"Housing won't be a problem. We have excellent condominiums where you can sit on your balcony under a sun umbrella and watch the manatees and dolphins swim by."

"It isn't just that. The children are both in school--"

"Gordian's offered to arrange for them to attend the best private school on the coast and pay their full tuition indefinitely. He will also take care of any day care and tutorial needs that may arise from the transition."

"Sir--" She paused, overwhelmed. "I appreciate your offer. And Mr. Gordian's generosity. But I need to think about this."

"I understand." He gulped down some coffee. "Take half an hour."

She looked at him, speechless, wondering for a stunned moment if he might have been joking. The unchanged sobriety of his expression told her he wasn't.

"I'd been hoping for somewhat more time," she said. "A day or two--"

"And you ought to have at least that long. Unfortunately, though, the media leeches have turned up the rheostat. You know the atmosphere they've created. People expect everything from civil wars to natural disasters to be paced like hour dramas, their storylines concluded in time for the eleven o'clock news, and when reality conflicts with that expectation, sentiments can turn ugly. I promise that you won't be pressured into rushing the investigation, but we need to demonstrate that we're moving quickly to get the ball rolling. The Kazakhstan launch can't be held up."

Annie shook her head a little. "I'm not quite sure I see the connection. Apart from coordinating our schedules, the Russian mission was intentionally planned to be independent of Orion, and ought not be affected."

"I know that, and you know that, but they've gotten cold feet before. Citing technical problems for every delay, when all it's ever boiled down to is their unwillingness--or inability, I want to be fair--to pay for their own ticket to the show. As Gordian reminded me, they are quite capable of bumping their launch if they get jittery about the United States backing away from its financial commitments."

Even before Dorset was finished talking, Annie had realized she couldn't argue that with him on that count. He was right. Absolutely right.

She had nodded in agreement and risen from her seat.

"I'll be in my office," she had said.

"And get back to me in thirty?"

"In thirty," she'd assured him.

And here she was, here she was, the clock ticking down, leaving her with less than five minutes to give him her answer.