Getaway World by E.E. Doc Smith

Author:E.E. Doc Smith [Smith, E.E. Doc]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2011-08-24T02:44:49.261000+00:00

Chapter 8

Razzle Dazzle

Jules was about to go after her when his sharp eyes noticed one other detail: Helena was being followed. A man who had been lounging against a wall across the way suddenly straightened up and began walking parallel to her path. The man's demeanor was casual, and he expressed no overt interest in Helena's destination, but Jules was not fooled. He'd had sufficient training-and he'd done enough tail work himself-to know when something looked suspicious. Looking through the crowd, he spotted another tail on Helena as well--this time a woman. That, he supposed, was so that Helena would not be able to use the time-honored trick of dodging into the ladies' 'freshers and leaving the male shadow waiting outside while she disappeared out the window.

Jules's heart sank. If the people behind this conspiracy were worried enough about her to put two tails on her, Helena's cover must be completely broken. And yet they were still letting her roam free. To Jules, that could mean only one thing-that they were confident enough of their security to know they could take her in at any time. She obviously, then, was being used as bait to trap any other SOTE agents in the neighborhood like himself and Yvette. The d'Alemberts dared not approach her until they had made sufficient arrangements to protect their own covers.

At the same time, now that he'd finally spotted her he couldn't let her get away until he knew where she could be reached; he couldn't count on finding her accidentally again.

Making sure to appear casual himself and ascertaining that there was no one following him he set off after Helena and her two tails.

The surreptitious parade wandered through the shopping area, with Helena stopping at two more stores for small items. Then she pressed a button on the comer call post and waited for a cart to come by. Jules went to a different corner and summoned a cart of his own. The two shadows, he noted, did the same thing. The carts were passenger driven; as long as he kept dropping coins in, there was no limit to how far he could go.

Consequently, he didn't worry about his quarry getting away. At fifteen kilometers an hour, she couldn't go too far too fast.

He followed her to an apartment, where she entered and closed the door. Her two other followers took up what looked to be, to them, familiar positions from which they could watch the doorway. This, then, must be Helena's apartment and, like Jules's own, it undoubtedly had only the one door. Jules made a note of the address and drove on by, making sure he was not noticed by the two followers.

One hurdle had been overcome: he knew now that Helena was alive and where she was located. The next problem was a tricky matter of logistics-how could he communicate with her without revealing his identity to the people who were tailing her? He certainly couldn't walk up to her door; the tails would be instructed to make note of anyone contacting her.

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