microgee industrial stations which produced the pipe.
Steinbauer didn't know?
No. Hell, he's not even a Boston member.
I looked enquiringly at Shannon. I'd guess that Penny Maowkavitz has been checking up on Steinbauer. If anyone was likely to find out about the stockpile, it would be him. Blowing that subterfuge to the JSKP board really would guarantee his promotion.
Most likely, yes, boss.
So what was the last file Maowkavitz reviewed?
She consulted one of the screens. Now that's a funny one; strictly speaking it isn't a Cybernetics Division file. It's the maintenance log for a Dornier SCA-4545B two-man engineering capsule. JSKP has about sixty of them up here, tending the industrial stations and the He
The data on the screen didn't mean anything to me. Run the gold search program, i told her.
Her finger stabbed down on the enter key.
Bingo.
• • •
Can you actually see Steinbauer yourself?i asked rolf.
Yes, sir; he's in his office, two down from the one I'm using.
What's he doing?
Using the computer, I think. He's sitting at the desk, anyway.
OK, under no circumstances are you to approach him.i turned the jeep onto one of the main roads running the length of the habitat. at the back of my mind i was aware of eden clearing all other traffic from the road ahead of me, and diverting people away from the cyberfactory cavern where steinbauer had his office. i twisted the accelerator, pushing the jeep up to fifty kilometres an hour, top speed.
Boss, shannon called, I make that over two hundred and twenty modifications to the capsule systems; he's been replacing everything from wiring to thermal foil.
Have they all been substituted?
Yes.
OK, thanks, Shannon. Nyberg?
Yes, sir.
What's your ETA?
We're leaving the station now, sir. We should be there in eight minutes.
I saw a mirage of three police jeeps pulling out onto the street, each with five officers dressed in black lightweight flex-armour. The trouble was, people were huddled on the pavement watching the little convoy speed past. They would be telling their friends, who would tell their friends. The whole habitat would be blanketed with the news in a matter of minutes. Someone was bound to inform Steinbauer in all innocence. And there wasn't a thing I could do about it.
What worried me was the kind of weapons the armed response team might be facing. Steinbauer could have built anything in that bloody factory, from a neutron beam rifle to a guided missile. We wouldn't know until he hit us with it.
I toyed with the idea of just calling him and telling him we knew, point out that he couldn't escape. It might save lives, especially if he panicked when the team crashed into the office. But then again he might just use the time to prepare. Command decisions, what I get paid for.
Eden.
Yes, Chief Parfitt?
Can you see anything which might be a weapon in Steinbauer's office, or anywhere else in the cyberfactory for that matter?
No. But I'm still reviewing the mechanical objects whose function isn't immediately clear to me.
Shunt the images straight to Rolf, he ought to be able to speed up the process.
Sir, rolf said. Steinbauer has just asked me what's happening. I've told him it's just a readiness exercise.
Shit. Is he buying it?
He is asking me to confirm, eden said. Which I have done.
I looked through the sensitive cells in Steinbauer's office, seeing him sitting at his desk, frowning out at the ranks of machinery in the cavern. He gave Rolf a concerned glance, then stood up.
A wave of trepidation from Rolf flooded back to me. If he makes a move towards you, I'll tell him the response team will be issued with shoot to kill orders, i told him.
Thanks, sir.
Steinbauer was leaning over his desk, typing furiously on his computer console.
Hey!rolf protested.
What is it?
The computer memory is erasing. God damn, he's wiping the whole Cybernetics Division system clean.
Steinbauer picked up a small box, and left his office. Outside, the machines were coming to a halt in a crescendo of squealing metal. Red strobes began to flare in warning, turning the whole cavern into a lurid grotto of oscillating shadows. Trolleys braked suddenly, some of them spilling their loads. Alarm klaxons added to the din of abused machinery.
Rolf's hands gripped the armrests of his chair. I could feel the tendons taut in his forearms as Steinbauer walked past the glass wall in front of him.
Eden, are there any servitor chimps in the cavern?
No, Chief Parfitt, I'm afraid not, the noise and machinery upsets them.
Damn.i had thought we could send a scrum of them to overpower him.
Steinbauer had reached the back of the cavern. The sensitive cells showed me tiny beads of sweat pricking his forehead. He opened the box and took out the Colt .45 pistol. It was the one we had asked him to build.
«Bugger,» I spat. My jeep had just reached the start of the causeway. Eden, did he make any bullets for it?
Yes. You did ask for a complete evaluation.
Rolf, get out. Now. Eden, pull everyone else from the cavern; steer them clear of Steinbauer as they go.
I watched impotently as Steinbauer checked the revolver's barrel, and pulled the safety catch back.
Steinbauer?
No answer, although he did cock his head to one side. He carried on walking along the rear wall.
Steinbauer, this is pointless. We know about the gold and the Dornier capsule. Put the pistol down. You're not going anywhere. This is a habitat, for Christ's sake, there's nowhere to hide.
Steinbauer stopped in front of a circular muscle membrane in the wall. He stood there with both hands on his hips, glaring at it.
He has ordered it to open, eden said. But I won't allow it.
Where does it lead to?
It is one of the entrances to the inspection tunnels which run through my digestive organs.
I was abruptly aware of the tunnels, a nightmare topology which twined round the titanic organs. The entire southern endcap was riddled with them. Steinbauer tilted his head back, peering curiously at the polyp roof. Then the image vanished from my mind, colour streaks imploding like a hologram screen that had been fused.
Eden, what's happening?
