[My writing productivity has been poor for the last few months, for several reasons, and I’m still resolving some problems with The Maker’s Ark. I intended this fill-in as a short vignette, but it expanded into a two-part cliffhanger psychological mystery. It takes place during The Maker’s Ark, between Chapter 30 and Chapter 32. The most recent regular chapter is here, links to my other work here. I’m shooting for next week for Part 2, but it may end up being two weeks.]

Yiskah hit the mat in the gym and rolled back to her feet facing Breakpoint. "Well, that didn’t work either,“ she said, and grinned.

He grinned back. "Did for a while,” he said. "I had to wait until you attacked again.“

He’d gotten past her defenses with a snap kick to the abdomen. She’d been a little too careful guarding against a hand strike that had never materialized while recovering from her own blocked attack.

They’d been sparring for about half an hour. They were both skilled martial artists, though their preferred styles differed. They had about the same amount of experience, and Breakpoint was in superb shape for a physically normal human.

Up until a few months ago, Yiskah had been as well. Now her body was superhuman, a side effect from a battle with an extradimensional being that was already the subject of epic poetry and mythology. She was slightly faster than him, had more endurance, and was strong enough to lift the back of a truck one-handed.

She could also read minds.

None of that had affected the results much yet.

"Catch our breath before we go on?” she asked, wiping her forehead.

“Sure.”

They walked over to the bench against the wall. Breakpoint wiped his face with a towel before sitting down. Yiskah took a drink of water before joining him.

At least I made him sweat, she thought. Very few people could manage that. She’d gotten in one very light tap right at the beginning, which he had acknowledged with a smile. She hadn’t been able to touch him since.

Breakpoint had golden tan skin, dark hair and eyes, and an easy, cheerful smile. Speculation about his ethnicity was more a Rorschach test than a useful exercise, and he always replied ‘American mutt’ when asked about it. He carried a crowbar when he was working, and his normal 'costume’ was a coverall. People who regarded his appearance as suspicious soon found out that the best possible result from pressing further was serious embarrassment. Especially if they were a cop.

There were a number of crooked or excessively violent former law enforcement personnel in jail because of Breakpoint. Early in his career, he had made that a hobby. But word had gotten around, and they’d stopped taking the bait. He’d started working with Jumping Spider fairly recently.

Yiskah found his mind an interesting contrast to Donner. Both were self-confident and outwardly easygoing, but Donner had a consciousness of his own buried anger and potential to cause harm that kept him on edge during crises. Breakpoint’s danger sense let him stay more relaxed–it gave him time to think, and he used it.

“Thanks for the workout,” he said. "It’s rare for me to get a real one, because… Well, you know.“ He grinned.

Yiskah laughed. "Yeah, I do. And my pleasure. Ready for the fun part, now that we’re warmed up?”

“You bet.”

They moved back to the practice mat and stood facing each other, about ten feet apart.

“All right,” she said. "We’ve established that danger sense beats mind scan, at least for hand-to-hand.“

"It’s close,” he said. I needed all my skill and reflexes, too. If I didn’t have those…“

"You do, though. My slight edge in speed isn’t enough to make up for the delay between your danger sense going off and my mind scan picking it up. And you can vary your counters without thinking about them, which is key.”

Yiskah smiled. “But I can do more, and so can you. I’ve put quite a bit of thought into the test mix for the rest, but before we start, be clear that there is no way to avoid the potential for privacy violation, acute personal discomfort, and both of us learning more than we really wanted about the other. You okay with that?”

“Comes with the territory. I’ve gone up against empaths, but never a full telepath–and I’d sure rather learn from you than a hostile one. This wouldn’t work if it weren’t–”

“–a little dangerous,” she finished, and he grinned again. "Okay, safety. I should be able to pick it up, but if you want to stop but can’t verbalize, tap me on the left shoulder. Right shoulder is substitute for a hard counter you don’t want to use because of potential damage. Sound fair?“

"Got it. I’m ready whenev–” He stopped speaking suddenly, and his eyes narrowed.

“Heh.”

Breakpoint looked at her intently. "You aren’t moving. You aren’t intending to move. But you’re doing something that’s making my danger sense flash like a turn signal. On and off. Again and again. What?“

"Planning to start an aggressive mind probe if your danger sense doesn’t go off. But it does, so I don’t. I’m just picking up your surface reaction with my scan, so I can’t tell if the danger is diminishing with repetition. Is it?”

“No.”

“Interesting. A fast probe is sufficiently obnoxious to set off your danger sense, even though you’ve never experienced one. Which isn’t terribly surprising, they’re usually unpleasant even for me. We’ve just verified that you can pick up purely conditional mental intent, if it’s enough of a threat.”

“Yeah. Okay, it’s stopped. Now what?”

“Now I can try a whole bunch of formerly risky things more safely. Because I’ll be bringing you along, so anything bad will happen to us both.”

“But it won’t? Because my danger sense will go off, your scan will pick it up, and you’ll stop?”

“Exactly.” Yiskah rubbed her hands together. "Now I’d like to see if your danger sense works on a constructed threat inside a mentally projected scenario.“

"What kind?”

“Have you ever been on a stakeout where you’ve had to conceal your awareness rather than hide?”

“Yeah, a few times. I’ve–oh, cool.”

They stood on the edge of a city park at night. Several street lights kept them from complete darkness, but the illumination didn’t extend to a nearby alley entrance. They were both dressed for a night on the town, and Yiskah moved closer to take his hand.

“I know this place,” he said. "How are you–“

"I’m pulling it from your memories. Everything you noticed will be here.”

He frowned for a moment then looked to the side. "I could have sworn that old fountain wasn’t there when I first looked.“

"It wasn’t–until you remembered it.” She smiled. "Here’s the setup. Our target is meeting someone down that alley, but he won’t show if he doesn’t get an all clear. A not-very-bright flunky is coming out to check in a second. But we’re just a couple getting some air after a party–and clearly too involved with each other to bother with anything else.“

She leaned back against him, half-closed her eyes and sighed contentedly. He snorted, but put his hands around her waist. They could both feel the sense of tension Yiskah was projecting as part of the test.

"Did Jumping Spider give you lessons?” he whispered in her ear.

She laughed softly. "I wish. Any danger?“

"Not that I can feel.”

They discreetly observed the figure that stepped from the alley, looked around, then went back in. The sense of tension dropped after he did.

“Scenario complete,” said Yiskah, and their surroundings blinked again, leaving them back in the training gym, still in the same relative positions. She closed her eyes the rest of the way and brushed her cheek against his. "Any danger now? Or unpleasantness?“

Breakpoint chuckled. "Hardly. What did you learn?”

“Something very important to me. And very difficult to test ethically.”

“Oh?”

“My water bottle is over on the bench. Care to go get it for me?”

“Why? I don’t want to…” He trailed off, and she listened as his mind raced. "Oh, that was slick,“ he said finally. "I never got a hint. Are you suppressing my danger sense somehow?”

“Not a bit. You aren’t in any danger.”

“It’s still a little scary. Is there anyone else out there who could manage what you just did?”

“I doubt it. Until just now, I wasn’t sure I could. Certainly not anyone who isn’t a full telepath and has to rely on verbal commands. I’m being very careful not to tell you to do anything you aren’t already inclined to do, or prevent you from doing anything you consider important. And if I hadn’t planned that–your danger sense would have gone off first.”

“Huh. It feels… worryingly pleasant, if that makes sense.”

“Oh yeah. So. Using your other power, the one you have issues testing on people–how do you get free from mind control?”

“From you? I wait. You might monologue for a while, but eventually you’ll just let me go.”

“Hmm. Any faster way?”

He was quiet for a moment. "Nothing I’m willing to try. You have some kind of multiple personality vulnerability, but it’s definitely dangerous to look closer. How many of you are in there, anyway?“

"Heh. Four at the moment–it should only be three, but, well…”

“Yeah. Not something I’m willing to stir up for practice. I don’t get to see all the consequences–just the right place to poke.”

Breakpoint’s other power, the one that gave him his name, was weakness detection. Like his danger sense, it was a limited form of precognition. For inanimate objects, it told him the precise spot to strike to break or disable them. For people, it was messier–and more dangerous. Yiskah was sure it had more versatility than he’d demonstrated publicly, but he was reluctant to test it because of the risks.

“That’s fine. You’ve already given me several valuable insights. So I’ll let you go now. In a way, it did work. There.” She turned to face him again as he stepped back.

“Okay, what next?” he asked.

“I’d like to see how comfortable you are with my telepresence–in case you’re doing fieldwork and want my help in a hurry…”

The next twenty minutes weren’t as physically tiring as the sparring, but they were still a workout–just a less visible one.

“All right. Formal tests over,” said Yiskah, after they finished the last one.

“Whoo. Now that was mind-expanding,” he said, as he sat back down on the bench.

“Fun, too.” She stretched, enjoying his reaction as he watched.

“Okay. I got a little background danger spike, but it went away quick. Now what are you doing?”

“Just what you see. And mind scan. You aren’t as good at hiding your surface thoughts when we aren’t physically sparring.”

“I stopped trying–because you have to be doing that on purpose. But I have no intent to offend.”

“You aren’t offending me. At all.” Yiskah chuckled. "Now… there’s an interesting theory about how you could use your danger sense. You know the one. And why people find it so interesting.“

He shook his head. "It doesn’t work like that. It’s not like mind-reading or telepathy. It doesn’t let me find the right thing to do. Or even avoid the wrong thing–just the dangerous thing. So it won’t help with–”

“It could. With someone capable of being dangerous to you. And a lot of self-discipline, or at least self-awareness. And who you are interested in, and trust. Not a lot of people in that club. But it’s not empty. Is it?”

“Ah… I’m not sure–”

“I’m sure it’s worth trying. You aren’t because you don’t know me well enough yet. We can fix that.” She smiled. "And then you won’t have to wonder anymore. We can test it. Perfectly safely.“

"Except for the dangerous part.”

“Just like the rest of the tests. What do you think of…?”

She sent a projection of a possibility–and felt him react.

“Um,” he said.

“Is that an 'um, no’ or an 'um, yes’? Any danger?”

“No danger, but… right here?”

“Room is sealed, monitors are privacy locked, mat is padded. And life is too short.”

“Whoo. Were you planning this from the beginning?”

“Oh yeah. You have danger sense and I can read your mind. We can skip past all the BS. And I don’t have to be careful every. Damned. Second. Do you have any idea how much that turns me on? So how about it?”

He stared back at her for a moment, looking for any sign of deception–and finding none. "Sure.“

It didn’t go quite how she had foreseen. But he found a path that worked, for both of them, in a wordless exchange of desire and intent, balance and consent. And pleasure. She was content.

The contentment stayed. It was a rare feeling for Yiskah. She knew to take such times as gifts, even when she knew how they would end. She luxuriated in it as she dressed again, outside the shower. Breakpoint had already finished his, so they spoke telepathically.

"I understand your caution,” she sent. “I think your danger sense and weakness detection are part of a continuum rather than separate, just like my mind scan and mind probes. But your perfectionism was a little frustrating. I was like 'I’m ready, already, go go go!’” She sent her laughter along with the words.

“Danger sense only helps if I listen to it. Carefully.”

“Fair enough.”

She returned to the main room. He had changed back into his street clothes after his own shower, and was sitting on the bench, hands clasped in front of him. He had the slightly wary expression of someone who thought everything had gone too well and was waiting for the other shoe to drop.

“So,” she said, and sat down beside him. She put an arm around his waist and leaned against him. "Let’s talk about your real worry.“

He looked down at his hands. "I’m sorry that I–”

“Not the shift in who you were thinking about. That’s not under conscious control–and I wouldn’t expect or want you to hide it, even if you could. It won’t bother her, and it sure didn’t bother me.” Yiskah smiled. "When I was nine, Jumping Spider was who I wanted to be when I grew up.“

"Ah.” More wariness.

“I’m talking about why you haven’t done this with her. Or anything other than fieldwork. Yet.”

“We’ve… considered it. Twice. And both times my danger sense went off.”

Yiskah nodded slowly. "Did you explain?“

"Yeah. And the second time, it was clear it wasn’t an outside problem. She seemed pretty frustrated. The warnings I get for social stuff aren’t like the spikes I use to dodge physical threats–they can be really vague. I didn’t get what was wrong or how to bypass it. But I’m not willing to ignore them.” He looked down again. "Made that mistake before. Not going to make it again.“

"Any ideas why?”

“Yeah. I really like her. And it sure seems to be mutual. But I’ve already started thinking about the long term. Lots of ways that could go wrong. I don’t want it to. And I don’t want to jeopardize our work–we’re going after Tabula Rasa, and I’m covering early warning for both of us. I can’t afford to lose my center in the field.”

“Is there a reason you haven’t just sat down to talk it over with her?”

“We haven’t had the chance–we’ve been busy. Covering for Doc, finding out what was up with Donner, and then the assassination attempt and Tabula Rasa. Sure, we’ve had a little time here and there. Enough time to have some fun, as she put it. But not to start a talk that might help us figure out why it isn’t safe–that could go anywhere. I just don’t know.”

“Well, I can tell her to make the time. This is not an issue that’s going to get better on–”

“Stop!” said Breakpoint.

Yiskah had already picked up the warning from his mind, and changed her intent to contact Jumping Spider telepathically. She frowned and checked with Prime instead.

“Ah. Flicker crashed their meeting and… Okay, that definitely qualifies as dangerous. I’m not going to joggle her elbow when she just called Flicker a bloodthirsty spoiled brat to her face.”

“Still dangerous, not as bad,” he said.

“Yeah. Sounds like Flicker is getting briefed–and deciding whether to do something… excessive. In the next ninety seconds or so. Because of an old promise Doc made. Prime–Stella–is talking to her.”

As they waited, Breakpoint suddenly grinned. "Do you begin to see the problem?“

"Oh yeah. Same kind of one I had with Doc. We aren’t together anymore because he refused to take the time. Jumping Spider understands the priorities better–she pounced on my idea of a sparring match. And Prime and I owed her a favor for breaking a key link in her lead trail.”

“Heh. I wasn’t sure quite what she– Okay, danger level just dropped.”

Yiskah checked in with Prime again and listened. "Yeah,“ she said to Breakpoint. "Flicker made up her mind. So now I can…” She sent a mental contact request to Jumping Spider.

“Hel-lo,” came the reply. “Been having fun? Do you like spending time with him?”

“Yes. One thing I am sure of now; his difficulty isn’t primarily sexual. That was just the context that made the warning clear. What’s the real reason you haven’t made time to talk?”

“I stalled, because if his danger sense went off for a talk before I determined how to deal with the problem, we’d be SOL.”

“Thought so. I can work with or around his danger sense–but I cannot directly fool it. And neither can you. That includes planning to change his mind about something he’d object to now. If you might succeed–that’s dangerous. If it worked any other way, it would leave him vulnerable to manipulation. I’m not sure if that’s the driver, but–”

A mental sigh. “It’s not causing the problem, but if I can’t fool him, there’s no good way out. So much for fun. Could you check if he’s triggered?”

Yiskah glanced over at Breakpoint. "Jumping Spider wants to know if your danger sense is going off.“

He was outwardly calm, but she could sense his tension. "Bad news incoming. Not anything I can do about it.”

Yiskah switched back to Jumping Spider. “Something wicked this way comes. And it’s you. I don’t like what I’m picking up of your planning.”

“Neither do I. He’s been a good partner. But he won’t stay one if he wrecks himself–and I can’t stop that. Don’t interrupt, but you’ll have to pick up the pieces. Are you ready?”

“I am. You’re doing a complete break?”

“Yes. Fieldwork safety just went away, and a slow amputation is no kindness. I’d let him explain the details at his own pace. I know I don’t have the whole picture.”

“Okay. Any other advice?”

“Don’t assume. He’s too good at hiding things, for the same reason he’s so good at undercover work. When he warns you how risky it is to use his weakness detection on people, listen. And be aware that his danger sense is far more of a two-edged sword than most people realize.”

“I’ve already seen signs of that. All right.”

Breakpoint had been waiting patiently. Yiskah met his eyes. "I’m sorry,“ she said.

"About what? You haven’t–” He broke off as his phone rang.

“Hey.” He paused to listen. "Yeah, I kind of figured. We can just go back to–what?“

Yiskah watched as the color drained out of his face. "But how are we going to catch–” Another pause to listen. "So you’ll be working with DASI?“ He stared down at the floor. "I can try the fieldwork on my own, but you’re better at tracing leads, so– Yeah. No. No, I didn’t.”

Breakpoint glanced at Yiskah. "It went fine, but–“ More listening. "There’s another way. I can alter how I–” He clenched his fist–the first sign of frustration from him Yiskah had ever seen. "It does work. I’ve done it.“

His hand relaxed. "Oh.” He seemed to deflate and his voice became calm and quiet. "Yes, I understand. It’s been a privilege and an honor to work with you. Thank you.“ A final pause. "You too. Bye.”

He ended the call and stared down at his phone. Yiskah picked up a short pulse of anger, followed quickly by a pulse from his danger sense, which turned the anger into bleak depression. He put the phone away, moving slowly, then looked up at her wordlessly.

“Do you want to talk about it?” she asked.

He started to open his mouth, then closed it again. Instead of speaking he reached out with his hand and tapped her on the left shoulder. He was in shock–but his reflexes still worked.

Yiskah had plenty of questions, but they could wait. She put an arm around her sparring partner, and waited with him.



Next: Part 2

