Masterminds by Kristine Kathryn Rusch Page A

being harmed in anyway, she was to take the ship off the Moon.
    He had told her that he would let her know when the situation warranted that. He didn’t think anything rose to that level on this day, but he also knew that it could.
    Which was why he had decided to ask for Talia’s help with Zagrando. She would be as safe here, with the police protection and the Emmeline nearby, as she would be in the Security Office or with him while he was working in his office. Or so he liked to think.
    Besides, the help Flint needed with Zagrando was risky in a different way. He could only trust Talia with this particular mission.
    He hoped she was up for the task.
    She was still in the Security Office. Even though he knew she was doing better, he had worried that the improvement was just temporary. Now, he had to believe what Talia had told him before he left; that she was doing better, and that she was willing to work.
    He didn’t contact her on his links. Instead, he had gone directly to the Security Office. As he rounded the corner from the elevators, Popova waved at him from her desk.
    “I have a question for you,” she said.
    He glanced at the kitchen. He wondered if Talia was still there or if she had moved to a different part of the building.
    “Make it fast,” he said.
    “Have you heard of a woman named Pippa Landau? She says she’s a Disappeared.”
    Flint turned toward Popova so fast that he nearly lost his balance. “She what ?” he asked.
    “She says she’s a Disappeared.”
    Flint frowned. “People don’t admit that.”
    “I know,” Popova said. “That’s why I thought you might know her. Maybe she has come home after a Retrieval Artist found her or she was in the news and I missed it…?”
    Flint shook his head. “In theory, I’m retired. I haven’t watched that kind of news closely since Talia moved in with me.”
    “So, you don’t know her.” Popova sounded disappointed.
    Flint gave her a wry smile. “Believe it or not, I don’t know every single Disappeared in the Earth Alliance. Why are you asking?”
    “Because she contacted me just a few minutes ago, and said she was a Disappeared, and she had important information for me, and she was taking a risk contacting us.” Popova tapped a finger against her desk. “I haven’t responded. I don’t know how to handle this at all. Do you think you could find out if she’s what she says she is?”
    “No,” Flint said. “I’ve got much too much to research as it is, and all of it seems to be tied to the Anniversary Day attacks. I will tell you this, Disappeareds never identify themselves that way. Either she’s a fraud or she thinks this information is so important she has to reveal herself to give it to you.”
    Popova now tapped all of her fingers against the desk. The drumming sound was arrhythmic, and drove Flint slightly crazy.
    “I’m not sure what to do.” Her gaze met Flint’s. He’d never heard Popova say something like that.
    “Check out the name she gave you,” he said. “If she gave you her real name, her history should stop at some point in the past. If she gave you the name she’s been using recently, then you should find some kind of record, which should give you a sense of what kind of person she is.”
    “And then what?” Popova asked.
    “If her history stops, you know she’s telling the truth. If she has an entire lifetime’s worth of history, then you need to judge it on its merits. If you only have a year or two of recent data, ignore her. If you have decades’ worth, and she’s managed to stay out of trouble, then I think you should invite her here under heavy guard, and see what she has to say.”
    “What if she’s a bomber or something?” Popova asked.
    Flint reached over and took her hand, stopping the tapping. “That’s why I’m suggesting she come here. She doesn’t need to come to this floor. Meet her in the lobby. She has to go through more security to get into this building than she has to go