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Callie flopped down on the bunk, something between a groan and a growl scraping through her teeth.  A few seconds passed as she took in the empty space of the barracks room – utilitarian, walls bare except for a desk pushed into the corner and a few photos attached to the wall above it with half-peeling tape, presumably of the families of the soldiers who were once stationed here.

Before they were swamped by a tsunami and then the remainder shot or captured in the confusion, of course.

She remembered a man on the deck, twitching, seawater dribbling from his mouth.

Bile rose in Callie’s throat; she [i]forced[/i] her mind away.  She’d never been terribly good at meditation – keeping her thoughts clear always felt far near-impossible in comparison to just focusing them on something else.  Unfortunately, the place they turned to was little better.

[color=f7941d][i]In [/i]reserve[i].  God damn it![/i][/color]

Callie hadn’t [i]strictly[/i] been absent for the duration of the battle at the Jinghong Dam but, in truth, she might as well have been – kept on one of the rearward boats, hidden, as a last card in TFO’s deck to turn the tide or, more likely, hunt down enemy VIPs as they tried to flee the scene…  They hadn’t counted on their opponents having teleportation of their own; Huo Ren and his cohort had already vanished by the time that she was let loose and while evacing PoWs was unequivocally good and helpful…

[color=f7941d][i]Myron and his ‘emotional distress’ talk, it has to be…  I performed[/i] well [i]the previous mission – there was nothing else to recommend against me.  Ignoring my getting portal-trapped[/i][/color], her thoughts very helpfully concede – [color=f7941d][i]but I didn’t tell anyone about that, they would have had no way of knowing, surely, maybe barring Qingshe she was there would she have seen OH GOD NO –[/i][/color]

She forced [i]that[/i] train of thought from her mind, too.  Took a breath.  [color=f7941d][i]Okay, so maybe things are affecting you.  That’s fine.  That’s [/i]normal[i] for a soldier, let alone one who just discovered that her father…[/i][/color]  She winced at the [i]cascade[/i] of thoughts that resulted.  [color=f7941d][i]So that you’ve got to deal with…  One thing at once.  You wanted to be sure of who he was – now you are.  Are you going to confront Mum about it?[/i][/color]  She pursed her lips.  Shook her head.  [color=f7941d][i]It’d just worry her even more than she is already.  I work this out on my own…[/i][/color]

[color=f7941d][i]So.  Do I want to go after him?[/i][/color]

What she’d told Myron had been truth, after a fashion.  Intellectually, she saw no need.  It didn’t affect her that she happened to share DNA with someone possibly not dead on the other side of the globe; if he happened to cross onto [i]her[/i] side of the globe, she’d want to know about him but there was still no need to [i]know[/i] him.

Emotionally?

She hated it.  The way that the Hammer lieutenant had talked spoke of knowledge of her capabilities; the way he instantly leapt on weakness in her use of them [i]demonstrated[/i] it, beyond any kind of doubt she might have had.  [color=f7941d][i]I’m trying to [/i]avoid[i] notoriety…  And now, quite possibly, there’s an indefinite number of people out there who know more or less what I can do and exactly how to counter it.[/i][/color]  Callie felt a shiver run up her spine, feeling [i]exposed[/i] for the first time in years.  [color=f7941d][i]And I can’t do anything about it.  I have a job to do here.  I…[/i][/color]

She let out the breath she didn’t know she’d been holding.  [color=f7941d][i]Right.  Job.  Do what I came here to do.[/i][/color]

Callie sat up on the bunk, swinging her legs up and out to let them hang over the side.  She felt for the thread in her mind.  She tugged.

And then it tugged back.  Callie stiffened, fists clenching, as she felt it [i]slithering[/i] through her head.  ‘Spindle’, as they were codenamed, could not take away memories – the CIA would hardly cripple their own operatives so – but they did access them, and accessing memories always leaves them altered.  Callie ground her teeth.  Even for one who could be as focused as she, she still didn’t notice anything changing…  The absence unnerved her more than any perception of it ever might.

Time passed.  Just how much was difficult to ascertain, in the quiet of that room, cast in the artificial white of the strip lights on the ceiling above.

Then: [color=6ecff6][i]The model student as ever, aren’t you?[/i][/color]

Callie relaxed her fists as the sensation ceased.  Clenched them again.  Relaxed.  [color=f7941d]“Glad you think so,”[/color] she murmured, bitterness in her voice, eyes boring into the wall.  [color=f7941d][i]Did you know?  About Kenrick?[/i][/color]

A few moments passed, no doubt as some file was searched or clearance was checked.  [color=6ecff6][i]Suspicions, nothing more.  By the time they became firm, you were already deployed and distracting you would be counterproductive.  If we knew there were likely to be Hammer-affiliated antiquarians in theatre, you’d have been first to know.[/i][/color]

Callie nodded, gaze still on the wall.  A satisfying enough answer…  Assuming that they were telling her the truth.

[color=6ecff6][i]Because lying risks your operational performance and we can’t have that.  Hey, listen[/i][/color], she felt resonating in her mind even as panic flashed across it, [color=6ecff6][i]don’t worry.  You’re not going to defect because you had one intrusive thought.  Believe me, I know what a would-be double agent’s thoughts feel like and yours aren’t those.[/i][/color]

Callie forced herself to calm.  [color=f7941d][i]You didn’t know they were here.  That’s worrying.[/i][/color]

[color=6ecff6][i]You’re right.  From what you saw, they had a good number of their elites on that ship, so it’s possible they’re minimally integrated into the actual command structure, but even then – you shouldn’t have been the first to know about them.  I’ll pass it up the chain.[/i][/color]

[color=f7941d][i]You think the higher-ups will send more operatives to the theatre?[/i][/color]

As a telepath, ‘Spindle’ normally kept their thoughts disciplined; as a [i]CIA[/i] telepath, it was compulsory.  Thus Callie’s surprise when she practically felt them grimace on the other end.  [color=f7941d][i]Guessing that’s a ‘No’, then.[/i][/color]

[color=6ecff6][i]How closely have you been following domestic politics, Augur?[/i][/color]

Callie blinks.  [color=f7941d][i]Trying to avoid it.  Why?[/i][/color]

[color=6ecff6][i]Well, midterm polling’s been good for the President.[/i][/color]

[color=f7941d][i]Oh, God.[/i][/color]

[color=6ecff6][i]Mmm.  The Director’s trying to hold out but it looks like we’ll be facing down another ‘American Finance Initiative’ soon – maybe even worse.  You’re staying where you are, don’t worry about that, but don’t expect backup any time soon.[/i][/color]

[color=f7941d][i]Right.  Right.[/i][/color]  Callie nodded – finally, a firm answer to comprehend, internalise and integrate!  [color=f7941d][i]Directives?[/i][/color]

[color=6ecff6][i]Watch Myron.  He –[/i][/color]

[color=f7941d][i]Oh – yeah, so what was that all about?  Why wasn’t the information on my mum falsified – I made it very clear that she needed to be kept out of all this![/i][/color]

[color=6ecff6][i]Because there wasn’t enough time to audit the full capability of the Philippine army’s Antiquarian recruitment before you were inserted.  It was –[/i][/color]

[color=f7941d][i]Like hell!  They needed anyone they could get – if you didn’t remember, Myron himself is a[/i] former terrorist![/color]

[color=6ecff6]Translator [i]was a terrorist who was a known quantity to them.  You weren’t.  All it would have taken was an E- or D-rank diviner looking over your file and you could have lost your cover and any influence you might have had.  This was the safest option.[/i][/color]  A pause.  [color=6ecff6][i]Your mother is safe, Augur.  We have security protocols in place for her, just as we have them for the family of all our operatives.[/i][/color]

[color=f7941d][i]Right.  Right.  I’m sorry.[/i][/color]  Callie sighed.  [color=f7941d][i]Directives?[/i][/color]

‘Spindel’’s thoughts were calm as ever.  [color=6ecff6][i]Monitor Translator.  His influence is unclear – ensure that it is kept in check.  Monitor Jester.  Determine whether he is just a figurehead.  If he isn’t, determine whether he can be trusted; if he can, we will authorise you to make contact.  And monitor Cassandra.  She’s too powerful an antiquarian and her loyalties too obscure to ignore her – just, given your [/i]memories[i], avoid any [/i]entanglements[i] that could be turned to her –[/i][/color]

[color=f7941d]“Yes!”[/color] Callie yelped, then jumped at the sudden sound of her own voice as it echoed in the room.  Placing a hand on her forehead for calm, she performed a quick scan – the room was still empty.  [color=f7941d][i]Yes.  Understood.  Thank you – directives received.  Over and out.[/i][/color]

[color=6ecff6][i]Over and out, Augur.[/i][/color]

Callie felt the subtle aperture in her mind close.  She let her limbs go slack; her palms, barely supporting her weight, sunk into the mattress below.

[color=f7941d][i]Right.  Well.  Least now I know exactly what I’m meant to be doing.[/i][/color]

She drummed her fingers.  Then sat up.

[color=f7941d][i]Well, no rest for the righteous.  We were meant to be relaxing, weren’t we?  Hmm.  Need to make myself visible.[/i][/color]

[color=f7941d][i]Let’s see if anyone on this island can lend me a surfboard.[/i][/color]