John knew Lana had no compunction about killing, either here or on their homeworld, indeed they had all been selected at least in part because they were capable of maintaining a detached perspective toward their prey. But the princess was also famous for being just that, a princess. She was used to getting her way and John Hunt had always suspected that she had harbored some level of animosity toward Neal and Madeline simply because she had been outvoted by the Council on her suggestion that they be killed back in the fishing town of Kodikkarai. Indeed, it had only been because John Hunt and a few others had supported the AI’s push for prudence that the two of them had survived this long.

At Lana’s insistence, Shahim continued his thoughts on Neal, “As I mentioned, I was in Washington, DC, and I took it on myself to follow Neal Danielson simply because he had been of such interest to us before. I have not approached him, but I did gain access to the house across the street from his for several days and observed his movements.”

<Agent Shahim Al Khazar, since the incident in southern India, I have continued to monitor the movements of both Neal Danielson and Madeline Cavanagh and have found no reason for further action. Nothing in their movements or in their telephone or e-mail traffic indicates any awareness of our existence.>

“Oh, I do not question that the AIs have been more than proficient in monitoring the two humans remotely. And Neal’s movements outside his house certainly seem perfectly reasonable.” said Shahim, “But what about the amount of time that Neal spends at his house? What is he doing there?”

Becoming increasingly more perturbed by the conversation, John interjected, trying to defuse the situation, “Do you have any actual information on the actions of Neal Danielson, Agent Shahim? If not, I see no reason to take this topic further.”

“Agent Hunt, forgive me for being so circumspect, but my experience both here on Earth and back on Mobilius has told me that there is rarely smoke without fire, and the smoke I see here is this,” said Shahim, “Neal Danielson spends anywhere up to ten hours a day in his basement. We have the schematics for the house, and they have no record of any computer connections or hookups down there. Plus there is no activity on his e-mail accounts during this time. This would not normally be enough to rouse suspicion, but combined with his pivotal role in the development and deployment of the probe that located Agent Preeti’s landing capsule, it is enough, I believe, to warrant further investigation.”

John was about to respond, trying to select his words carefully when Lana took the conversation in a new and equally disconcerting direction, “And this Madeline Cavanagh, is she also acting suspiciously, Shahim?”

This was not good.