"We aren't killing the children." The other man put down his fork, having finished his meal despite the distasteful topic. Another betraying act. Soldiers ate when they could. "We're responsible because we're too good at identifying them. At which point, somebody is betraying that information to the others."
Clay couldn't figure out one thing. "From what I know, Shine has a lot of political power - why didn't you push harder with Enforcement?"
"It's not a secure system - leaks happen on an hourly basis." Santos took a long drink of water. "We chose Max because he has a natural shield against Psy interference and integrity. There aren't many like him. To pressure Enforcement would've done more harm than good in this case."
"Why?" Talin insisted. "No one else is doing anything to find these kids."
"On the contrary, we've been trying from the start." His skin pulled taut over his cheekbones. "But our enemy is too good at hiding. That's why we've stopped recruiting."
"I wondered about that," Talin murmured. "You haven't sent out street teams for months."
"We can't risk fingering any more children." He shook his head. "We're also trying to protect the ones already in our system, but you know these kids. Most of them move to their own rhythms."
Talin didn't argue. "What can you tell us?"
"They're being taken because of their abilities."
"We already knew that," Talin responded.
"We think the Psy are taking them."
Clay kept his face expressionless in spite of that unexpected bit of news. "Why?"
"These children represent the best humanity has to offer. They are the brightest stars in our arsenal - a potential threat to Psy power." He nodded at Talin. "Your ability to remember everything you ever see is almost a Psy ability in itself."
True enough as far as that went, but Clay didn't buy it. Neither, it seemed, did Talin. "There are gifted kids around the world. Heck, a lot of them are in special schools, ripe for the picking. Why take only Shine children?"
"Because" - Santos's tone turned bitter - "we've painted bull's-eyes on their backs."
An answer that told them exactly nothing, Clay thought. "Why the interest in DarkRiver?"
"You have Psy connections." The other man leaned back in his chair but continued to keep both hands in view. "Your alpha is mated to a cardinal. Sascha Duncan's mother, Nikita, is a Councilor."
"That relationship has been terminated," Clay said, knowing he was betraying no secrets. Nikita had made it publicly clear that she no longer considered Sascha her daughter.
"You also have Faith NightStar, the strongest F-Psy in the world. She has ongoing links with the PsyNet."
"She subcontracts her services." Clay shrugged. "She's not in the Net." The biggest information archive in the world, it could only be accessed by those Psy uplinked to it. Sascha and Faith had both cut that link on their defection to DarkRiver.
"That doesn't mean she's not in touch with others who are uplinked." He paused but Clay remained silent. "The deciding factor is that DarkRiver has shown itself both capable of, and willing to, go up against the Psy. The foundation's backers believe you may prove amenable to helping us mount a search and rescue operation for the children."
"You had to have followed me to get to Clay, so you know the pack's already agreed to help," Talin said, cutting through the bullshit in her direct way. "You could've told us your theories in a simple call."
Santos's lips curved at her arch reference to the fact that he hadn't given them anything worth shit. "I wanted to express the foundation's support of DarkRiver's actions. You will have our total cooperation."
"We want to put people inside Shine to weed out the spy," Clay said.
"We can't allow that, but we're taking all possible measures to corner the culprit."
"Nice definition of total cooperation," Talin muttered.
"So, in a nutshell - you have nothing we don't already know and you came to give us permission?" Clay let the leopard's arrogance out to play. "Is that right?"
Santos's hand fisted against the tablecloth. "There are things we're not ready to share."
"How about the complete files on the missing kids?" Talin's tone was harsh. "The ones you gave Max are doctored."
Santos couldn't hide his surprise this time. "You don't simply remember everything, do you, Talin? You rearrange the pieces until you find a pattern. I forgot that aspect of your abilities."