第10节

y miniature video cameras too.

Way back - it seemed a lifetime ago - when he was returning in chains

on the shuttle to Grand Central to face a Board of Assessors and a

charge of desertion, Roz had reached out to him over the mind-bridge,

warning him to be careful and telling him that they were watching

her.

And it hadn't been some meat-loaf dogging her footsteps. When they'd

showered side by side aboard Red River, Roz had told him of the

videotapes Karlstrom had played back to her. Tapes which recorded the

wounds that appeared in her face at the same moment Steve submitted to

a Plainfolk test of courage known as 'biting the arrow'. There had

even been a hidden camera trained on her while she was asleep!

Standing under or close to running water appeared to be the only way to

have an untaped head-to-head. And you could bet your ass that the

Family had come to the same conclusion and were working on that one

too.

Sub-aqua conversations might be safe for the moment but they weren't a

viable option in the present situation.

It would look a bit odd, to say the least, if he suddenly took to

scrubbing himself down at the Life Institute in the next shower stall

to an enemy prisoner. Because that - despite the relative luxury of

her surroundings - was what Clearwater was.

The medical skills of the Federation were dedicated to making her

whole, but those same skills were also being used to scrutinise every

aspect of her physiology. Bone, organs, tissue, every nerve, brain and

blood cell had come under or was due for microscopic examination.

Clearwater was the first really powerful summoner to fall into the

hands of the Federation. Before her capture, to reinforce his image as

a loyal soldier-citizen, Steve had already told Karlstrom about some of

the things he'd seen her do - including her feats of magic at the Heron

Pool. Which was just as well, because his testimony confirmed and

fleshed out the garbled second- and third-hand reports AMEXICO had

received from other sources inside Ne-Issan.

But Steve hadn't told the full story. No one, including Karlstrom,

knew that she could plant a delayed mental imperative inside somebody's

brain, which would cause them to say or do whatever she required.

Steve was keeping that to himself in case he needed Clearwater's help

to get them both out of a tight corner.

Although the Family had taken the precaution of housing Clearwater in

an overground annexe, they did not feel unduly threatened by the

destructive powers of her earth-magic. Soon after their arrival, Steve

had been at. the foot of her bed when Karlstrom had issued his

double-edged warning. One false move on her part would lead to his

immediate execution - and vice versa. Comprendo . . .?

Si, si commandante ....

This meeting had preceded his heart-warming interview with the

President-General and his promotion to captain'but he imagined the

threat still held good. And with his elevation to membership of the

First Family it meant he had even more to lose.

Steve had no intention of rocking the boat but the knowledge that his

life depended on Clearwater's good behaviour was a sobering reminder

of just how precarious his position was. He had finally got his feet

firmly on the golden ladder only to discover that the rungs could snap

from under him at any moment. Steve was sure that Clearwater would not

put the life of her unborn child at risk, but that only took them up to

mid-December. If she then started to develop itchy feet and he

appeared to be dragging his it could make things very difficult.

Not good. Not good at all.

Steve tried to remind himself why and how they'd both landed in this

mess. He had put Clearwater into the hands of the Federation because

that was the only way to save her life. And he'd wanted her to live