Doctor Who_ Blue Box - Kate Orman [87]
The Doctor said, ‘Miss Swan is going to have more important things to deal with. I guarantee it.’
Mr Salmon patted Bob on the head and went back to work.
Mondy emerged from the street after fifty-seven minutes, pushed the manhole lid back into place, and walked over to my car carrying his tapedeck and his trio of traffic cones. He sat down in the back and thumbed the ‘play’ switch. The tapedeck served up a bunch of beeping, roaring, and hissing.
He was waiting for me to ask him what it was. But I already knew: it was the sound of a modem, the sound of someone dialling up a computer from a distance. Computers talk over the phone in what sounds like static or an angry cat, but is actually a firehose explosion of zeroes and ones blipping over the lines.
‘You taped Swan calling up her work account from home,’
I said. Mondy nodded. ‘How does that help us? We don’t speak computer.’
‘Yeah, but other computers do. As soon as I play this back in my computer, we’ll have Swan’s password. It’s a crude method, but I can usually get it to work. Then we just stroll into her account through the front door.’
And grab the Savant program. ‘Perfect. Let’s get to your mom’s house.’ I pulled out. The late-night traffic was quiet.
After a while, Mondy piped up from the back seat. ‘Is it true?’
‘Is what true?’
‘What Swan said about you. I listened to her talking to your boss.’
‘You tape that?’
‘Nah,’ said Mondy. ‘No, seriously, I rewound the tape and recorded over it. The computer was all I was interested in.’
There was a long pause. ‘Well, is it?’
‘What do you think?’
‘I think it’s obvious bullshit. I think your boss will say it’s obvious bullshit. I don’t think you have anything to worry about, man.’
‘Hope you’re right,’ I said.
Mondy played the recording again, as though he could fish Swan’s password right out of the meaningless hiss with modem ears. ‘The really simplest thing to do would be to play it back over the phone to her own computer. I’ve done that when I was in a hurry. It even worked a couple of times.’
‘Mondy?’
‘Yeah?’
‘It is true.’
He slid down in the seat. ‘Jeez Louise.’
My phone rang again. Peri said, ‘Should we answer it?’
The Doctor shook his head. ‘Mr Mond may not have restored the phone lines to their original state yet. Better to let it ring out.
They all jumped when my answering machine picked up.
Bob grabbed for the stop button, but the Doctor caught his hand. ‘Too late,’ he said.
‘Chick?’ It was my editor. He named the west-coast journalist he had just been talking to. ‘Not to put too fine a point on it,’ he says you’re, uh, a woman. The guy says, he, uh, saw it with his own eyes. Look, this is nuts. Will you call me back? Bye.’
Five minutes later a boggled Mondy and I walked into my apartment. The Doctor was working at the Apple. Peri and Bob were still staring at the answering machine.
Peri and Bob looked up at me, and I knew right away what had happened. I could see their eyes adjusting like the lens of a camera as they saw me for the first time. They both opened and closed their mouths like goldfish.
‘Oh, spit it out,’ I said, without taking the cigarette out of my mouth.
‘You’re a transvestite!!!’ said Bob.
‘Bullshit.’ I could feel my hands curling into fists inside my jacket pockets. For God’s sake, don’t lose it. ‘I’m a man.
Same as you.’
Bob said, ‘I think there’s a little difference –’ and then broke off, blushing. Peri actually laughed. The tension in the room broke a little. Mondy sat down next to the Doctor and loaded his cassette tape into the Apple’s player.
I pulled my cigarettes out of my pocket. I really needed a smoke. ‘You’ve got some funny ideas about what makes a man, boy.’ I glanced at the Doctor. He was either too embarrassed to join in the conversation, or didn’t give a toss.
Or maybe he was just disgusted.
Stay cool. Don’t give them anything. ‘Where are we at?’
‘We’re in,’ announced the Doctor. ‘I’m looking at Swan’s system right now.’
With relief, Bob shot over to his side. ‘Look,’ he said.
‘She’s uploading a TARred