‘Have you had any word from the farm?’ she asked. Her brain wanted to seize up, having to talk in these dull and meaningless generalities, at the same time as she longed to be able to live a life with Bret where she could be bored by the little things.

‘Spoke to someone from the Ministry of Resources,’ he replied. ‘Another two families moved on last week. Took places on the Nimitz, I think, going back to the US. Good luck to them. I hope it works out. Otherwise, same old same old. Apparently the GM crops are doing well.’

And I spoke to someone today, husband. A very senior someone. The President’s sword and shield. He wants me to infiltrate the camp of this madman. To go into that heart of darkness, earn their trust and, of course, betray them. I’ll do it too, sweetheart. Because that’s what I am. An infiltrator. A betrayer. A killer.

A peace-keeper also, she tried to reassure herself. But she was just so damned tired of keeping the peace.

‘That’s good news,’ she said. ‘I’m really looking forward to coming home, Bret. I miss you guys, every day.’

‘We miss you too, honey. And we both love you and want you with us as soon as you’re finished over there.’

He carefully moved one hand from where he was supporting the baby, to blow a kiss, then took Monique’s hand gently between two fingers and made her wave in her sleep.

‘I love you too,’ said Caitlin as she felt the tears coming.

And I would miss you, every moment of every day, except I can’t. There are times I can’t even think of you. Because if I’m not totally invested in what I’m doing here, I will die. And we will never see each other again. And that’s why I’m crying. Not because I miss you, but because I don’t. Because I can’t.

She felt herself adrift. She and Bret spun out the final few seconds of their time together repeating the same phrases. Miss you. Love you. Goodbye. Goodbye. And then he was gone. The brief window she had secured on Echelon’s dedicated channel closed.

Caitlin shut down the laptop and sat for a minute, staring at the drifts of paper over on her king-size bed. She still had so much work to review. More briefings on the TDF for her cover story. Backgrounders from Treasury explaining the fraught relations between Seattle and Fort Hood in terms of the fascinating history of post-Disappearance federal–state fiscal arrangements. There were ‘Top-Secret Absolute’ (read/erase) one-time files on the NIA server she had to take in before the morning. And case notes from Resettlement on fifty-four incidents in the Federal Mandate, ranging from forced repatriation of homesteader families to wholesale murder.