"Why would I need to be there?"
Karl frowned. "I've been doing some research on Shadow Walkers. If O'Hearn's samples match what I've seen in the test results from Finley, she's definitely got Walker in her."
How could that be possible, when Walker's were little more than myths? "That still doesn't explain why my presence is needed."
"Her appointment's at five. Be there and I'll explain."
Obviously, he had no intention of explaining anything over the unsecured vid-phone. He blew out a breath. "Fine. I'll see you there, then."
The vidscreen went black again. Gabriel stared up at the ceiling, part of him wanting to get up and head for the gym, and the other half desperate to go back to sleep. The phone rang before he could decide between them. Didn't anyone sleep in these days?
Frowning, he shifted and checked out the caller ID. It was Sandy. He reached out to answer the call, then hesitated and pressed the auto-answer button instead.
"Morning, Gabe. Seeing we've both got the day off, thought we might get together."
Her voice was mellow, sultry, but for once it had little effect on him. Maybe he was more tired than he'd thought. Maybe he was simply getting old.
"Give me a call when you wake up," she continued. "Lunch is my treat."
Her words invoked memories of the last time she'd treated lunch. Eating hadn't exactly come into it, and damn if it hadn't been fun. Again he reached out. Again he hesitated.
If he went and saw Sandy, he'd have a hard time breaking away anytime before dinner. He couldn't go there simply for sex and then walk away. It wasn't fair to her, no matter how casual either of them were about their relationship.
Better for them both if he simply didn't respond. He rubbed a hand across his eyes and climbed out of bed. Seeing he had nothing else planned for today, he might as well grab the chance to exercise, then head down to Federation Headquarters.
Surely, somewhere in the vast archives there, he'd find something about Shadow Walkers.
* * * Sam tucked a leg beneath her as she sat on the sofa. After placing her coffee on the table, she grabbed the portable com- unit and pressed her thumb into the lock.
"Voice identification required," the unit stated.
"Sam Ryan, SIU officer, badge number 1934."
Talking still hurt, but nowhere near as much as it had only hours before. Though her mouth felt tender, the swelling had at least gone down, and the bruise that stretched from her lip to her eye was already beginning to get that faded, yellow look. Even the cut had begun to heal.
At least she looked less like a boxer that had taken too many hits and more like something a cat had dragged in and toyed with for several hours. It was a definite improvement, but not yet enough of one.
"Voice scan correct. Eye confirmation required."
She looked into the small scanner fitted into the left-hand side of the unit. A red beam swept over her eye.
"Eye scan correct." The unit clicked open.
Izzy appeared onscreen. "Morning sweetness. Being portable is a new experience, I must say."
Sam grinned. Having her cyber character on the unit was an unexpected bonus. She'd thought Stephan would place voice- only response software on the portable unit—both he and Gabriel seemed to prefer it. Maybe he wasn't as insensitive as she'd thought.
"Morning Iz. Listen, I asked for a trace to be done on a gray haired man last night. The results back yet?"
Izzy twirled her purple boa for several seconds. "Yep. Got it right here. No ID match so far."
She frowned. How could there be no match? The man had to exist on a computer somewhere. "They checked the Motor Registration records?"
"No car registration, no driver's license or Medicare card match."
Every adult in Australia had a Medicare card. You couldn't go to the doctor without one these days. She picked up her coffee and sipped at it for several seconds.
"What about the shooter?"