Its about time.
I am deeply sorry for the wait. My name is Mr. Mkele. He gestured to Kiras chair, pulled the other a few feet away, and sat down. Please, sit.
You have no right to hold me in here
I apologize if you got that impression, said Mkele. We are not holding you here, it was simply my desire to keep you safe while you waited. Did they bring you food?
They havent brought me anything.
They were supposed to bring you food. Again, I apologize.
Kira eyed him carefully, her anger at being locked in the room for so long turning slowly into suspicion. Why Mr.? she asked. Dont you have a rank?
Im not in the military, Ms. Walker.
Youre in a military installation.
So are you.
Kira kept her face rigid, trying not to frown. Something about this man irked her. Hed done nothing but speak to her calmly, a model of manners and courtesy, and yet . . . she couldnt put her finger on it. She glanced at the chair he had offered, but stayed standing and folded her arms. You say you locked me in here to keep me safe. What from?
The man raised his eyebrow. Thats an interesting question from someone who just got back from no-mans-land. My understanding is that someone tried to blow you up not two days ago.
Not me personally, but yeah.
My official title, Ms. Walker, is head of intelligencenot for the military but for the entire island, which in practice means Im the head of intelligence for the entire human race. My job today is to ensure that there is still a human race tomorrow, and I do that by knowing things. Consider, if you will, the things we know now. He held up his hand, counting on his fingers. One: Someone, potentially the Voice or, heaven help us, the Partials, has enacted another successful assault on East Meadow forces. Two: That someone is highly proficient with explosives and perhaps radio technology. Three: That person has killed a minimum of three people. Now. Given the ominous nature of these few, small things we do know, I think youll agree that the massive number of things we dont know is, to put it mildly, incredibly troubling.
Well, yeah, said Kira, nodding, of course. But Im not in no-mans-land anymoreIm in a military base. Thats got to be, like, the safest place on the island.
Mkele watched her calmly. Have you ever seen a Partial, Miss Walker?
In person? No. I was only five during the war, and no ones seen any since then.
How can you be sure?
Kira frowned. What do you mean? No ones seen one in years, theyre . . . well, Im alive, for one thing, so apparently none of them have seen me either.
Let us assume, said Mr. Mkele, just for the moment, that whatever the Partials are planning is larger in scope than the murder of one teenage girl.
You dont have to be insulting about it.
Again, I apologize.
So is that really what this is about? Kira asked, with more than a hint of exasperation. Partials? Really? Dont we have more important threats to deal with?
If a Partial were planning something big, he said, ignoring her question, some insidious attack on us or our resources or any other aspect of our lives, the most effective way would be to infiltrate us directly. They look exactly like us; they could walk among us without any fear of discovery. Youre a medic; you should know this as well as anyone.
Kira frowned. The Partials are gone, Mr. Mkelethey backed us up onto this island and then disappeared. No one has seen one anywherenot here, not on the border, not anywhere.
Mkele flashed a small, mocking smile. The innocent complacence of a plague baby. You say you were five when the Partials rebelled; the world you see is the only world youve ever known. How much of the rebellion do you remember, Ms. Walker? How much of the old world? Do you know what even one Partial is capable of, much less an entire battalion?
We have bigger problems than the Partials, said Kira again, trying not to lose her cool. It felt like the same old attitude she got at the hospitalfrom every adult, really, a stubborn, brutal insistance on dealing with yesterdays problems instead of todays. The Partials destroyed the world, I know, but that was eleven years ago, and then they disappeared, and meanwhile RM is continuing to kill our children, tensions are rising because of the Hope Act, the Voice are out there raiding farms and stealing supplies, and I dont think
The Voice, said Mkele, look even more human than the Partials.
Whats your point?
This is the point, Ms. Walker. The Partials may indeed be gone, but they hardly need stage an outright attack on the island if tensions between the settlement and the Voice progress any further. RM is performing a more insidious function than even the Partials devised: our inability to produce healthy children and the measures weve subsequently taken to try to deal with it
You mean the Hope Act.
Among other things, yes . . . they are tearing the island apart. I have a hard time believing that what happened to your team yesterday didnt have something to do with this, and unless there is overwhelming evidence to the contrary, Im going to assume that it was part of a plan to destabilize the human civilization and thus to hasten our extinction.
You are an incredibly paranoid person.
Mkele tilted his head to the side. Ive been charged, as I said, with the safety of the human race. Its my job to be paranoid.
Kiras patience was wearing thin.
Fine, thenlets get this over with. What do you want to know?
Tell me about the veterinary clinic.
What?
The clinic you and Marcus Valencio were assigned to salvagetell me what you saw there.
I thought you wanted to know about the bomb.
I have already spoken to other witnesses who were present both before and during the explosion, and their information trumps yours in that area. The clinic, on the other hand, you experienced directly. Tell me about it.
It was a clinic, said Kira, searching for something interesting to say. It was the same as every clinic we salvageold, smelly, falling apart. There was a pack of dogs living in it, and, um . . . what else do you want to know?
Did you see any dogs when you were there?
No, why? Is that important?
I have no idea, said Mkele, though it does seem odd that a pack of wild dogs would fail to defend their home against a group of invaders.
I guess so, said Kira. Maybe the salvage group that went through a few days earlier scared them all off.
Its possible.
Um, what else . . . , said Kira. We started on the meds, and then the bomb went off after just a few minutes, so we didnt get a chance to test the X-ray machine.
So you saw the front exterior, the foyer, and the medicine storage.
Kira nodded. Yeah.
Did you see anything out of the ordinary?
Nothing comes to mind. Except . . . She paused, remembering the marks in the dust. Now that you mention it, the pill bottles had all been messed with before we got there.
Messed with?
Moved, said Kira, like someone had gone through them or something. Like they were looking for something.
Moved, said Kira, like someone had gone through them or something. Like they were looking for something.
How recently?
Not very long. There were smudges and tracks and marks all through the dust, both up in the cupboard and down on the counter.
It could have been, as you suggested with the dogs, the grunt salvage crew that went through before you.
I guess, said Kira, but Ive never seen any of the grunt crews go through the meds like that.
Mr. Mkele pursed his lips, thinking. Do any of the drugs you found there have recreational uses?
You think one of the grunts was trying to get high?
It is one of many possibilities, yes.
Kira closed her eyes, racking her brain to remember the names of the medicines. Im not sureits all kind of rote at this point, you know? You know which ones last and which ones dont, and you toss them in the piles without really thinking about it. But these vet clinics always have painkillers, stuff like Rimadyl, and a big enough dose of almost any painkiller will get you high. It might also kill you, though, unless you use the military nanoparticle stuff that obviously wouldnt be in a veterinary clinic. Aside from that, though . . . She paused, thinking. If she were a Voice, living in the wilderness and getting into fights with the Defense Grid, shed have bigger concerns than recreational painkillers. She started to see where Mkele was coming from, and thought about the clinic as a military target. Clinics like that have a lot of meds a group of rebels might find really useful, she said. Antibiotics, antiparasitics, flea powders and shampoostheres any number of things a band of forest raiders could make good use of.
Interesting, said Mkele. Youll have to forgive my ignorance on the subject of veterinary clinics, but do you think theres any way to find a record of their inventory? It might be possible to determine, within a small margin of error, exactly what might have been present, missing, or tampered with.
I doubt they have anything on paper, said Kira, but the clinic had a computer system. You could hook it up to a generator and hope they stored their inventory on the hard drive. If they stored it on an exterior network, youre probably out of luck. They used computers in the hospital, thanks to the solar panels, but the old world had used them for everything, all linked together in a worldwide network Kira couldnt even fathom. It had collapsed along with the power grid, and everything on it had been lost forever.
Well do that, said Mkele, nodding. Is there anything else you think might help us?
Kira shrugged. If I remember anything, Ill be sure to let you know.
Thank you very much for your time, said Mkele, gesturing to the door. Youre free to go.
Private Brown drove Kira home in a small wagon, and she sat in the back holding tightly to Marcuss hand. Jayden and his soldiers were staying for more debriefing. She didnt see Gianna or Tovar.
It was nearing twilight, and the rocking of the wagon was putting Marcus to sleep. Kira watched as his head drooped, nodding, then jerked up as he came awake, then slowly dropped again. Over and over. The horses hoofbeats echoed dully off the empty houses, but as they drew closer to the populated area, Kira saw the familiar signs of human activity: painted houses, mowed lawns, roofs that were still standing. East Meadow. Kira watched closely for the gleam of reflected light, and smiled when she saw it: glass windows. Everywhere else on the island the windows had been shattered by cats and birds and weather and the uneven shifting as wooden walls rotted around them. Not here. Here the windows were protected and cared for, and most were still as clean and clear as a piece of solid sky. Out in the wilderness there were thieves and the Voice and the dying carcass of an entire world.
Here, there were glass windows.
Wake up, sleepyhead, said Kira, bumping Marcuss ear with her shoulder. Were almost home.
I didnt order sushi.
What?
Marcus opened his eyes warily. What did I say?
Nothing I have to smack you for. Youre lucky you were dreaming about food instead of girls.
Im male, said Marcus, rubbing his eyes. It was a fifty-fifty shot.
Our overnight vacation turned into two days, a Voice attack, and a military debrief, said Kira. You think well get in trouble for missing work today at the hospital?
The Defense Grid must have told them what was going on, said Marcus, stretching the kinks from his neck. I figure if we even try to go in for the rest of the day, theyll send us home with ration packs of chicken soup.
Kira laughed. That sounds like an excellent reason not to go in.
Marcus grinned and looked at the sun. Not much daylight left, anyway. And if theyd send us home from the day shift, theres no way theyd let us work the night.
Then its settled, said Kira, shifting her weight on the hard floor of the wagon. Im going to head home, get cleaned up, and fall asleep. I might wake up for the party this weekend, but Im not making any promises.
I wouldnt miss that party for the world, said Marcus. Xochis gonna make a chickena real, live chicken. Though I suppose it wont be live for long. Ill even pluck the scabby thing myself.
You think her mother will be there?
Senator Kessler? asked Marcus, his jaw falling open in disbelief. Xochi owns a gun nowKessler wont get anywhere near the place.
Kira laughed and nodded. She hoped Xochi wouldnt actually shoot her adopted motherbut she couldnt be sure.
Just bring something to share this time, said Kira, turning back to Marcus and tapping him pointedly in the chest. Im not covering for you like last time.
That was a one-time thing, said Marcus, laughing, and it wasnt last time, it was four times ago, and Ive covered your share way more than that.
Im just saying, said Kira, poking him again in the chest, I dont want my good-for-nothing, freeloader boyfriend to make me look bad in front of everybody. Again. She poked him one last time, glared at him playfully, then poked him again for good measure.
Do you poke all the boys, or am I special?
She leaned closer. Its just you. She kissed him on the cheek. Until somebody better comes along.
Marcus put his hand on the back of her head and pulled her in for another kiss, on the mouth this time, slow and soft and perfect. Kira pressed herself closer, feeling his body against hers, thinking about what hed said at the clinic. Was it time? Was she ready?
Guys, said Brown, Im like two feet away.
Kira pulled back, embarrassed. Sorry.
Im not, said Marcus. Totally worth it.
You said the blue house, right? Brown pointed ahead to the row of houses, and Kira recognized her street.
Yeah, the blue ones mine.
Brown nodded. Is Romeo getting off with you?
I would, said Marcus, but Nandita wouldnt let me in anyway. Im just two streets over, if you can do it.