System failure, p.13
System Failure, page 13
“Ahhh, it’s disgusting!” He spat it into his hand.
“Durian flavor,” grinned Salome, as the others, too, made faces and spat out their candies. “Fortunately, I like it.”
“Four out of five ain’t bad for revenge,” laughed Mikael, nudging Slack. “You’re not the only ones who can play practical jokes. And it’s sweet justice that I picked them up in Shanghai.”
Slack made a wry face. “Fair enough.”
“You know, I’ll miss the Amazon,” sighed Salome, chewing.
“Slack and I never even got to see it,” pointed out Akane, mournfully.
“Oh, you didn’t miss that much,” laughed John. “The only fish Salome got to swim with were hostile robots!”
“And an electric eel,” Salome reminded him with a shiver. “I won’t be doing that again.”
John glanced at Akane and Slack as they walked ahead of them toward the parking garage. He was sure their hands were in contact.
“Salome,” he muttered with a grin, “I guess you’re not the only one who got an electric charge this term.”
Roy Lykos clasped his hands in front of him on the chipped metal desk. He closed his eyes. Sometimes he was very glad he was so adept at meditation.
Not that he would let his emotions get the better of him.
“I’m sorry things didn’t work out this time, Roy,” murmured Evan J. Whiteford. He was pacing up and down, his hands behind his back. He needed, thought Roy, to be calmer. Think clinically, just as Roy himself did. Why was he surrounded by overemotional incompetents?
“So near,” he told Evan, his eyes still closed, “yet so far. There will be future opportunities.”
“They won’t be at the Ma’yaarr Complex,” growled Evan. “The Brazilian Polícia have, in their infinite wisdom, closed it down until further notice.”
“There are other Centers,” murmured Roy.
“With students as malleable as young Mirandinha?” Evan spread his hands.
“You know what I like about Mikael’s DNA technology?” smiled Roy. “It makes everyone malleable. As dear Mirandinha discovered with John Laine.”
“Still.” Evan frowned. “Mikael has cooperated with Interpol and opened up his network to them.”
“I think we can almost discount Mikael as a player. There’s another person who should have interested me more from the start. A version 1.0. If only I’d thought to keep her closer and study her in more detail, I could have retro-engineered every step Mikael took along the way.”
“You’ll find it hard to get your hands on Eva now,” pointed out Evan.
“Oh, I don’t think so. Easiest thing in the world.” Roy leaned back, his hands behind his head. “You see, it’s clear now what she wants most in the world.
“And since I know exactly what happened on that Trans-Siberian Express, and how, and why . . . well, Evan.” Roy Lykos smiled in triumph. “I’m the one person in the world who can give Eva Vygotsky exactly what she wants.”
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I.I Davidson, System Failure
