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.„All Care Abandon Ye Who Enter Here,‟ he said darkly.„Exactly,‟ Harry said.„Harry,‟ the Doctor said with apparent indignation, „you know me.I‟m always careful.‟ Before Harry could dispute this he clapped an arm round his shoulder.„It‟s all quite simple.We knock at the door.They chase you into the garden.You keep them busy while I go and find the pen.‟„Oh yes,‟ Harry said quietly.„Simple.‟ He caught up with the Doctor again just as he was reaching towards the door.The Doctor‟s hand froze.„No knocker, Harry.‟„No, Doctor.Look,‟ he went on quickly, „I‟ve got a better idea.‟„A better idea?‟ the Doctor asked slowly as if this was the sort of concept that required deep thought.„Oh.Well.Yes.‟He peered suspiciously at Harry.„What?‟„Well, it has to be a bit obvious, knocking at the door.They‟ll know we‟re up to something.‟The Doctor nodded slowly.„That‟s plausible.Go on.‟„Well, if we knew which room they were in, we could, well, take a pot shot at them or something.‟ Harry opened his jacket enough for the Doctor to see the gun in its holster under his arm.„That‟d get them out of the house.‟For a moment the Doctor said nothing.Then he turned on his heel and strode off back towards the garden gate.„You‟re in charge, Harry,‟ he said as he brushed past.„Lead on.‟Bardell, Hertman, Imogen and Morrisan each had a laptop in front of them.Each laptop had a tiny transmitter with a stubby steel aerial sticking out of it attached to the back of the screen.A wireless local area network connected them all.The screen above the fireplace now displayed a map of the world.The land masses were shaded in colour while the sea was left white.A complex tracery of thin black lines was woven over the top of the map.„Show the current status,‟ Cutter said.Bardell typed a sequence on his laptop keyboard.On the screen, the continents gradually changed colour.The United Kingdom and most of Europe were predominantly blue.About a third of the USA and parts of the other continents were also blotched with blue.The rest was yellow.„The network is 37 per cent active,‟ Bardell said.„It looks less,‟ Morrisan pointed out.„That‟s because we don‟t have total coverage,‟ Cutter told him.„Most of the Third World and much of the former USSRdo not have enough SB005s for saturation.Phase one addresses primarily Europe, the Americas, Australasia and the industrialised Far East.We were relying on the British government to help push our product into the exposed areas.Now we shall have to mount our own marketing campaign unaided.‟„Thirty-eight per cent,‟ Bardell said.„First Indonesian nodes now online.‟„We can expect exponential growth as each chip signals its presence and status to others, „Cutter said.„Miss Callus, would you ask Mr Clark to join us now? He can activate the Voractyll compilation from here.Mr Hedges can monitor its progress and report back as appropriate.‟Imogen Callus stood up.But before she could take a step, a single pane in the massive window shattered.Imperceptibly later, one of the table lamps exploded.Despite his size, Hertman was first to the window.He stared out through the broken glass.Cutter joined him in time to see a figure duck out of sight round a corner of the inner courtyard.„There is a way through from the front forecourt, over the wall,‟ Bardell said.„It was Sullivan,‟ Hertman ground out.„The pistol used is standard issue for the security services.‟ He turned slowly to face Cutter, leaning forwards slightly as he hissed: „Do you still maintain there is no security problem?‟Cutter glared at him for a second.„Get after him,‟ he shouted suddenly.„We cannot be compromised at this stage.All of you, get after him now.‟Hertman was already on his way.As he reached the door, he lifted a gun from a side table.A Hekler and Koch 9mm submachine gun.Bardell was close behind him.The main door opened and Hertman ran out.Bardell was close on his heels, holding a handgun.Behind them Imogen Callus and Trevor Morrisan emerged.Finally, Cutter stepped out into the forecourt and watched the other four run towards the gate into the garden.Harry‟s face appeared round the gate post for a moment.Chips of stone exploded from beside his nose and he leaped back as Hertman continued to fire as he ran.A moment later Harry could be seen racing across the lawn towards the gardens.Cutter watched for long enough to see that Hertman was gaining, Bardell close behind him.„Wait,‟ he called to Imogen and Morrisan.Leave him to them.We will continue the network activation.‟ Had they turned back quicker, one of them might have caught a glimpse of the end of the Doctor‟s scarf as it trailed after him into the hallway.But by the time Cutter strode back into the house, there was no sign of either the scarf or its owner.There was a sundial set into the outside wall of the house.Harry glanced up at it as he raced past.„Tempus Fugit‟ was inscribed above it.„Not just tempus,‟ Harry thought as he ran.A spray of bullets kicked up the gravel round his feet and he dived round the corner.As he landed, he turned and pulled out his gun.He leaned back round the corner long enough to loose off two shots in rapid succession.There were two of them chasing him: Bardell and ahead of him a larger man with a machine gun.They were both closer than Harry had hoped.His shots caught the larger man in the chest, exactly on target.There was a double-thud of bullets on metal, as if they had smacked into armour plating.The man hesitated, but only for a fraction of a second.Then he was running again.Harry swore, turned, and raced for the next area of cover.Once inside the house the Doctor searched for the stairs.The first floor, that was where Terry Brooks had said the Great Parlour was.And that was where the pen was [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]