Up Against It - M. J. Locke [125]
Sarah settled back in her chair. “Doubtful. You signed the contract just like everybody else, and you’ve benefited from the stipend. Free-speech protection laws tend to be weaker than contract law here. On Earth or the moon, most places, you’d be in better shape.”
“Power makes the rules, in other words, and the weak go wanting.”
Sarah chuckled. “You’re hardly powerless, my dear.”
“I feel powerless enough.”
Sarah gazed steadily at her, and she shrugged a grudging acquiescence.
“Anyway,” Sarah said, “I don’t find your point valid on principle. All societies must find a way to deal with competing interests. There may well be times when you’ll be grateful for contract law provisions that—”
“Goddammit, this is no time for philosophy. I have no privacy! I can’t be myself; I’m always ‘on.’ I’m an automaton for the cameras! It was bad enough before ‘Stroiders,’ but now, and with this disaster…” She slumped. “I’m so unspeakably sick of it.”
Sarah’s expression softened. “Of course. I’ll put some interns to work and see what we can do.”
“Actually, there’s not much point. I don’t plan to hang around.” Jane told her about Benavidez’s offer. Sarah’s eyes went wide and her lips thinned.
“You accepted it? Without talking to me first?”
Jane nodded. “It was take-it-or-leave-it. And I’m so sick of fighting.” She hunched over, pressing the heels of her hands against her eyes. “It’s been over forty years of this business. I’m exhausted. So tired of the maneuverings and the spinning. The backstabbing.”
“You’ve always been able to handle the pressure before.”
“People haven’t died before. Not like this.” She paused. “And there are aspects that haven’t come out in the news.”
Sarah cocked her head. “Ah?”
“The disaster was sabotage. We don’t have hard proof yet, but we know who is behind it.”
“Ogilvie & Sons.”
“Has to be. Benavidez thinks he can handle them. He’s in for an ugly shock. And it’s the people of Phocaea who will suffer. There was just no way I could have predicted all the variables that led to the sapient’s emergence.” It sounded like a whine, even to her own ears. But she needed to say it once. “No way anyone could. Not even Tania.”
“Of course not. Jane, you mustn’t take the bad-sammies personally. This is not about you. Not really.”
“I know. People are scared. They need somewhere to put the blame. They need a scapegoat. But it is personal, for me.” With a sigh, she straightened. “So, let’s talk strategy. What are my options?”
“Since you’re leaving shortly, it sounds like our main priority is protecting you from the media and your political enemies while you make preparations to go.”
They spent some time devising a legal strategy to give Jane some breathing room, and she had a lot of good ideas for countering the bad press. It was going to cost, though. She thought about their savings. Hugh was out of school and supporting himself, but Dominica still had five semesters to go. As an Upsider Downside, her tuition was breathtakingly expensive.
Yes, Jane had been bought off with a lot of money. But none of that felt real. She half expected them to find a way to screw her out of it. And part of her did not even want it. She wanted to throw it back in Benavidez’s face. Much as she needed that money for her kids. And for Xuan’s family members still trapped Downside.
Thinking about Xuan’s Downsider family reminded her of Dominica, which reminded her of the data lozenge Xuan had given her. Jane touched the pocket in which the lozenge rested. She should view her daughter’s bad news. There wasn’t much point in putting it off any longer.
Sarah gave Jane a quiet corner of her office and busied herself with some legal research while Jane viewed the lozenge.
Dominica’s face appeared. “Ma, Da. Sorry for the long delay.” She was looking down at her notes. Her face was stiff. “I’ve found Phan Huu-Thanh. As we feared, she’s been encrypted. She was processed in Edmonton and staged for a while there, but she’s been shipped to the new people heap they’re building on the moon. She