The look he gave her indicated his estimation of her mental acuity had just taken a header. Vee grinned. “Got it. You want to see what the aliens left too.”
“Don’t get me wrong, I love my work.” He tugged on his cap’s brim. “I always wanted to be out in space, but there are days when I’m very aware that I’m really just a glorified weatherman.” His eyes grew distant. “This is the stuff we’ve forgotten to dream about.”
Vee felt her grin widen. Joshua Kenyon, you’re a romantic! I thought they’d put the last of your kind into zoos. “I don’t see how there could be any problem with it. It’s not as if…” She cut herself off but glanced around the room. There was Troy, glad-handing yet another patient Veneran with Lindi trailing behind him. There was Julia at the buffet, being photographed by Terry, and there was Robert, staring straight at her while Isaac seemed to be occupied in keeping as many bodies between him and that window as possible.
“As if?” asked Josh.
One corner of Vee’s mouth turned up. “As if they’ve overloaded us with skilled workers. And I include myself in that.” She slumped backwards and stared at her plate with its blue bits of pastry. “I swear, I don’t know what they were thinking when they picked this bunch.”
Josh looked at her carefully. “You really want to know?”
Vee thought about it for a minute. “Yes,” she said.
Josh sighed, lifted his cap, smoothed his hair down, and replaced it. “Because you’re harmless.”
“What?” Vee straightened up slowly, uncertain that she’d really heard those words.
“I talked to some of the other atmosphere people about the U.N. team. I was wondering the same thing. Turns out that Grandma Helen pulled a whole set of strings to make sure whoever the U.N. sent up wouldn’t be able to do much in the way of actual investigation. She wanted all the glory, and all the publications and the money, to go to Venerans.”
Vee’s face flushed. Anger gathered in the back of her mind. The real work to the Venerans. That she understood. But there was plenty to go around. There had to be. Wanted to get a team that couldn’t do much…brought her up here not because they respected her skills, but because they suspected she lacked them. Just another pretty popularizer. Just another stupid face.
Vee’s jaw clamped down so hard her teeth started to ache. She stood.
“Vee…” began Josh. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have—”
“Don’t worry about it,” she said without looking at him. Her gaze swept the room until it fastened on Helen Failia, who didn’t think she knew enough. Who didn’t think she could do this job and had her handpicked because of that.
Vee strode across the room, barely seeing where she was going.
Slow down, Vee. Slow down! This is not going to do anyone any good, especially you. She stopped in her tracks. Her chest had tightened, and she was breathing way too hard. Stop and think what you’re doing. You throw a fit now, and you’ll just be proving their point.
In the back of her mind she heard Rosa’s voice: “Be careful what you pretend to be.”
Vee turned away from Failia, hoping the woman hadn’t noticed her angry approach and abrupt change of plan. Evidently not. No one came up to her as she found an empty table and sat. The cameras were occupied; so were the other U.N. investigators, with each other and the cameras and with the whole wide cloudscape, and not one of them knew why they were here.
I’m gonna kill her. Vee bowed her head into one hand. I’m gonna kill myself. What was I thinking? I actually believed—
“Dr. Hatch?”
Vee looked up. Terry Wray stood over her.
“If this little tableau turns up in-stream—”
“It’s off, it’s off,” Terry reassured her, lifting her hair out of the way so Vee could see the band was well and truly dark. “But are you okay?”
Vee pushed her veil back over her shoulders. “Not right now, but I will be.”
“Okay, good.” Terry smiled. “You’re one of my star attractions. I’d hate it if you stomped off or anything.”
“Oh no,” replied Vee sweetly. “They’re not getting rid of me that easily.” A thought struck her. “Terry, can I use you shamelessly for a minute?”
A whole variety of expressions crossed Terry’s face from amused curiosity to interested calculation. “As long as we stay in public, sure.”
Vee squeezed her hand. “Turn that thing back on, and when I start talking to Helen Failia, come up and start paying attention, okay?”