Part 5 (1/2)

She stood, walked across the room, and stared out the window at Roads'

fifth-floor view. ”How far can we trust Keith Morrow?” she asked. ”Could he be involved in this somehow?”

He shrugged. She alone knew the complete history of Roads' ambivalent relations.h.i.+p with the Head, and her confidence was strict. ”I don't think so.”

'But you're not sure.” She turned. ”He could be feeding us false information, trying to put us off the trail.” ”Maybe.” ”What do you suggest, then? Do we cancel Blindeye? I mean, if the Mole is as invulnerable as he seems ”He can't be.” ”- then we'll be p.i.s.sing into the wind.” She came back to the desk.

”Phil, we don't have time to play games. ” ”I'm sorry, Margaret. I really don't know. A few thoughts here and there, but nothing coherent. Really.”

She sighed again and sat down. ”So. Do we go ahead, or not?” ”We go ahead, I guess. We might as well.” ”Tomorrow night?”

He smiled. ”To beat the deadline, right?” She didn't smile back. ”If we don't catch the Mole, then either the MSA or the Reunited States Military in there it's just ill take the case from us. And fro 'Vep to dismantling RSD altogether.” W.” It was a possibility he tried not to contern W,@ out of a basic not out Of conservatism, but ct for the military mind. He and the rest of the cause in the past- ,had seen the damage it could admit that the idea in principle was 1e had to i.. Rea.s.similation. would result in the closure of ,:RSD or the MSA.

The city wouldn't need a e force and a police force. Either both would be mated into one unit,' or one would become a garrison of the RUSAMC and therefore no longer current situation - with the MSA always the ional favourite of the people, and RSD struggling Ive a string of major crimes - didn't took good at r RSD. But no firm plans had been made, and with and a couple of quick arrests at the right time - Situation could easily change. How ready are we?” Roads asked. 'We can do it.

The Mayor has given us his blessing, the complete set of access codes for every city rtment. With DeKurzak's support, we can start 11mg; data at any time. [email protected]'@@-”He will support us?” @'@.”'@”Yes. He agrees that it's the only decisive course of on left open to us.” [email protected] ”Good. He's not a fool, then.” '[email protected] ”He s houldn't be. He comes highly recommended.” ”By whom. -By the Mayor himself.

And the head of the MSA. I h feel' g he's being groomed for promotion to the e in per ran s; maybe even Councillor, one day.”

oa s folded his hands across his lap. The position of 1”haison officer between the MSA, RSD and the 82RUSAMC was one of tremendous responsibility; it certainly wouldn't be handed to someone who hadn't proved to be capable elsewhere. DeKurzak seemed a little wet under the collar to Roads, but perhaps he would improve with time, given the chance.

Roads forced himself to concentrate on the topic at hand. ”I suggest we wait to see what the Mole does tonight, then start Blindeye first thing tomorrow morning. That gives us over half a day to get everything organised down at KCU.” ”That should be long enough.” She scratched her head. ”But it'll be messy.” ”You're telling me.” Roads was almost daunted by the thought: shutting down the entire city's data net- work, transferring the information to the main banks of Kennedy City University, and erasing everything else would bring administration to a standstill - all to catch one thief. It would be worth it, though, if it worked.

Chappel stood. ”Get some sleep, Phil. You look like you need it.” ”So everyone keeps telling me.” ”I'll put Jamieson on in your place. Take the night off.”

She winked knowingly. ”Barney, too, if you like.- He groaned. ”It's nothing like that, Margaret.” ”I know, but I can still hope for you. ” ”Don't. I'm not ... I don't know. I'm getting old, in case you hadn't noticed.” ”Actually, just to look at you, I wouldn't.” She smiled. ”You haven't told her?” ”No.” He studied his hands for a moment. His feelings for Barney were uncertain at the best of times, and his past didn't make it any easier. ”I'm not sure I'm going to. But thanks for the break anyway, Margaret.” ”That's okay. You've earned it.”

She patted him on the cheek and left. He lingered for

84.

er and to gather nutes to shut down the comput 11 of files, then did likewise.

1eets were getting dark. At some point in the on, Roads seemed to have lost an hour or two. 't remember having lunch. Or breakfast. evening was warm and the walk pleasant; the ache ured leg had vanished entirely. He stopped to buy &R vendor and ate it on a park takeaway from an R was extensively halfway home. The inner city ty plans, but & in accordance with the original [email protected] rks and nature strips had grown somewhat wild iihe years. He remembered a time, not long ago, ground to kill a they had been razed to the oning rat population. The infestation had subsided city and reappeared not long after in the farms. he hot dog was made from soya extracts and entifiable vegetable matterg but it tasted like meat.

st as good as the ones before the War, back when y had seemed to symbolise everything the United given the city's limited es had stood for. All in all, urces, his diet was surprisingly varied. What uldn't be grown could be adequately imitated or His only regret was a shortage of nitural es, and a deep boredom of all the places he had ten many, many times before.

He longed to go for a liday, just to eat somewhere new. When he had finished, he picked up his briefcase and ved on, feeiing as though his body weighed a tonne.

he walked away from the park, he felt eyes watching . without breaking stride, he glanced over his oulder. things.

othing. He was )ust imagining the first floor of an e lived in a side street, on terwise empty apartment building. The complex had 6Cbeen modelled on the stone architecture of the [email protected] twentieth century, with no yard and a sheer, box-like appearance. He had once had fellow tenants, but they had moved away over the years and RSD had seen fit to take the other rooms on his behalf. He referred solitude and privacy to noisy neighbours. The Ppeople in the buildings to either side were close enough.

As he neared the main entrance, it opened an a uniformed RSD officer appeared. ”Hi, Charlie.” Charlie Farquahar was Roads' offi a]

4 caretaker, a.s.signed to him since the appearance of the Mole. Wispy white hair and wide, moist eyes crowned a scrawny body racked by age, overdue for retirement by almost twenty years. One of the few members of Kennedy's original security force to have survived the Dissolution, he dozed by day in an empty ground floor room, with one ear constantly alert for intruders; after nightfall he watched vigilantly from the doorway. If he minded the dull post, he never said; he rarely spoke in sentences longer than three words. ”Phil.,, ”Any problems?” ”Not today.” Charlie shrugged. Not ever, the gesture economically conveyed.

Roads patted him on the shoulder as he pa.s.sed. ”Keep up the good work.”

”Always. Roads went up the stairs and unlocked the door to his rooms. His home environment was as comfortable as he could bear, but not overly so. His main extravagance was a small collection of watercolours by the two or three Kennedy-born artists that he considered talented. The unframed canvases, mostly of sweeping landscapes, lent the apartment a modic.u.m of warmth; without them, it would have looked cold and heartless.

86.

pped in slowly, scanning the lounge. Putting his d briefcase on a chair, he went through the r routine of checking each room, one after the looking closely at everything.

he found it: a kitchen stool stood out of place in ]way. It hadn't been there when Roads had left rning. He put it back where it was supposed to out fuss, resigned to this sort of thing happening .now and again. mysterious break-ins had begun shortly before le's first appearance, and Roads didn't doubt that me person was behind them, The taunting visits :occurred when the apartment was empty, and no nt of pa.s.sive surveillance had revealed how the fgained entrance. Nothing was ever taken, but thing was always moved, and gradually Roads had d reporting the intrusions. didn't have the heart to tell Charlie that his ncc was fruitless. This was something he kept from altogether. It was personal, between the Mole and As long as nothing was taken or damaged, Roads prepared to tolerate the occasional intrusion. It was believed - simply the Moles way of saying that he d been here, a reminder that there was nothing ing him coming back any time he wanted. ”,,,,He made himself a cup of coffee and went into the A message from Morrow, asking him to call, ited attention on his home terminal's screen. Before answered it, he sent a message to Barney telling her to bother going to work that night, unless she ted to. There was no response; he a.s.sumed she was sleeping. Then he tried Roger Wiggs, keen to swap information n the latest cases. The duty operator at RSD told him at the homicide officer was on duty and unavailable,still busy at the scene of the Yhoman a.s.sa.s.sination. Roads hung up and frowned. Still? It wasn't usual for Wiggs to remain behind after forensics had finished, which they should have by now. He made a mental note to try again in the morning.

Finally, he dialled Morrow's unlisted number. The Head appeared on the screen of his computer in full colour, looking much the same as he had earlier that day. ”We meet again, Phil.” ”Yes.” It seemed much longer than mere hours since their conversation in the bar. ”I a.s.sume Raoul has kept you informed?”

”Naturally. As an observer, few are better qualified than he.” ”Should I know him?” ”No. His, ah, field of expertise was not the same s yours.”

Roads nodded, remembering his first sight of Raoul in the darkened cellar. The mutual recognition had been instantaneous - not of who they were, but of what they had once been. He'd hoped - and feared at the same time - that they might have had more in common.

Morrow's voice intruded upon his reverie. ”I have some information for you.”

”Go on.” ”Raoul left Old North Street two hours ago to help me process the data he collected. It took us longer than we thought to check the list of hardware, but we made it in the end.” ”And?” ”We found a discrepancy.”

Morrow's face s.h.i.+fted aside to make room for a text-box, in which appeared a single line of data: EPA44210:314,315,318.

88.

ds. ”Explain, numbers made little sense to Roa hers for three missing items, and one part hal num r. 15 what?” at I can't tell you, I'm afraid, although I can 'be them. Each EPA44210 is spherical, three centi- 'in diameter, made of a silver metal, and weighs undred grams. The serial numbers are physically d, and cannot be removed.” ds scrawled the digits on a sheet of sc.r.a.p paper.

can't you tell me what they are, Keith?” rrow winked. ”Because I can't, my boy. You'll to find that out for yourself.” hanks a lot.” Roads yawned involuntarily. ”Is anything else you wanted to tell me?”

0. Nothing that can't wait.” G d. Then I'll speak to you later.” oo leep tight.” The Head vanished from the screen. oads rubbed his eyes and tried to think. His in- cts nagged at him, trying to tell him something, but '(ouldn't force it through the exhaustion.

e information Morrow had given him stared at th -five minutes before giving up. The numbers meant hing to him. [email protected] loaded the fiche containing the new data gained Morrow. Cross-referencing each break-in with e he had already been aware of - involving 'official' pools rather than Keith Morrow's - he arrived at a prehensive calendar of the previous forty-odd days. On every night, the Mole had plucked information m various places in the city, apparently at random.

spitals, community services, the MSA and RSD itself d been raided, plus the establishments that Morrow d not identified. The stolen data concerned diseaseoutbreaks, population figures, defensive capabilities, staff movements, production estimates, policy decisions, financial flows, and so on.

There was no obvious link from one night to the next, almost as though the Mole bad been aiming for a random overview of the city's combined datapool, and the Moles drunkard walk became even more confusing when Morrow's data was added to the list. The Blindeye strategy gained credence the more Roads thought about it: the Mole's path was unpredictable, so RSD had to force him to a specific location where they could be waiting for him.

If it worked, they would have him. But, if it didn't, the Mole would have tbem: the city's entire datapool anything he wanted - at his fingertips.