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Transforms.”
    Gerry inhaled sharply.  “Why?”
    “Just to prove such a thing is possible.”
    Gerry leaned back in her chair and nodded slowly.  “So, that’s why Suzie’s all nasty and shooting at shadows, and why her people and Sarah’s people have been brawling.”  Gerry shook her head over a typical bit of Focus Sarah Teas’ idiocy.  “And why it’s spreading.  Apparently, yesterday, Focus Bentlow and Focus Claunch tried to bribe the same federal lobbyist, by rumor a defector to the Commander’s service, and one of Bentlow’s people drew a pistol on Focus Claunch’s people, and they got into a fight and one of Bentlow’s people got shot.”
    Tonya hadn’t heard of the episode, but it didn’t surprise her.  The hot-blooded south region Focuses had always been more prone to violence.  “I’m sure you heard about the problems the Commander’s been having this past year – losing rank to the Hero and ending up humiliated by Keaton.”  Gerry nodded.  “I think that’s been taken care of.  A few days ago the Commander challenged the Hero, and won.  She’s back to being the number two Arm again, and she’s come out of this with twice as many Arms following her.”
    Gerry turned away.
    “Gerry?”
    “I know about Focus Rickenbach and Focus Rizzari’s moves to Chicago,” Gerry said, her voice a Crow whisper.  “Insane, from a parochial point of view, but if you think about the big picture, I understand what she’s doing.  The Commander’s protecting her people from the first Focuses, Arm Keaton, as well as the Hunters.  She’s putting together a Transform army.”
    Tonya hadn’t thought of the Commander’s actions as putting together an army, but it made sense.
    “You’re worried she’s going to call on you, and you won’t be able to resist,” Tonya said.
    Gerry nodded, but didn’t say anything.  Gerry and the Commander shared many links, going back to when the Commander kidnapped Gerry so she could witness Crow Wandering Shade’s kidnapped Focus, Frasier, in captivity.
    “We all have our ties, and the Commander, I hope, is not our enemy.”
    “Tonya, if she’s putting together a real army, she’s going to need a logistics expert, and she knows of my talents in that area.”  The Commander had chosen Gerry to run her logistics in the Clearing of Chicago battle, and Gerry had done an excellent job.
    Tonya shrugged.  This wasn’t exactly new news.  “There’s more, isn’t there,” she said.  Gerry’s tension far eclipsed her stated worries.
    “Two things.  When I think about what’s going on among the Focuses, I keep thinking ‘who is in charge of this mess?’  It’s almost as if someone wants the Focuses to fall apart.”
    “Well, the Crows, the Arms and the Hunter Chimeras all do,” Tonya said.  Her blithe comment drew a glare from Gerry.  “The reality of our situation isn’t anything any of us wants to think about, but consider this: some people would rather rule in Hell than serve in Heaven.”
    Gerry blanched after drawing the necessary and obvious conclusion from Tonya’s comment.  “You can’t mean…”
    Tonya cut her off with a charismatic yank.  Gerry didn’t fight Tonya’s charismatic command.  “As I said, don’t think about it too hard.  Or say anything.”  Tonya had put together, in her mind, far too many of her old repressed conversations with her former ‘owner’.  Although she didn’t possess any proof of her assertions, her gut feel for the real problem behind everything going wrong among the Transforms did fit the evidence.  “I could be wrong.”  Pause.  “So, what’s the second thing that’s worrying you?”
    “Success,” Gerry said.  She took a small Wedgewood cameo, likely one of her family heirlooms, from the drawer of the small occasional table beside her.  She gave it to Tonya.  “I got one to work.”
    Tonya scanned the cameo with her metasense and sensed the embedded juice pattern.