"You know how it is, Dmitri." Carlyle lifted his glass to the oafish Sov Blocker in a toast. "It can do wonders for one's reputation to return from the dead every now and then."
"Da, I am sure, of course. But you know, friend Carlyle, a little bird tells me that your business trip to Mega-City One was not entirely concerned with such things. This bird, who shall of course remain nameless, tells me that you may have returned with some valuable information."
"Valuable?" Taking another sip, it occurred to Carlyle that the wine was actually quite palatable after all. "Say for example the records of a research project that successfully managed to breed latent psychics? Including all the raw data, experimental protocols, records of the drugs they used, the genes they spliced, and so on. Oh, and did I mention that I happen to have the only remaining copy of this information in the world? Yes, I suppose you could say it was valuable, Dmitri." Looking across the table, he saw the other man's eyes glittering like cold hard marbles. "Though, of course, you will understand if I insist that you meet my price in full before I can allow you to see it. But then, we both know this game of old, Dmitri.
"I'm sure in the end we will be able to come to some kind of arrangement."
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mitchel Scanlon lives in Derbyshire, England and is a full-time writer. He has written both comic books and prose fiction. He also wrote the first Anderson PSI Division novel, Fear the Darkness. Red Shadows is his third novel.
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