Free Abysm by G. S. Jennsen Page B

so much as blinked. He’d been right before—she had in fact raised him well. “Military rebellions can be dealt with via military means, and so she will be.”
    “Why are you telling me? Historically, you haven’t considered me worthy of hearing the juicy state secrets.”
    Ah, there was the flare of defiance. She forgave it, for he was in many ways still a child. “Obviously this information is highly classified, and obviously you will not dare whisper a word of it. I assumed that need not be said.”
    “Not particularly. But again, why are you telling me at all, Mother?”
    She pointedly did not look at him. So many reports being sent to her attention, all urgent and important. “I happen to consider Mia Requelme the most dangerous Prevo outside our control. But I realize you have a personal score to settle with Devon Reynolds, and you seem to have developed a disproportionate hatred for the doctor responsible for all this madness. Canivon, yes?
    “In this instance, our interests converge, as I would not dislike it if one or both of them were removed from the field of play. If you will gather whomever it is you utilize for such unsavory tasks and meet them on Romane, I will provide you Dr. Canivon’s location and additional covert military support. It is my founded suspicion that Mr. Reynolds will not be far from Canivon.”
    When he didn’t respond for several seconds, she looked up at him mildly. He was staring at her, his brow fighting his attempts to subdue it while the muscles beneath his jaw quivered.
    “Was I unclear in my request? Did I stutter, or perhaps mumble?”
    His veneer was in danger of shattering, and she knew well the panic in his eyes. He was her son, after all. “I don’t…I’m not certain I understand, Mother. Why would I—”
    She slid the screens aside. “Jude, do you honestly believe I haven’t known about your little ‘hobby’ since the very beginning? I’ve indulged your machinations and your acting out because they have, more often than not, served to my benefit.
    “But do not for one instant believe you have ever succeeded in slipping the first thing past me. You are a child playing childish games, but this is the grown-up world. If you wish to operate in it, you need to recognize its…realities.”
    He exploded off the wall. “How dare you insult me! I lead thousands upon thousands of followers. They bow to my image and worship at the altar of my vision. I issue a command, and colonies explode. I decree—”
    She waved him off with a dismissive scowl. “Enough, Jude. You’ll alert security with your wailing. I don’t need a lecture demonstrating the size of your ego, and I know precisely what you do and do not command. You’ve done passably well, given your limitations, but now—”
    “My limitations ? And what, pray tell, might those be?”
    “Your rampant narcissism, coupled with a complete inability to disguise it. Your temper, not to mention your need for constant praise and adoration. Your incredibly narrow perspective, bordering on tunnel vision. I could go on, but I have quite a lot to do this evening.
    “Now be a dear and get yourself on a transport to Romane, would you? I’m giving you the means to achieve your most fervent goal, so do try not to let the side down.”

    Jude stormed down the long corridors of the EA Headquarters manor toward and finally through the side entrance. Even outside, however, he found no peace. People loitered everywhere: guards, aides, other staff, onlookers, tourists.
    Rage boiled in his chest, and it took all of his willpower to not strike out, run or otherwise draw notice to himself.
    He made it to the garage before the fury bubbled over and demanded an outlet. He picked up the trash sanitizer bin and hurled it across the lot with a guttural cry. It clattered and clanged across vehicle roofs and banged off columns.
    The callous if minimal destruction he’d wrought gave him a brief respite, and he quickly made his way to