[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]Hale/Terkes is a weapons expert from Ukraine, a naturalized citizen for twenty
years, whose accent is pure middle American, New Received Broadcast. He has
been involved in wire and fibe fraud, running industrial nano and pre-build
slurry to
Hispaniola, selling hellcrowns to Selectors in Southcoast. In short, Hale is
an occasional bad'un but chubbily innocent, clean and scrubbed, cheerful.
"I'm Kim Lou Park," says an Oriental man, whom Giffey knows as Evan
Chung. Park/Chung has no past; he is as blank in all records as a newborn
babe. What little Giffey knows about him is contradictory. He wears a long
mustache and his hair is cut in a short bowl with a f}inge down his neck.
Park believes that he recruited Giffey in St. Louis last spring. In fact, Park
is way down the chain of origination. They met only twice there. Still, Park
is savvy; he undoubtedly knows more about the rest of them than they do
themselves, but he knows very little about Gifiy... Very little that is true.
"Mr. Giffey and Mr. Jenner are our materials procurement people," Park says.
"Mr. Giffey is also our main source for knowledge about the target."
Giffey looks at the two men he does not know, and Preston walks around him.
"Mr. Pent and Mr. Pickwenn," she says. "Architectural experts, specializing in
breaking in or, if necessary, breaking out." She produces the faintest
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bored expressions. Pent is dark brown, Polynesian blood, and has almost no
hair. Pickwenn is ghostly pale, with large lemur eyes and thin, elegant
fingers.
"We've worked together for ten years," Pickwenn says softly. Pent nods
agreement. They do not offer to shake hands; Giffey is just as glad.
Pickwenn's grip looks to be cold and damp.
Hale steps forward and the others face him. No one glances around. All eyes
are on Hale.
"All right, we're here," Hale says. "All together for the first time. This is
our team. Here's what's new, what we have to do." Hale has the rhythmic,
accented delivery of a preacher or a good singer. His voice is bass velvet.
"I've made the right connections. We're getting into Omphalos as a group of
potential customers. We're going to walk right in the side door, not the
tourist door, but the VIP entrance. Hally."
Preston steps forward. "We're scheduled to show up in a limo tomorrow morning
at fifteen hundred. You're a bunch of eccentric rich folks traveling under
assumed identities. Robert Hale has worked this out in some detail." Robert,
Giffey thinks.
Maybe he's never even heard of Nathan Hale.
"Mr. Giffey, we took a big delivery yesterday," Hale says. "Mr. Jenner arrived
with it. We spent a fair amount of change. It's in the back half of the
warehouse. I assume it's what we planned on, and I'd like you to tell us what
we need to know."
"Yes, sir," Giffey says. "I can look it over and see what shape it's in."
"It's okay," Jenner says, smiling reassurance.
"I'm sure it is. I'm overly cautious, is all," Giffey says, smiling back.
Jenner does not take this as an affront; he respects overly cautious
superiors. The Army erained him that way.
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"I'd like you to brief us in more detail about the Omphalos interior," Hale
says. "We've given everybody the stuff you sent last week, but I assume you
withheld a few key bits. Overly cautious."
Giffey nods and smiles again.
Hale enjoys being the center of attention. He walks in front of the white
board like a general, arms folded behind his back. "We have an appointment
with a remote sales rep named Lacey Ray. She won't be there in person--there
aren't any people in Omphalos, it's all automatic, right?"
Giffey agrees.
"We have identity codes and recommendations. It's minimum risk until we get
inside. Then I assume we're wide open to whatever Omphalos has to offer. Well,
Mr. Giffey, what does it have to offer?"
Hale is feeling his oats, but Giffey doesn't think he'll like what he has to
say. "Four, maybe five warbeiters, and probably a thinker to run them through
their paces." He sits on a folding metal chair. What he has just told them is
not strictly confirmed--he knows only that orders went out to extralegal sup
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Hale takes this calmly for about three seconds, and then he swears under his
breath. "Warbeiters?"
"Insect or Ferret class. I'm not sure about the thinker, but it's my guess."
My hope, "You know how to deactivate them?"
"I do," Giffey says. "With our equipment, I'm offering sixty to eighty percent
confidence."
Hale swears once more. "You could have told us this earlier."
"Why?" Giffey asks. "They're just machines, albeit clever ones. I can't tell
you how they're programmed or if they're authorized to kill. They might just
lick us like lap dogs."
Hale frowns and a deep cleft forms between his brows. "Where would the
builders get warbeiters?"
"Where does anybody get anything?" Giffey asks sharply. "We've managed
something far more radical in the way of illegal weapons. The heirs of
Raph-kind left a lot of wedges in a lot of government doors. Even military
doors."
"Christ, it's only a fucking tomb," Hale mutters. His bravado isn't very
thick, and he's not very good at concealing his concern. So despite the
theatrical front, he's not much of a general after all. "Why bring in the dogs
of hell to guard it?"
"I'd hate to think this puts you off," Giffey says. He's not sure he likes or
trusts this man.
"No," Hale says thoughtfully. "You think they're set to not kill?"
"It's distinctly possible," Giffey says. "As you say, it's only a tomb.
Besides, warbeiters are just machines," Giffey repeats. "Frankly, we'll have
the means to take them out."
"I hope you're right," Hale says, and by implication lays any failure on
Giffey's shoulders.
"You ever hear of Nathan Hale?" Giffey asks.
Hale thinks for a moment, as if he just might. "No," he finally says. "He
design these Insects and Ferrets?"
"I've heard of him," Hally Preston says. "Patriot way back."
Giffey gives her a big smile. "Here's more of what I know about Omphalos,"
he says. He walks up to the whiteboard, uncaps a black marker, and begins to
sketch.
"There are at least forty levels from basement to attic," he says. "It's a big
place, and it may not even be finished yet. They're still bringing in
architectural nano. Shipments are irregular. They might be having financial
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problems-maybe not enough customers. That might explain why they're reaching
out to folks they don't know too much about."
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]zanotowane.pldoc.pisz.plpdf.pisz.plkajaszek.htw.pl
