Read Online So Vile a Sin by Ben Aaronovitch, Kate Orman - Free Book Online
Authors: Ben Aaronovitch, Kate Orman
Ads: Link
swept over her shoulder and across the back of her burgundy silk dress when she sat down.
Roz glanced at Susanti, who was slumped over the table 54
with his face resting on his arms. ‘I thought he’d never pass out,’
she said.
‘I’ve been watching you,’ said Mei Feng. ‘I’ve seen every kind come in here, from rubbernecking tourists to alien spies. You don’t fall into any of the usual categories.’ She extended her hand. ‘I’m the owner, Tsang Mei Feng.’
‘Sarah McShane,’ said Roz, shaking hands. ‘I’m a journalist.’
Mei Feng looked at her. ‘No, you’re not,’ she said.
‘All right,’ said Roz, rummaging in her handbag. ‘What am I?’
‘At first I thought you were a cop,’ she said. ‘But a quick call to my people in the Order was enough to convince me you weren’t. Then I thought, independent security? But our friend here could never afford a bodyguard.’ She patted Susanti on the head. ‘So here’s my guess: you’re an ex-cop.’
Close, thought Roz. Alarmingly close. ‘Yeah,’ she said. ‘You must be a mind-reader.’
Mei Feng smiled, looking around at the crowd. ‘Thank Goddess I’m not. So what brings you to our humble little hell-hole?’
‘I came for the atmosphere,’ said Roz.
‘But Aegisthus is an airless moon.’
‘I was misinformed.’
Mei Feng laughed. ‘People who come here want something from a short list of things,’ she said. ‘Want me to guess?’
Roz was finished rummaging in her handbag. Her hand emerged with the first thing she could grab, which was a tissue.
She blew her nose and said, ‘No. I need a job. Can you use an unAdjudicator?’
Mei Feng looked her up and down. ‘Did they teach you how to mop a floor at that Academy?’ she said.
‘First you want gun; now bomb,’ said the Qink. ‘You up to no good for sure.’
Roz blinked. It was a different stall, with different merchandise (perfume and cosmetics) down the other end of the Boulevard Gagarin and, Roz had assumed although she 55
couldn’t tell from just looking, a different Qink.
‘Why you not buy this nice perfume, nah?’ The Qink held up a tiny fluted glass bottle. ‘Got synthesized pheromone, make you smell like real human woman.’
Roz resisted the urge to smack the Qink’s brain case back into its chest cavity. ‘So tell me,’ she said, ‘if I buy this perfume, do I get a little “gift” to go with it?’
‘Of course,’ said the Qink.
‘I also need a microdetonator,’ said Roz. ‘But I suppose I’ll have to settle for that eye shadow.’
‘Eye shadow and special non-stick lipstick, make mouth all slippery and bright-coloured,’ said the Qink. ‘Guaranteed to last all night.’
‘Well,’ said Roz, ‘how could I pass up on that?’ She handed over more of her bearer bonds and put explosives, detonator, perfume, eye shadow and lipstick into her carryall. Now she had enough equipment to stage a major terrorist incident. That or open a small brothel.
It was a simple matter to join another tour group, get back into the foundry and then slip away when they reached the main press.
Hidden behind a pitted metal stanchion she listened to the tour guide’s voice echoing in the large, machine-filled spaces, talking with synthetic enthusiasm about the economics and gross numbers of mineral rape.
The control box was just where Susanti said it would be. Roz opened it to find a series of cable junctions, their colour coding faded with age. It took her ten minutes to rig the charge and seal it up again.
She was sure Chris would have done the same job in three minutes. But would he have thought of doing it? The Doctor would have just browbeaten the controls into doing what he wanted. Or more likely, revealed that he’d been personally involved in the construction of the press and had left a back door for himself, because you never knew when it might come in handy.
She finished just in time for the second tour to arrive. After cleaning her hands with
Roz glanced at Susanti, who was slumped over the table 54
with his face resting on his arms. ‘I thought he’d never pass out,’
she said.
‘I’ve been watching you,’ said Mei Feng. ‘I’ve seen every kind come in here, from rubbernecking tourists to alien spies. You don’t fall into any of the usual categories.’ She extended her hand. ‘I’m the owner, Tsang Mei Feng.’
‘Sarah McShane,’ said Roz, shaking hands. ‘I’m a journalist.’
Mei Feng looked at her. ‘No, you’re not,’ she said.
‘All right,’ said Roz, rummaging in her handbag. ‘What am I?’
‘At first I thought you were a cop,’ she said. ‘But a quick call to my people in the Order was enough to convince me you weren’t. Then I thought, independent security? But our friend here could never afford a bodyguard.’ She patted Susanti on the head. ‘So here’s my guess: you’re an ex-cop.’
Close, thought Roz. Alarmingly close. ‘Yeah,’ she said. ‘You must be a mind-reader.’
Mei Feng smiled, looking around at the crowd. ‘Thank Goddess I’m not. So what brings you to our humble little hell-hole?’
‘I came for the atmosphere,’ said Roz.
‘But Aegisthus is an airless moon.’
‘I was misinformed.’
Mei Feng laughed. ‘People who come here want something from a short list of things,’ she said. ‘Want me to guess?’
Roz was finished rummaging in her handbag. Her hand emerged with the first thing she could grab, which was a tissue.
She blew her nose and said, ‘No. I need a job. Can you use an unAdjudicator?’
Mei Feng looked her up and down. ‘Did they teach you how to mop a floor at that Academy?’ she said.
‘First you want gun; now bomb,’ said the Qink. ‘You up to no good for sure.’
Roz blinked. It was a different stall, with different merchandise (perfume and cosmetics) down the other end of the Boulevard Gagarin and, Roz had assumed although she 55
couldn’t tell from just looking, a different Qink.
‘Why you not buy this nice perfume, nah?’ The Qink held up a tiny fluted glass bottle. ‘Got synthesized pheromone, make you smell like real human woman.’
Roz resisted the urge to smack the Qink’s brain case back into its chest cavity. ‘So tell me,’ she said, ‘if I buy this perfume, do I get a little “gift” to go with it?’
‘Of course,’ said the Qink.
‘I also need a microdetonator,’ said Roz. ‘But I suppose I’ll have to settle for that eye shadow.’
‘Eye shadow and special non-stick lipstick, make mouth all slippery and bright-coloured,’ said the Qink. ‘Guaranteed to last all night.’
‘Well,’ said Roz, ‘how could I pass up on that?’ She handed over more of her bearer bonds and put explosives, detonator, perfume, eye shadow and lipstick into her carryall. Now she had enough equipment to stage a major terrorist incident. That or open a small brothel.
It was a simple matter to join another tour group, get back into the foundry and then slip away when they reached the main press.
Hidden behind a pitted metal stanchion she listened to the tour guide’s voice echoing in the large, machine-filled spaces, talking with synthetic enthusiasm about the economics and gross numbers of mineral rape.
The control box was just where Susanti said it would be. Roz opened it to find a series of cable junctions, their colour coding faded with age. It took her ten minutes to rig the charge and seal it up again.
She was sure Chris would have done the same job in three minutes. But would he have thought of doing it? The Doctor would have just browbeaten the controls into doing what he wanted. Or more likely, revealed that he’d been personally involved in the construction of the press and had left a back door for himself, because you never knew when it might come in handy.
She finished just in time for the second tour to arrive. After cleaning her hands with
Similar Books
