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the events leading up to his being hounded through the night jungle on this particular island in the Atlantic. "And you?" "I'm with the branch of Pax that's devoted to discouraging the spread of illicit arms," he answered. "There's a temporary way station here on Fayal. I've been keeping an eye on it for the past few weeks." "Do you hole up hereabouts?" "S/, I have a hideaway nearby." "Might I suggest, amigo, that we adjourn there now?" He looked beyond the other man and at the surrounding dark jungle. "That's probably a good notion, Gomez. They'll be getting curious as to why their dogs haven't reported in lately." He gestured with the gun in his left hand. "We have to cut through the brush over that way." "What'd you use to discourage those hounds?" "It's a new type of son blaster Silveira started moving into the brush. "Once in a while keep a sample from a batch of weapons we've confiscated." Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html "Handy." Nodding, Gomez followed him. FINISHING up his second circuit of the cozy cell. He'd located two hidden monitor cams so far, one up in the simulated stucco ceiling and one behind the holographic floor-to-ceiling bookcases. There was also a backup audio bug under the holo end table Tongue poked in cheek, he sat on the sofa and gazed upward. Getting out of here was going to be tricky. The door of the cell suddenly whispered open. Almita, dropping an electro key into her trouser pocket, slipped into the parlor. The door shut behind her. "I thought you were forbidden to drop in," he said. "They don't know I'm here, asshole." "Sure they do." He pointed a thumb at the concealed d cam. She smiled, coming closer. She jabbed her right hand her jacket pocket. "I jammed the sec system for this section." Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html Page 86 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html take them long to find that out." "I only need a couple minutes to take care of you." Her hand came out clutching, one of her lazguns. "There's no reason to keep you alive, Cardigan." "I can think of several." "So can these OCO mariposas." The gun hand came up. "You don't want to make the OCO unhappy. They--" All at once Jake was no longer on the sofa. He had dived to the left of Almita, hitting the floor about five feet from her. "Cabrdn.r' As she swung around to get a shot at him, he dived. He tackled her waist high, at the same time smacking her wrist with the side of his hand. She cried out, fingers splaying, dropping the gun. It hit the holographic end table and fell right through it to the floor. Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html Almita struggled to get her second gun out. The two of them fell back toward the bookcases. Almita hit first and seemed to blend into the rows of bright-covered books. Jake broke free of her, then caught hold of the front of her jacket. He pulled her toward him with his left hand and dealt three hard jabs to her approaching chin. Her teeth made a grinding sound. She groaned, lost consciousness. Almita fell back against the holographic bookcase again, slid down through the images of books. Jake knelt on one knee, grabbing the lazgun from her pocket and thrusting it in his belt. Then he took the electro key she'd used to get into his cell. After collecting the second lazgun and slipping that in his belt beside the other one, Jake sprinted to the door. There wasn't going to be much time left before they got the sec system working again. Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html He used the key. The door whirred and slid open. Standing in the grey corridor with his lazgun aimed directly at Jake was Agent Helton. "I was coming to rescue you from Almita, Cardigan," he said, smiling. "Apparently that won't be necessary." Page 87 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html The second robot guard came rambling down. His gunmetal body slammed into the ground with a rattling thud. "It also works pretty well on humanoid robots," mentioned Silveira, holstering the son blaster "So I noticed." Gomez was standing beside the first of the fallen got guards. "These lads look as dormant as the hounds that were on my tail." A warm wind was drifting through the jungle. Up in the dark tree branches overhead some unseen birds began to cry mournfully. "We've got about ten minutes or less to get in and out." He nodded at the immense plastiglass dome that rose up a dozen yards away, covering the sprawling plantation. From his side pocket Gomez slid the palm top monitor the Pax agent had loaned him. "According to this spy-screen of yours, Jose, there's still somebody in detention cell 6 on Level C," he said after scanning the small rectangular screen. "I'm betting it's Jake." Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html Silveira had two small dark metal discs in his hand. "Wear this, amigo." He fixed a disc to the front of Gomez's jacket, the other to his. "A little gadget that'll confuse the sec monitors down in the tunnels." "What'll they think they're viewing as we wend our way to Jake?" "Robot guards." "Something else you confiscated ?" "No, this one we came up with ourselves." He took hold of Gomez's arm. "The entry to the underground pass ways is over here. We'll pass under the dome wall and come out two levels under the plantation buildings." He moved quietly through the brush. "It'll take us at least five minutes to get to where they seem to be keeping your partner." "Which means we'll have less than five more to spring Jake and get the heck out of there." "Sim." Halting and letting go of Gomez, Silveira crouched beside a large flowering bush. "While we're in the corridors, don't say Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html anything. Even with these gadgets, the monitors will detect an unfamiliar voice." "Caramba, I don't know if I can go that long without a single pithy remark." "Try." He touched a large metal panel embedded in the damp ground. The panel slid silently aside, revealing a dimlit metal stairway quirking down into the corridors below. Page 88 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html 01 /.. I it t FUtL, coughed into his hand. Walking single file, he and Silveira stepped through the doorway to the section of Level C where the detention cells were located. They'd been in the underground pass way exactly six minutes now. Thus far they hadn't encountered anyone, robot or human. The Pax agent was walking, rapidly, two paces ahead of the detective. He slowed, inclining his head very. slightly to the left. The number etched on the coppery metal door was 2. Gomez wrinkled his nose. The air circ system down here on Level C didn't seem to be working exactly right. There was a very strong odor of ripe bananas everywhere. Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html Or maybe, reflected Gomez, that*'as what they intended. This was, after all, supposed to be a banana plantation and nothing else. They passed a door numbered 4. Silveira halted at the next door. This one was designated 6. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ] |