North managed a smile. “Thanks, Larissa, but I’m beat. Long day.”

And an even longer night lay ahead. He knew he was seriously sleep deprived. Relying on his psychic senses to supply the energy he needed to maintain the inner balance required to keep from falling into the abyss was weakening him on several fronts. He had a hunch that when he finally went down, he would go down hard. And when he woke up, he would be psi-blind. Or insane. Or both.

“I heard you and the team took down that serial killer they called the Spider,” Larissa said. “Congratulations. You cleaners are usually ready to party after a successful case.”

“Hate to admit it but there is the faint possibility that I’m getting too old to party after a takedown,” North said.

He kept his tone light and easy but Larissa gave him a knowing look.

“Everything okay?” she said gently.

Shit. This was not good. If the people who knew him were starting to notice a change in his mood or behavior, he was sailing into real trouble.

“Just tired, that’s all,” he said. “Rain check on the dance?”

“Of course.” Larissa grinned and patted his arm. “Go home and get some sleep, old dude.”

“I’m going to do that.”

Larissa started to turn away but she paused. “I forgot to tell you my good news.”

He smiled. “Let me guess. You got assigned to the Fogg Lake project.”

The recent discovery of one of the lost labs in the caves near the rural town of Fogg Lake had sent a shock wave of excitement through the Foundation. Every ambitious researcher wanted in on the excavations.

“I’m so excited. I leave tomorrow with one of the museum teams. We’ll be there for a couple of months. This is the biggest find in the history of the Foundation. There’s so much waiting to be recovered in that old lost lab. I can’t wait to get started.”

“Congratulations,” North said. He meant it. “You deserve to be on that team.”

“Thanks.” Larissa laughed. “I hear conditions at the site are a little Spartan. No nightclubs, cell phones don’t work and there’s only one restaurant in town. Most of the Foundation crew is being housed in trailers.”

“You’ll love it,” North assured her. “You’re going to be uncovering incredible secrets. So much history was lost when they shut down the Bluestone Project. There’s no telling what’s waiting for you in those caves.”

“I know. I really am thrilled. Take care, and I’ll see you in a couple of months when my assignment ends.”

“Right.”

Larissa went up on tiptoe and gave him an affectionate little kiss on the side of his jaw. Then she slipped away into the crowd.

North watched her join a group of people on the far side of the room. He knew all of them. They were friends. Colleagues. Teammates. A couple of months ago he would have been with them, sharing the rush of a successful takedown.