Code of Conduct Read Online Free PDF

then backed off and let another take their place, just like lead changes during skimbike races. It had been that way since they’d left Whalen two days ago. Every time Jani tried to question Evan about Lyssa, an advisor would turn up to drag him off.
    Maybe I need a uniform and a title to get his attention . A possibility, but not one she wanted to consider. Even in her current circumstances, she wouldn’t have traded places with Evan or any member of his escort. Voices snapped. No one smiled.
    We’re in Exterior country, my friends . Unlike every other Ministry, which located its main headquarters in Chicago and scattered its annexes throughout the colonies, Exterior had moved its Main House to the Outer Circle planet of Amsun and maintained only a token presence on Earth. That hadn’t seemed wise when the late David Scriabin, Lyssa van Reuter’s father, had set the transfer wheels in motion fifteen years before.
    Smacks of genius now . Exterior burgundy formed the basis for every aspect of interior decoration in Amsun Primary, a constant reminder to all parties wearing Treasury gold, Commerce green, Interior black, and every other Cabinet hue in exactly whose sandbox they played.
    Jani passed the portrait of a severe, dark-haired woman wearing a high-necked tunic in the ubiquitous colour du monde . Everyone thought Exterior Minister Anais Ulanova should have stood for Prime during the last election. When she didn’t, the Earthbound news services professed shock. The colonial reaction, in contrast, had been blasé. Why fight to be shepherd when you already own the sheep ?
    As she came upon yet another holosilk study in red and orange, Jani rolled her eyes. It was partly artistic opinion, partly aggravation. Red was the color of blood and warning lights to her augie, the chromatic equivalent of a scream in the night. Unfortunately, the action caused an eyefilm to shift. She tried to blink it back into place, and it hung up on her eyelid. Tears brimmed, then spilled as the film edge curled and split. She cupped a hand over the damage and searched in vain for a sign indicating a restroom.
    â€œMs. Tyi?”
    Tyi? Tyi ? That was her name now. Risa Tyi. Josephan. Bad choice. She couldn’t speak Josephani.
    â€œMs. Tyi!” Evan had pulled up short and stared back at her. “Is everything all right?” The look in Jani’s visible eye must have set off alarms. “Folks, I’ll get back with you.” He left his puzzled entourage behind and hurried to her side. “I knew you shouldn’t have flown so soon after the surgery.” He gripped Jani by the elbow and pulled her toward the elevator bank. “I hope the incision glue held.”
    One of the underlings called out, “Your Excellency, if a physician is required—”
    â€œNo, no,” Evan said as he pushed Jani ahead of him into the first open car. “We’ll meet you at the Arapaho gate in a few minutes.” The door hissed shut. “What happened!”
    Jani sagged against the wall. “Film broke.”
    â€œCan you fix it?”
    â€œYeah.” She shivered as the odor of berries filled the elevator. Her mouth watered. What the overdose of red started, the stress of the moment intensified. She breathed through her mouth in an effort to block out the smell of fruit.
    â€œAre you all right? I know red used to get to you sometimes.” Evan leaned close and blanched. “Oh shit.” As the door opened, he held her back and looked up and down the hall. “Still red—cover up.”
    Jani pressed her hands over her eyes as she was herded, dragged, and prodded. Another door opened, then whispered closed. “Evan? What color are the walls now?”
    â€œThey’re a very calming shade of blue.”
    Jani lowered her hands. The walls were indeed quite relaxing, but some of the fixtures appeared unusual. “Evan, we’re in a men’s