Infinity Beach - Jack McDevitt [166]
“Do you have any idea where I can get one?”
“Not really. They’re illegal. Available only to law enforcement agencies.”
She tried a law enforcement supply shop, which carried uniforms of various designs, a wide variety of nonlethal weapons, and all kinds of communications equipment. Here she found a microtransmitter, known in the field as a tag. She talked casually with the clerk about universal taps. He confirmed that they could not be routinely purchased. “There’s a form,” he explained, showing her one. It was required for equipment normally unavailable to ordinary citizens, like surveillance gear.
The Institute funded an electronics laboratory at Hastings College, about forty kilometers up-country from Seabright. The Hastings affiliate was run by Chad Beamer, whom Kim knew quite well, and who liked her.
“It could cost me my job,” Beamer said, after she’d told him what she wanted.
“I’ll never tell,” she replied.
He squinted at her. Beamer had a reputation as a heartthrob, apparently well-earned. But he was also a good technician. “What’s it for?”
“I don’t want to lie to you, Chad,” she said. Chad was smaller than the general run of males of his generation. His parents had opted for longevity rather than altitude. He would get an extra few decades.
“Okay. Are you chasing a guy?”
“That’s as good an explanation as any.”
He nodded. “Give me a couple of days.”
Matt wasn’t happy with the way she was proceeding. He asked her to stay, closed off his office, and directed that they not be disturbed. “This is taking forever,” he said. “When are you going to give me access to it?”
“When I can, Matt,” she said smoothly. “When we’ve got the lab up and running.”
“That’ll take another few weeks, Kim.”
She held her ground. He gave up and let her go after she’d assured him that she’d provided for the possibility that something might happen to her. And she had: She’d written down a complete set of directions on how to recover the Valiant, folded it into an envelope, and given it to one of the Sea Knights, with instructions to see that it was turned over to Matt if necessary.
Her own determination to ensure that important information not be lost convinced her she was right about Markis Kane: He’d have wanted to preserve the logs against history. Somewhere there had to be a trail. Even if he were the monster the news services now accused him of being, he might well have wanted to save the record of his exploits for publication after he was safely clear of the law.
And the trail almost certainly led through his sole child, Tora.
Kim went home early, mixed herself a drink, and directed Shepard to bring up a simulacrum of Sheyel.
“I don’t have much data on him,” the AI protested.
“Do the best you can. And update him.”
She listened to the electronic murmur which was Shepard’s method of informing her he didn’t feel equipped to perform a given assignment, and then Sheyel’s image appeared before her. He was seated in his dragon chair, eyes half open, presented in an appropriately melancholy mood.
“Good afternoon, Kim,” he said. “It’s good to see you again.”
“And you, Sheyel. I was sorry to lose you. I wish things had turned out differently.”
“As do I. It seems I was foolishly determined.”
They gazed at one another.
“It shouldn’t have been vindictive,” he said. “It was there too many years without harming anyone.”
“You expected the appearance of the Valiant to get a reaction. I guess that’s what happened.”
“I wish I could change things. At least, Kim, I’m glad you’re safe.” He rearranged one of the cushions. “Where is it now?”
“It’s gone. At considerable cost.” She pulled her legs up onto the sofa and wrapped her arms around them. “Sheyel, I wanted you to know that I haven’t walked away from this. I think I have a pretty good idea of what happened. I think Yoshi was killed by the same thing that killed you.”
“Yes. That makes sense. Do you know how it might have happened?”
“Not yet. But I hope to find out within another couple of days.”
“Good. When you have the rest of it, I’d be pleased if you came back. And talked