Silent Thunder by Dean Ing; Robert A. Heinlein

Author:Dean Ing; Robert A. Heinlein
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Science Fiction, General, Fiction
ISBN: 9780812502657
Publisher: Tor Books
Published: 1991-05-31T23:00:00+00:00

WITHOUT YOUR IDLE RUMORS, WINTOON AND THE WOMAN WOULD BE ALIVE. THE GIRL WILL STAY HEALTHY EXACTLY AS LONG AS YOU STAY SILENT. WE COULD SEND OTHER SNIPPETS INSTEAD OF HAIR, AND WE WILL, IF YOU CONFIDE IN POLICE. SOME NIGHTS THE GIRL WILL CALL YOU AT HOME. KEEP YOUR SILENCE AND NORMAL ROUTINES FOR A MONTH AND WE WILL RETURN HER SAFELY.

MAN PROPOSES, GOD DISPOSES.

THINK OF US AS GOD.

Handing Ramsay the note, Pam rubbed gooseflesh from her forearms. "Devils would be more like it. Alan, did they—is Laurie's mother—?"

"Yes. With a handgun. While they were stuffing Laurie into a goddamn garbage can during rush hour today, if you can believe that."

He watched as she traced circles on his carpet with a shoetip, her arms folded so she could grip her elbows. Simply to be doing something, Ramsay went to his kitchen and inventoried the stuff Pam had brought: among other things, soft avocadoes, brown sugar, and lamb chops. She was standing beside him before he finished, and he failed in his effort to smile. They embraced quietly in sexless mutual need. Finally: "If you need to be alone, I can go," she whispered.

He denied it; dared her to create New Mexico antojitos that might make him momentarily forget; and watched her small taloned fingers prepare a feast as they talked. The talons paused as he admitted, "For all I knew, you could have been one of them."

She'd thought of that, she said. "I can't blame you; you really haven't known me that long. Just tell me how I can help, Alan, and grade me on how well I do it. But I don't think I want to know those rumors, if they're this deadly."

She took chances, he replied, just being with him. "No, I won't saddle you with what I know. Why don't they just zap me and be done with it?"

She set the microwave oven dial and shrugged as she faced him. "I don't know, but I think we might be safe as long as you don't tell everything on national television. I suspect they're just a little afraid of what might happen if they tried to kill someone in your line of work, and got caught at it. I mean, you're a frequent houseguest to fifty million people, Alan. My big boss likes to say the media is an outlaw horse, you can't tame it, but if you tickle its cojones it might give you a good ride. Well, that's what he says," she ended, her cheeks the color of a ripe peach. "Actually, he claims it was a quote from Showers."

"Evan Showers?" His glance was keen. Showers, the President's press secretary, did his job well if unconventionally; just the sort of man needed to run media interference for a President whose public performances were reminiscent of an evangelist.

Pam nodded. "My boss's boss, if the truth be known—and that's just between you and me," she added quickly.

"I thought you worked for Elite Research," he began, and then smiled as she nodded.

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.