scoonts.theminotaur-第74部分

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　Walking　back　toward　the　room；　Toad　said；　〃Rita　turned　out　a　little　different　than　her　mom。〃
　〃Different　generations。〃　Mr。　Moravia　shrugged。　He　was　a　philosopher。
　〃They　want　different　things；〃　Toad　said；　probing　gently。
　〃Every　generation　does。〃
　〃Rita'll　keep　flying　if　the　doctors　let　her。〃
　〃I　believe　you。　Madeline's　just　blowing　off　steam。　Rita　knows　that。　Where　are　we　going　to　eat　tonight？〃
　The　next　morning；　a　Friday；　Toad　acpanied　the　Moravias　to　the　hospital；　then　had　Mr。　Moravia　drop　him　at　a　Metro　station。　They　were　going　to　the　National　Gallery。　Toad　went　to　the　office。
　Even　the　subways　were　stifling　in　the　August　heat。　Toad's　white　uniform　shirt　threatened　to　melt　before　he　reached　the　air…conditioned　sanctuary　of　the　lobby　in　Crystal　City。
　The　elevator　took　forever　to　respond　to　the　call　button。　He　waited　impatiently。　For　seven　weeks　now　he　had　been　speculating　on　the　cause　of　the　accident；　and　Jake　Grafton　and　Helmut　Fritsche　and　Smoke　Judy　had　all　refused　to　enlighten　him　on　the　telephone。　They　had　been　nonmittal。　〃We're　investigating。〃　That　was　the　party　line。　Toad　jabbed　the　up　button　again。　He　wanted　some　answers。
　He　gave　the　secretary　the　hi　sign　and　marched　straight　for　Grafton's　office。　The　door　was　closed；　so　he　knocked；　then　opened　it　and　stuck　his　head　in。　〃'Lo；　Captain。〃　Two　men　he　didn't　know　were　sitting　in　the　guest　chairs。
　〃Be　with　you　in　a　few　minutes；　Toad。　Good　to　see　you　back。〃
　Tarkington　went　to　his　desk　and　impatiently　pawed　the　stuff　in　his　in　basket。　Routine　read…and…initial　crap。　He　threw　his　hat　on　his　desk　and　sat　staring　at　Grafton's　closed　door。
　The　secretary　came　over　to　his　desk。　〃How's　Rita？〃
　〃She's　up　at　Bethesda。　I　think　she's　gonna　be　okay。〃
　〃It　was　big　news　around　here　that　you　two　were　married。〃　She　grinned　and　leaned　forward　conspiratorially。　〃None　of　us　had　any　idea！　It's　so　romantic。〃
　〃Yeah；〃　said　Toad　Tarkington。
　〃We're　all　just　delighted　that　she's　doing　so　well。　We've　had　her　in　our　thoughts　and　prayers　every　day。〃
　〃Thank　you；〃　Toad　said；　finally　pulling　his　eyes　from　Grafton's　door　and　giving　the　woman　a　smile。　〃Know　anything　about　that　accident？　Why　it　happened？〃
　〃It's　all　very　hush…hush；〃　she　confided；　her　voice　low。　She　glanced　around。　〃I　just　haven't　seen　anything　on　it；　but　it　was　so　temblor。〃
　After　he　assured　her　he　would　convey　her　good　wishes　to　Rita；　she　went　back　to　her　desk。　She　was　sitting　there　sorting　the　mail　when　Smoke　Judy　came　in。　Toad　went　over　to　him。　〃mander；　good　to　see　you。〃
　〃Hey；　Tarkington。　How's　your　wife？〃
　〃Gonna　be　okay；　I　think。　mander。　Say〃…Toad　drew　the　senior　officer　away　from　the　secretary's　desk…〃what　can　you　tell　me　about　the　accident　investigation？　What　went　wrong？〃
　〃Toad；　all　that　is　classified　special　access；　and　I　don't　know　if　you　have　access。　All　I've　seen　is　the　confidential　section　of　the　report。　You'll　have　to　talk　to　Captain　Grafton。〃
　〃Sorta　off　the　record；　it　was　the　E…PROMs；　wasn't　it？　I　figure　EMI　dicked　them　up。〃　EMI　was　Electromagnetic　Interference。
　Judy　grinned。　〃Ask　Grafton。　Give　my　best　to　your　wife。　And　congratulations！〃
　〃Thanks。〃
　Grafton's　door　opened　and　Toad　stood。　He　watched　the　two　men　in　civilian　clothes　who　came　out。　Their　eyes　swept　the　office　as　they　exited；　casually；　taking　in　everything　at　a　glance。　Toad　forgot　about　them　as　soon　as　they　were　out　of　sight。　He　was　walking　toward　the　door　when　Jake　Grafton　stuck　his　head　out　and　motioned　to　him…
　〃How's　Rita？〃
　〃Settled　in　at　Bethesda；　sir。　The　reason　I　wanted　to　see　you〃…Toad　carefully　closed　the　door…〃is　that　I　want　to　know　why　that　plane　went　out　of　control。　What　have　you　guys　found　out？〃
　Jake　Grafton　stood　with　his　back　to　Toad；　facing　the　window。　In　a　moment　he　rubbed　his　nose；　then　tugged　at　an　earlobe。
　〃What　have　you　found　out；　sir？〃　Toad　asked　again。
　〃Huh？　Oh。　Sorry。　The　E…PROMs　were　defective。〃
　〃EMI。　I'll　bet。〃
　〃No。　The　chips　were　defective。　Won't　happen；　can't　happen；　not　a　chance　in　a　zillion；　but　it　did。〃　Grafton　shoved　both　hands　into　his　pockets　and　turned　around　slowly。　He　stared　at　a　corner　of　his　desk。　〃Defective　when　installed。〃
　Something　was　amiss。　〃When　did　you　learn　this？〃　Toad　said。
　〃Uh；　we　knew　something　was　wrong　with　the　chips　when　we　saw　the　telemetry；　but。。。　ah。。。〃　He　gestured　vaguely　at　the　door。　〃Those　guys　who　were　just　here。。。〃
　〃Who　were　they？〃
　〃Uh。。。〃　Suddenly　the　wrinkles　disappeared　from　Jake　Grafton's　brow　and　he　looked　straight　at　Toad's　face；　as　if　seeing　him　for　the　first　time。　〃Can't　tell　you　that；〃　he　said　curtly。　〃Classified。〃
　〃CAG；　I've　got　a　wife　who　may　be　crippled　for　life。　I　need　to　know。〃
　〃You　want　to　know。　There's　a　hell　of　a　difference。　Glad　you're　back。〃
　Toad　tried　to　approach　the　subject　from　another　angle；　only　to　be　rebuffed　and　shown　the　door。
　Jake　Grafton　went　back　to　the　window　and　stared　without　seeing。　Agents　Camacho　and　Dreyfus　had　been　informative；　to　a　point。　No　doubt　it　was　a　rare　experience　for　them；　answering　the　questions　instead　of　asking　them。　And　all　those　looks　and　pauses；　searching　for　words！　A　performance！　That's　what　it　had　been…a　performance。　Produced　and　acted　because　Vice　Admiral　Henry　demanded　it。　Well；　as　little　satisfaction　as　they　gave；　they　were　still　virgins。
　So　what　did　he　know？　The　E…PROMs　were　defective。　The　data　on　the　chips　was　that　of　preliminary　engineering　work　done　several　years　ago。　Somehow。。。　No。　Someone　in　this　office　or　at　TRX　had　given　that　data　to　the　manufacturer。　The　agents　had　skated　around　that　conclusion；　but　they　didn't　challenge　it。　They　couldn't。　〃Who？〃　was　the　question　they　had　refused　to　answer。　He　had　run　through　names　to　see　if　he　could　get　a　reaction；　but　no。　They　had　just　stared　at　him。
　〃Does　this　have　anything　to　do　with　Captain　Strong's　death？〃　He　had　asked　them　that　and　they　had　discussed　the　possibilities；　in　the　end　saying　nothing　of　substance。　They　should　have　been　politicians；　not　federal　agents。
　The　only　fact　he　now　had　that　he　hadn't　had　before　was　that　the　data　on　the　chips　matched　preliminary　engineering　work。　For　that　they　had　e　at　Henry's　insistence？
　〃Why　in　hell；〃　Jake　muttered；　〃does　everything　have　to　be　so　damned　plicated？〃
　
　At　2　P。M。　Smoke　Judy　decided　to　do　it。　The　desk　beside　him　was　empty。　Les　Richards　was　at　a　meeting　and　would　be　for　another　hour；　at　least。　Most　of　the　people　in　the　office　were　busy　on　Captain　Grafton's　report　or　were　in　a　meeting　somewhere。
　He　inserted　a　formatted　disk　in　the　a…drive　of　his　terminal　and　started　tapping。　The　code　word　for　the　file　he　wanted　was　〃kilderkin。〃　He　didn't　legally　have　access　to　this　file。　The　code　word　that　Albright　had　supplied　was　a　word　he　had　never　heard　before。　Before　he　typed　it；　he　wiped　his　hands　on　his　trousers　and　adjusted　the　brightness　level　of　the　screen。
　He　had　been　debating　this　all　week。　He　had　a　hundred　grand　of　Albright's　money　plus　the　bucks　he　already　had。　He　could　walk　out　of　here　this　evening；　jump　a　plane　at　Dulles　tomorrow　and　by　7　A。M。　Monday　be　so　far　from　Washington　these　clowns　would　never　find　him。　Not　in　fifty　years；　even　if　he　lived　to　be　ninety…three。
　He　would　be　stiffing　Albright；　of　course；　but　the　man　was　a　spy　and　wasn't　going　to　squeal　very　loudly。　And　what　the　hey；　in　the　big　wide　world　of　espionage；　a　hundred　thousand　bucks　must　be　small　change。
　Or　he　could　copy　this　file　and　give　it　to　Albright　on　Monday　night。　Roll　the　dice；　pass　Go　and　collect　another　hundred　and　fifty。　Then　he　would　have　a　total　of　almost　three　hundred　thousand　green　American　dollars；　in　cash。　Now；　for　that　kind　of　money　you　could　live　pretty　damn　good　in　one　of　those　little　beach　villages　out　on　the　edge　of　nowhere。　Get　yourself　a　firm；　warm　something　to　take　to　bed　at　night。　Live　modestly　but　well；　loose　and　relaxed；　as　light　as　it's　possible　to　get　and　keep　breathing。
　If　he　copied　this　file　he　would　not　be　able　to　ever　e　back。　If　he　walked　without　it；　the　heat　would　dissipate　sooner　or　later　over　that　E…PROM　chip　flap　and　he　could　slip　back　into　the　country。
　Do　you　pay　a　hundred　and　fifty　grand　to　keep　your　options　open？　Without　the　money　he　would　eventually　go　broke　and　have　to　e　back。
　He　typed　the　word。　〃Kilderkin。〃　There　was　the　list。　Three　dozen　documents。　He　looked　at　the　list　carefully。　Something　caught　his　eye。　He　studied　the　column　of　numbers　that　listed　how　many　bytes　each　file　was　posed　of。　Boy；　these　were　short　files。
　Then　he　understood。
　He　opened　one　of　the　files。　The　title　page　came　up。　He　hit　the　page　advance　key。　The　second　page　was　blank。　Nothing！
　The　title　page　was　the　whole　document！　He　tried　a　second　document。　Just　a　title　page。
　The　Athena　file　was　empty！
　Smoke　Judy　stared　at　the　screen；　trying　to　think。　Possibility　Three　leaped　into　his　mind。　It　hadn't　even　occurred　to　him　until　this　moment。　No　wonder　you　never　went　up　the　ladder；　Smoke。　You　just　don't　think　like　those　snake　charmers；　those　greasy　dream　merchants　who　slice　off　a　couple　million　before　they're　thirty　and　spend　the　rest　of　their　lives　pretending　they　are　somebody。　Okay；　my　slow；　dim…witted　son；　this　is　your　chance　to　butcher　the　fat　hog。　Albright　isn't　going　to　have　a　puter　in　that　singles　bar　to　check　the　disk。　Give　him　an　empty　disk；　take　his　fucking　money；　and　run。
　But　no。　The　joke　will　be　on　him。　Hell　get　exactly　what　he　paid　for。　It's　Albright's　tough　luck　the　file　is　empty；　not　yours。
　Judy　punched　the　keys。　The　disk　whirled　and　whirred。
　The　file　was　quickly　copied。　No　wonder；　short　as　it　was。　Judy　put　the　disk　in　a　side　pocket　of　his　gym　bag；　exited　the　program　and　turned　off　the　terminal。　He　spent　another　ten　minutes　cleaning　up　his　desk；　locking　the　drawers；　watching　the　other　people　in　the　office…
　At　the　door　he　used　the　grease　pencil　to　annotate　the　personnel　board　hanging　on　the　wall。　Back　at　4：30。　〃I'm　going　to　work　out；〃　he　called　to　the　secretary；　snagged　his　cover　from　the　hat　rack　and　logged　out　with　the　security　guards。　That　easy。　Sayonara；　mothers。
　The　elevator　took　a　while　to　arrive。　It　always　did。　The　navy　had　a　dirt…cheap　lease　on　this　space；　so　the　building　owner　refused　to　update　the　elevators。　The　thought　made　Smoke　Judy　smile。　This　was　the　very　last　time　he　would　ever　have　to　put　up　with　all　the　pe