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might be concerned.”
    â€œDoes she write for the Times ?” Carl said.
    â€œI don’t think so,” I said. “She lives in Arizona.”
    â€œWell, then,” Carl said. “That’s fine with me.”
    â€œI’m still confused as to why you need me,” I said. “Certainly you don’t need me to put something together.”
    â€œBut I do,” Carl said. “Because I can’t.”
    â€œTom,” Joshua said, “If it would throw the company in
turmoil if one of the senior agents here dropped what they’re doing to start working on a secret project, how much more suspicious is it going to look if Carl did it?”
    â€œI can’t even take a vacation without someone here attempting a palace coup,” Carl said. “There’s no way I’m going to be able to stop running this place to look after this. No, someone else has to deal with this thing. You’ve got the job.”
    â€œCarl, I don’t even know what the job is, ” I said.
    â€œMake me beautiful,” Joshua said. “I’m ready for my closeup, Mr. DeMille.”
    â€œThe Job,” Carl said, implying the capital J with his voice, “is to find some way to prepare the planet for the presence of the Yherajk. They’re ready to show themselves to humanity, Tom. You have to make humanity ready for them.”
    The words hung out there in the air for a minute, not unlike, I suppose, the fragrance of a Yherajk conversation—invisible, but very hard to ignore.
    â€œI’m just guessing here,” Joshua said, “but I’m thinking this is probably where you say ‘Holy shit’ again, Tom.”

CHAPTER Four
    Miranda was being monopolized by Ben Fleck, another junior agent, when I returned. She glanced at me pointedly as I walked by. The glance had a double meaning. The first was What the hell happened in there? The second was Rescue me. Ben was a first-class jerk who had been trying for eighteen months to get into Miranda’s pants; it would have constituted sexual harassment except that Ben was so obviously inept at it.
    â€œMiranda,” I said. “Could you please come to my office?”
    â€œHey,” Ben said. “I’m discussing a client with Miranda at the moment.”
    â€œThat client is in your pants, Ben,” I said. “And he’s never going to get the job. Miranda?” I held the door open for her as she took her notepad and walked by me into my office.
    â€œThank you,” she said, as I closed the door behind us. “Though
you shouldn’t be so rough on Ben. He’s sort of sweet, in his own lecherous, oafish way.”
    â€œNonsense,” I said. “I’m not going to let him get away with anything I’m not allowed to get away with.”
    â€œBut Tom,” Miranda said, “you’re neither lecherous nor oafish.”
    â€œThanks, Miranda,” I said, and leaned against my desk.
    â€œI’ll put that on my gravestone. ‘Here lies Thomas Stein. He was neither lecherous nor oafish.’”
    â€œEnough chitchat,” Miranda said. “Do you still have a job, or are you just putting on a brave face for your devoted staff?”
    â€œMiranda, did anyone pay attention to where we were going when we went to the meeting?”
    Miranda sat in the chair in front of my desk and thought for a moment. “Not that I could tell. You nodded to Drew Roberts as we walked past him, but I don’t think he noticed. You’re a junior agent. You don’t rate a nod back.”
    â€œGood,” I said. “Did anyone ask where I was?”
    â€œIn the office? No. Michelle called again,” Miranda crossed her eyes slightly at the word Michelle , indicating in her own subtle way that she believed Michelle to be less intelligent than the average protozoan, “but I just told her you were in a meeting. Other than that, my attention was