodologies. And, of course, there’s the math and writing classes I have to do also. How is life on the farm going? And how is your work doing?
Larson says hello.
Take care, Amy
Amy put the handheld down to look it over. Looks innocuous enough.
“Message command: send.”
“Sent,” the voice said.
Oh, this should be a ton of fun, she thought ironically.
CHAPTER 55:
Adam Contemplates
ADAM SAT listening to the newscast. He was in the common area, trying to relax on one of the sofas, drinking a soda, watching the news.
“Choran is preparing for the arrival of ten thousand immigrants from its sister city Konstana. In an attempt to ease some of the population pressure, several sister cities are accepting new arrivals.”
“This isn’t going to do anything,” Adam said. He threw his arms in the air out of frustration, pulled back to rescue his drink, and raked his free hand through his hair.
“Solve what?” Sarah asked, as she walked in.
Motioning at the newscast, Adam said, “They’re bringing in a bunch of darkies from Konstana.”
Sarah sighed. “You’ve been spending too much time with Simon. This is a way we can help.”
Adam looked away. “This is a way we all can sink together. What do we do when there’s nothing left?”
“We work on the problem,” she said, sighing, in a voice that said that they’d had this conversation more than twice.
“We need to make them not want to come,” Adam said, looking at the ceiling.
Sarah smiled. “And not dream of a better life? Doesn’t sound very realistic. It’s everyone’s dream, well, many people’s.”
Adam slouched back, taking another drink.
ADAM LATER walked outside and looked down at one of the border collies moving the sheep to a different pen. A corgi was doing the close-up sorting and Raphael was yelling ineffective instructions. He usually really enjoyed the comedy inherent in the situation of sheep wanting to go one way, the dogs another, and the human trying to direct, but it wasn’t touching Adam at this moment. He walked away down one of the fence lines. His fears came at him with every step. This could all be taken away from him, this life that he had come to treasure: the space, the time to contemplate and to meditate—all overrun by thousands of needy people who didn’t know how to take care of themselves. He stopped and leaned on a fencepost.
A wild turkey called in the distance. It was such an incongruous place to do cutting-edge science, but to him it was perfect, despite the struggles with dust and sanitation—the incongruity of running a farm and a laboratory side by side. As the turkey’s calling died away, clarity sank in and Adam knew what he had to do.
CHAPTER 56:
Adam Writes Amy
AMY SAT down at her desk, hoping to help Steve dictate some notes from the Sammy Malcolm case. He had found the errant wild child, but not without some unfortunate detours through the sewer lines. She was going to suggest that in general, they should consider staying above ground first and checking the closest exits.
She checked her messages. Five staff-related messages. One message from Adam Robertson.
“Noooo,” Any said, dropping her head in her hands.
“Bad news?” Yolanda asked from across the room.
“I have a message from Adam,” Amy said, glancing back at the screen, hoping that it had gone away like a bad dream.
“Oh, your other problem boyfriend.”
Amy put a hand on each temple and said, “Do not go there.”
“What’s he say?”
“Let me read it first.”
Dear Amy,
This is Adam. I miss seeing you every week at the dog park. Life here is much the same, but we’re getting 10,000 new people from our sister city Konstana, so life here might change permanently after that. Work progresses and Levi says hello.
Adam
Amy said to Yolanda, “Choran is getting ten thousand immigrants and he doesn’t sound very happy about it.”
“Anything specific?”
“No, except that they’re coming from Konstana.”
Yolanda and Amy consulted their handhelds.
Yolanda said, “Which just so happens to be in a—”
“Darker area,” Amy said. “Oh great, now I don’t know what to say.”
“Just like Catherine said, ‘be his friend.’ Chitchat.”
“Tyson says that, too. It’s supposed to relax them but it feels awkward to me.”
“I know you don’t want to hear it, but this guy is holding a torch for you and you may as well use it.”
Amy slowly shook her head. “You’re right, I didn’t want to hear that.”
Throwing one of the soft squishy balls at Amy, Yolanda said, “Come on, this is easy. Just talk with him.”
“Say what?”
Yolanda gave Amy her best duh look and said, “Ten thousand people, wow that sounds hard. How is your area going to cope with that? Ask about how the farm is, and what’s going on there. Ask how people you know there are.” She paused for a moment. “What was the woman’s name?”
“You mean Sarah?”
“Yeah, her.”
“And slip in questions about his work since that’s what we’re interested in.”
Amy looked at her dubiously, inclining her head.
“Stop that. Just treat him like a human being and not a suspect.”
Amy nodded in surrender. “Okay. I think I’m going to retreat to think about how to do this.”
Yolanda smiled. “Away you go,” she said, waving a hand.
Amy went and got a glass of water, walked into one of the private meeting rooms, and closed the door. Instead of sitting down, she paced the room, every so often looking at a scenic painting on the wall as if seeking inspiration. The woods in the painting weren’t supplying any answers, but she entertained herself with the idea of escaping into them and their peace.
Be his friend, Yolanda said. Just chitchat like I was talking to a friend.
Hi, Adam, you crazy bastard. Maybe not. She kept finding herself wanting to say that.
Amy continued staring at the painting, hoping for a muse or inspiration to appear out of the woods. Not even a squirrel chittered. She looked harder at the painting.
It showed woods over rolling hills with a creek in the distance. The painter had put the point of view up on a hill where Amy could envision someone setting down a blanket and spreading out a glorious picnic feast. Everything about the scene said peace. She could feel herself relax a little. Breathing in and then out, the bunched muscles in her neck and shoulders relaxed. Bucolic, that’s the word. That’s what this is.
Then she understood. Prejudice aside, this was what Adam didn’t want to lose: that space, that serenity, the opportunity to reflect. Well, and not to be hungry or cold, another part of her mind filled in. Or surrounded by all those ‘dark’ people who will take everything. Slow down, she told herself. Back to the picnic on the hill. Okay, I’d like a turkey with pesto sandwich, with a salad, orange juice, and a brownie for dessert. She shook her head, and said, “Argh. Stop. Focus.” This is a man who is worried about losing a way of life that he loves. She started to dictate.
Hi Adam,
I hope you are doing well. It sounds like you are facing some challenges with your area’s population increase. I trust there is a plan in place on how to adjust. While it’s an imposition, it’s a very admirable thing that your area is doing to help spread out the population.
How is your farm and your work? You mentioned that you were working on a different way of doing birth control. How is that going?
How’s Sarah? Has she gotten you to eat more tacos and burritos?
Classes here are going fine, but keeping me very busy. I have at least one crazy professor, but that’s pretty standard.
Lars says hello.
Take care,
Amy
She played it back and then sent it to Yolanda for her insight.
CHAPTER 57:
Amy Speaks with Yolanda
THE NEXT three weeks involved several back-and-forth messages between Amy and Adam. Amy was just sitting down in the office to read his most recent missive when Gimli charged in with Yolanda behind him. Referring to the exuberant corgi, Yolanda said, “I swear he likes chasing down rats and squirrels more than anything else.”
“Any success on the Meyers search?”
“Eventually—they had climbed into a neighbor’s storm cellar and when the door closed, it was too heavy for them to move.” After a beat, Yolanda looked over and asked, “So, what’s lover boy say now?”
Amy shook her head. “I do wish you wouldn’t call him that. I was just about to take a look. He’s finally talking some about his work.”
“Really?”
“He’s been saying that he thinks he’s gotten an old technique working again. The one where you could track down where someone is originally from using their DNA.”
“I don’t think that works anymore.”
“Neither does anyone else but him. He’s not going into detail, but he thinks he’s found something in DNA that doesn’t change with interbreeding.”
Yolanda got an impatient look on her face and crossed her arms. “Everything in DNA changes with interbreeding, or is there something I’m not following here?”
“You got me.”
Amy returned her attention to Adam’s most recent message.
Dear Amy,
I hope this message finds you well. Sarah and Levi say hello. I have really been making progress on my project at work and I would love to tell you more about it, but I very much want to do it in person and not via message. Could you let me know the next time you’re going to be up here and we can get together?
Regards, Adam
Amy put her head down on her desk and groaned loudly enough that Lars raised his head off the bed beside her desk.
Yolanda asked, “That good, huh?”
Amy put her forehead on her palms. “He wants to tell me something about his work project, but he wants to do it in person up there.”
Yolanda smiled, looking down. “That’s not that terrible. It’s not like you haven’t done it before.”
“I was sort of hoping I could be done with all this.”
Yolanda walked over to her desk. “I know it seems never-ending, but this could be important.”
“Or it could just be one of those ‘Would you like to come up and see my etchings?’ sort of moves.”
“Which is why you wear a wire and know Tom-Fu,” Yolanda said, holding up her arms in a fight position.
Amy glared back, but slowly broke into a smile and mimed the en garde position. “Hii-yah! Don’t come any closer, you paranoid, prejudiced dweeb.”
Yolanda dropped her arms and put her hands on the desk and leaned forward. “Or else you’re going to sic your ebony-colored friend on him.”
Amy held her hands folded to her chest, breathlessly asking, “Would you do that for me?”
“Let me check with my wife, but I’m sure it will be all right.”
“How much time do I have to ignore his message?”
“Until the other people who monitor the exchange notice. So maybe a few hours.”
Turning to Lars, Amy said, “Time for a quick run.” Lars jumped up, and out they went.
Harris poked his head in. “Er, what’s chasing Amy?” Yolanda said, “Just reality up north. She’ll be okay.”
“Ah, I see—or do I?”
“I think we’ll all be talking about it in a couple of hours. You have access to that account, take a look.”
Harris sat down at his desk and spent some time taking a look. “I wonder how serious this is.”
“Or is it an elaborate ploy for a date?” Yolanda asked.
Harris, who understood obsessing on a technical issue, pursed his lips, putting a finger to them. “Well, he seems pretty dedicated to his work and sounds excited about it, so it’s probably not just a romantic thing. Sounds like Amy gets a field trip.”
“Hence, the running out the door.”
Harris laughed. “Well, I’m glad that it’s her and not me. I’ll flag it for Catherine’s attention.”
Yolanda thought for a moment. “Amy’s going to say that it’s in character to play hard to get.”
Harris said, “Amy’s going to say it’s in better character to play: I don’t give a fuck.”
“No, really, she’s going to say that she shouldn’t go running up there right away since she’s a busy student.”
“Quarter break is coming up; maybe that works.” He stretched and messed with his hopeless hair. “It’s so much easier to plan out someone else’s work schedule.”
“Great, do mine, too. On second thought, don’t.”
CHAPTER 58:
They Arrive at Choran
AS THE sound of the plane engine started to die down, Amy, Yolanda, and Steve exited down the side stairs. The sky was clear, with a few scattered, light-duty cumulus clouds. Tyson the Fed was standing on the tarmac. Markus from the Choran office of Locate and Investigate was beside him.
Amy walked up, an inquisitive look on her face. “Meeting on the tarmac?”
“I didn’t want us to forget in the confusion. Here’s your wire,” he said, handing her a soft zippered bag.
“I guess I still have to wear that?”
“Especially now,” he said.
She noticed that, while he again was not in a suit, he was wearing rough-and-ready khaki pants and a collared short-sleeve polo shirt that he was filling out very nicely. She also realized that, in their entire crew, probably only Yolanda, who reserved her appreciation of the human body to just women, wouldn’t notice. Amy said a silent prayer that they’d be on good behavior.
Indicating with her arm, she said, “Agent Tyson, this is LAI Agent Steve Holzar and LAI Agent Yolanda Danimeyer.”
They shook hands and Tyson immediately said, “Please call me Tyson.”
“Likewise, I’m just Steve and this is …” Yolanda stared at him, daring him to make a smart remark at his peril. “This is … Yolanda.”
Yolanda said, “Pleased to meet you, Tyson.”
After a pause, Markus appeared in Steve’s peripheral vision.
Steve tur
ned his head, looking right at him and holding his hands outstretched. “Sweety!”
Markus held out his hand loosely in the air in front of him, as if to preclude a frontal assault. “Darling. It’s been so long.”
Steve bent down to take his hand. “My heart aches at your absence. Counting the hours.”
Yolanda turned to Amy, arm bent, pointing at them with an upturned palm. “And how many seconds did it take them to undermine any credibility we’ve built over the years?”
Amy looked at a smiling Tyson. “Negative four seconds.”
Tyson said, “Don’t worry. It’s not like we’re serious all the time.”
“Yes, but you’re serious at least part of the time.” Amy said to Steve and Markus, with a lift of her eyebrows, “While you two are trying to figure out what to do about your doomed non-romance, would you unload Pearl, please?” They could hear the Labrador’s tail whacking the sides of her crate. Yolanda had already carried down Gimli’s smaller crate, and Amy was heading back in for Lars. The pilot had been unloading some of their bags.
As they headed out to the vehicles, Tyson said, “Quite the party we have here.”
Amy said, “Yes, we had to take a real plane with an actual pilot. I’m trying not to worry about the spectacle we’re causing. This is likely the most excitement that’s happened for six months and word will get around.”
Tyson said, “I’m here because this is my case, how about everyone else?”
Amy replied, “I can’t do the monthly check-in with the Charon office while I’m working on your case, and Yolanda and Steve couldn’t decide who should go, so they both decided to come up, citing that they’d feel better if they were here.”
Tyson smiled, gesturing to the surroundings. “I didn’t know we were such an attraction.”
“Somehow I think a side trip to Soundside is hoped for, but I can’t be sure,” she said, grinning.
They headed over to the Choran office and squeezed into the small meeting room.