The Last Paladin by Ward Wagher

Author:Ward Wagher [Wagher, Ward]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-12-19T05:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

RWB strode out of the elevator after it descended to his office floor, and he walked down the hallway. The walls showed the accumulated wear of dents and gouges and the carpet had worn thin from years of traffic. Pop had never wanted to spend much on the building maintenance, and it showed. The Paladin reminded himself to explore some refurbishing. He suspected it would be expensive.

Arlen Senter and Chaim Lewis stood up as he walked into the outer office. Holden remained seated at his desk. RWB had forbidden him from standing every time the Paladin entered the offices.

“Come on in, Gents.” RWB waved his arm, directing them into his office. “We have much to discuss.”

RWB slipped into his chair behind the desk and watched the other two men sit down across from him. Behind them, he could see the sunlight as it glistened on the waters of Lake Michigan. He had been preoccupied as the shuttle descended to Chicago and hadn’t really noticed the city or the weather.

“How bad was it?” he asked without preamble.

Senter sighed deeply. “A half-dozen terrorists managed to penetrate the building last night. Between the quick reaction team and the building defenses we were able to bottle them up and capture them.”

“How did they get into the building, then?” RWB asked.

“There is a dead-end service alley along sublevel fourteen that runs along one of the walls. They cut their way in.”

“I think you need to extend the sensor nets on the sublevels, Arlen,” Lewis commented. “The Wilton House cyber-int did not see them until they came through the wall.”

“I would need authorization to do that,” Senter replied. “The old Paladin would not allow me to install the sensor nets on private property.”

“Consider yourself authorized,” RWB said dryly. “I think our neighbors would not be disposed to complain under the circumstances.”

Senter pulled out his hand comp and entered a few notes. Lewis propped his elbows on the chair arms and steepled his fingers. “I am embarrassed that they managed to get clear into the city without anyone being the wiser. I do not mind telling you that this frustrates me. These people slip in like cockroaches. You never see them until you turn on the lights.”

“I guess we need to shine some more light,” RWB commented. “So, what went right?”

“The building systems worked as designed,” Senter answered. “Lesa Carper was in the SOC and performed brilliantly. She is an impressive operator. The quick response team did what they were designed for. We had no casualties and we captured the entire invading team.”

“That is good news, then. Chaim, what do you need to turn the lights on as you so aptly described?”

“It is not money I need, Paladin,” Lewis stated. “I need to get smarter. My organization is doing everything it is supposed to do. It seems like all our breakthroughs recently have been the result of anonymous tips.”

“And we cannot locate the tipster,” Senter added.

“Tell me about our guests in the detention block?” RWB asked, changing the subject.

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.