A Talent for War by Jack Mcdevitt

Author:Jack Mcdevitt [McDevitt, Jack]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Mystery, Fantasy, War, Adventure, Science Fiction
ISBN: 9780441012176
Publisher: Ace
Published: 1989-01-01T05:00:00+00:00

I spent the next few days linking in with university libraries and out-of-the-way archives, looking for whatever information might be available on Tanner. At night, I read myself to sleep with the works of Rashim Machesney. I managed a dinner with Quinda, and enjoyed myself thoroughly. For the first time, we did not pass the evening discussing the Resistance.

Several nights after my ride on the Kudasai, Chase called to say she’d found something. She wouldn’t tell me what it was, but she sounded excited. That didn’t exactly come as good news: I was beginning to hope I might have reached a blank wall, one that would allow me to back off with a clear conscience.

She arrived an hour later carrying a crystal and looking immensely pleased with herself. “I have here,” she said, holding out the crystal, “the collected letters of Walford Candles.”

“You’re kidding.”

“Hello, Chase,” said Jacob. “Dinner will be ready in about a half hour. How do you like your steak?”

“Hi, Jacob. Medium-well.”

“Very good. It’s nice to see you again. And I’m anxious to examine what you’ve brought.”

“Thank you. I’ve been talking to people at literature departments and libraries all over the continent. This was in the archives of a small school in Masakan. It was compiled locally, but the editor died, and no one ever formally published it. It includes a holo from Leisha Tanner, sent from Millennium!”

Millennium: the last entry in Tanner’s Notebooks.

I inserted the crystal in Jacob’s reader, and sat down in the wingback.

The lights dimmed.

Tanner’s image formed. She wore a light blouse and shorts, and it was obvious she was operating from a warm climate.

Wally, she said, I’ve got bad news. Her eyes were troubled, and she looked frightened. The woman who had stood up to the mob in the Square on Khaja Luan had been badly shaken.

We were right: Matt was here after the loss of the Straczynski. But the Dellacondans are trying to hide it. I’ve talked to a couple of the people who knew him, and either they won’t discuss him at all, or they lie. They don’t like him very much, Wally, but they pretend they do. I was talking to a computer specialist, a woman whose name is Monlin or Mollin or something. When I caught up with her she’d had too much to drink. I had learned by then not to approach the subject of Matt in any direct way, because when you do they pretend not to know anything at all. So I gradually led the conversation with Monlin around to how we had a mutual friend who’d mentioned her name to me once or twice. She looked interested, but when I named Matt, she lost her composure, and got so upset that she broke a glass and cut her hand. She literally screamed that he was a traitor, and a son of a bitch, and that she’d have gladly killed him if she could. I’ve never seen such venom. Then suddenly, as if somebody threw a switch, she stopped and wouldn’t say any more.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.