[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
and piloting your fighting machines, is to give you some very useful military technology. You know the
hole I made in the container that you put me in, many years ago?"
"Yes, and I was wondering how you did that."
"I made it disappear. I did the same thing to some of your window glass, in the next room, to get in
here."
"You did? But that isn't glass. That's a single crystal of diamond."
"The material isn't important. Only its location matters."
"We would very much like to have that weapon. Something like it was used to take out thirty-one of our
tanks when the alien ship arrived."
"Something identical to it. The Mitchegai stole that weapon from us, but we will give it to you."
"Thank you. And what do you need from us?"
"Could you spare a few hundred tons of Everclear?"
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
FROM CAPTURED HISTORY TAPES,
FILE 1846583A ca. 1832 a.d.
BUT CONCERNING EVENTS OF UP TO
2000 YEARS EARLIER
Major Wagers
The next day, Bronki withdrew her bid on the Naga property. She didn't want any connection with
Kodo while she was planning his demise. Also, once he was successfully disposed of, she should be able
to buy the property at bargain rates at his estate sale.
Two weeks went by with nothing more eventful happening than a pleasant academic party with a dozen
guests and four party snacks. Bronki really did provide electrically heated irons, and they were a big hit.
One guest, a professor of physiology, won the prize for best scream by inserting a cold iron into a girl's
cloaca, and then plugging it in.
Besides the delightful screaming, a few of the guests even said that they liked the flavor of the cooked
meat. Bronki was confident that she had started a new fad, and was enjoying the social prestige that such
a thing gave her.
At both the college and at the athletic department, Kren's instructors seemed pleased with him.
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
The only sour point had been their visit to the target range. Kren found that while he knew the theory
and operation of a pistol perfectly, he was a truly terrible shot.
With a spear or javelin, he could hit a target the size of his hand at a gross yards. With a pistol, he could
hit a target the size of an adult Mitchegai at six yards only on the rarest of occasions. After exhausting
most of his ammunition, he gave up in disgust.
Bronki said, "Well, I guess that the Greenie you ate was just a lousy shot!"
"Apparently! I should have taken a bite out of the mugger!"
"It couldn't possibly have made you a worse shot with a pistol. However, eating a bit of someone who is
a very good shot might be a bit problematic, as I expect that such a person would be very difficult to kill."
Bronki tried a few shots with her new spring knife, and was very pleased with the results. At anything
less than a dozen yards, it would prove very deadly, indeed.
Kren sold the pistol and its accessories at the range store for a dozen and eight gross Ke, in currency.
They didn't deal in plastic money there.
On the way home, Bronki said, "Kren, I think that I might have been over hasty in advising you not to
use the credit cards you got from those muggers. For one thing, there is over four dozen thousand Ke in
those three accounts, a remarkable amount for mere muggers to have saved."
"They were apparently very successful in their line of business."
"I imagine so, until the very end, of course. There has been no activity with any of the accounts since you
obtained the cards, and no inquiries have been made concerning them. Now, an organization like the
KUL would have been concerned about any missing members, but if these muggers really were
independents, it could be that nobody cares about them."
"And you have a suggestion?" Kren asked.
"Yes. What I could do would be to arrange for a series of complicated transfers to be made through a
number of dummy corporations that I control, before transferring the money to your account. I think that
it would probably be safe enough."
"I see. And you would expect a fee for this?"
"Three dozen per gross would be standard," she said.
"Could you settle for two?" Kren asked.
"For a good friend like you, certainly."
Bronki computed that with this fee, she had recouped her initial investment in Kren in less than four
weeks, and was starting to make a nice profit on him.
"Then please do these financial things and get me the money. I expect to need it soon."
"You are going to bet on your performance in the upcoming competition?" Bronki said.
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
"Of course."
"The odds against you winning the distance throw are currently eleven to one. That's quite low,
considering that there will be over three dozen contestants, and you have never been in competition
before. The word on your throwing must have gotten out."
"Do you know my odds on the accuracy competition?" He asked.
"They are currently much better, a dozen and nine to one. The actual payoff will depend on the odds at
the start of the competition, of course."
"Then I will bet all of my money on the accuracy competition." Kren was not yet sufficiently confident of
his abilities with an épée to wager on the outcome of that event, and the javelin tennis game had too large
of an element of luck for Kren to take any serious risks with it.
"Don't bet everything, Kren. Save a little as a cushion. No competition is ever certain," she said.
"We will see."
"As you wish. I'll have Dol take you to an honest bookie. She will tell them that you are my friend, and
you will be well taken care of."
"Thank you. What is happening with the KUL and the PPG, incidentally?" Kren asked.
"Oh, there is a lovely gang war going on, even better than I had hoped. More than eight dozen bits of
trash have died thus far with only a few of them being resurrected, and the end is not in sight. Also, that
lieutenant who offended me had a meeting with his superiors, and hasn't been seen since. To my mind, it's
good riddance to the lot of them. I think of it as a private contribution on our part toward the general
betterment of the city."
"I expect that you are right. And what is happening with Kodo?"
"That is still in the planning stage. When things are ready, we'll discuss the matter fully," Bronki said.
"As you wish."
* * *
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]