[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

money, he was all for it.
But when the other Leo called last night, it was like listening to the person
I remembered. Even in those few moments, I could sense the difference. It was
as if . . . as if opposite aspects of him polarized into two different
people. She turned to look at Kieran.  He doesn t deserve any of this. I
can t let it go through what we planned for today. That s why I wanted to talk
to you.
Kieran promptly forgot the line his mind had been turning to. His brow
furrowed.  What are you saying? That you re giving up the chance to walk away
with a third of the loot, and are prepared to take the consequences, just to
straighten this out?
Elaine nodded resolutely; but she was barely holding back tears.  It s what s
right. . . . Deep down, I guess I never was the right material for this kind
of thing. She shrugged.  That s all there is to it.
Kieran turned to stare at her. A faint smile puckered his mouth as he sensed a
situation of opportunity beckoning. It was exactly the kind of people that
Elaine had described, whose unenlightened existence he felt it his mission to
Page 56
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
better through a little moral guidance and introduction to the virtues of
munificence and austerity.  Maybe we don t have to let you go through anything
quite as bad as that, Elaine, he said softly.
She produced a handkerchief to stifle back sniffles.  What other way is
there?
 I presume the initial transfer will be made into an account in Sarda s name,
Kieran said.  That way, he can vanish when the time s right, and there ll be
no trail back to you or Balmer for the banking authorities to follow.
Elaine nodded.  You obviously know your way around these things.
 Do you still have the graphic that was inside the chamber door? Kieran
asked.  The pattern that triggered the posthypnotic command.
 No . . . But the image is stored. I could make a copy. Why?
Kieran felt rising excitement at the glimmering of an idea that was forming.
The original Sarda would obviously have been through the same conditioning
too!
 Tell me more about this meeting that
Leo s attending at the Zodiac bank, he said.  What time is it scheduled to
take place?
18
In the lodging at the outer end of Gorky Avenue where he had been hiding since
his unscheduled resuscitation, Leo Sarda checked through the collection of
documents and data cartridges making up the phase-one delivery, and arranged
them in his briefcase along with the downloaded papers from the bank. The room
around him was cramped, cheaply furnished, and felt squalid construction
workers accommodations just inside one of the main locks out to the surface.
He would be glad to get out of it. But he d had to stay away from places where
he might be recognized.
 Lousy five million, he snarled as he clicked the lid of the briefcase shut.
Balmer was right. He would have been insane to settle for that, while his
other preening, celebrity self, along with Herbert and Max Morch, and their
financial backers were getting set up to share out billions. Well, he would be
putting that little item right very shortly now.
He zipped up his jacket, checked one last time over the oddments strewn on the
steel-frame bed and side table that he had been using as a desk to be sure
he d forgotten nothing, and let himself out into the stairwell. Two flights
down, he came to a gray-walled passage flanked by entrance doors to other
units, which took him out onto the shallow-stepped walkway leading down to the
concourse where the maglev line ended. As he approached the terminal, a tall,
athletic-looking man in a dark business suit and tie with tan
topcoat conspicuously unusual attire for that part of town stepped forward
from where he had been standing by the entrance to the boarding platform. He
was smiling cheerfully and carrying a brown document folder under one arm.
 Good morning. Dr. Sarda?
 Who are you? Nobody was supposed to know of Sarda s whereabouts except
Balmer and
Elaine.
 Kennilworth Troon is the name, from Zodiac Commercial Bank. Henry Balmer
wanted to be sure you arrived without mishap, so they sent a car. It s waiting
on the lower level.
Sarda was suspicious. If that were so, why hadn t they called earlier? Because
they were afraid he might check?  I think not, he said, moving around the
stranger in a wide arc and quickening his pace.

Guard!
 the man commanded. A large black dog that Sarda hadn t noticed before,
sitting on its haunches a few yards farther on in his direct path, stood up
and growled. Sarda halted and turned. The stranger shrugged apologetically.
 Sorry and all that. But as you see, I must insist.
Page 57
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
Sarda s hand flashed inside his jacket, but even as he drew out the phone, his
thumb punching in the emergency code, an arm appeared from behind him, and a
black fist the size of a boxing glove plucked the phone from his fingers. He
turned to find a beaming giant in a silky green coat, his eyes and teeth
standing out against a jet black face, his hair wild and frizzy.  What is
this? Sarda demanded, his gaze alternating nervously between one and the
other.
 Shall we? the man who had called himself Troon invited, indicating the
stairs leading down to the road traffic level.
Troon led the way down, his manner as breezy as if he were trotting down steps
to the beach for a swim. Sarda followed, with the huge black man keeping close
behind, the evil-looking dog trailing.
Who they were or what could be going on, Sarda couldn t imagine. A rival
outfit trying to steal the
TX data wouldn t make any sense. The part that Sarda was carrying to exchange
for the initial payment wouldn t be any use to them without the rest.
A car was standing in an open area to one side of the traffic lanes dark blue,
sleek and luxurious compared to the norm on Mars, looking out of place among
the utility autos, dump trucks, and surface rovers in this part of town. Sarda
didn t recognize the model, but the trunk bore a chrome logo announcing the
supplier. A woman or, at least, a figure that Sarda took to be a woman from
the little he could glimpse wearing dark glasses, head wrapped in a scarf, and
a fleece-lined suede jacket with the collar turned up, was at the wheel. Troon
opened the rear door for Sarda to enter. The black slid in behind him, while
Troon walked around to climb in the other side, and the dog hopped up beside
the woman and turned to watch its charge dutifully.  There s nothing to worry
about, Dr.
Sarda, Troon assured him.  Just a few things we d like you to identify. He
slid a folder out from the document case that he was carrying and passed it
across. Sarda took it, opened it . . . and found himself staring at a
strangely vivid graphic image which drew his gaze in a way he was incapable of
resisting a purple disk inside a silver outer ring containing a spiral pattern
of red, yellow, and aquamarine. It was doing something to his mind; he could
sense his thoughts coming apart, being rearranged like the image in a [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]