Last Guard (Psy-Changeling Trinity #5) by Nalini Singh

Huh.

Yeah.

Log it.

You think?

Yeah, just in case. I mean, I don’t think rogue telekinetics are out there pushing over our trees, but you never know.





PSYNET BEACON: INTERVIEW WITH PAYAL RAO



COCO RAMIREZ

No one expected Payal Rao.

That statement is no hyperbole. We’re all used to hearing of Ms. Rao’s business dealings, but even those mentions are never anything but restrained references in financial newspapers. She has a reputation for keeping her head down and getting on with the work of running a major family empire.

Certainly, none of the political pundits predicted this move, and yet to have a hub-anchor as part of the Ruling Coalition makes sense in every possible way, especially given the PsyNet’s current instability.

Today, I sit down with Payal Rao and attempt to uncover the anchor behind the enigma.

Beacon: Were you surprised when the Ruling Coalition approached you?

Rao: They didn’t. I approached them as the chosen representative of Designation A. There is every reason to have an anchor at the highest level of power, and no reason to keep us out.

Beacon: Do I have this right? You demanded a seat at the table?

Rao: Yes.

Beacon: Not many would dare such against the most powerful people in the PsyNet.

Rao: Do you know what happens to the PsyNet if the anchors go on strike? The PsyNet disappears and we all die. The end.

Beacon: Are you saying Designation A is the most important designation of them all?

Rao: Anchors would be drowning in a sea of insanity without the empaths, would’ve fallen to Pure Psy and others with warlike ambitions without the strength of the telekinetics and telepaths and more who protected us. Foreseers have saved us from countless disasters, while psychometrics and Justice-Psy and many others solve problem after problem.

We are the foundation. The foundation holds, but it can’t actively do battle.

To state the skillset of one designation does not negate those of every other—the hierarchy is a continuous flux based on need, and right now, A is the critical designation.

Beacon: You don’t pull your punches.

Rao: I know my own value—and I know the value of the designation I represent. We were once content to be the silent party to the health of the PsyNet. But since the powers that be made such a mess of that over the past century, a passive presence is no longer a viable option.

Beacon: Do you blame the current Ruling Coalition, too?

Rao: Your comprehension skills need work. I made it clear that my problem is with past leaders. That includes past anchors. Our ancestors in the designation are not blameless.

Beacon: What will your new responsibilities mean for your duties as the Rao CEO?

Rao: Why don’t you ask Kaleb Krychek what his responsibilities mean for his status as the head of Krychek Industries?

Beacon: A good point, but the question had to be asked.

Rao: No, it didn’t—it was nonsensical and I have little time to waste.

Beacon: Then let us ask a very important question—as an A, what do you see in our future? Can the PsyNet be saved? Or are we fighting a losing battle, death a whisper on the horizon?

Rao: I’m no foreseer. All I can tell you is that I have the cooperation of every single A in the world, and we intend to work with the empaths and with every other power in the Net to repair the psychic fabric on which we all depend for life. If we fail, you’ll die. If we succeed, you’ll forget about anchors all over again—except this time, forgetting us will no longer be an option.





Chapter 39



We are Designation J.

Justice.

But where is our justice?

Where is our peace?

I’m so tired of the horror that lives inside me now.

—Note left by Arnaud Smith, J-Psy (missing, presumed dead)

CANTO BURST OUT laughing as he read the Beacon interview. “God, you’re magnificent.” He kissed the woman who was sitting on the sofa next to him, her back leaning up against his side.

She had an organizer on her lap and was doing complex financial transactions as part of her job as the Rao CEO.

“That comeback about asking Krychek was perfection.”

“Interviewer was an idiot. Does she ask Nikita the same question? Does she ask Aden Kai if he can still run the Arrows?” She continued on with her transactions. “Entire thing was a waste of time.”

“No.” Shifting his arm around so he could put his organizer in front of her face, he showed her the trending subjects in the PsyNet—once collated by the NetMind and available to any Psy who wanted to look, they were now collected by psychic bots seeded by the media. Those bots had nowhere near the NetMind’s scope, but it was better than nothing.

“I’m at the top of the list.” She did not sound impressed. “At least Designation A is number two.”

“Visibility helps us.” Canto pulled back his organizer when he saw an incoming message. “Sophia Russo is happy to meet with us.” It had taken this long to organize a meeting because Sophia had been involved in an emergency situation to do with a former Justice colleague.

“I know what you’re asking is important,” she’d said, “but the PsyNet won’t fall in two days. My colleague may.” The rich blue-violet of her eyes had been potent with emotion, the thin tracery of scars on her face—whitish against skin of a cream hue—speaking to a violent past that had come up in none of the research Canto had done about her.