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.I need you to deeply, truly, and without res-ervation, agree with me that hiring assassins to pro-tect& thingsçøeven very beautiful thingsçøis inappropriate,unacceptable behavior. 270 TalesThe silence stretched for a long moment after Trent was donespeaking.Finally Cristofer said, And what happens if you don tget what you want and need? The obvious answer to that, said Trent gently, is that thenext person to come through your hotel door at three o clock inthe morningçøwon t be me. He glanced at the door, still openbehind him. I m going to leave now.Don t follow me. He lookedback at Cristofer. You d regret it. Cristofer nodded, once, shortly. I believe you. THE CLOCK ON the wall read 4:45 A.M.Reverend Andy and Jimmy and Milla all sat together in Rev-erend Andy s office.Not even the coffee was managing to keepthem awake any longer. He just does this sometimes? Milla sighed. It started two, three years ago.Hejustçøvanishes.A day, two.Three days, once.Nobody knowswhere he s going. Reverend Andy said, Or if he s coming back? Jimmy said, He always comes back. Milla added, I m sure he s okay. Pause. He s careful. Reverend Andy got to his feet. People, it s late, and I m verytired, and I ve got a long day ahead of me tomorrow.You two situp together if you like.No need to hurry yourselves out of here. After he d left, Milla said, I m sure he s okay. Jimmy said, I m sure he s alive. Milla said wearily, That s all I meant. Jimmy nodded. HEY, WAKE UP. Jodi Jodi opened one eye. Wha? Bird said, It s really cold. He looked at her expectantly.Jodi Jodi said groggily, Turn the heat up.Start a fire.Orsomething. Bird sat down on the edge of her bed. Jimmy and Milladidn t come home last night. She nodded. They re at the Temple. Moran 271 Neither did Trent. I know. A pause.He looked at her expectantly.She looked back. Well? Can I sleep with you? Jodi Jodi rolled back over on her side. You steal my coversand I ll whack you so hard your head ll turn around. IT S MORNING NOW, the planet just turned enough that the firstrays of the Sun are striking the Flatbush Fringe, and Jimmyand Milla are sitting up in Reverend Andy s office, both deadasleep.Reverend Andy is asleep, in his bed, alone, not dreaming.Bird and Jodi Jodi are still asleep, though Bird has kickedJodi Jodi twice, and been kicked in return seven times; Jodi Jodiis a believer in massive retaliation, and being unconscious doesnot prevent her from carrying out this philosophy.Dominique Simon is laying on the couch at her parent shouse, just as dead this morning as she was yesterday.No oneat that house slept this night.In Manhattan, Trent is walking into the office of the manwho hired him.His employer is about 35 years of age and com-pletely bald.He s dressed in clothes that cost more than mostFringe families see a year, sitting behind a desk that Trentwould have been happy to steal, if it were smaller.The objects ofart scattered around the office are, Trent would estimate, worthten or fifteen thousand CU.Security guards stand at the corners of the room, and Trentis sure that they re the least of the precautions this man hastaken before meeting with Trent.THE MAN LOOKED startled when Trent entered the room. You re& Trent. You re Gideon Hamilton, the Executive Director of Acquisi-tions for the American Museum of Natural History. çøyou re younger than I d expected. 272 TalesTrent stopped a few feet before the man s desk.He didn tbother to seat himself. Did you bring the stone? Trent said, Call Barrister Davenport.201311-BARD. A pause.Hamilton said, Command.Call 201311-BARD. Another pause.The holo of a gray-haired, elderly woman ap-peared floating off to Trent s right.Barrister Davenport said, in a clear, calm contralto, I havebeen instructed by my client to inform you that I am in posses-sion of the object.It will be delivered upon completion of thefunds transfer. Hamilton flushed with anger. You didn t bring it with you? To your office? With your guards? With their guns? Trentshook his head. No. There s a problem with the funds. Through the numbness that had enfolded him, Trent felt thefirst flicker of anger.He took another step forward, saw the se-curity tensing up. I want my Credit! We had difficulty getting together the hard Credit you re-questedçø Trent said, I ll take soft Credits delivered to my barrister saccount.You have one hour.After thatçø Barrister Davenport said, My client has instructed me todrop the object into the Atlantic Ocean. Hamilton said, wonder in his voice, Do you know what youhave? Barrister Davenport said pleasantly, No.But I do knowwhat my client s instructions are. Hamilton made a poor villain; Trent saw the man s shouldersslump in defeat.He said quietly, I can arrange soft Credits inthat time.The funds will be transferred before the hour is over. Trent turned to leave.The man s voice. Trent The words exploded out of Trent. Four people died yester-day.Do you know that? Do you care? Moran 273Gideon Hamilton said dismissively, People die in the Fringeall the time.You did something very important for us.We arenot unappreciative. Trent could not keep the anger out of his voice. You knowwhat the problem is with you? You think you re one of the goodguys. The man shrugged
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