Infinity Beach - Jack McDevitt [151]
Gotcha, Sheyel. “Would you be willing,” asked Kim, “to make one for me?”
“The same model?”
“Please.”
“If you like.” She brought up a schedule on her screen. “Tomorrow at about this time?”
“Oh,” said Kim. “That won’t do, I’m afraid. I’m just passing through. Out on the next train. I hoped you might be able to do it while I wait.”
The woman nodded to herself, consulted the screen again. “I’ll need about an hour,” she said.
“Good. Do it. I’ll be back.”
“There’s an extra charge.”
The third edition of the Valiant looked as good as either of the others. When this was all over, she promised herself, it would make a fine souvenir.
The proprietor sealed it in a box, accepted payment, and Kim rode to the station, arriving just in time to see an east-bound freight passing. Its lights winked out as her own train appeared around a bend.
The ride from the Preserve to Eagle Point was just under two hours. She tried to sleep, but she was too tense. She gave up after a while and sat watching the countryside begin to grow dark.
At 8:20 local time she walked into the lobby of the Gateway, registered, went up to her room, and activated the phone. “I’ll need a flyer tonight.”
“Certainly, Dr. Brandywine,” came the electronic voice, neither male nor female. “Did you have any particular model in mind?”
“The same one I had last time, if it’s available.”
“It is. Will there be anything else?”
Kim thought it over. “Yes,” she said. “A crucifix, a wooden stake, and a silver bullet.”
“Pardon me?”
“Never mind,” she said. “It’s a joke.”
Next she called Plaza Sporting Goods and ordered a portable microwave oven. “I’m going into a protected area,” she explained. “Where they don’t allow fires.”
“Ah.” The voice belonged to an automated clerk. “We have just the thing. What size does madame prefer?”
“The biggest you have.”
“The family size. Very good. This model is big enough to cook a large game bird.”
“Excellent. That’s exactly what I want.”
She just had time for a quick snack, after which the hotel informed her that her flyer was ready, and that her package from Plaza Sporting Goods had arrived. She pulled on her jacket, and took a moment to gaze around the room. The last time she’d been in the Gateway, Solly had been with her. And had urged her not to go back to Severin without him.
She put a laser cutter into her pocket, picked up the spare Valiant, and headed for the roof.
Ten minutes later she was south bound, moving through a night sky illuminated by the distant flicker of lightning over the western mountains. It was a beautiful evening, crisp and still. Two moons were rising through a filmy haze. Another was directly overhead.
Kim watched the lights of the city begin to fade. She tried to relax in the darkened cabin, and to anticipate the reaction she’d receive from her old teacher. She expected that he’d be pleased to see her, to show off his trophy. And perhaps to have a witness to the presence that he hoped to entice. But she wasn’t sure. Sheyel was becoming unpredictable.
The screens showed another aircraft off to the east, a little behind, moving parallel. It was a black-and-white Cloudrider, a luxurious vehicle favored by VIPs and corporate executives.
She watched it for several minutes until it changed course and veered away.
“Doctor,” said the AI, whose name was Jerry, “you haven’t specified a destination.”
“We don’t have one yet,” she said. “Stay southwest. Toward Mount Hope.”
She had come to the realization that Sheyel wasn’t going to want to give the Valiant back.
Had she an ethical responsibility to urge its return? To insist? Probably. But somewhere down deep she was pleased that he’d gotten away with it. And she didn’t really want to see it returned to Tripley. What right had he to a treasure of this magnitude? He’d walked into it by accident, and had never understood its significance.
“We have arrived, Doctor,” Jerry said. “Have you further instructions?”
She couldn’t see anything down there. Even Remorse was lost in gloom. “Circle,” she said. “Stay at six hundred meters. Keep just offshore.