She stepped out of the trees
on the near side of the second ridge
like she'd been there the whole time.
Nineteen. Short dark hair.
A coat that had been repaired so many times
the original material was
more of a philosophical concept than a fabric.
She was looking at me
the way people look at things
they've already made a decision about
and are just confirming.
"Ren," she said.
Not a question.
"You have me at a disadvantage," I said.
"That's intentional."
Fair enough. I respected efficiency.
"You used Leverage on Dova,"
she said.
"Twenty minutes post-assignment.
On a Church Liaison."
"He was going to have me killed."
"They always are."
She said it the way you say
the sun rose this morning.
Established fact. Moving on.
"The problem isn't what he was going to do.
The problem is what he's going to do now —
which is want you dead
for a completely different reason.
There's a gap between
a routine Dark Role elimination
and a personal vendetta order.
That gap is about a week."
I looked at her.
"And you're here because —"
"Because I move people
before that gap closes."
"For free?" I said.
She looked at me like I'd said something
genuinely funny
but she wasn't going to laugh at it.
"Information," she said.
"Dova froze. Dova does not freeze.
What did you say to him."
I thought about it.
She wanted to understand the system.
Not exploit it.
Not sell it.
Understand it.
That made her useful.
That also made her
something I'd need to think carefully about.
The system pulsed.
[MAREN — TRAITOR ROLE]
[NOTE: OFFER IS GENUINE]
[NOTE: PRICE IS GENUINE]
[NOTE: THE TRAITOR ROLE IS NOT HER CHOICE]
[NOTE: THIS WILL MATTER LATER]
[WARNING: TRUST CAREFULLY]
I noted the warning.
I noted that it said carefully,
not don't.
"I told him his son's ceremony
was in eleven months," I said.
"And then I let him
do the rest himself."
Maren was quiet.
"You didn't threaten him,"
she said slowly.
"No."
"You just —
made him feel it."
"The system calls it Leverage.
Paralysis of will, scales with guilt.
Turns out a man who's ordered
four executions this year
has enough guilt to power
a fairly significant pause."
She looked at me for a long moment.
I got the impression
she was recalculating something.
"The Brotherhood has six others,"
she said finally.
"Extracted over four years.
You'd join that group.
Follow protocol.
Don't use the system on Brotherhood members."
"Calla comes with me," I said.
The recalculation expression again.
Faster this time.
"Calla is a complicated situation."
"She's been alone in this forest
for three years
leaving notes for strangers,"
I said.
"Uncomplicate it."
Maren looked at me.
Then she looked at the trees
to the north.
Then back at me.
"One week," she said.
"Two people is harder than one.
After the week the order goes official
and I can't move you
without the Brotherhood
going to war with the Church
and we are not ready for that war."
"Then we should stop talking," I said.
She turned north without another word.
I followed.
Behind us the Grey closed
like it was keeping score.
[SYSTEM UPDATE]
[ACTIVE TARGETS: 2]
[ALLIES ACQUIRED: PROVISIONAL]
[ABILITIES: LEVERAGE — ACTIVE]
[CURRENT OBJECTIVE: SURVIVE THE WEEK]
[SECONDARY OBJECTIVE: EVERYTHING AFTER THAT]
[NOTE: YOU'RE DOING FINE FOR SOMEONE
WHO'S BEEN ALIVE TEN YEARS]
I didn't ask the system
what it considered not fine.
I had a feeling
I was going to find out
on my own.