ad the ability without the
desire, while she had the desire without the ability. At least she
could try to take comfort in the fact that one of them had a chance to
be fully functional again . . . "If there's any way I can help, just
let me know. And let the men know if you beat your problem."

"I will be certain to."

* * * * *

Shannon felt a brief surge of power, traced it--and hastily retreated,
swearing. That God-loving Cortin had dissolved the compulsion of
silence he'd put on Piety, without even knowing she was doing it! That
was a minor use of power, of course, but it was more than he'd thought
her capable of, even--or especially--unconsciously. If she could do
that, he'd have to stop even observing her--not just when she was idle,
but when she should have her full attention on her work. No more
watching her while he played with Victor, then, unfortunately--no more
watching her, period.

He could do without the entertainment she provided, but it would be
inconvenient doing without the information she let him eavesdrop on.
What really bothered him was the timing. It might simply be
coincidence that Cortin's first real use of her power took place the
first time she met Piety--but he didn't trust coincidence, especially
not when it involved someone with Cortin's latent power.

He should've killed the nun when he had her, amusing though it had been
to torment her further by letting her live. Well, that was one mistake
he could remedy! Sister-Lieutenant Eleanor Mary Piety Chang had just
made it to the top of the Brotherhood's wipe list.

There was more than a little risk to that, of course, especially if an
attempt was made on her when Cortin was in the area--it might trigger
the Bitch into using her powers instead of keeping her from them--but
he thought it a risk worth taking.

Wait a minute! Lieutenant? He'd barely brushed her mind before
jerking back, but the brief contact had been enough to tell him she
thought of herself differently. A Lieutenant of Enforcement, and a
member of the whatever-it-was--Strike Force?--the various Kingdoms had
gathered groups of their best to form.

Shannon scowled. A Strike Force or equivalent, able to attract people
like Piety, was extremely bad news--especially at a time when he was
forced to restrict his own powers.

* * * * *

Cortin's next interview, with the communications specialist, was rather
diff