Gordon R Dickson by Young Bleys (epub)

Author:Young Bleys (epub)
Format: epub
Published: 2023-05-27T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER

23

HAMMER’S OUTER OFFICE had the same garish appearance such offices always do at such a time of night, under such conditions. The seemingly too-bright lights, the naked surface of the night-clean desks, seemed to reject any daytime sense of life about the place.

Even Hammer’s inner office, with its carpeted floor and paneled walls, had something of the same look about it. As they were about to go through the door into the file room Bleys placed a friendly hand on the shorter man’s shoulder, feeling the muscles under the jacket tense at his touch.

Friendlies as an ordinary rule were careful to avoid physical contact; and enough of Hammer’s raising had stayed with him to make him still that way. Bleys spoke to him in a soothing, friendly tone.

“Now,” he said, “you know, and I don’t, how much reading there is to do in these files I’m about to look at. I’ll want you in the file room with me while I’m going through them. So why don’t you bring a chair in if you think you’ll need it?”

“No thanks,” said Hammer tightly, “I’ll sit in the desk chair there.”

“I may want to use that myself,” said Bleys. “In fact, I’ll probably be viewing the files on the desk screen.”

Without a further word Hammer picked up one of the slimmer floats in his office and carried it through the relatively narrow door of the file room to set it down at the room’s far end.

He took his seat in it, crossed his legs, sat with his arms on the armrests of the float and stared at Bleys.

“How do I get into these files?” Bleys asked.

Hammer reached in a pocket and tossed him a key ring.

“It’s the number seven key, there,” said Hammer, “I mean, the one marked with the number seven.”

Bleys used the key in the slot of the desk control pad, and saw the screen light up with, in large letters, the word PERSONAL. He tossed the keys back to Hammer and seated himself before the screen.

He began to summon up the files in alphabetical order, scanning them briefly, and moving on.

“Are you actually reading those?” asked Hammer after a few minutes.

“Yes,” said Bleys, without looking up from the screen, “I’m a fast reader.”

He continued through the files. It took him a little over an hour and a half to read them all completely. Then he shut off the screen and swung his desk chair around to face Hammer.

“Very interesting,” he said to the other man. “Now, suppose you take me someplace quiet where we can talk—we can even go back to my suite, if you think it’s safe. But I imagine it’s bugged, isn’t it?”

“It was,” said Hammer briefly; “as you know, hotels sweep the rooms in suites for listening devices daily. We hadn’t had time to set in a new microphone yet. But I can take you to a private club, where we ought to be free from interruption at this time of night, and as comfortable as you like.

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