Read Online Oracle by Mike Resnick - Free Book Online Page B

away.
    The Blue Devil couldn't have pulled it up and entered the manhole in five seconds ... but if he had been prepared for this eventuality, if he had left the manhole uncovered and programmed it to close as soon as he plunged into it, he would have just enough time to vanish before Chandler came into view.
    Chandler frowned. What was it Gin had told him? Something about tunnels beneath the Platinum Quarter. He considered going to the Wolfman's and getting Gin to act as a guide, but there was no telling where the Blue Devil would be by then, or even that he would still be in the tunnels, and Chandler wanted answers more than he wanted a guide.
    His decision made, Chandler removed the manhole cover and, pistol in hand, entered the winding, twisting world that lay beneath the Platinum Quarter.
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7.
    Chandler found himself in a small circular chamber, with tunnels going off in three directions.
    Now he ceased being the assassin and once again became the hunter of The Frenchman's World. The floor was damp, and he instantly saw that the water in a small puddle just in front of the left-hand tunnel was moving slightly, as if someone had walked through it within the last minute or so. Crouching slightly, ready to flatten himself against the wall in an instant, he carefully entered the tunnel.
    Here and there he was able to detect signs in the millennia-old tunnels that showed him he was still on the right track, tiny disturbances that only the trained eye of a hunter could spot. He wanted to increase his pace, so that the Blue Devil didn't get too far ahead of him, but the trail was difficult to follow, and there was no sense racing ahead if his prey had turned down one of the many branches.
    After ten minutes he came to a larger chamber, and here he lost the Blue Devil's trail, for a number of men had passed through it even more recently, no more than two or three minutes ago, and had obliterated all sign of his quarry.
    The chamber branched into four more tunnels, and as he was trying to determine which one to follow, he heard a slight shuffling sound off to his right. He backed into the tunnel from which he had entered the chamber, crouched down, and waited.
    A moment later a small man, a laser rifle tucked under his arm, entered the chamber, looked around, and uttered a shrill whistle. The whistle was answered from the depths of another corridor.
    He whistled again, and again he was answered, this time from a new direction.
    "I know you're here somewhere,” he said.
    Chandler remained still and silent.
    "Come on,” said the man. “The more we have to look for you, the harder it'll be on you when we find you."
    A second man emerged from a tunnel.
    "Any sign of him?” he asked.
    "No,” said the small man. “But he's close. I can feel it in my bones."
    Two more trilling whistles reverberated through the tunnels, and in another moment four men, all armed, stood within the chamber.
    "Come out now,” called the small man, “and all it'll cost you is your money. You make us hunt for you, and it'll cost you a lot more."
    Chandler heard yet another man coming down his corridor, and quickly stepped into the chamber, moving a step to his left and keeping his back to a wall.
    "Drop the pistol, pal,” said the small man, as all four of them became aware of his presence and turned to face him.
    "When you do,” answered Chandler.
    The small man smiled. “There are four of us. What chance do you think you have?"
    "There are five of you,” Chandler corrected him. “I don't want to kill you. I just want some information."
    "He doesn't want to kill us!” laughed one of the men.
    "That's right,” said Chandler. The footsteps stopped. “Come on in and join the party,” he said.
    "I think I'll wait here until it begins,” answered an amused voice from the tunnel he had just left.
    "I'm looking for a Blue Devil who entered the tunnels about ten minutes ago,” said Chandler, his gun still trained on the