Strangled Silence Read Online Free Page B

two.
    Nexus was small, pale and skeletally thin, but
similarly dressed. His mop of dark hair looked
permanently greasy and unkempt. They both tried
to move their lips as little as possible when they
spoke. The square was surrounded by office buildings,
from which any number of people could be
watching with long-lens cameras, tracking what
they were saying by reading their lips. There was
also the chance of being listened to using parabolic
microphones that could pick up sounds from a
distance of over three hundred metres.
    But both young men were too experienced to
discuss their business out loud.
    'I need to hear it before I make the trade,' Chi
said gruffly.
    'No problem.'
    Nexus had a discreet pair of black earphones in
his ears, the cord running into an MP3 player
concealed in his hand. He took out one of the earphones
and offered it to Chi, who took it and held
it at arm's length in disgust. The nub-shaped piece
of plastic was covered in earwax.
    'Jesus, Nex! Ever heard of cotton buds?'
    'What are you, my mother?'
    Chi wiped the earphone on the sleeve of
Nexus's coat and then stuck it in his ear. Nexus
pressed 'play' and Chi listened for a couple of
minutes.
    'Sounds like the real deal,' he said with a nod.
    'That's what I've been tellin' you, my man,'
Nexus said in a whisper, covering his mouth as he
spoke.'And there's over an hour of it: names, places,
dates. I swiped it straight off Counter Terrorist
Command. Their security's a joke. They've an
isolated server with the really hot stuff, but their
administrative staff are accessing it all friggin' day. I
got a program that pools all the references—'
    'Yeah, yeah, I hear you,' Chi said sourly.
    Nexus was the better hacker and he took every
opportunity to rub it in. But Chi had the savvy and
the contacts to use the information his friend dug
out of all those high-security databases.
    He palmed the MP3 player, disconnected the
earphone cords and stuck it in his pocket. With an
equally furtive movement, he attached an identical
player to the earphones and slipped it back into
Nexus's hand.
    'Here's what you want. Use it wisely.'
    'I'm going after the military next,' Nexus
muttered. 'I think I've got a lead on a bunch called
the Triumvirate. I think they're trying to smuggle a
weapon—'
    'Enough,' Chi cut him off. 'You're talking too
much . . . again . You've got to be more careful, man,
or you're gonna end up as just one more chump on
Suicide Beach. Just get on with it and keep it quiet.
Let me know if you get anything I can use.'
    'Will do. Watch the skies, man. Catch you later.'
    'Stay safe, brother. Watch those skies.'
    Chi took another careful look around and then
got up and left. A minute later, Nexus walked off in
the opposite direction.
    Amina sat in front of Goldbloom's desk, waiting for
his reaction. She had done what he'd asked: she'd
written the story up and handed it in. But she'd also
checked out the news reports of the bombing that
had injured Ivor McMorris's crew and it had
happened just as he described – despite his claims
to the contrary. Now she wanted to make more of
the story and that meant asking for a new deadline,
which would give her time to root through Ivor's
past. Goldbloom was sitting staring through the
glass wall at the newsroom beyond.
    He had asked to listen to the recording and had
remained expressionless as it played. Now Amina
waited for his decision. Part of her hated this,
having to await judgement, but she also knew that
office temps didn't normally get this level of
attention from the managing editor and she was
going to make the most of it.
    'He didn't offer any proof for what he thinks
might have happened,' Goldbloom said at last.
    It wasn't a question.
    'I don't think he has any,' Amina replied. 'But it
might be worth digging up some facts on this. Even
with what I've got, I—'
    'I don't think so,' Goldbloom sighed, shaking
his head. 'We could get into serious hot water
making allegations like this against the