Fallen Angels (John Hardesty Z04 Book 2) Read online

  "I don't know if I should be molli fied by that, or by the mere fact that you treat getting a nuke in such offhand manner."

  "That's because you and I operate at different scales. You are limited to Faraway and specifically to settlement. Whereas I work on a much grander scale."

  "I used to admire you. You and Vivana can help in that ship of yours and go where you want, or where you are asked. Now I see you as a garbage collector. You collect all the trash of all the worlds. You hide it away from them."

  "Does this change our friendship?"

  “Just once I would like for you to be on Faraway as a vacation. Yeah, we are good."

  * * *

  John let it stand there. There may sometimes be a little bit later where he could try to repair his friendship. Daniel accelerated the grav-car down the road. The sun was setting. That meant that the light was dimming. Daniel threw on his headlights. They went through a more white light. Change of color from the blue of the sun to the white of the lights can cause a little bit of a problem.

  Daniel pulled the car off the road and down into what was his yard. He brought his grav-car to a halt on a ferracrete pad. Daniel let down the struts and locked them. Then he turned off all of the Radamite jets. Daniel opened his door. John followed suit. Before he was ready, Danny jumped in his arms.

  Cheri followed Danny out of the house. She stepped on the ferracrete pad and entangled her arms around Daniel. While John was holding Danny, he noticed that Daniel's house was relatively close to the Genetic Concepts building. Looking at them with his binoculars were not going to replace an actual true reconnoiter. It would do to actually see what he's up against before he goes and penetrates that building.

  Little Danny in the arms of his uncle John felt the padded case being held in the left-hand under his rump. He knew that engaging children are sometimes given a little bit more leeway than is normal. He could expect uncle John to give him a present, while his father limited himself to certain points of the calendar.

  * * *

  "What's that, Uncle John?"

  "It's a tool that I sometimes use for my business."

  “What you use it for?"

  "It's a unique device that lets me look far away as if it were daylight and much closer.”

  "Is it a pair of binoculars." Danny was working his fingers which were a signal of his attention. "Yes, indeed it is a pair of binoculars. It has a particular circuit, and it called a light amplification. That means that it uses the available light, concentrates it, and then displays it to me."

  "That would be a very nice present to me." Daniel rolled his eyes heavenward. Cheri disengaged from Daniel and offered to take Daniel down from John's arms. Danny leaned down and let his mother take him in her arms. He didn't know what he did was wrong, but while there was a guest, his mom and dad did not usually correct him in front of guests.

  "You old dog," said Daniel. "Just this last year we got a resort that was catering to the naturist. You can use that thing to look at them while they romp around outside."

  John gave them both a hearty chuckle. It seemed to him that everything was all right with Daniel. He walked to where Cheri was standing to hold Danny.

  "Now, Danny, if everything goes okay. Before I go, I will give them to your father. If you want to use them, you will have to ask your dad, because they will be his."

  "Hooray," said Danny. Daniel looked at John. The expression on his face said, “if there is something that I can do to return the favor I certainly will.”

  The Kriegs along with their guest went into their house. Again it was another excellent meal prepared by Cheri. This time, however, Danny had learned that he could remain in the adult's area if he did service things. This was such a help to Cheri that she exploited this newly found helpfulness by Danny.

  As John watched Danny help Cherie bring the dinner dishes from the table to the kitchen. He suddenly realized that Danny was certainly a human being. Then he should extend that courtesy to his mother. At the core of this whole thing is the belief that some people have that an artificial something is not a something. False people are not people. That was how they could get away with murdering their playthings when they got inconvenient.

  “What are you thinking?": Asked Daniel.

  "I would say that this family would put paid to the argument that genetic robots are not human."

  Daniel glanced into the kitchen. When he saw that his wife was concentrating on what she was doing, he relaxed.

  "Okay, what brought this up?" "The Eridani Secret Service has an inordinate in fluence on the government of Eridani. I think Eridani was not pleased with the two previous attempts at exterminating genetic robots. If I write a particularly interesting operational report that might get to the Emir and other parliamentary people, I might be able to get these people to change the official stance on genetic robots."

  "What made you get this epiphany?" "Little Danny. Here is a boy just like any other boy in the galaxy. His only situation is that he is born of a human father and a genetic robot mother. I feel that pretty soon calling somebody a genetic robot will be treated as if they had just besmirched your mother."

  "Will this stop this sword of Damocles over Faraway?” "That is my intention here. I'm going to blow that building as far down as I can. There should be nothing left. I would recommend that men of the settlement go to the building and see what exactly the kind of damage was done. I need you to take photographs, video everything and then when somebody comes in and demands proof you can show them the videos and the photos."

  * * *

  "Wh when will you know whether or not this has worked."

  "Do you have a Hypercom?" "Yeah, sometimes I get a little heads up from the ships I service while they are in hyperspace. I have to have a Hypercom."

  "I will be sending you, from Eridani, a Hypercom concerning the subject."

  "Hypercom communication is not exactly cheap."

  “It is worth the cost if I can take one of the burdens off your back. The knowledge that you are in the clear."

  Daniel nodded at John. Indeed it would be worthwhile to have the knowledge that they were in the clear.

  Cheri arrived with a carafe of a port on a tray with four glasses. She set the tray between Daniel and John.

  "Don't worry. Cherie'll get Danny to sleep. When she does get them to sleep she will take some of the port." Danny poured them both a glass of port. They sat there sipping this beautiful fortified wine. The port that John was having was probably one of the best. He was going to have to get into Daniels mind. That would give him something else to think about rather than the mission. * * *

  “Tell me, Daniel, what is the view from your roof ?" "I would imagine just like any other buildings. You have that look on your face of coming up with a plan. Vivana used to call you the program maker."

  "That may be true. But I need a moment or two where I can tell how I should approach the Genetic Concepts building."

  "You should be able to get directly onto my roof from one of the embankments. When Danny found it we had a serious problem keeping him off."

  "Let me do this from your roof, and I will require nothing else."

  "Okay, you better come with me now while I am in the mood to give you this assistance." Daniel and John left his house by the front door and went around the house going clockwise. When they came to an almost 90° from the centerline use the embankment to climb up and step across to the roof.

  On the ceiling, John looked towards the Genetic Concepts building. The main building was 12 stories tall. Now it was a bombed out shell of the building. The roof line was gone and what remained were the crenelations. From here it actually looked like those castles on the tri-D Horror vids. Even from here he could see that they were building behind the façade. He could see nothing more without using his binoculars.

  He opened the binocular’s case. He took out the binoculars which were squashed flat. Taking the two fabric rings, he pulled them apart. The binoculars len
ses all popped open. He put the binoculars to his eyes and pressed the button that dealt with the little light circuitry. Almost immediately he could see fine details although it was colored with a greenish cast. Now he could better see the comings and goings of the workers at the genetic robots factory.

  From the cursory examination that he was able to give now, they were using genetic robots as muscle in the plant. That meant either lifting weights or patrolling the grounds. He needed to be closer. That required the Gravrod and his binoculars. We also need to make a foray into the office supply store that was inside the hotel. He could use his slate to take notes on, but the defensive situation of the genetic robots might mean that one or two of the robots were, in fact, a data sleaze. When Varitek invented the slate, one of the things they thought was that the slate would be a simple computing device. You wouldn't have to worry about intrusion into your slate. John had seen some of the data's sleaze use their tools and reach out quite a distance. In the recent year Varitek and the other slate manufacturers, he said to a reporter, "I to put in hardening circuitry and software."

  John's slate was one of the new ones with all of the security bells and whistles. In the battle for computer security, it is, in fact, a race between manufacturers and the data sleazes. The manufacturer's tried to abrogate some of the responsibility by saying that people should not put their financial information on the slate. John was of the opinion that if you started this business out, you are required to supply the tools to help me secure i5.

  John snapped the objective lens into the case and collapsed it. He then put the glasses into its case. Daniel heard the snick of the binoculars. He watched John put the collapsed binoculars into the case. John engaged the flaps of the container with the matching hook tape on the case.

  "What do you think?"

  “It's going to be a secure entry. However, there is not going to be any problem once I am in the building."

  "Do you still need to do any more Reconnaissance?" “Yes, a glance from here using binoculars doesn't mean anything unless I can get within 100 m. Tomorrow if you happen to see a man on a Grav-rod being chased by people firing blasters at him, then you will have seen me. Don't try anything."

  "I'm gonna say something that's monumentally stupid. I wanted to say that to you so you'll know that I know it's stupid. Do you need me to come with you?"

  John heard the friend in Daniel's offer. He gave Daniel a fond smile. John clapped him on the shoulder. "I am being paid to risk my neck. You are being paid nothing to risk your neck. If I needed an army, then I would ask for your help. This has the need only for a single person, a Grav-rod, and a whole hell of a lot of bricks of plastic explosive."

  Daniel dipped his head and looked at the roo fing material. This was the attitude of anybody anywhere to a man who had a woman who love them and a child who looked up to him. He was being told by everybody else that they would get this and not need his help. This kind of attitude always gave him a shot in his manhood.

  “There is one thing that you can do for me. The day after tomorrow is the day I am going to plant the explosives. Before I go off on this adventure, I will give you my little light binoculars. If you see me taken off like a bad hell from the genetic robots facility, you might want to grab a couple of guys and arm them, because we are about to begin the weirdest war that we have ever known. We have fought for territory, we have fought for the color of our skin, this will be the first one in which we are fighting for whether or not we are human."

  “Where do you want us to set up?" "It all depends on my scouting. When the fear is pumping, and you are traveling as fast as you can on a Grav-rod, you may see something that can give you some cover. All I need you to do is see where I get off of the grav-rod meet me there with whatever blasters you have."

  “Therefore moment I thought that you really didn't want me on this because I have a wife and a child. You can imagine what that's like. The closest I ever came to pulling the trigger in anger was when some of the Planetary Interests people started landing on the world after the battle cruiser blew up. It was also the first time I was ever introduced to a Mercenary Bonding Authority bond card. I must've collected four or five of those cards. I could've walked those guys over to the MBA tent city and turn their cards in for 50,000 credits each. I didn't have to give it to the government. However, my neighbors and I decided to go ahead and gift the results to the planetary government. I never knew what he was going to do with that money. That artistic monument. A better infrastructure, water, power distribution, even the trash heap."

  "At some point in our lives, we are thrust into situations. These are the points that I call gut checks. Look, I used to hold a commission. The Eridani High Guard only gave commissions to people who went to college or university. For me, I received a commission as a captain of Marines. When I went on that mission with the Marines, I was thrust into a command situation where I had only been a Sergeant major. I thought it was different. Commanding people always is the same. There are different ways of achieving it, but the result is always the same.

  “I have no doubt that you will be given a chance to be a stand-up guy. Your wife will be excellent you. Your son will adore you. Then you will march yourself into battle. When you come back from that fight, you may be without a leg or an arm. You will have upheld your personal creed."

  Daniel realized that John was using his knowledge as an old time sergeant major to influence him. He knew a couple things from that moment. The first thing Daniel knew was that he wanted to be with John when everything goes up in smoke. The second point Daniel knew was that John would figure out a way to get them away from trouble. The only time that John would ever threaten his command would go under orders. Then he would tell you what those orders were and what they mean.

  Daniel stood up. He put out a hand to help John up, which was accepted. Both men ended up wiping their rears to remove the ceiling material. Then John followed Daniel off the roof using the berm. They walk around the house to the ferracrete pad on which rested Daniel's gravcar.

  Daniel said: "do you need me to drive you to the hotel?" "It'll be okay. In my profession, now, I tend to remember things and to never forget. That is why I have some problems dealing with Vivana's death."

  Daniel said: "I'm afraid I would be in the same situation if Cheri were actually to die. It would be even worse if she were to die as a result of a crime., oe I could do nothing to protect her.

  * * *

  John said: "That is a comfort. I think the main thing that I don't like about what happened to us was that I did not get to spend enough time with her. She was the Peregrine falcon while I was the Sparrowhawk. We were both flying birds, but she had an extra speed setting. She was never afraid to get into the seat of a fighter and lead a wing of fighters out to do battle. I was more along the lines of getting the Rose as fast as I could get it. I had visions of using that light freighter as a very heavy fighter.

  “Okay, I'm going to have to give you some rules. Remember that two days and the memory starts to degrade?"

  “Yes, it makes sense." "Starting tonight you will have no dealings with me in public. When I need my equipment from you, I will come to your workshop. I know I have the key, but the workshop is one of those facilities where I can meet with you.

  “When I go to place the explosives the earliest that I can do that would be the day after tomorrow. I have to do these things at night. Unless they hired military assistance, the guards would not be at peak efficiency at the time I go. Before I go, I will give you the binoculars that I promised Danny I would give you."

  “He is going to want to get up on the roof and look for you.” * * * "You need to tell Danny that would be extremely dangerous on his part. If any little thing I did during the recon twigged their internal alarms, they might look for someone on the roofs of the buildings near there's."

  "We will make sure that Danny does not do that." "If I have any time, I will come and teach Danny how to use the binoculars. After I've ta
ught him how to use the binoculars you should probably blank out your window. Otherwise, he might be given a little bit of a peep show."

  Daniel snickered as that image was imprinted in his brain. Yeah, he was going to have to do some more house renovation simply because Danny will have access to some high-tech binoculars.

  Daniel said: "Okay, get in the car. I'll take you back to the Vibrant Chord.” John nodded his head and opened up the passenger door. Daniel got into the driver side. He started the engines. Radamite jets were one sound that John never got tired of. No matter how small the engine it still did something useful, generate power, or generate thrust. For those sure grav-car's that have a lifting body design, it got the car up to speed so that it could actually fly. The car that he was in now was more of a utility vehicle. You threw things into its trunk, and at the destination, you got out and opened it up again. When completely full Daniels utility grav-car could probably get a meter off the ground. There was only so much weight that the null grav could get off the ground. However, it sufficed, just fine, as a transportation vehicle.

  The drive from Daniel's house to the hotel was relatively short. The settlement, which is the name of the town, had a population of about 55,000 people. The planetary director wanted more than that. One gains more prestige and power as one's planet gets more people.

  Daniel brought the grav-car to the ostentatious front door. He noted that there was a Grav-rod parked in his room's parking place.

  “Hey, you might want somebody to to complain to the management that someone had parked in your spot." John stepped out of the grav-car. He came up to the Grav-rod. There was a piece of paper tucked underneath the chicken strip on the seat. He pulled out the sheet of paper and read Jeff's grabbed scrawl. In many cases, John thought that the possession of electronic devices was killing skills that we had mastered for thousands of years. He doubted that anyone would have a problem with handwriting going down the tubes.