Of course, they weren't alone. There were seven more bodies trailing behind them, but perhaps that hadn't been what Number One had meant.
Perhaps there were guards watching the lab.
Dimitri didn't say anything, waiting for Number One to start talking first. The other parts of him were purposefully walking a few steps behind them, either to create a buffer between the two of them and whoever might be trailing them, or to give Dimitri the illusion of conducting an intimate conversation with Number One.
It was almost convincing.
They walked in silence for a few minutes, following a path that led away from the lab building toward the quieter sections of the compound, where the reconstruction crews had finished for the day, and the buildings stood dark and empty. The sounds of the island filled the gaps: the chirp of insects, the distant crash of surf, the rustle of palm fronds in a breeze so faint that it barely registered on the skin.
"What did Losham want?" Number One asked quietly.
Dimitri wasn't surprised that Dave knew about the visit. Dave seemed to know everything that happened on the island.
"He asked about the harbor fight. Whether I've been using the enhancement drugs on myself."
"What did you tell him?"
"I denied it. Petrov backed me up with the adrenaline explanation." Dimitri glanced sideways at Number One. "Losham didn't buy it, but he couldn't prove otherwise. He tried to enter my mind but couldn't."
"We know about your barriers," Number One said. "They were present even before your transition. Not as strong as they are now, but they were there. What else?"
Dimitri debated whether he should tell Dave about the new assignment that Losham had given him and Petrov. It was obvious that Losham wanted to keep it a secret, but keeping secrets from the hive mind of Dave was difficult.
"I thought you knew everything about what was going on in the lab," he said instead. "The ever-present cameras record everything."
"Losham ordered the cameras turned off. His assistant informed the security office that what happened in the lab was highly classified information."
That was good news. "Is it permanent?"
"Yes," Number One said. "We could've talked freely inside, but Losham posted guards outside the lab. I didn't want to spend too long in there at night. That would have looked even more suspicious than us taking a walk together."
Dimitri smiled. "I doubt that it's fooling anyone, but it is what it is. Privacy is a luxury when you are an eight-bodied entity. You are not exactly inconspicuous."
"Indeed." Number One attempted a smile, which Dimitri had no doubt was duplicated by his other seven parts. "What else didLosham tell you? He seemed very smug returning from the visit to the lab. Knowing him, it could be nothing good."
"You are right. Losham gave Petrov and me a new assignment. He wants us to develop an enhancement formula for humans and submit a research proposal in a month."
Number One was quiet for several steps. "Losham wants to build an auxiliary army."
Dimitri nodded. "That's my read on it."
"He wants to rival his brothers' immortal forces with enhanced humans under his exclusive control." Number One stated it as fact. "He intends to keep the research secret from his brothers."
"I got the same impression, but how do you know that?"
"We know Losham. He is very smart but also quite predictable. His ambitions follow logical patterns."
They turned a corner, leaving the main compound behind and entering a stretch of path bordered by dense tropical vegetation. The darkness here was deeper; the starlight filtered through a canopy of palms and broad-leafed plants.
"You said you wanted to talk about the work I haven't started yet," Dimitri said. "The work that matters. I've been thinking about that all day, and I still have no idea what you meant."
"We will get to that." Number One's voice was unhurried. "First, though, you need a better understanding of who we are and who we were."
Dave was right about that.
Dimitri had always felt that it had been a failing on the part of him and Petrov. Neither of them had been trained in psychology,but that wasn't an excuse. They should have spent much more time with the Eight and tried to learn who they had been as individuals because that had a bearing on who they had become.
"I'm very eager to learn about your past," he said. "We should have had this talk a long time ago."
