Kinsmen 01 - Silver Shark

thing."
    Inwardly Claire clenched. She'd stumbled. The military conditioning finally betrayed her.
    "You're looking at the product of a seventy-year war," Venturo's mind said. "She evaluates her environment for threats and defuses them. It's a useful quality."
    Lienne sighed mentally. "Oh no. Ven, please don't tell me you found another lost puppy?"
    Claire studied her hands. Lost puppy...
    "What if the next firm she goes to reject her as well? Eventually she will be deported. Have you seen the images of that place? It's hell."
    "I've read the coverage, too. Chemical warfare, casualties in thousands, and everyone with a drop of kinsmen blood turned into a killer. We have no way of verifying who she is or what she is capable of besides what the Immigration tells us. This is a terrible idea."
    "No kinsman would have made it through the immigration screening. Her mind is completely inert. What harm can she do? Look at it as a good deed for the day."
    In her mind Lienne smiled. "Are you sure you're hiring her because you're buying her hard luck story and not because she looks at you as if you're made of gold?"
    They knew. They both realized her reaction to him. It must've been so apparent, a blind man could've seen it. How embarrassing.
    "Hire her," Venturo's thought communicated. "I can make a difference in her life today and I intend to do so."
    "Then let me put her as one of the junior assistants. As your admin, she would be representing the company. I mean, look at her, Venturo. She looks like a beggar. That hair... The woman obviously has never been inside a salon in her entire life..."
    Deep inside her shell Claire pictured slapping Lienne's mind. The older woman was powerful, but not powerful enough. One slap and Lienne would wake up on the floor an hour or so later, unsure how she got there.
    Venturo's mind focused on his aunt. It wasn't a gesture designed to intimidate; he simply "stared" at her, but the force of that mental "look" was nearly overwhelming. Like standing in the path of an avalanche.
    Mentally Lienne bowed her head. "As you wish."
    Venturo held his aunt in the sniper scope of his mental stare for another long second and glanced back at her. "Claire, how much do you know about extrasensory security?"
    "Nothing." Everything.
    "Most of the computers we use are simply a collection of mechanical parts," he said. "However, certain corporations and government systems require higher level of data processing. They run on biological networks. These networks are vulnerable to psychic attacks. We provide security for these systems. If you choose to work here, you will have to sign a confidentiality agreement. You cannot discuss the nature of your work with anyone. Will that be an issue for your family?"
    "I have no family."
    "You do have a place to stay?" he asked.
    "Yes. The Immigration provided me with an apartment."
    "Good," he said. "You're hired. Lienne will take care of the details."
    "Thank you," she whispered.
    "You're welcome." He rose and walked away to his desk. Lienne stood up and gave her a pointed glance. Claire followed her outside through the hallway into the outer office. Lienne tapped her tablet and held her hand to the slit in the recessed wall to their right. The wall spat a narrow ring of deep red into her palm.
    "Hand," the woman ordered.
    Claire held out her hand and Lienne slid the ring on her right middle finger. "Two weeks advance. It will be recouped gradually from your pay. Squeeze the sides to view the balance." The older woman examined her critically. "New wardrobe. Nothing too provocative, nothing too drab. Nothing like this." She indicated Claire's clothes with the sweep of her hand.
    It wasn't an insult, but it felt like a slap. "Thank you," Claire said.
    "You will be replacing Olemi, Venturo's personal admin. If it was up to me, I would place you in a position of lesser responsibility, but he insisted. He will see every mistake you will make and I have no doubt he will overlook some of them, because he is a kind man. But his patience isn't infinite." Steel laced Lienne's gaze. "Make no mistake, Claire. If you betray our family, he will kill you."
    "I understand." He would find her a surprisingly difficult target.
    "This tablet contains the work manuals that explain your duties and company procedures. Ven feels sorry for you. Going through life relying on the sympathy of strangers is no way to live. I suggest you memorize these manuals over the weekend, so you can earn your