by Neil Hunter
Janek sighed. ‘That means you want me to stay out of it. You’re going to start bending the rules again, Thomas?
Cade gave a tight grin. ‘I don’t want you breathing over my shoulder like my conscience, partner. lf you don’t see it, you can’t gripe about it.’
‘So what do you want me to do?’
‘Go talk to your computers. Pull anything that might tie in with the info we have. I don’t give a damn how vague it is. Just do a search, then list all the probables and possibles. What I’d really like is something on Connor. That guy is involved - I know it.’
‘He’s covered his tracks well if he’s involved.’ Janek said.
‘Like Milt said, Connor’s a sly one. He’s been around too long to leave anything easily traceable. You’ll have to turn over some big stones to find where his stash is. Hell, partner, I don’t need to tell you what to do.’
‘Exactly,’ Janek muttered frostily, and headed for his computer room.
Cade floored the gas pedal, sending the cruiser rocketing along the street. It bounced over the potholes, sending silver sprays of rainwater across the crowded sidewalks. The rain had stopped, but the day was still gray and cloudy. The sky hung low over the city, threatening, and the ever-present pollution cast a pall across the horizon.
New York had managed to retain much of its original flavor at street level, despite the ecological and social changes that had occurred during the first half of the century. The rich got richer and the poor just managed to survive. The division between the groups had become noticeably greater. As the city declined at street level, the designers and builders created physical barriers. These were in the shape of elevated roads and walkways that formed links between the towering buildings of the city. When new structures were built, the high-level road and walkway systems were increased, until New York became a two-tier city.
The ultra rich, who inhabited the upper reaches, never descended to street level. They worked and played in their protected environment. This section of the city became known as the Heights. In between the two extremes were the offices of the executive class.
Hamilton Lasall had his office in the Wall Street section.
The area remained the hub of the country, dictating the rise and fall of the financial heartbeat. Cade parked the cruiser outside one of the elevator banks, flashing his badge at the patrolman who had approached him the moment he got out of the vehicle.
‘Keep an eye on it for me,’ Cade growled, and the android touched a gloved hand to the peak of his cap.
Inside the elevator bank Cade located the car that would take him to the level where Lasall’s offices were located. He stepped inside, using his Justice Department card to override the security lock.
‘Which level do you require?’ asked the soothing tones of the car’s computer.
‘Twenty-third,’ Cade said.
The car rose smoothly, its speed increasing as it soared up through the levels. It slowed and stopped with a gentle sigh, the doors opening to deposit Cade on floor twenty-three.
It was all glass and polished steel, hidden lights casting a soft glow over the thick pile carpet. Gentle background music filtered out from concealed speakers. Panoramic Plexiglas windows allowed a breathtaking view across the city when the mist cleared, but at this height the buildings and walkways were frequently wreathed in soft mist. Huge vid-screens showed ever-changing financial information interspersed with commercials for exotic vacations to idyllic locations around the world and beyond.
Cade made his way along the walk, checking out the office frontages until he found Lasall’s.
The wide smoked-glass doors swished open, and a shapely android receptionist beamed up at Cade as he approached her desk.
‘May I help you?’
Cade showed her his badge.
‘Tell Hamilton Lasall I want to see him.’
‘I’ll see if Mr. Lasall is free,’ the receptionist said, still smiling as she reached for the phone.
Cade shook his head. ‘He doesn’t have a choice,’ he said, and briskly headed toward the big doors that bore Lasall’s name.
‘But you can’t…' the receptionist called, her voice incredulous.
Cade shoved the doors open and strode into the spacious office. It seemed to go on forever, a wide, expansive room with a low ceiling and a sweeping picture window behind the vast desk. To the far right, three steps allowed access to a sunken lounge area complete with leather seats and a large-screen TV. The walls were hung with well-framed paintings, and a number of modern sculptures stood on neat plinths.
The slim, dark-haired man behind the desk watched Cade’s entrance with hooded eyes. He wore a close-fitting gray suit and a simple-looking roll-neck sweater that had probably cost a small fortune. As Cade came across the room, the man pushed back his high-backed executive chair and rose to his feet. He raised a slender hand, snapping his fingers.
Cade caught movement off to his left. He turned in that direction and saw the lunging bulk of the bodyguard. Taller than Cade and wider, the guard led his rush with his close-cropped bullet head, and his hands spread with anticipation. There was no evidence of any expression on his face as he closed in on Cade.
The man was massive in build and powerful, but he lacked finesse and agility. Cade easily sidestepped the initial lunge, then turned and drove a clenched fist into his side.
The blow was hard and uncompromising, and the bodyguard winced at the pain from cracked ribs. He turned, sweeping a huge fist in a backhand blow that would have delivered serious harm to Cade’s head had it landed. He was able to duck beneath it, hammering his right elbow into the man’s lower back. The bodyguard grunted and fell to his knees. Cade moved up behind him, hands at the back of this skull, then shoved down hard, driving the head against the solid desk top. The bodyguard slipped from Cade’s hands to the floor.
Cade straightened up and eased his badge out of his pocket. He turned toward the dark-haired man and flashed the badge at him.
‘Sit down, Lasall.’
Hamilton Lasall’s eyes registered the name on the badge, and recognition flickered across his face. Then a blank look settled on his face, and he moved to sit back in the swivel chair, all the time watching Cade closely.
‘Feel a little out of your league, Cade?’
‘In your case, Lasall, I’m on familiar ground.’
The lawyer’s mouth tightened. ‘Are you implying that I’m guilty of something?’
‘Let’s say I’m getting there. A few more loose ends, Lasall, then I’ll be back with the ‘cuffs and you’ll be on your way to the Mars Penal colony.’
Lasall made light of Cade’s remark. He actually smiled, but it never reached his eyes. For a moment his eyes flicked back and forth across the room, then settled back on Cade. ‘What exactly are you accusing me of?’
‘We both know what you’ve been up to, Lasall. And you might have got away with it if I hadn’t picked up a lowlife called Bernie Stenner. You know the type — he had a loose mouth and wanted to talk a deal. Trouble is, I lost him before he managed to give me the full story. But I’m picking it up piece by piece, and it’s all falling into place. And you know what? I keep coming across the same name. Guess who it belongs to.’
Cade looked mockingly at Lasall, then stepped around the groaning bodyguard and headed for the door.
‘You figured it out yet?’ he called back over his shoulder. He turned, a finger jabbing at the lawyer. ‘Yours, Lasall. Your name. So don’t skip town, because I’ll be back.’
He closed the door and left the suite of offices. He took the elevator back to street level and the waiting cruiser. Inside he picked up the phone and called the office.
‘Hi, partner,’ he said as Janek came on. ‘I’m on my way back to pick you up. Time we took a swing over to Newark and had a look at that freight company.’
‘I’ll be waiting,’ Janek said. ‘How did it go with Lasall?’
Cade smiled. ‘He’ll be on the phone by now,
calling his contacts and splitting hairs.’
‘It could turn out to be too much for the two of us,’ Janek warned. ‘If his people feel we’re getting too close, they could throw anything at us.’
‘You don’t say?’ Cade replied.
Janek sighed. ‘You just love it when things get hairy.’
‘I need a little excitement once in a while. Comes from working with an old woman like you.’
‘Hah!’ Janek said, and put the phone down.
Cade swung away from the curb, forcing his way into the traffic and ignoring the yells he received. He pushed the cruiser along at a steady clip.
His mind was working overtime, trying to make sense out of the jumble of facts and figures Janek had thrown at him.
The cybo could set the mess out neat and tidy in his computer brain, retaining any amount of information, while Cade had to use old-fashioned human logic. Without all the trimmings, Cade at least knew he was looking at one hell of a conspiracy. One that involved the law, high-priced lawyers and now some multinational company. The only thing missing was the motivation for it, the payoff, the single fact that would make perfect sense out of the tangled web.
He had swung through the intersection onto Fulton, heading back toward Broadway, when he became aware of a sleek black limousine running parallel with his cruiser. The vehicle had dark-tinted windows, and there was something odd about the way it ran even with the cruiser. Cade was about to make an evasive move when he spotted a second limousine, also black, on the opposite side. A small voice inside his head told him to check the rearview mirror, and Cade saw a third car on his tail.
They had him boxed in.
Cade figured he only had seconds before something drastic happened. The elaborate convoy wasn’t there to escort him home. He glanced ahead. There was a compact in front, with a fair gap between it and the next vehicle. Cade kept his eye on the compact, and also the side streets.
Whatever he did would have to be fast, because he wouldn’t get a second try.
He saw a narrow alley coming up. It was only wide enough to take one car at a time. Cade jammed his foot hard down on the gas pedal, feeling the powerful, supercharged cruiser leap forward. He yanked hard on the wheel, rolling as the cruiser slewed to the left, cutting across the front of the limo on that side. He clipped the rear corner of the compact, sending it surging forward, clearing the way for him. The cruiser’s engine howled. Tires burned against the pavement as the cruiser shot toward the alley. Cade felt the nose of the limousine clout him midsection, and the cruiser slid off course. He dragged the heavy wheel back, pulling the lurching car on line as it shot for the mouth of the alley.
Behind him the rattle of gunfire rose above the roaring engine. The cruiser’s rear window blew out as a stream of slugs shattered the glass. Cade almost lost control as the car lurched wildly into the alley. Sparks trailed behind the cruiser as the body scraped the brickwork on either side, the vehicle bouncing back and forth between the opposing buildings.
Cade caught a glimpse of one limousine following him into the alley. Its windows were powered down to allow armed figures to lean out and open up with auto weapons.
Slugs hammered the cruiser’s body, and Cade knew it was only a matter of seconds before they found his fuel tank. He felt the cruiser lurch as one rear tire blew. Moments later the other one went, and the cruiser rolled along on steel rims.
Cade snatched up the SPAS, released his door latch and slammed on the footbrake. He exited the slithering cruiser, bracing his back against the wall, and swung the SPAS into position. Cade triggered the autoloader without pause, delivering its seven shots with devastating results. The limousine’s windshield disintegrated under the barrage of hot lead, and the occupants were shredded by the close-quarters blasts.
The moment he’d fired the last shot, Cade turned and ran. Behind him the out-of-control limo hit the rear of the stalled cruiser. There was a screech of tortured metal, followed by a solid thump of sound. Cade felt a surge of heat wash over him, and an invisible hand pushed him against the alley wall. The air around him was suddenly full of debris.
Turning, he saw the ball of gasoline flame sweep up between the sides of the building, quickly followed by a thick cloud of oily smoke.
Cade pulled his Magnum, peering through the smoke.
The approach to the alley was blocked by another black limousine. It remained in place for a few moments longer, then reversed and pulled away.
Cautiously moving along toward the far end of the alley, his gun at the ready, Cade kept a watch for further developments. Nothing happened. The surviving limousines had vanished in the traffic.
Emerging from the alley at the far end, Cade spotted a street cruiser and waved it down. In moments he was on the phone to Janek, telling his partner to book out another car so he could come down to pick Cade up.
‘This is becoming embarrassing, T.J.,’ Janek said. He stood by the replacement cruiser, grumbling about the fact that he had been forced to requisition the new car from the car pool.
‘Well, thanks for your concern. I’m fine. No scratches. I just nearly got blown away, and all you can do is give me a hard time about a damn car.’
‘You’re not the one who had to go crawling to that droid who runs the car pool. He practically wanted my life history before he’d give me a car.’
‘Janek - tough titty,’ Cade said, and climbed behind the wheel of the cruiser. He leaned out the window and waved to the uniformed policeman supervising the alley cleanup.
‘Talk to you later, Phil.’
‘Take it easy, T.J.,’ the officer called with a wave of the hand.
Janek slid into the passenger seat, pulling the door shut.
Cade hit the gas pedal and pulled sharply away from the curb, bulling his way into the late-afternoon traffic. Janek was jerked against the back of the seat.
‘Take it easy, TJ., or are you deliberately trying to loosen my memory chips?’
‘Quit griping.’ Cade eased off the pedal, glancing at his partner. ‘You get any more from your PC buddies?’
Janek ignored the jibe.
‘I did what you suggested and searched all sources for tie-in data. The most significant thing I came across was the death of a geologist named Frakin. He died about seven months back. Killed in a mugging, the report says.’
'So?'
‘I also picked up the information that Lexus has a sub-division I missed first time around. A mining operation. On Lexus-9, one of the asteroids. You with me so far, T.J.?’
Cade nodded. ‘Don’t be so melodramatic, Janek. If you’ve got something, for Christ’s sake spit it out.’
He swerved wildly, narrowly missing the rear end of a New York transit bus. Racing along the side of the bus, Cade gave an admonishing blast with his siren.
Janek sat back, patiently waiting for his partner to work off his frustrations.
‘These shameless bus drivers think they own the road,’ Cade muttered, yanking the cruiser back into its lane.
‘He obviously doesn’t realize the system belongs to you personally,’ Janek murmured flippantly.
‘What? Oh, funny guy.’
‘Can I continue?’
Cade waved his hand. He had found a half-smoked cigar in his pocket and was in the process of lighting it. ‘We got as far as Lexus-9. Real dump of a place.’
‘You know it?’
‘Did a spell there when I was with the Marine Space Corps. Got transferred to them after the war in ‘36. Spent four damn years in the colonies. Real pain. Back then the mining operations were running wild. Lexus-9 had a mean reputation. Funny, I didn’t connect when you mentioned Lexus earlier.’
‘Could be you’re getting old, T. J .,’ Janek said dryly.
Cade expelled thick clouds of smoke. ‘What’s the death of this geologist got to do with Lexus-9?’
‘About a month before he died, Frakin had completed a survey for Lexus-9. That much is on the records. I’m still trying to find th
e actual report. There should be a copy kept on file. I haven’t been able to unearth it yet, and that makes me suspicious.’
‘You and me both,’ Cade said.
They were still deliberating the facts when Cade hit the Holland Tunnel. They emerged on the far side, Cade easing the cruiser along the on ramp for the Newark Link Expressway.
Janek picked up the phone, tapping in a number that would link him with the computer back at their office. He used the sensors built into the tips of his fingers to connect himself to the modem-pad in the handset. Leaning back in his seat, Janek began to absorb the information coming across the line. The transfer was completed in less than a minute, and he put the phone down with a satisfied smile on his lips.
‘You can’t beat a good information surge,’ he said. ‘Really sets me up.’
‘Yeah? Well, apart from giving you a high, does it tell us anything useful?’
‘Central computer managed to locate the original report Frakin entered. Somebody tried losing it by shifting it to Pittsburgh South Information Center. They had it logged under Miscellaneous. If there were any queries, all they had to say was that it must have been mistakenly rerouted.’
‘Why not just erase it?’
‘Can’t be done, T.J.,’ Janek explained. ‘Frakin’s report had to be submitted to the local information pool. He’d do that as a matter of course. Federal law. There’s no way information in that system can be erased. But a smart hacker could get it moved. Lost somewhere in the network.’
‘So what does it tell us?’
‘Apparently Lexus-9 had opened an extremely rich new seam of pure titanium. It was way down below any of their previous levels. Frakin’s investigation showed the area to be unfit for working. He found a band of unstable strata covering the extent of the seam. It could break up any time once mine operations began and cause massive cave-ins.’
‘Lexus wouldn’t take that information too well,’ Cade said. ‘Titanium’s at a premium just now. Hell of a lot of money to be made from it. Military contracts. Robotics.’