Amaryllis Read Free Page B

the matter at hand. “I’m not looking for excuses. I’m looking for answers.”
    â€œBelieve me, Mr. Trent, no one could be more sympathetic. I, myself, have occasionally been accused of being a trifle too obsessive about getting answers. When questions have been raised, what else can one do? However, in this instance, I feel that there are no real questions.”
    â€œIf I’m deluding myself in order to avoid having to admit I screwed up by giving Miranda Locking the job with Lodestar, that’s my problem. Do you want to take the contract or not?”
    â€œIf you’re absolutely determined to pursue this investigation,” Amaryllis began very softly.
    â€œI am.”
    â€œAnd if your only goal is to identify the person to whom Miss Locking sold the information—”
    â€œIt is.”
    â€œThen that’s a perfectly legal security investigation,” Amaryllis concluded. “I’ll work with you under the terms of the standard contract.”
    Lucas smiled thinly. “I thought you’d accept the arrangement. I’m a class-nine talent. That means Psynergy, Inc. can charge me a fortune for your services.”
    â€œYou’re free to take your business to another agency.”
    â€œWe both know it won’t be any cheaper elsewhere.” Lucas walked back to his chair and sat down. “Let’s get on with this. I haven’t got all day.”
    â€œVery well.” Amaryllis picked up her pen. “Now, then. You say you’re a class nine?”
    â€œYes.”
    â€œTested and certified, of course?”
    â€œOf course.” Lucas leaned down to unsnap the clasp of the briefcase he had set beside the chair. “I’ve got the usual papers to prove it.” He removed the official talent classification certificate that he had been given several years earlier when he had finally, reluctantly, submitted to testing. He tossed the folder that contained the test results onto Amaryllis’s desk. “All signed and sealed. If you’re qualified to work with a class ten, you’re safe enough with me. I only tested a nine.”
    â€œNo need to be modest, Mr. Trent.” Amaryllis examined the certificate with great interest “Nines are extremely rare.”
    â€œSo are full-spectrum prisms who can focus them.”
    â€œTrue. And that’s why my firm charges so much for my services. Supply and demand, Mr. Trent. As the owner of Lodestar Exploration, I’m sure you are intimately acquainted with those basic laws of economics.”
    Lucas ignored that. “Well? Everything in order?”
    She frowned as she flipped through the papers he had given her. “According to this, you weren’t tested until the age of twenty-two. That’s rather late. Most people are tested in their midteens.”
    â€œI grew up in the Western Islands,” Lucas replied easily. “We don’t have any fancy test facilities. There was no opportunity to get myself certified until I came to New Seattle to get my degree in Synergistic Crystal Mineralogy at the university.”
    â€œI see.”
    Lucas covertly studied Amaryllis’s expression as she finished examining the documents. He relaxed slightly when he saw her nod to herself, evidently satisfied.
    He had been forced to account for the delay in getting himself certified several times in the past. After all these years, he had his answer down to a glib spiel he could rattle off with little effort. The excuse of growing up in the Western Islands neatly sidestepped the truth, which was that he had deliberately avoided the test until he was certain that he could conceal his off-the-chart abilities.
    He had aimed for a class-eight certification but his control had not been as good in those days as it was now. He had wound up with a nine.
    He had opted not to go for a top-of-the-scale class ten because people tended to be wary around class tens. Most folks