Spin State - Chris Moriarty [149]
“Where it can get out, I can get in.”
“Not without someone inside to open the vents.”
“Korchow says he’s got an inside man.”
“Not possible,” Cohen said, scanning the plans again. “They’re using the outgoing CO2 to turn the turbines that power this whole section of the solar array. And even if you get past the turbines, you’re still talking about crawling down a twenty-meter shaft in hard vacuum. And the vent diameter’s too small to take a suit and gear.” He tapped decisively on the tight print that gave the duct’s dimensions. “You can’t get in that way.”
“I could if I stashed my gear outside and went down the duct with just a pressure suit.”
“Too risky. You’re talking about crawling down an active ventilation duct in hard vacuum with no air, no heat, just a pressure suit. If anything goes wrong—even if you just run into a minor delay—you’re dead.”
Li smiled. “And you won’t have anyone to eat oysters with.”
The look Cohen gave her couldn’t have been more naked if he’d stripped his skin away. She saw fear, guilt, anger flash across his face. Then she looked away; whatever else was there, she couldn’t deal with it. Not now, anyway. She pushed her beer away from her. It left a ring on the table, but for once Cohen didn’t seem to care about the punishment her bad habits were inflicting on his furniture.
“What if I say I won’t do it?” he asked.
“We go forward with another AI,” she said, pushing down the thought that it might not be true.
“You’d be insane to try it without me.”
“It’ll be harder without you,” Li admitted, but that was as far as she was willing to go.
“Have you thought about what happens if you get caught?”
Li looked at the dark night beyond the tall windows. If she got caught, it would be treason. And treason had been a firing-squad crime since the outbreak of the Syndicate Wars. That was assuming that the Corps would let the hero of Gilead come up on treason charges. A quick shot to the head and a cover story about a “regrettable training accident” seemed more likely. It was what Li herself would do faced with such a betrayal.
“You could at least tell me why,” Cohen said.
“What do you care? You want the intraface. I’m showing you how to get it.”
“I don’t want it that much. And I doubt you’re helping me get it out of the goodness of your heart. What did Nguyen suck you into?”
“Nguyen has nothing to do with it.”
“Really, Catherine.” Someone who knew Cohen less well would have seen only the bemused smile on his face, but Li could hear the angry bite in his voice. “If you’re going to lie, at least have the respect to lie about things I can’t check up on.”
Li kicked at the table leg and was pleased to see she’d put a dent in it. “You’re in no position to accuse me of lying. Or anything else.”
“I think,” Cohen said slowly, “the time has come to discuss Metz.” A dark flame flickered behind Chiara’s eyes, and there was a rehearsed quality to the words that made Li wonder how long Cohen had been working his nerve up for this conversation.
“I’ve said everything I have to say about it,” Li told him.
Chiara’s long-lashed eyes narrowed. “You shelved it, didn’t you?”
It wasn’t a question. And even if it had been, it wasn’t one Li planned to answer. After a moment he shrugged and tried another line of attack.
“All right, then. This run. It’s too dangerous. And you’re not a traitor. So why?”
“Why isn’t your business. I want a job done, and I’m paying for it. Paying with something I know you want. Let’s stick to that. Then at least I’ll know what you’re after. And when I can expect you to walk out and leave me twisting in the wind.”
“I thought we were done talking about Metz,” he said. “And anyone can make a mistake, Catherine.”
“Anyone didn’t kill Kolodny for a damn piece of circuitry.”
Cohen went so still he might have turned to wax. He stared at her, mouth slightly open, until the only movement in the room was the play of a breeze from the garden over Chiara’s brown curls. Cohen looked like the stuffing had gone out of him. A pretty doll abandoned in the corner by children grown too old