Smart House Read Online Free Page A

Gary.
    Maddie cried, “Bruce, behave yourself!”
    Milton said coldly, “This is hardly the time or place for a scene.”
    Others said other things, but at the end of the table Gary laughed. His laughter always had been too loud, a braying, animal-like noise. Beth flinched at the familiar sound. “We can pour our own coffee,” he said to the man servant. “Take it and cups and stuff to the living room and then you and Juanita beat it as soon as you clean up here.” He stood up and walked out.
    The rest of them began pushing chairs back, and in an awkward silence they trailed out after Gary.
    The room they entered was as big as a hotel lobby; and like every other room so far, beautifully decorated. In here the colors were a deep rich maroon and pale blue with gold accents. There were several groupings of couches and comfortable chairs and low tables. Gary was already in an armchair before the window wall. The woman servant was arranging a tray with coffee and cups and the man was busy with another tray with pastries. They finished and left soundlessly before the shareholders were all settled. Maddie stationed herself at the coffee service and started to pour, a nervous, if very proper, hostess.
    “By Monday, I’ll have the votes,” Bruce said. He sounded less angry now, more in control, but his eyes were cold and fierce. He accepted coffee and sat down with it.
    Gary smiled. One by one they all were served by Maddie, and seated themselves on the twin couches, the various chairs that made up a semicircle before the window wall. The sun had set, the sky was now deep violet; the sea a leaden gray with white-capped waves rolling in. Crashing, Beth thought, but the house admitted no sound from outside.
    “By Monday,” Gary said as soon as they were all seated, “you’ll have seen Smart House in operation. It won’t matter who has how many votes by then. And, in fact,” he went on, regarding them all with the smile that seemed too amused, too superior, as if he were looking at idiots at play, “to show you how sure I am of your confidence on Monday, I have planned a little entertainment for this weekend.” No one moved. “A game,” he said, “called Assassin.”
    Maddie clattered a spoon on the table; it was the only sound. Gary laughed and put his cup down. “The rules are very simple. I’ll state them briefly, and if you want to study them, they’re on the computer in your room. The idea of the game is to kill off a designated victim in front of a single witness, record your kill with the computer, and get a new victim. Each player starts with one vote that his killer will gain. If a victim already has collected other votes, his killer gets them too.”
    “You’re crazy,” Bruce said harshly.
    “It’s just a game,” Gary said with a shrug. “A way to force everyone to experience Smart House. As I said before, by Monday I don’t think it will make any difference who does or doesn’t have the votes. You’ll all see Smart House my way by then, but someone could pick up a few extra votes and swing things his way on Monday. Of course, if you don’t dare risk anything, you don’t have to play.”
    But he did have to play, Beth thought, chilled through and through. They all had to play. When Gary said eat, they ate; when he said walk, they walked. Now he had said play, and they would all play.
    “Gary, this is ridiculous,” Maddie said nervously. “Grown-up people don’t play such childish games. This is a game for children. I read about it. Teenagers play it.”
    He looked sullen. “Kids play a lot of things that work for grown-ups. I never had a chance to try most of their games, remember. I want to catch up. One vote each. The weapons will be in the showroom downstairs. You can only have one weapon at a time, and you have to register it with the computer or your kill won’t count. The computer will keep score, and its decisions are final.”
    “What weapons?” Milton Sweetwater