Free Blades of Winter by G. T. Almasi Page B

support?”
    She takes a soft breath. “Your father. They’d been thinking about taking that step for a while, but his last mission is what made them finally do it. If he’d had a dedicated Info resource, he probably wouldn’t have been captured.” She pauses for a minute and almost whispers as she goes on. “He was one of the best they’d ever had. Him and a few others. They created a whole new rating for them. Levels used to only go to 19. They wanted to avoid 20 because it sounds like so much more than 19. But your father and two or three others really were that much better than the other Level 19s.”
    “What made them so good?”
    “They were totally dedicated to the work, and they took the upgrades a lot further than the other Levels.They were all friends who had entered ExOps around the same time, but it got to be this real macho thing. Who was the toughest? Who could be the most shot up and still finish their missions? Who had modified or enhanced the biggest percentage of their body? They all tried to outdo each other to see who could be the first Level 21.”
    When I ask her why they did this, she replies, “I think you can answer that for yourself, Alixandra.”
    She stands up, leaves the room, and returns a moment later with a pack of cigarettes. I’ve never seen her smoke, so I can only stare as she fluidly pops a cigarette out of the pack and lights it. She inhales deeply and lets out a big cloud of smoke toward the ceiling. She looks fantastic with a cigarette in her hand, and I immediately resolve to take up smoking.
    “Alix, after what I saw you do on Friday, I decided to take a good long look at your medical records.” She pauses to take another drag on her cigarette. “I suspected that you’d hidden some things from me, but I had no idea you’d gotten so much work done.”
    “Well, I didn’t think you’d let me, so—”
    “You’re damn right, I wouldn’t have! For Christ’s sake, you’re still a teenager and you’ve had almost 25 percent of your body modified or enhanced!” She’s upset, but I can’t blame her. This is my big lie, and I’m totally snagged.
    “Cleo, I need them for work.”
    “Need! What need? Who says you
need
to be a Level 6 already? You’re already way ahead of your class, and most field agents don’t make Level 6 until they’ve been in the field for twice as long as you have!” My face must have shown surprise, because she continues, “Yes, I know about your promotion, too, and how Cyrus sold it to Director Chanez.” She carries her ashtray over to my bed and sits down next to me again. “Angel, I’ll never forget that you came for me, and I love you for it, but I’m also furious that you’re turning into your father.”
    “
Mom
, I’m only—”
    “I’m not angry at you, sweetie.” She takes my hands. “I’m mad at myself.”
    Oh, well, okay. As long as I’m off the hook
. “How do you mean I’m turning into Daddy?”
    “Well, let’s go back to why you got all the Mods and Enhances.”
    “I told you, it’s for work. I need them to—”
    She gives me the hand. “There’s another reason, Alix. Think about how you feel before and after you have these upgrades done.”
    I think. “Well, before … I feel kind of normal, and then after, I feel, I don’t know …”
    “Super?”
    Damn, look at the big brain on Mom
.
    “Well, yeah …” I think for a few seconds. “Because I can do things I couldn’t do before.”
    “And how long does that feeling last?”
    “It’s not like I forget I had them done.”
    “That’s what you think, not what you feel.” I’m dimly aware that my mom has a background in behavioral something or other. Here I’ve thought I’ve been so sly, hiding things from her. Clearly she’s seen a lot more than I thought.
    “Cleo, look, I don’t know. Like I say, I need them so I can do my work.”
    Silently, she grinds out her cigarette in the ashtray, then stands up and goes into the kitchen. I