Voices

Bester scratched his nose. “There is that, of course. But we have some things we need from Mr. Malten. We need him to sign a confession, thanks to your loose lips. It’ll have to be worded carefully to make it clear that he, Emily Crane, and those other two were the only telepaths involved from the Mix. His supporters in the Senate will have to officially condemn him. Then Malten will have to address the Mix employees—give them a pep talk and appoint a successor. We have several good candidates in mind.”
The Psi Cop paused in thought. “In exchange for saving the Mix, there will be a plea-bargained conviction, and he will be paroled to some distant planet.”
“Then you’ll kill him,” said Gray.
Bester smiled but did not correct that assumption.
“What about Talia?” insisted Garibaldi.
Bester was distracted by his pilot, although she hadn’t moved or said a word. “What did you just receive?”
“Finch is reporting that Malten broke off negotiations. He may be running. There was an echo on his last transmission, and we think we may have pinpointed his hideout. I have coordinates—we can be there in fifteen minutes.”
“Go!”