uliar--did he give you any reason?"

"Not exactly, ma'am. He just told me he knew, with absolute certainty,
that if I lived long enough I'd find the one I needed."

"Um." That statement made Cortin uncomfortable; she didn't like the
idea of something being predetermined, the way Tony made this sound.
Still, it had been his choice to join Team Azrael. "Why did you choose
me?"

Degas frowned. "I'm . . . not positive. Your record, of course, and
you've got the same sort of odd attraction Shannon does--except that
with him it's lethal, evil, and with you it's . . . I don't have the
words. 'Good' sounds soft, and that it certainly isn't . . . maybe
'creative'? And definitely not evil; after Shannon, I can feel evil."
He looked at her, his gaze steady. "Following you feels right, if
you'll still let me."

Membership in a terrorist organization normally carried sentences of
excommunication and death, but there were, on rare occasions,
mitigating circumstances. Degas had been young, that sin had been
forgiven, and he'd done more than enough to help the Kingdom to repay
any harm he might have done. Cortin reversed his gun, handing it back
to him. "You're still in, Tony. And I'd advise keeping this
conversation between the two of us."

"Gladly!" Degas' expression was one of pure relief.

"We won't mention it again, then." She started the car and pulled back
onto the dirt road. "I've got to stop at the Harrison ranch for a few
minutes, then we can finish our drive."

Cortin hadn't intended to let any of her team see the softer side of
her--it didn't seem fitting for an Enforcement officer, much less an
Inquisitor--but she'd thought Tony's willingness to talk too important
to miss. And she wasn't about to let anything stop her from visiting
the retired priest, his brother's family--and her family, the cat she'd
found in labor on the back seat of her car three days ago. She'd
always remember the expression on the good Father's face, when he
opened the door to find a desperate-looking Inquisitor with an armful
of very pregnant cat, trying to explain she'd gone into the woods for a
minute to answer a call of nature, and come back to find this, and was
there please any place Mama-Cat could have her kittens?

He'd been kind enough to let her in and find a large basket he lined
with towels. Mama-Cat had promptly settled in, making it clear Cortin
wasn't to leave while she gave birth. Not at all reluctant, Corti