[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
gear, a womanizer, and an underwater junkie. Judging by his pallor, he had a
bad heart condition. Were she his physician, she d be warning him to take it
easy.
The other two men she d met only briefly, over dinner during one of her trips
to New York. The burly one was Terris McKendry, a freelance security
specialist. She remembered him as a thorough, stoic, and patient man the type
who could probably sit unmoving for hours when concentrating on something, a
man who always had a Plan B thought out in advance. He was trained as a civil
engineer but had spent many years working for a large personal-security firm
that hired him out as a personal bodyguard. According to Arthur, Terris had
received a huge bonus when he d saved one of his clients, a foreign diplomat,
from an assassination attempt. With his reward in hand, he d set off on his
own.
The last man, the pacer, was Joshua Keene, McKendry s partner in insanity,
according to Arthur. Keene was McKendry s opposite, a wild man who placed
great stock in his instincts and his intuition. He had a quick and winning
smile and was the guy who always bought the next round of drinks. He d dropped
out of college after a succession of majors and was mostly self-taught, a
voracious reader and learner who bounced from one fascination to the next and
lived in and for the moment. He seemed to have succeeded in life by always
doing the unexpected.
Peta had not found McKendry s gruff manner particularly appealing. Keene,
however, she d found to be gregarious and likable.
That s all I know, Ray said at last. In the ensuing silence, he added,
You re all aware that Arthur wanted Peta to be his successor if something
happened to him.
Frik, who had stayed in the doorway listening to the details of his old
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ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
friend s death, stepped into the light. Peta immediately noticed burn scars on
his face. He was wearing gloves, but she could see the traceries of more
severe scars on his left hand in the gap between the sleeve and the glove.
Peta s entry fee for membership will have to be the same as it is for any
man, Frik said. Proof of participation in a new adventure that makes her
worthy of inclusion in the club.
Damn all of you. Peta hurled her brandy glass in Frik s direction. It hit
the wall closest to him and splintered, leaving behind a golden brown trickle.
Your friend is dead. Dead. And why? For all I know, it s because of some
stunt he pulled to impress you.
She pushed past Frik and went out onto the rooftop. In the distance, she could
see the lights of a vessel making its way up the Hudson. Closer and down
below, people streamed around the corner toward Times Square to wait for the
ball to drop and for the new year to be upon them.
As if it mattered what year it was, she thought. The days and months and
years would march on. Gradually the pain would leave her. For now, tending her
island patients and Arthur s was all she could think of doing to get herself
through.
She looked up into the cloudy sky. Happy New Year, Arthur, she whispered as
her tears once again rolled freely, wherever you are.
In the heat of her fury at the callousness of the men inside the apartment and
despite the depth of her sorrow, she considered Arthur s last wish her
inclusion in the club. She wasn t willing to go outlooking for
life-threatening stunts so that she could prove herself to the Daredevils. Her
own line of work brought her into more than enough danger all of the time.
Life-and-death decisions were her stock-in-trade. Then again, if the original
members hadn t considered the rescue of Arthur from prison dangerous enough to
overcome the fact that she was female, these idiots certainly wouldn t agree
that what she accomplished daily was suitably perilous.
Behind her, inside the apartment, someone turned on the local news, apparently
to see if the aftermath of the explosion was being televised. Peta moved close
enough to see the screen.
Her timing was impeccable, although whether impeccably good or bad was, she
thought briefly, up for grabs. Though she d been unaware of it at the time, it
seemed a cameraman had picked her out of the crowd. There she was, a full shot
first, then her face filling the screen.
She walked into and across the living room and entered the small bedroom she d
so often shared with Arthur. She stared at herself in the small mirror she d
used to put on her makeup, took off the coat she was still wearing, and
fingered the pendant Arthur had given her. Taking it off, she placed it
lovingly in her handbag, and began to pack her things.
10
In the living room, Frik leaned forward, staring intently at the television
screen. The announcer said that a lone Muslim extremist had claimed
responsibility for the blast, and the camera closed once again on Peta.
Encircled by a gold bezel, suspended from a gold chain, was a fragment of the
artifact.
Filing away the certainty that she knew everything Arthur had known, he turned
his attention to the people in the room. Meeting s in order, he said. You
go first, Ray.
With visible reluctance, Ray pulled a videotape out of his coat pocket and
slipped it into the VCR. It began with Channel 8 hype about the preopening
advertising for his hotel.
Ray Arno, owner of the new Daredevil Casino, is much more than a wealthy
investor in a business suit, Paula Francis ofEyewitness News began. He s a
well-known Hollywood stuntman, an Evel Knievel, if you will. You re about to
see him perform a spectacular, death-defying stunt to highlight his new
adventure hotel, with its theme park full of thrill rides and its high-stakes
casino.
Behold one of those stupid macho stunts Peta was talking about, Ray said.
Page 31
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
You will notice that there is no safety net.
Followed by cameras and reporters, Ray could be seen climbing to the top of
Las Vegas s Stratosphere Tower the tallest observation tower west of the
Mississippi. He smiled, took a deep breath, and leaped into space. The camera
tracked his shrinking figure until a rectangular skydiver s parachute unfurled
behind him.
The camera angle changed to a shot of a wedge-shaped building with what looked
like a space shuttle jutting from one side. A large neon sign in front of the [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl rafalstec.xlx.pl
gear, a womanizer, and an underwater junkie. Judging by his pallor, he had a
bad heart condition. Were she his physician, she d be warning him to take it
easy.
The other two men she d met only briefly, over dinner during one of her trips
to New York. The burly one was Terris McKendry, a freelance security
specialist. She remembered him as a thorough, stoic, and patient man the type
who could probably sit unmoving for hours when concentrating on something, a
man who always had a Plan B thought out in advance. He was trained as a civil
engineer but had spent many years working for a large personal-security firm
that hired him out as a personal bodyguard. According to Arthur, Terris had
received a huge bonus when he d saved one of his clients, a foreign diplomat,
from an assassination attempt. With his reward in hand, he d set off on his
own.
The last man, the pacer, was Joshua Keene, McKendry s partner in insanity,
according to Arthur. Keene was McKendry s opposite, a wild man who placed
great stock in his instincts and his intuition. He had a quick and winning
smile and was the guy who always bought the next round of drinks. He d dropped
out of college after a succession of majors and was mostly self-taught, a
voracious reader and learner who bounced from one fascination to the next and
lived in and for the moment. He seemed to have succeeded in life by always
doing the unexpected.
Peta had not found McKendry s gruff manner particularly appealing. Keene,
however, she d found to be gregarious and likable.
That s all I know, Ray said at last. In the ensuing silence, he added,
You re all aware that Arthur wanted Peta to be his successor if something
happened to him.
Frik, who had stayed in the doorway listening to the details of his old
Page 30
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
friend s death, stepped into the light. Peta immediately noticed burn scars on
his face. He was wearing gloves, but she could see the traceries of more
severe scars on his left hand in the gap between the sleeve and the glove.
Peta s entry fee for membership will have to be the same as it is for any
man, Frik said. Proof of participation in a new adventure that makes her
worthy of inclusion in the club.
Damn all of you. Peta hurled her brandy glass in Frik s direction. It hit
the wall closest to him and splintered, leaving behind a golden brown trickle.
Your friend is dead. Dead. And why? For all I know, it s because of some
stunt he pulled to impress you.
She pushed past Frik and went out onto the rooftop. In the distance, she could
see the lights of a vessel making its way up the Hudson. Closer and down
below, people streamed around the corner toward Times Square to wait for the
ball to drop and for the new year to be upon them.
As if it mattered what year it was, she thought. The days and months and
years would march on. Gradually the pain would leave her. For now, tending her
island patients and Arthur s was all she could think of doing to get herself
through.
She looked up into the cloudy sky. Happy New Year, Arthur, she whispered as
her tears once again rolled freely, wherever you are.
In the heat of her fury at the callousness of the men inside the apartment and
despite the depth of her sorrow, she considered Arthur s last wish her
inclusion in the club. She wasn t willing to go outlooking for
life-threatening stunts so that she could prove herself to the Daredevils. Her
own line of work brought her into more than enough danger all of the time.
Life-and-death decisions were her stock-in-trade. Then again, if the original
members hadn t considered the rescue of Arthur from prison dangerous enough to
overcome the fact that she was female, these idiots certainly wouldn t agree
that what she accomplished daily was suitably perilous.
Behind her, inside the apartment, someone turned on the local news, apparently
to see if the aftermath of the explosion was being televised. Peta moved close
enough to see the screen.
Her timing was impeccable, although whether impeccably good or bad was, she
thought briefly, up for grabs. Though she d been unaware of it at the time, it
seemed a cameraman had picked her out of the crowd. There she was, a full shot
first, then her face filling the screen.
She walked into and across the living room and entered the small bedroom she d
so often shared with Arthur. She stared at herself in the small mirror she d
used to put on her makeup, took off the coat she was still wearing, and
fingered the pendant Arthur had given her. Taking it off, she placed it
lovingly in her handbag, and began to pack her things.
10
In the living room, Frik leaned forward, staring intently at the television
screen. The announcer said that a lone Muslim extremist had claimed
responsibility for the blast, and the camera closed once again on Peta.
Encircled by a gold bezel, suspended from a gold chain, was a fragment of the
artifact.
Filing away the certainty that she knew everything Arthur had known, he turned
his attention to the people in the room. Meeting s in order, he said. You
go first, Ray.
With visible reluctance, Ray pulled a videotape out of his coat pocket and
slipped it into the VCR. It began with Channel 8 hype about the preopening
advertising for his hotel.
Ray Arno, owner of the new Daredevil Casino, is much more than a wealthy
investor in a business suit, Paula Francis ofEyewitness News began. He s a
well-known Hollywood stuntman, an Evel Knievel, if you will. You re about to
see him perform a spectacular, death-defying stunt to highlight his new
adventure hotel, with its theme park full of thrill rides and its high-stakes
casino.
Behold one of those stupid macho stunts Peta was talking about, Ray said.
Page 31
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
You will notice that there is no safety net.
Followed by cameras and reporters, Ray could be seen climbing to the top of
Las Vegas s Stratosphere Tower the tallest observation tower west of the
Mississippi. He smiled, took a deep breath, and leaped into space. The camera
tracked his shrinking figure until a rectangular skydiver s parachute unfurled
behind him.
The camera angle changed to a shot of a wedge-shaped building with what looked
like a space shuttle jutting from one side. A large neon sign in front of the [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]