"I don't mind running a big risk, professor. Let's shoot the moon."
Hyde-White looks startled for a moment, then does something you've rarely seen him do.
He breaks into a grin.
He puts away the photo he was about to hand you and shuffles through his folder. "Ah," he says. "This is the one I would pick for you. But don't let me influence you unduly." He hands you an 10x11 glossy photo.
It shows a rather nondescript Chinese man with a broad and inexpressive face. He could be anywhere from thirty to sixty, though the younger you judge him the harsher you judge his beauty, of which there is not a lot.
"Ren Bingwen," says the professor. "A Chinese sage. I mean that literally."
"The Stellae have sages?"
"They have all sorts. But this one is not, technically, a Stellae."
You look up with a frown.
"We must distinguish between Stellae and ... well, Stellae," says the professor lamely. "There are people with the P2 characteristics that we want to acquire and study. Most of these belong to an organization, the Stellae Errantes, that we badly want to infiltrate. But not all gifted people belong to the Stellae Errantes."
"This guy doesn't?" You tap the photo. "What is he, an independent contractor?"
"On the contrary. He belongs to another organization. The Stellae operate in the Atlantic and eastern Pacific regions. The Americas, Europe, Africa, the Middle East. Russia. This gentleman belongs to the Great Sages of the Heavenly Court, which is their Chinese equivalent. Like the Stellae, it is very ancient."
"So I'd be infiltrating the Sages instead of the Stellae."
"Yes. We would find that equally valuable. Fane has a presence in the Middle Kingdom, but the Chinese government dislikes us greatly, and we do not have the freedom there that we have in the West. The Sages work with the PRC to thwart us. Sage Ren is a very senior member of the Sages, and as a senior counselor you could at the very least derange their plots against us, allowing us to extend and strengthen our presence in China. Of course, he is valuable in his own right, with skills in warmaking and occult engineering. So his acquisition would be a—" Flecks of saliva disfigure the professor's lips. "A great coup for us."
"Who else would be a great coup for us?" you ask.
The professor looks a little disappointed. "There is also this woman," he says as he gives you another photograph. "Kali Valentine. She is a Stellae. Despite her coloring, she speaks with a brogue. She is Scottish-African."
You know the type, though they are more often Cockney-Africans or Pakistani-Scots in your experience. The woman looks to be in late middle age. It's a glamour shot, but shows no obvious airbrushing; there are fine lines around her eyes and mouth. She is still extremely handsome, though, with auburn ringlets piled high, and some distinguished gray at the temples. Her clothes are stylish and look to be very expensive. There is a grave, queenly cast to her demeanor, but there's also a twinkle in her eye. You stare hard at the photo as Hyde-White continues to speak.
"By profession she is an architect and interior designer, quite wealthy and accomplished, with an international reputation. That is just a cover, however. She is a teacher, an instructor in the arts of the Stellae, and all their new recruits pass through her school room at one point or another, and in virtue of age, experience and position we peg her as one of the most senior people in their organization. Her acquisition would confer enormous benefits, then. A senior counselor in their ranks. A pedagogue to instruct our own researchers. Into her care are entrusted the most raw recruits, and into them, over time, she could insert more of our agents." A quaver fills the professor's voice, and he ends by clearing his throat.
These both look very good to you. But he keeps saying "most senior" rather than "head of." Do the Sages and the Stellae not have a president or chairman or king or something? If you're going to go for a senior person, why not the one at the very top?
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