~~~
One evening, after supper, the Colonel called me into his office. An office visit to him was always bad news.
"Dr. Ventnor has told me," the Colonel said, "that Camille's parents worry about her. Her grades, poor to start with, are falling; and she's spending ever more time away from home."
I nodded. Given how much time Kuma was spending with me, and her disdain for learning anything but what interested her, the Colonel's words made sense to me.
"Also, Belle, there's been a number of disturbing events in the southeastern states -- events that I fear are Camille's works."
"Why do you say so, Colonel?"
"They're works that only one of you Tani could do. Delia, the only Tan besides Camille who lives in the area, wouldn't soil her hands with such works. You, who would, have been doing no extracurriculars but your search for the boys."
I hadn't told the Colonel of that search, but, by now, I was used to his knowing what no one had told him. "Could you tell me of the works, sir?"
"Item one: as a drug-dealer's plane is taking off at night from a private airfield, a bola made of a pair of boulders tied together by a liana flies out of the dark, tangles the plane's prop, and makes the plane ditch across a highway."
I whistled. "Clever!"
The Colonel snorted. "But not wise."
I'll spare you his speech on endangering the Tani. You should be able to give that speech yourself by now.
Speech over, I said, "I still don't see why you're pinning the bola on Kuma. It sounds like the M. O. of whichever of the boys has been pulling the jobs in Jesse James Country. Maybe, he's moved his sphere of operations."
The Colonel gave me his thin smile. "Don't insult my intelligence, Belle."
"You know who the boy in question is, don't you, sir? Is he working for you now?"
"Nice try, Belle. Item two: hard drives and magnetic tapes belonging to an alleged money-launderer are mysteriously wiped."
"Power surge, sir?"
"Some would call the Tan crystal-shaping gift a power surge. Item three: a truck, waiting at a red light at a busy intersection, is mysteriously ripped open. Contraband auto parts from a chop shop spray across five lanes of pavement. The truck is ripped open from the inside, and witnesses report a black streak erupting from the rip."
"How did she rip open a truck?" I muttered.
The Colonel's thin smile widened. "I suspect that you could rip open a truck with your bare hands. Is Camille your inferior in physical strength?"
I rubbed my jaw. "Not noticeably, sir."
"Item four: ..."
The items went on quite a while. I won't give Kuma any more of a swelled head than she has by repeating them all. When the Colonel had run out of items, he said to me, "Why do you think that Camille does these things?"
"Because she's an 'action-figure,' as Delia and Lonnie call her. Because she's grown up reading superhero comics and watching superhero cartoons and movies, and she thinks that fighting crime is what someone with her gifts should do. Because she believes that her husband-to-be, Un-Thor, is behind the heroic deeds, as she sees them, in Jesse James Country, and she wants to impress Un with deeds of her own when she meets him."
The Colonel sighed. "Likely, you're right, Belle. I want you to use whatever influence you have with Camille to get her to give up these unauthorized activities."
I sat straight backed with my hands in my lap. "May I speak freely, sir?"
The Colonel sucked his teeth. "Yes."
"Sir, if you want her to give up her unauthorized activities, you need to replace them with authorized ones. Grant her request for you to train her in the same techniques that you taught me. Let her come along on some of my missions at first; then give her missions of her own."
"You may be right, Belle. Let me sleep on your request. I'll give you my answer to it in the morning."
In the morning, he granted it. Before, though, he could start Kuma's training, there happened a terrible event that would make all of his plans seem empty.
I pause. "Before I go on, Kuma should have a chance to speak."
Par-On looks at her. "Where did you get the idea for the bola?"
She shrugs, looking pleased with herself. "I'd seen it in cartoons. It looked like something that'd work in real life."
Dala sniffed. "Were you really trying to impress Un?"
Kuma is doing her usual bad job of acting coy. "It never hurts to have a resumé, as Mira says."
Wise, artistic Sil-Tan looks at dour, brooding Un-Thor. "Did Kuma impress you?"
"Taking down a plane, ripping open a truck? Yeah, she's what you want at your side in our line of business."
Lona and Dala exchange a look, but say nothing. They'll never like our line of business, I suspect, but they're coming to be resigned to it. Both of them are smart, powerful, and coachable. They'll do well in the Work, I think.
"What are your parents like, Kuma?" Par asks her. "You've never said much of them."
"There isn't much to say. They love me in their own way, but they've never given me much in the way of boundaries or rules. They work enough to earn themselves and me food, clothing, and shelter, but spend the rest of the time in front of the TV. I'm surprised by their actually telling Dr. Ventnor that they worried about me."
Solid, trustworthy Van-Dor shakes his head. "I wonder why persons like them took in a Tan child."
Kuma shrugs. "They'd been patients of Dr. Ventnor's. What he asked them to do, they did. They were loyal to him."
Lona nods. "All of our parents believed in Dr. Ventnor and the Colonel. They --"
Par holds up a hand. "As it was Mira who learned why the parents were loyal to Dr. Ventnor and the Colonel, and believed in them, she should tell the story. It's coming up soon, isn't it?"
I nod. Before I reach it, though, I must tell of something that was almost as devastating to me as the Homeworld's death had been.