Red Heroin by Jerry Pournelle

Author:Jerry Pournelle [Pournelle, Jerry]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Science Fiction
ISBN: 0-441-71089-1
Publisher: Baen Books
Published: 2008-09-01T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eight

For dinner, I had reservations at a place I'd been told about out toward Esquimault. I forget the name, but it's owned by a former RAF wing commander, and it's more like being invited to dinner at his house than eating at a restaurant. I made a big thing out of locking the boat before we left, but I couldn't help thinking how futile that was. I didn't know, but it was a fair guess that the Reds had somebody watching the boat now that those boxes were aboard. I didn't have to guess that one of Shearing's people, and maybe the Canadian Police, were watching. All in all, I could feel sorry for some little thief who had a bit of honest burglary in mind that night.

The taxi took us around the harbor and sea wall on the way, and I had the driver stop so we could walk out to the edge where the waves rolled in. I don't know what it was, but there's something different about that sea wall. Maybe it's because the waves roll right down the Straits from the Pacific, and the tide rips are strong so that the swirls and patterns in the water are not like anywhere else.

As I said, it was more like having dinner in the wing commander's house than going out to a restaurant. The house is an old Victorian mansion, the furniture is antique, and you can sit in the library with a glass of sherry while they prepare your dinner. We had roast beef and about a ton of Yorkshire pudding, and a plum pudding dessert, and sweetmeats with coffee, and finally brandy. If you're ever in Victoria, look up a place out toward Esquimault and go there. It has a replica of Shakespeare's birthplace on the grounds, and rose gardens, and I expect most anybody in Victoria can tell you how to find it. It's worth asking about.

It was quite late when the taxi brought us back. Actually it was only about ten o'clock but you have the feeling that's late in Victoria. At least I did, but Carole said, "Let's go to the Empress and soak up some more of that atmosphere."

"You soak up the atmosphere," I told her. "I want a chance to soak up some more of that gin. Or maybe another brandy. Ye gods these Canadians drink well. Makes our stuff seem like swill. Remember that wine with dinner?"

We walked up to the Empress. From the hotel you can look back and see the Parliament Building all outlined in lights. It's quite a sight. Some of this may be a show for us tourists, but it's a subtle show. Not like Fort Walton Beach.

We were about halfway through our drink when Carole pointed behind me and said, "Oh look, Paul, there's Dick and Nancy!"

I looked around. It was a bit of a shock. I mean, I expected somebody, but hardly them. They'd seemed so ordinary. Hell, I hadn't even given their names to Shearing's people.

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