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Tambor?"
Tarragon nodded solemnly. "I'm afraid that I would have to, Mr. Abbott.
Without hesitation."
"I see." Eric seemed to consider. "I'm impressed. Impressed because you're so
confident you can do it. It would take important, high-level connections. The
company respects my work."
"I'm sure it does." Tarragon worked at not sounding patronizing. "But not as
much as it respects the opinions I can bring to bear on it."
"I believe you. I tell you what. I will go home." Tarragon didn't try to hide
his relief. "That will be much better for you and everyone else concerned, Mr.
Abbott."
"If," Eric added, "Lisa Tambor tells me to my face that she never wants to see
me again as long as she lives." Tarragon's relief vanished. "For just a minute
there I thought you were going to be sensible, Mr.
Abbott. It's not possible for you to see her again." "Why isn't it possible?"
"Because Lisa Tambor's destiny has already been determined, and it does not
include additional meetings with a junior designer from the Southwest. She has
her work to perform."
"I'm not clear on that. What kind of work does she do?"
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"Something else you need not concern yourself with. Listen to me, Mr. Abbott,
when I say that I am truly sorry to have to keep you in the dark about all
this, but it is necessary. Just as it is necessary that you remain ignorant on
your way home."
Eric shook his head. "I never did like being ignorant. It's important to me to
know what's going on around me."
"Not in this instance, Mr. Abbott. It's much better for you not to know."
"Who plans Lisa's destiny for her?"
"A judgmental question at best and another answer I cannot supply. I wish I
could be more informative."
But you are being informative, Eric thought coldly. He just might have
considered returning home, just might, if not for one thing. Tarragon's words
hinted at a threat hovering not only over himself, but over
Lisa as well. He was damned if he was going to abandon her to people like this
Tarragon, or the types who had stalked him in Polikartos's building back in
Phoenix.
"We understand something of your confusion and distress, Mr. Abbott. I can
tell you that we are prepared to pay your return ticket to Phoenix. We can
even explain your absence to your employers in such a way that you will not
suffer from it, which is more than you can say if you return by yourself. I'm
told you canceled out on a very important business trip to come here. We can
fix that for you."
Power, money, information: these people have access to everything, Eric
thought nervously. Who was he dealing with?
"Why do that for me? Because you're such nice folks?"
Tarragon let the sarcasm slide. ' 'As a matter of fact we can be extremely
nice folks. All we want is to avoid any difficulties."
Read "publicity," Eric told himself. A straight answer at last. Criminals hate
publicity. It's the one weapon they have no defense against. Illegal
activities would explain many things-Polikartos's death, the crude tactics
employed against Eric in Phoenix, the ability to bribe executives or
programmers at
Selvern. He became aware that this man might be ready to have him hustled into
a waiting vehicle outside the restaurant, to take him to a quiet place where
less polite forms of persuasion might be utilized.
Lisa must be some important mobster's unwilling mistress, or even worse. He
suggested as much to
Tarragon. The amused response was not expected. If Tarragon was lying, he was
doing so most
file:///C|/Documents%20and%20Settings/harry%20kruisw...paar/Alan%20Dean%20Fost
er%20-%20The%20I%20Inside.txt (65 of 165)19-2-2006 21:56:45
file:///C|/Documents%20and%20Settings/harry%20kruiswijk/Mijn%20documenten/spaa
r/Alan%20Dean%20Foster%20-%20The%20I%20Inside.txt effectively. , "Your
inferences are hilarious, Mr. Abbott, though given the confused sequence of
suppositions under which you're operating, I suppose I shouldn't be so
surprised. You have to excuse me."
"You'll have to excuse me, too," said Eric, suddenly angry. It seemed his
opponents held all the cards, and he was tired of playing the joker. "I'm not
going. I'm not interested in your one-way ticket, your threats, or your
implied omnipotence. Go ahead and get me fired if you can. It's only a job.
With my qualifications I can get another anywhere."
"You think so? Anywhere you apply you'll find our comments waiting in
personnel files." [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]