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because you never knew what these loons were going to throw at you. And I had an ideal
candidate in mind.
"I want to bring in Bergman."
Thoughtful pause while Pete tallied up the potential expense of that request. "You sure
you need a tech-head?"
"We've already got plenty of muscle. I know it's gonna cost you, but I shouldn't have to
remind you the guy's a genius. Plus he's an outsider." Way out, actually, but I knew how
to deal with that. "He made a big difference in the result of our last mission. You said that
yourself."
"Okay, give him a call."
"Thanks. And, Pete, I really think we've got to go silent until this is over." I waited for him
to protest. If he'd engineered last night's attack, he'd want to keep track of us so he'd
know where to send the next wave. His reply, immediate and definite, left no doubt in my
mind where he stood.
"I think that's for the best."
Yes! That left one less heartbreak on my horizon. "Okay, talk to you on the other side."
"Parks& "
"Yeah?"
"You're clear on your duty to Vayl. I know that. But take care of yourself too. That's an
order."
"Yes sir."
After we hung up I did a little happy dance around the rim of the pit, managing not to fall
in despite some spectacular high kicks. Gosh, if I hadn't minded the whole world ogling
my butt I could've been a showgirl! I took one more victory lap, settled back down at the
table and called Bergman.
After drumming my fingers through five different sets of prerecorded options and
punching a combination of buttons that practically committed me to sacrificing my first-
born child if I revealed any detail of our pending conversation to anyone, I had to leave a
voice-mail. While I waited for his return call I keyed the name of Senator/Suspect #1 into
our database and started reading.
Two hours later I'd read all the information I could gather on Senators Fellen, Tredd and
Bozcowski. I'd also done a short background check on Cole Bemont out of pure nosiness.
I felt much better about our spontaneous exchange of affection now that I knew he was
definitely one of the good guys.
Wondering when Bergman would decide to crawl out of his cave and reenter the real
world, I decided I'd wait more patiently if I could do so standing up. So I moved all the
furniture out of the pit and lined it up against the walls like freaked out pre-teens at the
Christmas Dance.
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Taekwondo was the first martial art I ever learned. Mom started sending me to class when
I was eight, somehow managing to find me a new instructor every time we moved, so that
by the time I hit eleven I'd earned a first-degree black belt. I've trained in plenty of other
disciplines since then, but taekwondo is still my favorite. I started with white belt, worked
my way through each form until I reached my present rank, 5th degree black belt. By the
time I'd finished my ribs were pounding out an S.O.S. on my lungs and my sweats were
soaked. So I headed to the shower.
I peeked out the curtain on the way. "Nothing moving out there. The whole damn state
must be hungover." Which was when I realized a new year had crashed on me. Should I
make a resolution? Be nicer to old women and cats? Swear less? Learn a new language?
"Got it!" I told my reflection as I went into the bathroom to undress. "My resolution is to
learn how to swear in a new language."
If Evie were here she'd be rolling her eyes. "That's not swearing less, Jaz," she'd say.
"Ah, but that is where you are wrong little round grasshopper," I'd tell her in my Chinese
grocer accent. She loves that one because, of course, I do it terribly. "I will be swearing
less in English. And I will be learning a new language."
I lingered over my second shower, afterward took the time to shave and pluck and
cosmeticize myself into some semblance of order. Now wearing black jeans and a long-
sleeved purple shirt with prehistoric cave-paintings printed all over it, I was ready to
wait some more. These were the times I missed Evie the most. She's one of those people [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]