Memoria (36 page)

Authors: Alex Bobl

Tags: #Hardboiled Sci Fi

BOOK: Memoria

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"I'm glad to see you in good cheer.
That's my boy. You and I, we know what we want and how to go
about
it. You're just like your father. I remember him well; you're a chip off the old
block.
Your ambition, your
ability to plan in advance and act accordingly
—
it must run in the family, you know. But as I said, I'm too pressed for time to play mind games with you. Frank,"
Claney
shook
his head, "I have to admit I'm
disappointed. You didn't
see the tape. You couldn't appreciate our scope.
We've tried so hard
...
" He sighed. "In any case, you didn't even need the tape. You've worked it all out yourself without it.
Well, almost."

He glanced at Frank, checking his reaction.

"There was a moment, you know, when I very nearly offered you
a position on
our team.
Imagine the possibility for promotion!" He bent over him. "
One year, and you're a
sector manager,
another, and you're on
the
directors' board. But
—
I've changed my mind.
Thinking of you was a weakness."

Frank
squinted at Bow, wincing from the
ache in the back of his head. Three paces away from the bed was a white door
with
some machines to its left,
and also
a cabinet and a water cooler.
Next to them
stood
a table w
here
the researcher
was
still fiddling with his stuff.

The room looked like an operating theater, with its light tiled walls and powerful lamps
under the ceiling, framed in stainless steel.
Only one lamp worked, dimmed to half power.

"Why?" Frank
unglued his lips.

"Why what?"
Claney
stooped
close to him. "You mean, all this? This is to make sure that the likes of you don't break the law.
Never!" His hand chopped the air. "The law is the same for everyone. And you, sir, have neglected your duty to visit Memoria already for a year
while you should have been there three more times by now. As
it
is,
you're in
breach of state law and must answer for it.
"

"But,"
a
cough choked him, "what about Kathleen?"

"Kathleen!"
Claney
threw his hands in the air.
"We will never forget her. I'm sorry i
t had to come to this. It's this
Bow
here
, he didn't want to help her. He did the right thing,
our Bow, he
let us know about her plans just in time.
By stealing the data, she signed her own death
warrant
."

"Just like her father had done before her, hadn't he?"

"Oh. Bow, di
d you hear that?"
Claney
crossed his arms on his chest and turned to the table. "You'd better check the matrix for something we've missed."

Frank heard the fingers tapping on the keyboard. A monitor screen came
up on one of the machines
. D
iagrams flashed
on it,
replaced by lines of decrypted information. Bow stepped
up
to the machine,
his back concealing the screen.

"No, sir," he said after a minute's pause.
"There are no memories of John Baker on the file, apart from general knowledge."

"
I bet there
are
n't," Frank managed a crooked smile. Instead of laught
er, his throat made a gargling n
oise.

He'd blurted t
he first thing that came to
mind. If he was right and
Claney
had something to do with Kathleen's death
...
In a moment,
his bluff paid off.

"You piece of shit!"
Claney
lashed out. "You think you're so smart you can
catch me
? You
can
't,
mister, not
Russell
Claney
!
" He slapped Frank
in the
face. The copper band on
Frank's
head fell to his chest.
Claney
pulled some of the
cables
attache
d
to the
band
, and Frank
'
s headache disappeared.

William Bow, nonplussed, tried to catch the band
but
Claney
yanke
d the rest of the cables loose
.
The copper band jumped up in the air and
hit the table
with a jingle as it fell among
the stainless steel boxes.

"Sir,
please
! The equipment
...
the records
...
The subject.."

Once again
Claney
raised his fist. A signet
ring flashed o
n his
finger. The Congressman's mouth curved in a
sinister grin. He lowered his hand and spoke,

"
John didn't fit the mo
u
ld and paid for it. He wanted everyone to
have
their free lunch.
He didn't know people. You
offer
them a finger and they'll bite off your
whole
arm,
then
they
will come back to
swallow
the rest of you
."

"So you decided to
swallow
the Baker family?
Who's next on your list, then? The m
igrants?
All of us?"

"So!"
Claney
craned his head to
one side and gave Frank a hateful glare. "I was right about your
ability to plan in advance. Like teacher, like student.
Wonder if I should reconsider and offer you a job at Memoria again? What would you answer to that?"

"Do
you need to ask? Can't you just make me obey you against my will?"

"You idiot!"
Claney
raised his fist.

The door swu
ng open behind his back. A tall blond man appeared in the doorway, his eyes cold.

"You all right here?" the man looked around.

Claney
didn't answer. He still glared at Frank
rearranging the
loose
ring on his finger.

"Sir?" the
blond man touched his shoulder.

"Everything's fine,
Dickens
,"
Claney
shook his hand off.
"What you've got?"

"The first stage is terminated."

"It took you some time."

"We had trouble. C
hief Bud Jessup put Binelli and the HQ under surveillance.

"He what?"
Claney
threw back
his head. "Get me Agent Archer!"

William Bow
, suddenly perplexed,
dropped the copper band he'd picked up
off
the floor. It clanged on the tiles.

"Do your job, Bow,"
Claney
waved him
away
. "
Make sure the equipment is up and running.
Dickens
? You still here?"

"I've already contacted Archer," the man nodded.
"He told me Jessup was out of reach. Without him, his officers refused to obey the Feds' orders."

"Oh, did they now?
"

"They did."

"And that reporter,"
Claney
peered into
the
man
's face.
A shadow of fear flashed through his
countenance
.

"Jessup still has him."

"And the tape?"

"
Our man
in the camp
is dead. Migrants have cut off all contact, thei
r cell phones are off, their radio station is dead. I'm afraid I don't have enough infor
mation on the Bronx situation. The p
olice
are
none the wiser."

"Not enough information? Then go and get it
!"
Claney
snapped. "Plug in the Mayor. Get Binelli
to
call him or send a delegation
...
"

"I spoke to Binelli, sir. He got the May
o
r on the line
, but the latter failed to find Jessup. Binelli is now trying to get an appointment with the Attorney General to
stop Jessup's indiscretion."

"How much
do
you think he's found out?"

"Nothing, sir. But this behavior shouldn't be tolerated. Jessup has to answer for his actions.
"

"He will indeed."
Claney
paused. "That's strange.
When we
arrived at the
Bronx
this morning
, the police
couldn't care less
. Jessup didn't prevent us from entering
the camp. He
didn't attempt to report the situation, let alone complain about it."

"He was under pressure from Archer and
DC.
Now Jessup ha
s severed all contact with them, and ordered his men to do the same. He's on the loose, sir."

"You think?"
Claney
looked at
Dickens
, thinking. "Okay. I'll speak to the Mayor myself.
I'll give the Secretary a ring, too. You need to find
out the reporter's location.
."

"Yes, sir."

"Is that it? Are you sure?
This tape worries me now.
Bow has
performed a
selective memory scan on
him,"
Claney
nodded at Frank who hung on his every word,
"
and
what's her name
now
—
Maggie D
ougga
n
. According to it, both
camera and the memory card containing the video file
had been damaged. The card was handed to some migrant engineers after which your men
arrived at
Fordham
. You confiscated the
attaché
case
, the hard disk and the guns, but not the recording.
You've failed to retrieve it,
Dickens
."

"Do you want us to go back to the camp?"

"Not you. Let your man in the police department do it.
"
Claney
's stare turned to Bow, still busy with the copper band by the table.
"The most i
mp
o
rtant
thing to do
now is
this
reporter.
And as for the tape
...
" He glanced at Frank and grinned, "Bow can always make a new one."