Bryce absently watched the process in a large tilted mirror slung
overhead. Medicine bored him. "J. H. Beldman, member of the Board of
Directors," he explained, and for the benefit of the policeman
standing beside the door he added, "Bad tempered as they come." He
looked into the mirror uneasily, trying to focus on his face.
His clothes were being cleaned of blood and dried somewhere. When the
doctor had finished sewing and patching Bryce showered and dressed in
a small dressing room beside the emergency ward, where he found his
clothes hanging neatly in a drying closet.
As he finished a man in plain clothes entered and dismissed the cop
with a word, and handed Bryce a printed notice and his magnomatic;
"You're clear," he said, leaving again with a friendly half salute.
"No charges." The police had already recorded the testimony of the
witnesses and inspected the weapons used. It had been a fair duel and
the survivor was clear with a standard case for self-defense. The
printed notice called him to testify at the coroner's inquest into the
death of J. H. Beldman during the next Saturday, but there would be no
charges and no investigation.
There would be no trouble from Beldman, but who else knew what he had
known, that Bryce Carter was responsible for the corruption of UT? How
had he learned it? If someone else knew, there was going to be
trouble.
Coming out of the emergency ward, he checked his watch.
One-fifteen. Too late to find Sheila Wesley still at Geiger's Counter.
But he knew he could see her another day--and with a good story to
explain why he had not turned up the first time.
They ate at the nearest stand and went back to work. Trying to write
was almost impossible, and even using his left hand for minor tasks
was difficult. In spite of quick healing of muscle and flesh from the
amino and nucleic acid powders the doctor had packed in, the shoulder
ached with a tightness that spoiled his coordination. He shifted to
writing clumsily with his right hand.
After twenty minutes he abandoned the pretense of working and began
thoughtfully doing practice draws with his right hand. It was stiff
and clumsy, and there was no holster in his right pocket to make
grasping easy. The second time the maggy caught on his pocket edge and
slipped from his hand he left it on the rug where it had fallen,
sitting looking at it thoughtfully for a moment. Today was the day he
would meet Orillo.
"How well can you handle a four tube cabin cruiser?"
"Line of sight only. I'm no navigator," Pierce responded.
Bryce said soberly, realizing what he had decided, "This is a good day
to have a bodyguard who's a good shot. I have an appointment to meet a
friend--and I'm not sure he's a friend."
"I shoot," Pierce said, writing at one of the letters he had been set
to. "Happy to oblige. Shall I wear my bulletproof clothes?"
"You could do with something like that," Bryce said soberly.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account