Asimov's Future History 09 by Isaac Asimov

Author:Isaac Asimov [Asimov, Isaac]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2011-04-04T23:21:09+00:00

Yuri Pocivil did not try to run when he saw the cyborg corpse. He swallowed, hard, and stared at it. Slowly, he turned to Palen.

“I don’t know anything,” he said.

“You worked the baley run out of Petrabor,” Palen said. “You worked with this thing. We have documentation on it, so don’t bother lying.”

“I’m just a dockworker, that’s all,” Pocivil said.

“Running baleys?” Masid asked.

“Baleys, drygoods, food, manufactured components-it’s all just cargo. My job is strictly dockside. I don’t know anything.”

“You know who pays you,” Palen said. “You know your contacts. You get your assignments from somewhere.”

“I also know what ‘dead’ means,” he said.

“You should, “Derec agreed. “You already are. That was coming to kill you. “He nodded toward the cyborg. “You know that.”

After a time, Pocivil nodded. “I got caught. That’s against the rules.”

“So why protect them?” Palen asked.

Pocivil shrugged. “A gato’s got to have standards.”

“Pretty low ones, in your case, “Masid said. “You know all those baleys were murdered. The last shipment you sent up here.”

Pocivil sighed. “Shit. I guess it doesn’t matter. You won’t find them, anyway.”

“Why not?” Palen asked.

“Because the operation is over. It’s being shut down. I was on my way home when your people grabbed me.”

“Shut down,” Derec said. “You mean, no more baley runs? No more-“

“Nothing, no more anything. They’re closing up shop. It’s over.”

“Why don’t you tell us where and who, then?” Palen asked.

Pocivil let out a long, shuddering breath and turned away from the autopsy theater. “What do you want to know first?”

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