| From: | "Paul J. Adam" <shadowtk@********.DEMON.CO.UK> |
|---|---|
| Subject: | Planning |
| Date: | Sun, 18 May 1997 22:46:21 +0100 |
>>>>>[+++++begin trideo
Two figures, walking along a narrow track through woodland. The camera
is trailing them Both are wearing civilian clothing, but one is hooded.
"Calamity. Worse, catastrophe. How could you fail so badly when all the
pieces were in place?" A hissing, electronic voice, impossible to judge
accent.
The reply is in a Midwestern accent. "There were complications-"
"There are always complications, Farmer, the measure of a man is how he
deals with them. In what way was the intervention of SIGA's North
American agents unexpected? You assured me that all was taken care of.
That there would be no difficulties. That we could decapitate the UCAS
and leave them warring with Maxim. Tell me, Farmer, at what point were
you wrong?" The electric voice buzzes with sarcasm.
"About the same point where you decided your island stronghold was
invulnerable. About the time you assured me Drake would take care of
Lynch and I need not concern myself. About the time you promised me
Zicahuata would-"
"Enough!" the hooded man barks. "We are into damage control now. Your
position is still secure, correct?"
"Without Emma I'm vulnerable. I need her back-"
"You cannot have her. She is probably dead."
"What? She was alive when she was delivered to you-"
"I judged that she required... treatment. She fought it, broke free,
escaped. I triggered her destruct charges, and now I merely await her
corpse being found. If it ever is: the charges were small and located
only in the cerebral cortex, her body would survive in a vegetative
state for some time and would be of considerable value for both the
organs and the cyberware." the hooded man replies, sibilantly. The drone
follows them around a curve in the track. "In any case, she is beyond
our reach. You must make do with what you have."
"And I'm short of funds." The other man pleads.
A hiss of anger. "Are not we all? Your British network is compromised.
Chicago and its opportunities are collapsing. Without Emma, we have lost
our conduit to that fool Harbinger and his Mayan gold. Can you not find
some source of revenue? Our friends in the homeland will pay well for
information-"
"Too dangerous! The FBI, the Company, SIGA will all-"
The masked man makes a dismissive gesture "We are maintaining a low
profile: there are far bigger fish for them to catch. Wild Rose was
ambitious, far-reaching, deadly. A trickle of espionage is much less
important. The Bureau can be distracted easily. The CIA you can throw
off by claiming it is a domestic matter. And I can arrange a diversion
that will weaken the faction opposing us while distracting SIGA, for a
month or three. And still on the horizon, we have the opportunity to
extract our people from close supervision, and do the UCAS great
damage."
"I'd hardly plan on the basis of a year-old Matrix intercept-"
"The opportunity is superb, the risks minimal, the costs small. Nothing
from that moment's carelessness has changed: the summits alternate and
the one we need, and the travel arrangements, are still as they should
be. If they change, you will take care of it. In the meantime, maintain
your position. Use your agents to sell data to the homeland. Avoid the
Matrix now, you will be watched."
The masked man reaches to clap his companion on the shoulder with a
gloved hand and the other flinches back: the hooded man uses his other,
ungloved hand to finish the gesture. "Our ambitions are still within
reach, my friend. We must fix our eyes upon our goal, allow nothing to
distract us."
+++++end trideo]<<<<<
-- Farmer <22:45:39/05-18-58>
