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“Sir, I regret to infor to release the early draft of the report toat attention?” Avasarala said, looking up at her for the first ti squad Did you try everyone on the list?”

“Yes, I—” Bobbie stopped for a moment and took a deep breath, then took a few more steps into the office Quietly she said, “No one talks to me”

The old wo”

“It is?” Bobbie said

Avasarala senuine smile, then poured tea out of a black iron pot into two s at a chair next to her desk When Bobbie re, Avasarala said, “Seriously, sit the fk down Five ain for an hour”

Bobbie sat, hesitated, and took one of the slass, and the tea inside it was very dark and sue

“It’s a Lapsang souchong,” Avasarala said “My husband buys it for me What do you think?”

“I think it smells like hobo feet,” Bobbie replied

“No shit, but Arjun loves it and it’s not bad once you get used to drinking it”

Bobbie nodded and took another sip but didn’t reply

“Okay, so,” Avasarala said, “you’re the Martian as unhappy and got tempted over to the other side by a powerful old lady with lots of shiny prizes to offer You’re the worst kind of traitor, because ulti that’s happened to you since you ca”

“I—”

“Shut the fk up now, dear, the grown-up is talking”

Bobbie shut up and drank her awful tea

“But,” Avasarala continued, the same sweet smile on her wrinkled face, “if I were on the other team, you knoho I’d send misinformation leaks to?”

“Me,” Bobbie said

“You Because you’re desperate to prove your value to your new boss, and they can send you blatantly false information and not really care if they fk your shit up in the long run If I were the Martian counterespionage wonks, I’d have already recruited one of your closest friends back ho them to funnel a mountain’s worth of false data your direction”

My closest friends are all dead, Bobbie thought

“But no one—”