hiding anything. Ira looked at his toady for confirmation, and the
man said, “It’s a representative from DeClerk, sir.”
“Ah, yes. What can I do for you?
Sit” he said, pausing with his spoon in the soup. The guard pulled out the
chair next to his employer for me to use.
“No. It’s what I can do for you.
Ask your walking appointment book here, he’ll remind you. I saw the registry
tonight and had to come visit you. You’ve got to have a twisted sense of humor
to come up with a joke name like that! Fontenelle? Why not just call yourself ‘soft
in the head’?” Then I laughed, clapping him on the back.
Mr. Fontenelle picked that moment
to choke on piece of meat. He was turning purple before the guard did the
Heimlich on him. Then, he transitioned to a terrible shade of red. I said, “Hey,
if this is a bad time, I can come back later. You know where I’ll be.”
I got up to leave as the second
guard moved to escort me out. “Nice touch with that GEDM cover. Those corporate
pork-barrels have so many do-nothing vice-presidents at this shindig, they
couldn’t spot one more on the roster. I guess, if someone tried to blow the
whistle on you, they’d only draw attention to their own useless existence.”
This time he choked on his drink. Old Fontenelle was having a rough night of
it.
I was as shocked as anyone when the
geek from the hospitality suite bumped into me in the hallway. He pointed to his
name tag and winked. “Sorry, I already have a date,” I explained. Groupies come
in all styles, I guess.
“My name is Playfair,” he hissed.
“I’ll keep that in mind if I get
lonely later,” I said, trying to push past him.
“Don’t you get it? Play fair ciphers,
or playing fair at the game. See?” He looked like a college math weenie, Boston College material. Come to think of it, the Feds recruited a lot from Boston College. Maybe he knew my contact.
I slurred out a curse as the truth
occurred to me. “You’re my contact.” I had just made a major enemy. Well, just
more of a challenge for the Scarab to overcome—first Exotech, then Siberian,
and now GEDM, the military monstrosity of Michigan.
“It’s okay, not many people can
penetrate this disguise. I’m at the convention as a reporter for Motor Trend. I
took out the reservation here for the press. I usually excuse myself when they
start smoking, so nobody suspects.” I had a seat on a nearby, plush divan.
“I just wanted to let you know that
several people have tried background checks on you, and they think you’re a
cover identity.” He handed me a copy of a dossier on E. Hayes.
“What do I do about it?”
“Nothing. If they assume that you’re
a government agent, it might take some of the heat off me. I’m involved in a
sensitive investigation and the less people notice me, the better. Just be
mysterious, and don’t dispel any rumors.” He gave me his room number but warned
me not to say anything on the phone to give him away.
“They’d tap phones for the game?” I
asked.
“Grow up. There’s money on this.
There’s only two rules at this game. One, don’t change the game program through
unapproved interfaces. Two, survive.” He looked me in the eye, and I felt
shaken. I was in the big leagues and there were no umpires.
When I got back to the table, Mary
was ready to go. “What took you so long, babe? It’s time to leave. I saved you
a mint chocolate.”
In the back seat of the limo, I
didn’t even react at first when she kissed me on the cheek. Eventually, I held
her chin in my hand and said “Mary, I really need you. Thanks for being here
for me.” I kissed her gently and slowly on the lips. If I hadn’t paid 100 grand
for tonight I would have told the driver to keep going. If she showed any more
leg, forget the money.
Chapter 8 – Wabbit Season
On our way back through the convention center, we couldn’t
believe the change. The background volume had reached a frenzy. I saw
billboards advertising
man said, “It’s a representative from DeClerk, sir.”
“Ah, yes. What can I do for you?
Sit” he said, pausing with his spoon in the soup. The guard pulled out the
chair next to his employer for me to use.
“No. It’s what I can do for you.
Ask your walking appointment book here, he’ll remind you. I saw the registry
tonight and had to come visit you. You’ve got to have a twisted sense of humor
to come up with a joke name like that! Fontenelle? Why not just call yourself ‘soft
in the head’?” Then I laughed, clapping him on the back.
Mr. Fontenelle picked that moment
to choke on piece of meat. He was turning purple before the guard did the
Heimlich on him. Then, he transitioned to a terrible shade of red. I said, “Hey,
if this is a bad time, I can come back later. You know where I’ll be.”
I got up to leave as the second
guard moved to escort me out. “Nice touch with that GEDM cover. Those corporate
pork-barrels have so many do-nothing vice-presidents at this shindig, they
couldn’t spot one more on the roster. I guess, if someone tried to blow the
whistle on you, they’d only draw attention to their own useless existence.”
This time he choked on his drink. Old Fontenelle was having a rough night of
it.
I was as shocked as anyone when the
geek from the hospitality suite bumped into me in the hallway. He pointed to his
name tag and winked. “Sorry, I already have a date,” I explained. Groupies come
in all styles, I guess.
“My name is Playfair,” he hissed.
“I’ll keep that in mind if I get
lonely later,” I said, trying to push past him.
“Don’t you get it? Play fair ciphers,
or playing fair at the game. See?” He looked like a college math weenie, Boston College material. Come to think of it, the Feds recruited a lot from Boston College. Maybe he knew my contact.
I slurred out a curse as the truth
occurred to me. “You’re my contact.” I had just made a major enemy. Well, just
more of a challenge for the Scarab to overcome—first Exotech, then Siberian,
and now GEDM, the military monstrosity of Michigan.
“It’s okay, not many people can
penetrate this disguise. I’m at the convention as a reporter for Motor Trend. I
took out the reservation here for the press. I usually excuse myself when they
start smoking, so nobody suspects.” I had a seat on a nearby, plush divan.
“I just wanted to let you know that
several people have tried background checks on you, and they think you’re a
cover identity.” He handed me a copy of a dossier on E. Hayes.
“What do I do about it?”
“Nothing. If they assume that you’re
a government agent, it might take some of the heat off me. I’m involved in a
sensitive investigation and the less people notice me, the better. Just be
mysterious, and don’t dispel any rumors.” He gave me his room number but warned
me not to say anything on the phone to give him away.
“They’d tap phones for the game?” I
asked.
“Grow up. There’s money on this.
There’s only two rules at this game. One, don’t change the game program through
unapproved interfaces. Two, survive.” He looked me in the eye, and I felt
shaken. I was in the big leagues and there were no umpires.
When I got back to the table, Mary
was ready to go. “What took you so long, babe? It’s time to leave. I saved you
a mint chocolate.”
In the back seat of the limo, I
didn’t even react at first when she kissed me on the cheek. Eventually, I held
her chin in my hand and said “Mary, I really need you. Thanks for being here
for me.” I kissed her gently and slowly on the lips. If I hadn’t paid 100 grand
for tonight I would have told the driver to keep going. If she showed any more
leg, forget the money.
Chapter 8 – Wabbit Season
On our way back through the convention center, we couldn’t
believe the change. The background volume had reached a frenzy. I saw
billboards advertising
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