Haze and the Hammer of Darkness Read Online Free Page B

That burned power, and he saw no reason to drain his limited supply, especially since the background melding capability was only useful for optical detection. Even had he used the camo feature, the last thing he wanted was to be caught in the open. The tall pines, while spaced in a way that suggested a natural and mature landscape, provided enough cover that an attack from something like aircraft or even an advanced flitter would be difficult. If there happened to be a local culture with nanotech capabilities, they wouldn’t need anything that crude to deal with him.
    That was what he hoped.

 
    4
    23 JUYU 6744 F. E.
    Wearing a dark gray proffie singlesuit, like any number of young professionals, Roget sat in the reception area, a space with shimmering dark gray walls and green accents. The chairs and the couch were a muted dark green. The piped sunlight added a note of cheer to the semicircular chamber that could have been one in any multilateral’s headquarters. It wasn’t. It was one of a number of similar reception areas in the Federation Security Agency’s Taiyuan headquarters.
    Roget did not read nor did he access any of the entertainment nets. Instead, he amused himself by tracking the energy flows everywhere, although he couldn’t discern the purpose of most, except for those designed to locate explosives, metals, and other potentially lethal objects. Some were doubtless merely routine dataflows. A polite-looking young man sat at a console, occasionally glancing indifferently in Roget’s general direction. Behind the receptionist/guard and the console, three wide corridors fanned out into the north half of the tower.
    Roget had been waiting for sixteen and a half minutes when a tall Sinese with silver gray at his temples emerged from the left-hand corridor and walked past the receptionist. Another seven minutes passed before the receptionist looked up.
    â€œAgent Roget … the colonel will see you now. Take the left-most corridor to the second door, also on the left. Just open the door and enter.”
    Roget stood. “Thank you.” He walked past the reception desk, noting that there were no open screens behind it. The reception agent was direct-linked, another simple security procedure. If anything happened to him, hidden gates would doubtless seal the corridors.
    When he reached the door, he touched the entry screen. The door slid into its recess, and Roget stepped into the office. He stopped and offered a slight bow. The door closed silently behind him.
    â€œAgent-Captain Keir Roget, do come in.” The man behind the desk console did not stand. To his right was a wide window that offered a sweeping view of the silvered side of another tower. “Please be seated.”
    â€œYes, sir.” Roget bowed, then took the seat across the desk from the Agent-Colonel, whose name he did not know … and might never, not unless he encountered the man in another setting, and that was unlikely in a capital city of ten million plus, surrounded by satellite cities that each held millions.
    A long silence followed as the colonel scrutinized Roget.
    â€œYour last assignment left you in some physical difficulty,” observed the colonel.
    Two weeks in the medunit hadn’t been easy, but there was no point in saying so. Roget waited.
    â€œThe other members of your team were successful in apprehending the terrvert group. All but two. One was killed in the operation. Because the weapon used on you was tracked to Huilam, they all will face capital assault charges.”
    Capital assault meant intelligence reduction and locality restriction—usually to an isolated marginal community. It also suggested that there wasn’t enough evidence to prove more than conspiracy to commit cyberterr.
    â€œAnd the other?” asked Roget.
    â€œThe other is still at large, but not for long.”
    â€œSulynn?” asked Roget.
    The slightest hint of a frown appeared above