Brynner looked away, staring out the window. “Dad kept journals. Lots of them. Every day of his life. He used to write in Latin, or Russian. When he joined the BSI, he switched to hieroglyphics.”
“Didn’t you say he wrote your chore list in hieroglyphics?”
For a moment, a smile worked its way back onto his face. “I didn’t say I did my chores.”
That was my kind of extra hours. I gave him a courteous nod. “I’ll pass on the fieldwork, but the journals I can help with. Have them sent to my branch by secure courier; I’ll make it my top priority. Depending on how many and how long they are, full translation with annotation could take days or weeks.”
Brynner looked to the director, something passing between them I couldn’t decode.
Director Bismuth shook her head. “Heinrich Carson’s effects are held by his sister-in-law, in New Mexico. The BSI is not permitted to remove them, or indeed, to access them under normal conditions. I’d like you to go on-site and do the translation there. We’re looking for a Canopic jar that was in Heinrich Carson’s possession. It seems reasonable to think the location would be recorded in one of them. Probably one of the last ones.”
Though the opportunity could change everything about my situation, I had other obligations. “I can’t.”
Brynner nodded in agreement. “It doesn’t matter. Aunt Emelia won’t let her in the house, since she’s BSI. I’m not even sure she’d let me in.”
Director Bismuth smiled, as though he’d just fallen into her trap. “Your aunt will most certainly allow Ms. Roberts access if you bring her home with you to meet them.”
“No!” We shouted in unison, then looked at each other.
He spoke first. “I’m not going back there. I’d rather quit. What happened to not going out on assignment until the shrink said so?”
The thought of Brynner stretched out on a couch made me laugh, and wonder for an instant what he’d look like relaxed, instead of coiled like a spring.
“You wouldn’t quit. Ever.” The director gave him a smug smile. “This job is your life. I believe our psychiatrist said you wouldn’t be choosing any assignments until he signed off. This one isn’t your choice.” She looked from him to me. “And you. I’m not asking you to sleep with him. In fact, Mr. Carson is forbidden to enter into relationships with BSI employees. I’m ordering you to travel to New Mexico, read through some dusty books, and phone in your reports. Field operative pay.”
She didn’t understand. I picked my words carefully. “I have weekly obligations in Portland. I have to be there every Friday.” I didn’t add that I had to pay in cash because I’d bounced so many checks. “And I don’t want to get killed.”
Brynner rolled his eyes. “Yeah, because New Mexico is a real hotbed of meat-skin activity.”
Director Bismuth leaned in and whispered, “I grasp your problem. You need to pay for your daughter’s nursing care.”
I almost died of embarrassment. My daughter and her condition were my business, not Brynner Carson’s or anyone else’s.
Director Bismuth ignored my chagrin. “I might point out that this job would more than pay for your considerable debt, and wire transfers are a normal method many people use. Never mind, Ms. Roberts. I’ll consult the Northern California office translator instead.”
She turned on her heel, and I reached out, grabbing her elbow. “Wait.”
“Yes, Ms. Roberts?”
“I’ll do it.” A wave of adrenaline and relief washed over me.
She nodded in satisfaction. “The two of you will leave immediately.”
Five
GRACE
“Immediately,” in my book, meant “right after you get home from Seattle, where you can make arrangements, pack a change of clothes, and generally speaking, get ready for a trip to New Mexico.” In the director’s mind, immediately meant “on the next flight out of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.”
Brynner tugged on the director’s elbow like a preschooler. “I need four hours. Armor’s not ready.”
“Didn’t you just tell Ms. Robers ‘New Mexico is not a hotbed of co-org activity’? Go with her, and let her assist us in finding out what your father did with the heart. I don’t know what importance it has, but if a Re-Animus wants it, I want it more.” Director Bismuth gathered her papers and left the room.
Brynner waited until the door closed to speak. “You have a daughter. How old?” He tilted his head, a warm smile on his lips.
I knew exactly where giving in to smiles and charms led. “How about we make a deal? I don’t