Michelle waited for a moment, then Babel came on the line.

“Michelle, I didn’t expect to hear from anyone so soon. Did Klaus tell you to call?” There was a faint anxiousness in her voice.

Michelle looked around to see if anyone could hear her, then walked closer to the Hummer, just to be sure. “Things are pretty confused here,” she replied. She pulled her cap even lower over her forehead. Though the other aces were pretty well known and it was possible they’d been recognized by the press, Michelle was much more high-profile. It might set off a frenzy if the press knew the Committee had taken an interest in Talas.

“Klaus and the rest of the team have gone to talk to General Nabiyev. I’ll keep in touch with you as much as possible. I figured you could use someone letting you know how things are going—and how Klaus is doing.”

It sounded like Babel gave a tiny sigh of relief, and Michelle knew she’d done the right thing. If Joey had been in a similar situation, she’d want to know what was going on with her, too.

“Klaus is Klaus,” Michelle said. “Taking control, doing his Klaus thing. I can’t stay long or I’ll be missed. I know it’s not protocol, but I’m going to call Joey about Adesina.”

“I’m giving special permission for that, Michelle,” Babel said, her voice not altogether businesslike. “I know you didn’t want to leave her, and I’d rather you know how she’s doing than not. Just make the call quick.”

“Thanks, Babs,” Michelle said.

“Stop calling me that.”

The connection was broken. Michelle immediately called Joey. The phone rang a couple of times, then Joey picked up.

“It’s me,” Michelle said hurriedly. “I only have a second. How’s Adesina? Any change? I don’t suppose you’ve had any dreams…”

“I’m sorry, Michelle. The niblet hasn’t done anything. No visiting me in dreams. Just the same as when you left,” Joey replied. “Wally came over with Ghost. There was no response.”

“Oh,” Michelle said in a small voice.

“You get there okay?”

“Yeah, but it’s a mess here. I just hope we can figure out what’s going on soon.”

“Yeah, me, too.” There was an odd tension in Joey’s voice, but Michelle didn’t have time to tease out what it was.

“Okay,” Michelle said. “I’ll call again soon as I can.” Then she tapped the off button on her phone. The quick phone call to Joey wasn’t nearly enough time. Even though nothing had changed, she wanted to talk to Joey about how much she hated being away from them both.