Read Online The Lead Cloak (The Lattice Trilogy Book 1) by Erik Hanberg - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Erik Hanberg
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Shaw found a mechanical shop. Clearly this was where the craft had been built. He looked around at the many tools and noticed the black sphere on the workbench. He understood why none of the preliminary jumpers had noticed it. It looked like a paperweight. But now that he knew its significant, it loomed.
Shaw couldn’t help himself. He removed the jump tag from the craft and scrolled to jump time forward again. The horse trailer wheeled out of the hangar again, but Shaw kept his eyes on the sphere.
Nothing happened for several minutes, and then … it was light playing tricks—no, it was definitely smaller now, and shrinking. The black sphere was the size of an apple … an eyeball … a marble … a ball bearing … a speck of dust. And it was gone.
Shaw reversed back and forth several times, watching it grow and shrink in time. Even though Braybrook said it wouldn’t work, he tried tagging the sphere before it shrank, but it did nothing. The sphere disappeared, and the jump box vibrated slightly underneath his body, the sign that the tag had been lost.
He decided to let it go for now. He threw the scrollball into reverse, hours passing in mere seconds, but no one came to disturb the craft. Days were passing outside. The craft had been waiting for a long time. Waiting for the rest of the pieces of the plan to fall into place. Waiting for a new hire at Lattice security. Yang was the first to be recruited into the command room in months, his experience in Geneva making him one of the few outsiders who had passed through the intensive background jumps. The raiders needed a new face on the inside, someone who didn’t live on site and whose particular quirks and mannerisms weren’t already known.
Finally, light cracked on the door again, and three men entered the hangar. They worked on the craft and Shaw stopped time. One was the pilot, which left two more people to keep track of. He’d only done Ono so far. He still needed to check out the pilot, the plastic surgeon and his nurse, whoever had drugged Yang, and now these two. Oh, and whoever took out the lasers! How big was this conspiracy?
Shaw left the jump. He checked the screen—the date the hovercraft was last worked on was four months ago. These people were nothing if not patient.
Stepping out of the office, his wrap rang again. Expecting the General again, Shaw said, “Accept.”
The avatar of a middle-aged woman appeared before him, a corporate smile on her perfectly designed face.
“Hello, Byron. I’m Zella Galway of Dvorak Systems. Did I catch you at a bad time?”
Shaw froze, as if the avatar had spotted him. Zella Galway was not just “of” Dvorak Systems. She was CE-fucking-O of the largest manufacturer of jump boxes in the world and alone worth hundreds of billions. What was she doing calling him?
“Ah … Ms. Galway, yes, I have some free time just now. Although judging by the timing of the call, I’m guessing you knew that.”
“I didn’t want to interrupt. The Lattice might be able to read any thought, but it can’t read a thought that hasn’t formed. You were doing good work in there, just like you did yesterday. A thinker and a man of action … what a rare combination.”
“Just doing my job.”
“No,” she said. “Taking a hit from a nanoshock—not only that, but surviving it, and then passing it back to your assailant—that’s above and beyond your job description. I’m pleased the President has allowed us to install the lead shielding, so you won’t have to put yourself in harm’s way ever again.”
Shaw tried to imagine what his job would be like. Hiding behind lead shielding and twiddling his thumbs? “Well, I’m sure I’ll still have work to do. No barrier is one hundred percent effective,” he said, politely, he hoped.
“This one will be. Imagine a lead cloak draped over the entire facility. Nothing will be able to penetrate it. Your quick action prevented a world-wide economic meltdown, but—and I mean
Shaw couldn’t help himself. He removed the jump tag from the craft and scrolled to jump time forward again. The horse trailer wheeled out of the hangar again, but Shaw kept his eyes on the sphere.
Nothing happened for several minutes, and then … it was light playing tricks—no, it was definitely smaller now, and shrinking. The black sphere was the size of an apple … an eyeball … a marble … a ball bearing … a speck of dust. And it was gone.
Shaw reversed back and forth several times, watching it grow and shrink in time. Even though Braybrook said it wouldn’t work, he tried tagging the sphere before it shrank, but it did nothing. The sphere disappeared, and the jump box vibrated slightly underneath his body, the sign that the tag had been lost.
He decided to let it go for now. He threw the scrollball into reverse, hours passing in mere seconds, but no one came to disturb the craft. Days were passing outside. The craft had been waiting for a long time. Waiting for the rest of the pieces of the plan to fall into place. Waiting for a new hire at Lattice security. Yang was the first to be recruited into the command room in months, his experience in Geneva making him one of the few outsiders who had passed through the intensive background jumps. The raiders needed a new face on the inside, someone who didn’t live on site and whose particular quirks and mannerisms weren’t already known.
Finally, light cracked on the door again, and three men entered the hangar. They worked on the craft and Shaw stopped time. One was the pilot, which left two more people to keep track of. He’d only done Ono so far. He still needed to check out the pilot, the plastic surgeon and his nurse, whoever had drugged Yang, and now these two. Oh, and whoever took out the lasers! How big was this conspiracy?
Shaw left the jump. He checked the screen—the date the hovercraft was last worked on was four months ago. These people were nothing if not patient.
Stepping out of the office, his wrap rang again. Expecting the General again, Shaw said, “Accept.”
The avatar of a middle-aged woman appeared before him, a corporate smile on her perfectly designed face.
“Hello, Byron. I’m Zella Galway of Dvorak Systems. Did I catch you at a bad time?”
Shaw froze, as if the avatar had spotted him. Zella Galway was not just “of” Dvorak Systems. She was CE-fucking-O of the largest manufacturer of jump boxes in the world and alone worth hundreds of billions. What was she doing calling him?
“Ah … Ms. Galway, yes, I have some free time just now. Although judging by the timing of the call, I’m guessing you knew that.”
“I didn’t want to interrupt. The Lattice might be able to read any thought, but it can’t read a thought that hasn’t formed. You were doing good work in there, just like you did yesterday. A thinker and a man of action … what a rare combination.”
“Just doing my job.”
“No,” she said. “Taking a hit from a nanoshock—not only that, but surviving it, and then passing it back to your assailant—that’s above and beyond your job description. I’m pleased the President has allowed us to install the lead shielding, so you won’t have to put yourself in harm’s way ever again.”
Shaw tried to imagine what his job would be like. Hiding behind lead shielding and twiddling his thumbs? “Well, I’m sure I’ll still have work to do. No barrier is one hundred percent effective,” he said, politely, he hoped.
“This one will be. Imagine a lead cloak draped over the entire facility. Nothing will be able to penetrate it. Your quick action prevented a world-wide economic meltdown, but—and I mean
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