Part 19 (2/2)
”No, I”
”Tarquin, tell me or I'll rip the information from you, so choose.”
”They'll use iron bars on my kn-kneecaps. They're like that. I didn't know, before. Before I dealt with him.”
”Tell me.”
”Businesses, he's got businesses.”
”Where? What kind?”
”Shops, a taxi service, garages. He's”
”Where will he be?”
”I was about to... Oh, Jesus. To tell you.”
”Where?”
”Corner store called, um... I can show you on a map.” Fingers trembling, he tried to pull out his phone. ”Sorry, I...”
”This one.” Josh thumbed his own phone, and presented it face-first to Maxwell. ”Tap on the places you know.”
”Here's the store.” Maxwell's teeth were cutting into his lower lip as he scrolled the display. ”And he's got places there and... there. Don't know about the cabs.”
Josh slapped the side of Maxwell's jaw, the torque producing shock. Maxwell had been starting to relax, getting the idea that he had some control in this situation.
”Describe Khan.”
”He's oh, G.o.d dark, got a scar on his cheek here” he pointed ”and a moustache.”
”Height? Tall or short?”
”Same as you. Thin.”
Asked to estimate Josh's height, Maxwell would exaggerate from the effect of fear; but then he was also scared of Khan.
”Will he have people with him?”
”Always.” Maxwell's larynx worked as he nodded. ”Big b.u.g.g.e.rs.”
”Once I've gone, don't think we won't be monitoring every word, Tarquin. You understand, right?”
”IRight. Yes.”
”Stay here, keep silent.”
There was a kicked-in door that needed to be repaired, and the fear would not keep him here forever; but an hour or two was enough.
”Remember,” added Josh.
A corner store, very traditional, if you didn't notice the armoured gla.s.s, the profusion of spycams. There was a possible route in through a back yard; or else through the shop like an ordinary customer. Scanning from his phone, Josh found the spycams s.h.i.+elded, impossible to redfang. But some part of the network would connect to the Web, and that would be his entry point, if he needed one. For now, he wanted to physically scout the shop, and see if Khan was inside.
Loading up subversion ware in case of opportunity, he crossed the street and went into the shop, accompanied by an overhead beep: a detector registering his knife. His image would be in the system; but his phone was already polling for available devices, seeking interfaces. Meanwhile, he extracted a bottle of hypercaffeinated Run! and a foil pack of j.a.panese chocolate. Behind the counter, a woman took his cash without comment, clearly used to doing phoneless business. p.o.r.no mags, little more than a folded poster with an embedded thirty-second movie, plus a malleable plastic attachment for that little kinaesthetic extra, were on the shelves above the cat food. Josh delayed, as though fighting an embarra.s.sed urge to browse, until his phone vibrated silently three times. He shook his head, as if pretending disgust a pretence of a pretence and left the store.
There was a pub across the street. Even though it was early, when he entered the dark lounge there were fifteen, sixteen drinkers inside. Hard looks followed him as he carried his c.o.ke to a corner and sat at a small sticky table. He got to work on his phone, following his subversion ware's progress as it mapped the network's topology. The system architecture was big, and so was the hardware net it ran on, far too extensive for a simple corner shop. Got it.
The shop was an end of terrace, a converted house, and one of four houses in a row that were conjoined: a single building inside, while from the street you could not tell.
They're watching me.
s.h.i.+t. This was attention he did not need, as two of the men on barstools were staring at him. Pressing a bead into his left ear, he tapped the phone then leaned back against the wall, eyes almost shut as though listening to music. Then, with an idle motion, he sipped from his c.o.ke. In his phone, a surveillance image moved, overlaid with a transcript pane, showing their conversation as text, in time with the audio in his earbead.
unknown#1: ”So who's this?” ”So who's this?”
unknown#2: ” This is Richie, Mr Khan.” ” This is Richie, Mr Khan.”
/** <conditional match=””>>unknown#3=”R” **/ /** <conditional match=””>>unknown#1=”K” **/ K: ”You're not local, are you, Richie?” ”You're not local, are you, Richie?”
R: ”Er, no, sir.” ”Er, no, sir.”
K: ”You know your way around?” ”You know your way around?”
unknown#2: ”I could help him, Mr Khan.” ”I could help him, Mr Khan.”
K: ”Why would you do that, Jayce?” ”Why would you do that, Jayce?”
</conditional></conditional>
<script>