Темное, кривое зеркало. Том 3 : След на песке.(ЛП)

"And neither of us is a fool. No…. if they come for us we will know, and we will be ready. Sanctuary is not our only line of defence. You know what to do, Captain."

"I know." He rose from his seat, and saluted. He then turned and made for the door. Just as he reached it, Bester suddenly halted him.

"I…. I have been thinking recently. I wish to thank you for all the loyal service you've given me over the years. I appreciate it, and I do not know if I say that as often as I should."

Ben Zayn thought about this for a moment, and then nodded. "I always know, even if you don't say it. Besides, I owe you far more than this, remember?" Without saying another word, he left.

Bester chuckled wryly. True friends were rare indeed, and he supposed he was fortunate indeed to have one there. But then he sobered up. True friends might be rare, but true love was even rarer.

That was another matter to be dealt with. He had to get Talia away from here before everything fell apart, but he could not tell her. She had never wanted to know about all the darker things he had been forced to do to preserve his people, and he had never wanted to tell her. She claimed to love him for who he was, and nothing more.

"Talia," he said over the comm channel. "I need to see you." He received her acknowledgement and then sat back, thinking about her. He had never been in love before he had met her, and it had been a very frightening experience. Genetically, they were completely incompatible. She was only a P5 after all, and had this been the old days the interests of the Corps would have kept them apart.

But these were not the old days, and he wasthe Corps. He loved her with all that he was, and the two of them would not be apart.

That was why he hated sending her on these missions, but this was what she had been trained to do. Infiltrate and exploit. The last major mission she had been on had been last year, and had been just as much for G'Kar's benefit as for his. An infiltration mission on the bridge of the Babylon, to observe the progress of humanity's alliance with the Shadows, and later to sabotage their final attack on Minbar.

This mission was for his benefit, and hers. There was an important matter on Proxima Donne had been looking into, but with her death someone else had to fulfill the role, and more importantly it would get Talia away from here. He knew it would be dangerous for her, to be in the stronghold of his potential enemies, but where better a hiding place?

The door opened and she entered, and as always his breath was taken away by the sight of her. She looked so beautiful. He sighed softly.

"You've got something for me, haven't you?" she said as she entered.

"You can read me too well, dear," he said, smiling as she sat down. "Yes, I have. I'm sorry you couldn't stay longer, but…."

"No, don't. I know where my responsibilities lie. I got to see Abby again…. for a little while anyway. And I can tell that something's up here. Something big."

"Ah, yes…." He sometimes forgot that she could pick up on little background details and mesh them into a constructive whole. It was a very useful skill while on a mission, but very inconvenient here, especially when he was trying to keep from her just how serious the situation might be.

"No, don't tell me, Al. I don't want to know." She sat forward, resting her elbows on the edge of his desk. "So," she said, her eyes gleaming. "What's this mission you've got for me, then?"

"What do you know about a human company called IPX?" he asked.

She shrugged. "Interplanetary Expeditions. An archaeological company. Before the war they used to visit dead alien civilisations and try to find useful bits of technology in the ruins. After the war they got a load of juicy Government contracts and refined their searches to anything that might be used to make weapons. They've absorbed a fair number of smaller companies in the last ten years or so. I believe they're one of the top three MegaCorps in what's left of the Alliance."

"Well done," he replied, smiling.

"Do I pass the exam then, teacher?" she said, her eyes dancing. "What about them?"

"They have…. secrets. Fairly big ones. Donne reported back on some very mysterious activities going on, particularly concerning their CEO, Mr. Orin Zento. They have a definite interest in our people, and may have highly confidential links with alien Governments. Find out what, where, why, how and when."

"No problem," she said simply. "How secret is this?"

"Very. Use whatever secret ID you want. Once you've got it worked out, I'll have fake documentation drawn up. You'll likely be based on Proxima at the start, anyway. Do not under any circumstances reveal that you're a telepath to anyone official. Matters for our people on Proxima may just…. get a little unpleasant before long."

She raised an eyebrow. "Been up to something, have you Al? It all sounds reasonable to me. When do I leave?"

"As soon as you can." He hesitated. "Ah…. one other thing. You'll have a bodyguard assigned to you."