Law of Survival Read Free Page B

in any way I can.”
    â€œYeah.” Jani gasped as her right calf cramped—her muscles tightened when she sat for too long. “I need to walk.”
    They strode along the breakwater until it ended, then followed the slope of sand down to the manicured shore. Gulls scuttered ahead of them, waiting until the last moment before taking to the air. In the distance, Commerce employees on break played a game of three-cornered catch.
    Jani relaxed. She always felt better when she moved. Her limbs, both the real right and the animandroid left, adjusted readily to the shift and slide of the sand. “I wonder who drove it. The investigation.”
    â€œI hate to say it, but I’m betting it was someone on my team.” Niall passed her and walked a little farther up the beach. “They probably started out gathering the evidence for your court-martial. When we medical’d you out instead, they wrote the report anyway. One thing Intelligence spooks hate is to let good garbage go unused.” He kicked at a pile of pebbles, then picked one up and flung it into the water. “You’ve got your enemies at Sheridan, you know. They thought you should have been tried for Neumann’s death, no matter what led up to it.”
    â€œI did shoot him, Niall.”
    â€œYou had your reasons.”
    They headed back up the beach toward the Ministry. Jani slowed to give Niall a chance to catch her up. “Mako giving you a hard time about being seen with me?”
    â€œA couple of closed-door talks. Reminders of ‘the current conservative climate.’” Niall shrugged. “I remind him that you’ve got more experience dealing with the idomeni than anyone in Diplo, and that some of your recommendations over the past few months have saved us from some godawful blunders. He understands.” His voice held quiet conviction, but he had followed where Admiral-General Hiroshi Mako led for over twenty years, and felt that the sun rose and set by order of the great man.
    Jani didn’t. “Niall, I’d bet my scanpack that Mako helped set this up.”
    â€œNo, he didn’t.” Niall’s voice lowered to a warning growl. “It’s the Base Command desk jockeys that are causing the trouble. The same ones that want to nail you for Neumann.”
    â€œHave they been reminding you of the current conservative climate, too?”
    â€œYeah. I hand them a little Milton, a little Shakespeare, tell them in my Master of Literature way to butt out. I don’t interview particularly well, either.”
    Jani slowed more as Niall labored to keep his footing onthe loose sand. “Don’t screw yourself over on my account.”
    â€œYou’d do the same for me if I got into trouble. I’ve seen you in action, remember?” He pulled up, removed one of his shoes, and tapped out sand that had leaked in. “I’m going to dig into this when I get back to Sheridan. See if I can find out who signed off on the expense reports.” He brushed an invisible smudge from the black tietop’s glassy finish, then slipped it back on. “You’ve got enough going on right now without dealing with this.”
    They walked in silence. Jani grew conscious of Niall’s examination—he tried to hide it, but he never succeeded for long. “If you want to say something, I wish you’d go ahead and say it.”
    Niall drew closer until they walked shoulder to shoulder. “Earlier this summer, I was a shade taller than you. You’re taller than me now. When are you going to stop?”
    â€œNo one knows. The average Vynshàrau grows one-nine to two-oh. I’m one-eight-two.” Jani held her hand a handspan above her head to indicate how much she could still grow. “John says I might not get as tall as that, being a mixed breed. But even he’s ready to give up on the predictions.” She heard her voice grow tight. The anger built on its