Forced Perspectives by Tim Powers

Author:Tim Powers [Powers, Tim]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Fiction, Fantasy, Action & Adventure, Urban, Contemporary
ISBN: 9781982124403
Google: V4CAxgEACAAJ
Publisher: Baen
Published: 2020-03-03T05:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER ELEVEN:

She’s Still Agnes

“He’s still riding his idiot bicycle east on Washington,” came a voice from the phone Agnes Loria was holding to her ear as she drove. It was Chino Nunez, who had been in charge of security at ChakraSys, and who was now standing in for the injured Taitz. “Maybe he’s aiming for Nevada. He’s made three stops, at a Subway sandwich place and a liquor store and a sportin goods store. He’s got a couple of bags now in the saddlebags on his bike, and he’s got a new puffy jacket.”

“I can’t be there,” Loria said, “if you’re going to take his blood pressure.” She was driving north on the 101 freeway, just passing the Alvarado exit.

“No,” Nunez assured her, “it looks like he’s got a destination, and if it’s the Vickery and Castine couple, you can just turn around and go back to the church, and we’ll delete them all from the situation. But if he goes another hour without meeting them, then the boss will want your help in asking him about them.”

My help, thought Loria. Her right hand was slick on the steering wheel of her station wagon, and she was furious at herself for caring that, one way or another, Elisha Ragotskie was going to die tonight.

People like us have better things to do, Harlowe had told her back at the church, than to form adhesions.

Washington Boulevard, up which Elisha was reportedly riding his bicycle—all the way from the On the Waterfront Café in Venice!—was down by the 10 freeway; evidently he was not heading for their Echo Park apartment, as she had thought he might. she’d have to get off this freeway and get on again heading south, and take the 110 down to the 10. She lowered the phone to click the turn signal lever up with her little finger, and merged into the right lane to get off at Rampart.

Adhesions, she thought. Like when abdominal organs get stuck together, and you get intestinal obstructions and ectopic pregnancies. Is that what human sexual relations amount to? Souls sticking together to their detriment?

She steered one-handed through the Ramparts offramp. “Can’t Elisha tell,” she said irritably into the phone, “that you’re following him?”

“I don’t think so. He’s done a couple of evasions, like riding his bike around parking barriers, but it’s seemed like just precaution; and we’re in two cars, Baldy Foster’s in the other one. There’s other bicyclists riding east from the beach, but we can easily keep our eyes on him.”

A moment later Nunez added, “Now he’s turned south on Estes. Probably just another precaution, Estes just dead-ends at the 10 freeway.”

Elisha, you idiot, thought Loria, didn’t it occur to you that I would recognize the sounds of that café? Or did you imagine that I wouldn’t pass your location on to Harlowe? Did you still, after everything, trust me? Idiot.

Nunez spoke up again. “I don’t think this is an evasion. He’s gone two blocks. But this does dead-end up ahead.”

He’s going to meet Vickery and Castine, Loria thought.

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.