"And what is that?"
"Tyranny, Tom," she said quietly.
I burst out, "Rena, that's silly! The Company is the hope of the world. If you talk like that, you'll be in trouble. That's dangerous thinking, young lady. It attacks the foundations of our whole society!"
"Good! I was hoping it would!"
We were shouting at each other like children. I took time to remember one of the priceless rules out of the Adjusters' Handbook: Never lose your temper; think before you speak. We glared at each other in furious silence for a moment before I forced myself to simmer down.
Only then did I remember that I needed to know something she might be able to tell me. Organization, Defoe had said—an organization that opposed the Company, that was behind Hammond's death and the riot at the clinic and more, much more.
"Rena, why did your friends kill Hammond?"
Her poise was shaken. "Who?" she asked.
"Hammond. In Caserta. By a gang of anti-Company hoodlums."