“No.” She swiveled the chair and stabbed a finger at him. “No. We’re finished with them.” She stood up a little bit at a time, as if all her joints protested the move. “They are not taking our world away from us.”
“Amen,” whispered Ben. Michael whipped around to stare at him.
“That’s not the word I’d use.” Helen smoothed her scarf down. “Michael, someone here sent the committee that photograph. I want you to find out who.”
“Does it really matter?” Michael spread his hands.
“It matters!” Helen began to shake. “The U.N. is about to take Venera away from us and one of our own people is trying to help them!” Her fists clenched involuntarily.
Michael licked his lips. “Okay, Helen. I agree, we need to know who sent that picture, but just so we can head off a complete takeover. We can tell the C.A.C. somebody’s been spreading lies and then they’ll—”
“And then they’ll still conclude we are even more out of control than they thought we were and come up with a few extra security people,” said Helen bitterly. “It’s done, Michael. Whatever spin can be put on that photo, it’s not going to change anything. They are coming and they are taking over.” She smoothed down her scarf. “I just want to know who it was so we can keep them out of the info loop. Start with Grace Meyer. She might just have done it to see me out of here.”
“Helen, we don’t know—”
“Then find out!” Helen’s fist slammed against the wall. “That’s your job!”
“All right, Helen, all right,” said Ben. “We’ll find out for you. Don’t worry about it.”
“Good. Good.” The tide of her more-than-anger subsided in her a little. “While you’re doing that, I’m going down to the surface to talk to our neighbors. We’re going to need them. Ben, have a couple of pilots meet me in the hangar, and warn Josh and Vee I’m coming down.”
She left the office without looking back. Michael stared after her as she walked down the stairs and began crossing the farm, with her shoulders hunched and her hands knotted.
He turned to Ben. “What are we going to do?”
Ben shrugged. “I’m going to send a message to Dr. Hatch and Dr. Kenyon. I assumed you were going to start checking out whether Grace Meyer gave the C.A.C. that photo.”
Disbelief flooded Michael. “Ben, she’s over the edge. She doesn’t know what she’s doing.”
“Yes, she does.” Michael could practically hear the finally Ben added in his thoughts. “She’s saving her home, and she’s asking us to do the same.”
Michael’s hands fell to his sides. You’re on your own now, Michael, whispered a voice in the back of his mind. He’s gone with Helen or taken her with him.
“All right,” he heard his own voice say. “But you’d better hope I don’t find out you sent that picture.”
Ben’s jaw tightened, just a little, but he said nothing. He just turned and left, following Helen’s path across the farms.
Michael rested one hand on the windowpane and tried to think, but before he could sort out what had just happened, his phone spot chimed. Michael touched it to take the message, a little relieved.
“Code 360-A,” said a recorded voice.
Michael swore under his breath and rounded Helen’s desk. It woke up when he touched the command board and he shuffled her icons until he got the security overview and entered his own passwords. The desk took a reading of his fingerprints and let him in.
360-A was unauthorized access to com archives. Yes, there it was, the serial number. It didn’t use Venera’s ID system. Probably a briefcase jacked into the system for somebody’s fishing expedition. Probably Stykos and Wray trying to get their story out. Maybe Peachman, but he didn’t seem like he had the expertise, although he certainly had the love of publicity. They’d tripped one of Michael’s bugs, and it had pinged their case and dumped the report for him.
He couldn’t really blame them. Somebody had to try. In their place he’d have done the same. Maybe he could have Helen talk to them again. He glanced toward the door. Or maybe not. Helen was not at top form right now.
So, where are you? He typed in the appropriate commands. The answer appeared a split second later.
The infirmary? Michael frowned. Who’d…
Michael swore again, loudly this time. He tossed down the command to shut the intruding case terminal out of the com files and ran out the door.
By the time he reached the infirmary cubicle, Angela and Philip had their briefcase packed away, and they both had the nerve to look affronted.