A Restaurant in Greensboro, North Carolina, Tuesday Evening
For Peter, the dinner at Leblon with his parents and Bean and Carlotta consisted of long periods of excruciating boredom interrupted by short passages of sheer panic. Nothing that anyone was saying mattered in the slightest. Because Bean was passing himself off as little more than a tourist visiting Ender's shrine, all anyone could talk about was ( Read more... )
Kenzi
"Looking for a chance to get away from him, wherever they are." Because jeez, who wouldn't? And this was one of those Battle Kids. Kenzi looked at Peter, feeling a little sick. "Is she leverage, or something else to him? Is this about ransom, or using her for her military skills?"
Peter
"I don't know," Peter said honestly. "That's all guesswork at this point. The fact is that my sources in India have just gone silent."
Bean
"Dead?" asked Bean.
Peter
"No, just careful," said Peter. "The most populous country on Earth. Ancient enmities. A chip on the national shoulder from being treated like a second-class country by everyone."
Bean
"The Polemarch is Indian," Bean noted.
Peter
"And there's reason to believe he's been passing I.F. data to the Indian military," said Peter. He took a breath. "Nothing that can be proved, but Chamrajnagar is not as disinterested as he pretends to be."
Bean
"So you think that you think Achilles may be just what India wants to help them launch a war," Bean surmised. "Hm."
Peter
"No," said Peter. "I think India may be just what Achilles wants to help him launch an empire." He looked to Kenzi again. "And that's where my guesswork comes in: I think Petra is what they want to help them launch a war."
Kenzi
Kenzi crossed her arms, feeling chilled. The details about the Polemarch were zooming by, but the gist was fairly terrifying. "And if they can keep her, and not give her any alternatives, it might work, hunh." She was quiet a moment, watching Peter. "You've been damn busy, boss."
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