Fic: The Summer Intern (cont.)

[jeriendhal]

Three more days passed. It rained constantly. Nan listened to it pound the roof of the First One's treehouse as she kept up with the constant flow of emails that came to him from across the Region and even from other worlds. Most were routine, requiring only his okay for various projects and programs, which she granted automatically using the personal override he'd given her. Towards the end of each day she prepared a brief summary of what she'd agreed him to, which she presented to him when he returned after another fruitless day of watching over the search for the wanted buck from the confines of the main administration center.

The First One's mood had grown blacker and his conversation more snappish as the days wore on. Nan got the idea that he'd have been happiest helping in the search himself, but he was still bound to the administration village by his connection to the recently rescued doe. It hadn't helped at all when the doe had to be placed into the ICU after she took on a fever, her weakened immune system vulnerable to the bugs that floated around any hospital.

"Vix, what the frell do you mean you scheduled me for another news interview?" he growled the afternoon of the third day.

"It's with the Farm News Network," she explained. "They're based out of Vulpine Prime, so it'll be a friendly interview, not like the one you did last week."

"I don't have the frelling time t' be jack jawin' with a talking head, Vix!" he shouted at her.

"But you said you were worried about the effect the murder of the Furrows would have on ferin/vulpine relations," Nan tried to explain, taking a step back. "I thought that it would be a good chance for you to assure everyone..."

The First One's tail spade slapped the floorboards loudly, cutting her off. "Sorry, Vix, but did ya just say ya thought? I'm the one that does the thinkin' around here and I'm the one that decides what I'm doin' and nobody else! Especially not some snot nosed vix with a Uni degree who thinks she knows better than the guy who runs half this frelling planet!"

Nan found herself backing away from him and towards the door as he carried on. "Sir, First One, I'm sorry. I'll cancel the interview."

The First One's spurs rose up and his eyes began to glow with a barely suppressed bion discharge. "No! You are gonna get outta my house and don't show yer face around here until I tell ya to come back!"

"I... I... Yes, sir!" Shocked by his sudden outburst of anger, Nan snagged her rain slicker and dropped down the rope ladder as fast as she dared, jogging away through the mud until she was out of sight of the tree house.

It was a miserable walk back to the dormitory, the rain pounding down with the occasional crack of thunder in the dark sky above. Nan rubbed wet gravel out form between her toes on the welcome mat and gratefully slipped inside the dorm, pulling off her slicker and trying to rub the water out of her face fur. She headed over to the auto-cafe, intent on grabbing a tea and a sandwich, then retreating back to her room to try and figure out what to do next.

Nan picked up her tray from the auto-cafe's dispenser, then nearly dropped it as she came face to face with Officer Greycoat, who had been standing directly behind her. His eyes looked incredibly strange, appearing to be pupiless silver shards. It took her a moment to realize he was wearing silver tinted contact lenses, probably one of the more expensive models, with digital HUD feeds directed from the pocket comp at his belt. "Officer Greycoat, you startled me," she exclaimed.

"Miss Clawstroke," he greeted, touching finger to temple in a casual salute. "May I have a moment of your time?"

"I suppose," she said, willing her heart to stop racing as she sat down at one of the little cafe's tables. Greycoat sat opposite her, staring at her with his silvered eyes intensely. "What brings you here?" she asked.

"I was hoping you could help me with the investigation into the murder of the Furrows," he said to her.

Nan blinked, her ears flicking back in confusion. "Me? I'm certain you know more about the case than I do at this point."

"I know what it looks like from my perspective," he said. "I want to know what it looks like from yours. More specifically, from your viewpoint as Terinu's assistant."

"Well, I haven't seen much of him recently," she admitted. "He's been spending most of his time at the administration centre, coordinating the search for the buck and his troupe."

"Has he really?" Cofficer Greycoat's question sounded extremely doubtful.

"Well, I mean, that's what I assume he's been doing," she admitted.

"And how has that been proceeding?"

"Not well, I gather. He's been in a pretty foul mood." She ducked her head down, the First One's anger still ringing in her ears.

"How foul?" Greycoat laid his paw atop of hers. "Has he threatened you in any way?"

"What? No! Nothing like that," she exclaimed, snatching her paw back. "What would make you think so?"

Greycoat shrugged. "Because he's a ferin. You've worked with them before, yes, when you did you mandatory Service?"

"Of course I did," she said.

"Ever serve on a ship?"

She nodded. "Two years on a light battlecruiser, the Steadfast."

"Ever see what happened when a new ferin came onboard the ship, how violent they became?"

"Violent?" Nan shook her head, increasingly uncomfortable at the turn of the conversation. "Well, I mean the new ferin always knocked heads a bit with the old hands, until the pecking order was established again, but that's just because they're ferin."

"Just because they're ferin," he repeated.

"Well they're not like us," she stumbled. "You have to make accommodations."

"No, they're not like us," he agreed, a strange smile on his face. "It's good you haven't forgotten that."

"Look, what are you getting on about,?" Nan demanded, feeling unnerved.

Officer Greyocat continued to smile, the expression curiously cold, probably because of the silver contacts that hid his eyes. "I, milord the Count's Civil Protection unit rather, would appreciate it if you could pass along any information to us concerning the investigation into the murder of the Furrows. Especially if you think it's something that Terinu, the First One rather, has discovered, but has chosen to keep to himself."

"Why do you think he'd do that? He's as angry as Lord Brokentoe about this."

Greycoat snorted. "Who's side do you think he's on? Do you imagine he's really going to allow one of his tree monkey cousins to face a count's justice?"

"I, well, I seriously think you're pre-judging the case!" she sputtered. "You don't know that the buck is guilty. He's just a suspect!"

"I'm a CP, Miss Clawstroke, and this isn't some mystery vid. In the real world 95% of the time the most obvious suspect is the guilty party. Terinu knows that too, that's why he's probably directing the search away from wherever the buck and his troupe are going. You can help me with that."

"And how do you imagine I'd do that?" Nan asked.

"You're his summer intern. You do all of his scut work so he laze about in his apple grove and stuff himself fat with Terran fruit. That means to do his work, you've got access to everything short of Omega level classified files. You did pass the security check they made you go through before you were accepted to this scholarship, didn't you?"

"Well, yes," she admitted. That had been one of the least pleasant experiences in her life, starting with completing a questionnaire longer than her doctoral thesis, then being grilled on her answers by humor deprived security agents in a marathon seven hour session with her skull strapped into a truth verifier.

"Then you might be able to get the information I need to find that buck." Greycoat reached into the front pocket of his shirt and handed an electronic contact card to her. "If you find out anything you might think is useful, please contact me."

"I... I'll think about it," she said cautiously.

He smiled at her again. Whether the smile extended to his eyes was impossible to tell behind his silver shields. "That's all I ask." And with that he gave her another salute and turned to walk outside, leaving Nan inexplicably shivering.

TBC