“FAR MORE, ESPECIALLY IF YOU INCLUDE NONHUMAN PERSONS. I HAVE BEEN MONITORING THE SITUATION FROM A BASE I ESTABLISHED NOT FAR FROM WHERE YOU AND I MET. BUT I AM AT AN IMPASSE. MY DEAR BELOVED HAS BEEN ABLE TO HIDE HIMSELF FROM ME TOO WELL. HOWEVER, I THOUGHT PERHAPS I MIGHT BE ABLE TO EXPLOIT MY LITTLE COUSIN’S REMARKABLE EMPATHIC ABILITY TO SENSE OUR DEAR BELOVED. THEREFORE, WHEN THE OPPORTUNITY PRESENTED ITSELF FOR ME TO TAKE HER FOR MYSELF, I DID.”

“What do you mean, ‘the opportunity presented itself’?”

“SHE BEGGED FOR ME TO TAKE HER AWAY FROM THE SENATE BUILDING, SO I DID. SHE AGREED TO ASSIST ME IN LOCATING OUR DEAR BELOVED, WHO I KNOW IS STILL ON THIS PLANET, BUT SHE IS FAR TOO DISTRAUGHT TO SENSE ANYTHING CLEARLY. IT IS FOR THAT REASON THAT I HAVE COME TO YOU, DEAR CLEVER CREATURE, YOU WHO LOVE HER SO DEARLY, WHO TAKES CARE OF HER NEEDS SO WELL. MY HOPE IS THAT IF YOU ARE ABLE TO SOOTHE HER, SHE WILL BECOME LESS DISTRAUGHT, AND WE MAY BE ABLE TO UTILIZE HER BOND WITH OUR DEAR BELOVED TO LOCATE HIM. WOULD YOU CONSENT TO THIS?”

“Nik, I need to tell you something. I . . .” He looked at Paris and squeezed her hand. “I need to tell you both something.”

Realization dawned on Paris’s face; she knew what he was planning.

“Nik, I’ve decided to break my NDA and write about you. I’m worried about how far the political situation has deteriorated. But you need to understand, even though we have a free press, I’ll be exposing confidential information. So I’ll be breaking the law to do this, meaning I have to leave the country. I don’t know when or if I’d ever be allowed to come back. They may decide against pressing charges, they could strip me of my citizenship, they could try to throw me in prison for the rest of my life. Or, they could do nothing. I don’t know what will happen. But I know that if I do this, I have to leave.

“I’m sorry, Paris,” he said, looking at her. “I honestly hadn’t decided whether to tell you the truth before Nik showed up. Knowing could implicate you.”

She nodded and looked away from him to digest. “How were you going to do it?”

“I was going to drive to Canada tonight. Fly to Iceland first thing in the morning. Once I landed in Iceland, then The New Yorker was going to publish.”

“I UNDERSTAND IT IS IMPORTANT FOR YOU TO INFLUENCE THE POLITICAL SITUATION. I DO NOT BELIEVE MY REQUEST IS MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE WITH YOUR INTENT TO PUBLISH. AID ME WITH MY ENDEAVOR, AND AFTER WE CONCLUDE, SUCCESSFUL OR NO, I WILL TAKE YOU ANYWHERE YOU WISH TO GO.”