Rogue Angel - Polar Quest Part 21

He stopped. "Is this going to be one of those conversations?"

"What kind?"

"The ones where you simply confirm my statements and we do some silly dance around the topic you really want to resolve?"

Annja smiled. "You can tell we've been a.s.sociates for too long. When you start predicting the flow of the talk, and all."

"Well," Garin said with a gleam in his eye, "you could always cozy up to me and take things in a direction neither of us ever expected. That might be a fun way to keep our relations.h.i.+p fresh."

"I'll give that some serious thought," Annja said.

"Please do." Garin removed his snow pants. Annja glanced away. He laughed. "I've got other pants on underneath, for crying out loud."

"What? I wasn't sure if you were naked under there or what. Knowing you, you might have planned it that way and all," Annja said, feeling a little embarra.s.sed.

"Oh, might I?" Garin sat down on his bed. "There's a chair over there or you're welcome to sit here."

"Why did you pitch your shelter near the nuclear generator?" Annja asked.

Garin grinned. "Isn't it obvious?"

"Well, sure, but I like asking questions that have obvious answers because I'm a real fan of hearing myself speak," she said.

Garin frowned. "In case you didn't notice, I'm not exactly legitimate. And frankly, I like knowing that I have some separation, just in case I need to get out of here in a hurry."

"You're expecting to have to leave?"

"One never knows." Garin leaned back. "I've always found it's far better to be prepared for any eventuality. I had to live that way for years while Roux and I tried to kill each other. After a while, that pattern gets ingrained in you. It's not something you can even choose to do or not do. It just happens."

"So you've got yourself an isolated bit of real estate here," Annja said.

"Yes."

"With the isotopes floating about."

Garin smiled. "The reactor is perfectly safe. It's a one-of-a-kind unit, I'm told. Straight off the DARPA a.s.sembly block. This is the first unit to use them in an actual field test. So far, I'm impressed."

Annja sat on the chair and stretched her legs.

Garin sat up. "So what's this all about, then? Why were you lurking around my shelter? Hoping to catch a glimpse of me in my skivvies?"

"Not even close." Annja frowned. "And I wasn't lurking. I asked where your shelter was and here I am."

"Who'd you ask?"

"The soldier in Thomson's tent."

Annja looked around the shelter. Garin had little in terms of personal effects. She spotted a backpack and that was it. "That's all your stuff?"

Garin glanced over. "That? Oh, yeah. Well, I travel light these days. I make better time than if I overpack."

"I haven't seen any weapons on you yet."

"Just because you can't see them doesn't mean they aren't there," Garin replied.

Annja looked at him closely. "Tell me why you said that thing back in the cavern."

Garin took a deep breath and leaned back onto the bed. "What thing was that?"

Annja sighed. "You said something about animals creating the artifacts we found."

"Did I?"

"You know you did."

"Well, I say a lot of things, Annja. And often, they make little to no sense at all. My mind, after all, is a bit addled. Fermented, you might even say."

"You're not going to tell me, are you?"

Garin smiled. "I could be persuaded to divulge my precious information. Perhaps."

Annja shook her head. "I'm not bartering s.e.x for information."

"There are a lot worse ways to gain intelligence, Annja. You might give it some thought. I know I have."

"I'm sure." Anna stood.

"You're not leaving, are you?" Garin asked.

"I don't see any reason to stay. You've obviously got some sort of s.e.xual fantasy you need to live out. And I'm not going to be a part of it."

Garin sighed. "But we were just getting going."

"No, we weren't. I was asking you a serious question and you were doing your best to derail us into hedonism."

"You say that like it's a bad thing."

Annja sat back down. "Look, Garin, I'm not going to judge you for being what you are-"

"Which is what?"

"A s.e.x addict with questionable sociological tendencies."

Garin considered that and then shrugged. "Okay."

"But I do get frustrated with the constant parrying I have to do to try to get answers out of you. I don't have the time or inclination to spar ceaselessly with you. Really."

"All right, fine. So I said something about animals making the artifacts. What about it?"

Annja looked at him. "Do you really believe that?"

"I don't know. I threw it out there because I knew it would get under your skin. And obviously, I was right. Look at how you've been obsessing about it. You're sitting here now because of one simple comment. That says a lot, I think."

"It says a lot because I'm a bit confused about my situation," Annja admitted.

"And you want to know where all the pieces fit together-is that it?"

"Yes."

Garin smiled. "You know what I envy about you, Annja? I mean, aside from your utterly delectable body."

"What?"

"Your inability to lie."

Annja frowned. "I can lie."

Garin shook his head. "My darling Annja, you cannot lie convincingly. There may have been times in your past when you told lies to save yourself, but in general, you simply don't possess the capacity for it."

Annja rubbed her shoulder. "So I need to be a liar all the time now? Be like you, in other words?"

"I don't lie all the time, Annja. But what I do is tell enough lies such that when I tell the truth, people can't tell the difference. It affords me greater opportunity to manipulate events to my liking."

"I'm not sure I follow," Annja said.

"Take this afternoon when I told you about the animals. You thought that was real. You then spent hours wondering about it prior to coming here and confronting me. But in truth, that was an offhand comment I made to distract you from other things."

"What other things?"

Garin held up his hand. "We were talking about the animals. Don't derail this conversation."

"So you don't believe animals created the artifacts?"

"I didn't say that."

"You just said that it was an offhand comment," Annja said.

"So?"

Annja frowned. "Forget it, I'm going."

Garin stretched out on his bed. "I once read the most amazing science fiction story about a mission to the Moon. The astronauts dug up bones on a site."

"What kind of bones?" Annja asked, wondering if she'd regret it.

"Dinosaur bones."

Annja frowned. "Dinosaurs? On the Moon? That is science fiction."

"Is it really?" Garin sat up. "We know now that dinosaurs were actually more intelligent than previously thought. So how is it far-fetched to a.s.sume that there might have been a race of animals intelligent enough to create metal and fas.h.i.+on it into artifacts like what were found in the dig site?"

"That belongs to the realm of writers," Annja said. "G.o.d bless them for their ability to tell stories, but that's pretty out there."

"Well, perhaps. But just because it doesn't make sense now doesn't mean it won't make perfect sense in the future."

Annja zipped up her jacket. "I'll think about it."

"Of course you will."

Annja put her hood up. "I wish I could say it's been fun."

Garin smiled. "Well, it won't ever be fun until you shuck those clothes and hop into bed with me."

"Good night, Garin."

Annja started for the door to the shelter.

"Annja?"

She paused and looked back. Garin lay on his bed with his eyes closed. His hands were folded across his chest as if he were a corpse resting in a coffin. Annja found the image vaguely unsettling and she wasn't quite sure why.

"What?" she asked.

Garin's eyes opened and he gave her a long look. "I think there's something you're forgetting."

"What's that?"

"With regard to the animals making the artifacts."

"Yes?"

Garin smiled. "Did Zach tell you anything about the various tests they conducted on the pieces?"

"Sure. He told me they ran a battery of tests trying to figure out exactly what their composition was, how old they were, that kind of thing."

"And?"

"And what?"

Garin sighed. "The metal used in the pieces. Remember? It wasn't from this planet. It's an unknown alloy. I believe that tends to discount the theory about the race of intelligent animals. Don't you?"

Annja stood there for another moment and then walked back out, unsure if she'd learned anything new or just gotten more frustration for her time.

22.