Just before being prodded into the bedroom by the unsuspecting Cadena, Jeannie screamed out the defensive code Jamie had entered in her body computer. She cringed as she cried out, fearing that he would shoot her in the back, but hoping desperately that he would hesitate before firing. The scream alone might have been enough to activate the defensive system, but she couldn't be sure she had gotten enough emotional overtones into her voice at the time she and Jamie had laughingly practiced against a possible intruder. It worked, though, just as Jamie had designed it to.

     Like a striking rattler, clusters of biomanipulators shot out from both sides of the room, differentiating Jeannie and the miscreant instantly. Cadena's weapon was struck from his hand by one tentacle, and other constricting coils whipped around his body and swept him from his feet. He gagged and struggled as a coil tightened around his neck, cutting off his breath. His struggles caused the others entangling his body to tighten even further. Maddened with fear and rage, he ceased fighting only when he was totally unconscious.

     Jeannie drew in several long, lung-expanding breaths, trying to moderate the adrenalin surge which had left her shaken and weak. Finally regaining her calm, she stepped over and around the biomanipulators holding Cadena tight from both walls and recovered her clothing. She pulled it on, keeping an eye on the entangled man, even though she knew there was no chance he could escape. She went over to the computer alcove, intending to call Whitmire's office for help. She stopped as an idea struck her. Her lips parted at the audacity of the thought. She stepped back long enough to draw a glass of water to leaven her dry throat, then sat down to wait until Cadena recovered enough to talk. She saw the coils covering his body begin to relax slightly, even though they still held him tight. When she saw him open his eyes and blink, she spoke to him.

     "Now you will tell me what in hell you think you're up to, mister. Start talking. It better be good."

     "I was just kidding," Cadena said in a raw voice. "Jamie gave me access here. Now let me go." He tried to exude some bravado, but it was a weak attempt, completely unconvincing.

     Jeannie laughed. "I don't believe that for a minute. I saw you in Alvarez's office earlier this evening when you were supposed to be home with a headache. You're after something, and it has to be something to do with Jamie. You can either tell me, or I can call John Whitmire and let you tell him."

     Cadena's whole body slumped, as much as it was able to in the restrictive coils. There was no way he wanted the security chief to intervene. His only hope lay with the girl. "If I tell you, will you let me go? Just give me a chance to get away, that's all I ask." The fear of exile caused him to begin shivering, like the girl he had killed so long ago, just before he snuffed out her life.

     Jeannie considered the best way to carry out her plan. She had no intention of letting the man go. She fully intended to call Whitmire and turn Cadena over to him, but not before she got her pound of flesh. "Start talking. If I like what I hear, I'll give you twelve hours grace to get to wherever you think you want to go. Don't try lying to me, though. Whitmire can be here in half an hour if I call him."

     Cadena began to talk, fear pressing at his mind. He told her only what he thought she already knew, but Jeannie wouldn't be satisfied. She wanted it all, now that she had a plan. She didn't let up on him until she had wormed out the complete story of his recruitment by Moon City, how he passed his information, and the nature of each stolen file. She took her time, knowing there was no way he could escape.

     As time passed, Cadena found the telling easier. He wanted to get it over with, and his mind was already skipping ahead to possible hiding places in the Enclave.

     Jeannie summed it up. "So, you've been passing on any information you think valuable to the Moon City people all these years. I don't know why you would have wanted to, but let that go. What I can't understand is why they would want anything from us? They sit up there safe and sound, not threatened at all, while we're down here holed up in the Enclaves."

     "I don't know for sure," Cadena answered honestly. "I guess maybe they still depend on earth for some materials and products and use the information for planning and deciding which Enclaves to trade with. They were always after me to get them any kind of new technology that we were holding back in hopes of getting better deals with them."

     "And now they know that we're after something which might alter the balance, thanks to you. You are a despicable man."

     "You promised to let me go!" Canena's voice was shrill with apprehension.

     "If you believed that, you probably believe in fairies, too."

     Cadena began to plead incoherently until she shut him up with a threat of tightening his bonds. We withdrew into a sullen silence but continued to watch her. She instructed the defender to hold him captive with no time limit.

     "Where are you going? You can't just leave me here like this," he pleaded.

     "Just hide and watch, buster."

     He tried one more gambit. "At least let me up long enough to go to the bathroom. I promise not to cause any trouble, but I've got to go."

     Jeannie thought of her narrow escape from rape and murder. "Piss in your pants, you bastard." She turned on her heel and left.

     She caught the sled leading to her apartment and planned some more as she rode, wondering all the time if she was doing the right thing, and wondering even more if she could pull it off. Never mind. I'm going to try, she thought. If Candena's treachery had increased the danger to Jamie in any way, then she was determined to be there to share it. It was a romantic notion, of course, but then Jeannie was a romantic girl, and she was emboldened to try the gambit and see how Whitmire reacted.

     Whitmire took her call almost immediately, the image appearing to show him at his desk console. He looked tired, but spoke kindly. "Yes, Jeannie, what can I do for you?"

     "I've caught a spy," she said, getting to the subject matter immediately.

     Whitmire furrowed his brows, wondering if he had heard her right. He had been expecting another inquiry about Jamie Da Cruz. Spies shouldn't even be in her lexicon. "A spy, you say? And you caught one? Child, am I hearing you right?"

     "You heard right Mr. Whitmire. He tried to kill me," Jeannie reiterated.

     Concern crossed his face. "Are you hurt?"

     "No, but it wasn't for lack of trying. Look, let me tell you about it."

     "Perhaps we should go over the matter in person, if it can wait an hour or so." He was much more aware of political intrigue than Jeannie or most other citizens were. There was competition and undercover operations occurring continuously between the Enclaves and space, and even between the individual Enclaves. If Jeannie had indeed uncovered some espionage, and in her words, 'caught a spy', there might be need to keep the events discrete for the time being.

     "I guess it could wait for a little while if it has to, but please, not long."

     "Are you calling from home?" He asked, more for reassurance than need to know; he suspected she was, judging from the background displayed with her image, that of a simple one room apartment.

     "Yes, I'm home."

     "Then may I suggest you wait there and let me come to you? Give me the location, and I'll be there very shortly."

     Jeannie gave him her number and location, then waited in frustration for his arrival. She had been primed to negotiate when she called and wasn't sure she could go through with it in person. The waiting only made it worse.

     Whitmire greeted her warmly when she let him in. He looked around the room and saw no spy in sight, although he admitted to himself that she still looked just as distraught as when she had called. Her room was decorated in fresh pink and pale green pastels, with growing plants in every nook and cranny. He took the seat she offered and crossed his legs. "Now, Jeannie, begin at the start and let's see what we have."

     Jeannie told her story as well as she could, omitting only the name of the man and where he was being held. Whitmire noticed the omission, of course, but refrained from interrupting until she was finished. "Now, you say you have this man trussed up where he can't escape. Good. Tell me where he is and I'll send a security detachment to bring him in."

     Jeannie took a deep breath. "There is something I want, first. Before I hand him over, I want a promise from you.

     "And what might that be? There may be no time to spare, Jeannie. If Moon City is really onto the nature of our expedition they may try to reach the area before we do, somehow."

     "I want to be with Jamie. I know you send floaters out to meet them at night. You could let me go on one." She met his startled gaze with her lips drawn into a tight line.

     "Jeannie, you know nothing of the wilds, and this expedition is important, more so than you might guess."

     "Jamie doesn't know anything about the wilds, either, and he went."

     "True," Whitmire countered, "but his presence was necessary, and yours isn't."

     "It is now, if you want to know anything else about the spy. I'm serious, Mr. Whitmire. If Jamie is in danger, I want to share it." Her voice, in control until then, trembled with the last words. She felt the beginning of a sob trying to form and fought to hold it back.

     John Whitmire was a dedicated man, and a harsh one when circumstances dictated. He uncrossed his legs and stood up to pace, a narrow three steps in each direction, while he considered. He would have to send reinforcements to the expedition now, simply as a matter of expedience, but he couldn't see where one inexperienced girl would be that much of an additional problem. After all, the scientists were laboring under the same handicap. He suspected, rightly, that he could determine the whereabouts of Jeannie's captive fairly easily, but it might take a day or so if she remained as stubbornly silent as she was now. He stopped pacing and sat back down.

     "All right, Jeannie, I'll let you go. It may be a day or two, though. I'm going to have to send some reinforcements out before I can make room for you, and I won't risk telling the expedition anything about this other than by personal contact; the satellites might pick up the transmission. I'll have to have a courier go with the next floater out, then bring one of the rangers back for a briefing. If one space agent is involved, there may be others, and their pipeline normally runs through floater pilots. I don't dare even trust the courier; my own headquarters may be penetrated, but there are a few rangers I know I can trust. So give me a couple of days, OK?"

     Jeannie did cry then, from relief rather than any other emotion, but she soon calmed down. Then, under Whitmire's gentle urging, she filled in the rest of the story.

     "You will have to come with me us if we want to release Mr. Cadena without tearing up Jamie's defender. It would be a shame after the good job it did. You were very lucky, I hope you know that."

     "I guess so. I'm here, and a couple of hours ago I didn't know if I would be or not. If I couldn't have accessed the defender --"

     "You would very likely be dead, perhaps after some very unpleasant preliminaries. Let me use your terminal and we'll be on our way."

     Two security agents were waiting when they arrived at Jamie's apartment. She opened the door for them, but let them go in first, not quite trusting Cadena to still be trussed up. Seconds later, they beckoned her inside, then took custody of Cadena after she loosed the Bios. They hustled him away, head hung, thinking only of his bleak future.

     Whitmire turned to Jeannie. "It will be in the morning before I can get a floater out, and likely another day or so before I get the reinforcements sent in. I can let you go after that, if you are still so determined, but I insist you take the little training course that Jamie did. You can join him the day after. Report to the security building in the morning; I'll have it set up for you."

     "Thank you. I'll be there. Do you think the space people will really try to interfere with the expedition?"

     "Knowing how venal and covetous they are, it is a distinct possibility, but being prepared is half the battle. We can manage that now, thanks to you." Whitmire smiled down  at Jeannie's small, pretty face, thinking how vulnerable she looked. He hoped Jamie would treat her right.

     "Go home, now, and get a good night's sleep. I'll see you in the morning if I can." Impulsively, he leaned over and kissed her on the forehead, then cursed himself silently for being a sentimental old fool. _

                     Pet Plague (continued)