Coffee Break Read – Patron and Employer

What happens when the hunter becomes the hunted…

After a pause, as though to be sure Grim had nothing to add, Jecks said: “Right.” Then he looked questioningly at the politician almost as if asking her permission to say something more. She gave a thin, slightly patronising, smile that included all three of them and spoke herself.
“I am sure I don’t need to remind you of the requirement placed upon you, in your employment, for the highest degree of confidentiality.”
She was definitely not CSF then.
“You know that is a given,” Jecks told her, his tone colder than before.
“Yes. Of course.” The woman was realising belatedly that she had just insulted them all.
Badly.
She cleared her throat and went on: “But this is a matter that has a lot of highly delicate political ramifications. You may recall the trial last year of Kahina Sarava?  Her exaggeration of the effectiveness of an algorithm suite she had developed led to a large amount of public money and private investment being funnelled into her corporation, Sarava Intellectual Properties. You may also recall the nature and purpose of the algorithm was withheld from the public trial in the interests of security.”
Cista Tyran had a strange expression on her face, as though something inexplicable had just made sense to her.
“Kahina Sarava? She was  —”
“That’s not important right now,” Jecks said quickly, speaking across her. “Please listen, comments can be made later.”
But Grim had seen the urgent warning in Jecks’ eyes and noted the slight frown on Cista Tyran’s face as she subsided back into her chair. His own expression, he was careful to make sure, maintained its usual deadpan. The other woman raised one hand a small amount, in a gesture chastising Jecks.
“But this may be relevant, I would like to hear what Var Tyran has to say?”
Cista Tyran did not even wait for permission from Jecks.
“I was just going to say that Kahina Sarava was the CEO of Sarava Int. and that was where Avilon Revid worked before he murdered his family and joined The Legacy. She was effectively his patron as much as his employer.”
Grim would have been willing to lay money that was not at all what Cista Tyran had been about to say, but the utter conviction of the way she said it now was enough to leave the other woman with nothing to do but nod and go on.

From Iconoclast: Mistrust and Treason a Fortune’s Fools book by E.M. Swift-Hook – which is only 0.99 to buy for a limited period.