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it&
And it became Yvonne's. They were dressed again, in fresh clothes, about to
leave the room. At once, Hugh felt his consciousness expand again to become
Hugh-Matthew. He stopped as he was about to open the door, and stared around
 as if needing to make sure that it was real. Yvonne looked as if she had been
about to say something. She checked herself and studied his face keenly for a
second.
"That was a lot longer than you said," she told him.
"I& had a lot to do," he said.
She gave him a mock-hurt look. "Well tell me next time. You had me getting
worried. I was starting to think you'd had a hitch or something, and maybe you
weren't coming back."
Hugh turned his back to the door and pulled her close. She was firm and
voluptuous in a revealing dress. Her hair tumbled softly against his face. She
had put on a new perfume and smelt wonderful. This dream was real.
"You don't have to worry anymore," he said. "There isn't going to be a next
time."
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Chapter Forty-one
"What's gotten into him, Theo? Dave is practically at the hotel. I need that
coupler now
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!" Sarah released a vexed sigh and switched to the other console.
"Well, if he can't have the decency to explain what he's doing, I don't see
why we should have to put up with it I'm bringing him back" She scanned over
the screen that Hugh had used, looking for the recall identifier. Her face
became puzzled. "Theo, could you have a look at this? I don't understand what
he's done."
Jantowitz shuffled back from the coupler that Hugh was reclined in and peered
past her. "Eh? I don't know. What is this he does?& " He frowned, grunted, and
entered a test string, muttering in Polish. Then, suddenly, he fell quiet and
went very still.
Sarah saw the look on his face and became fearful. "Theo, what is it?" she
whispered.
Jantowitz remained silent for a long time before answering. He understood now
what Hugh had meant. "He is gone, Sarah," he said expressionlessly. "The
connection is broken and the recall function erased. He has done it. We won't
be bringing him back ever again."
In. the monitoring room below the Administration Building, the duty operator
turned and called across to Guerntz. "Hey, Nick, something just happened here
that you oughta see. Wanna come take a look?"
Guerntz got up from his desk at the back of the room and rolled an empty chair
up to the panel. "What?"
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The operator backed up the last thirty seconds and redirected the replay to an
auxiliary screen, keeping the current realtime view on the main screen with
the audio turned down. Guerntz followed the exchange between Jantowitz and
Sarah. "Looks like Brenner just turned in his chips," the operator said.
This was serious, Guerntz decided. He thought for a moment, then used another
of the screens on the panel to call Calom's secretary upstairs. "Is the chief
back yet?" he asked when she answered.
"Not yet. He called in about five minutes ago and said he's on his way back up
the Hill. That's all I can tell you."
"Okay." Guerntz cleared down. He thought about calling Calom direct on his
personal communicator and decided against it. It was customary to use direct
personal channels sparingly. Unnecessary intrusions were considered tackiness
at its worst. Besides, Calom had specifically told him that he was in charge
until
Calom got back. That was what delegation was all about. All the same, in
Guerntz's judgment the development was too significant for him to just sit
there and not do anything. He got on the direct line into Polygon and asked
for
Colonel Elson.
Sam stood over his desk, sorting out the papers that he needed for the meeting
with Mulgrave and Ursell and slowly absorbing the meaning of what Hugh had
done. Sarah and Dave would follow soon now, he had no doubt. He would miss the
youthful optimism that their presence had brought to these somber
surroundings, but it would be best for them. The world they were going to
would let them grow.
On his way to the door, he stopped by the window and gazed out It overlooked
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Hogan, James P. - Paths to Otherwhere (v1.0) (html).html the compound between
P2 and the two connected, portable Polygon buildings, with the wire fence and
its guarded connecting gate leading out to the general
TA-3 area. He could have done with a more uplifting view, he reflected.
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He would have liked to have seen Otherwhere, even if just once& But then there
was the possibility that he might have taken to it too and decided to stay
also.
And that would not have been right because there was so much to be done here.
And the need was going to get worse. Otherwhere was capable of taking care of
itself.
And then figures appeared from the side door of the nearest Polygon building.
Elson was in the lead, followed by a couple of other officers and a squad of
guards carrying weapons unslung. Sam's brow knitted. The group marched swiftly
across in the direction of the Octagon building. Sam frowned to himself.
Hugh would have departed only minutes previously. This couldn't be a
coincidence.
And then it hit Sam that they must have been under surveillance all along. He
dropped the papers and rushed out of the office. "Oh, Sam, I was thinking [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]