Zack stared at him blankly. “What … did you have in mind? I mean, there are other kids her age—”
“No,” Winter said with a firm shake of the head. “None of them work for us; they are … unreliable in this.” Somehow he made the word unreliable sound like it was the worst thing that anyone could ever be.
“Unreliable for what?” Zack’s face was slack yet expectant. He had no idea.
“From the housing record,” Winter said, watching Zack carefully, “we can assume she has lived in the same home for something on the order of twelve years. From your report, it would appear that the girl has been isolated from the outside world, from exposure to others.” He didn’t blink, his cold blue eyes shining with a glow that was otherworldly. “She has had no friends, no family but her mother, who is best described as cold,” Winter appeared to savor the hint of irony present in him calling someone else cold, “and has no romantic attachments.”
Zack’s mouth was slightly open, just short of agape. “That’s tragic. But what do you want me to do about it?”
“I want you to give her a romantic attachment,” Winter said bluntly.
“I’m sorry, what?” Zack blinked, and his head cocked slightly to the side.
“She will not know people,” Winter said, “not truly. She has no connection with anyone. I want you to form a connection with her. Be friendly. Be more. Give her a reason to want to stay.”
The gears were ratcheting in Zack’s mind, it was obvious from the barely concealed disbelief written on his face. “You want me to … pretend to be her friend?”
“No,” Winter said, “I want you to genuinely be her friend. And if the opportunity arises, I want you try for more—a romantic relationship.”
“Jesus,” Zack breathed. “The girl is seventeen.”
“I have no care for her age, only her importance.”
There was a long pause as Zack studied the floor, his shoes, everything but the man sitting across the desk from him. “I … uh … I don’t know how to say this. I appreciate everything you’ve done for me, hiring me and all. I recognize that this is a very good job, especially compared to what some of my classmates ended up with, but—”
“You are reluctant to infiltrate the confidences of a seventeen year old girl.” Old Man Winter stared at him, knowingly.
“It doesn’t seem right,” Zack said. “She’s—”
“She will be dead within a month unless she remains here,” Old Man Winter said. “Or a captive of Wolfe, which will be no great kindness. Read his file. Watch the interrogation as Ariadne speaks with Sienna. I suspect you will see a defiant persona, one hesitant to trust. I ask you to act in her best interests, to keep her here and safe from harm.”
Zack ran a hand through his hair, and the strands slipped through his fingers a few at a time. “I don’t know. I mean … she’s so young … “
“Of course, with this assignment,” Old Man Winter said, “would come some additional benefits—a raise in pay, a promotion, the knowledge that your career with us is a very serious business for you. It would be an opportunity for you to prove yourself, to prove that you are capable of more complex assignments than simple … agent work.”
I saw Zack swallow, his Adam’s apple bobbing in his throat. “Yeah. Yeah, okay. It’d be like undercover work.” I watched him go through a series of thoughts in his head, and I knew he was rationalizing something that he didn’t really want to do. I’d seen the same look from him when I asked him to go with me to the mall. “That makes sense. And it’s for her own good, after all. But uh … I mean, with a seventeen-year-old … I don’t know that I feel comfortable with a romantic situation—”
“She is innocent,” Old Man Winter said, his eyes slitting at Zack. “I doubt you will need to do much to gain her confidence other than show her some attention and perhaps some minor affection. Keep in mind that you will be the first person other than her mother to try and establish any connection with her.”
“All right,” Zack said, and his voice was a little stronger now. I could see the doubt percolating behind his eyes, but he nodded. “I can talk with her, try and … sway her decision to stay, or at least try.”