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hormone up his nose. If you d wanted me dead you would have killed me. So
just what the fuck do you want?
A smile blossomed on Steward s face. He could feel the power in him. I want
to join the team, old friend, he said. I want to meet Prime-on-the-Right.
And then I want to go to work for him. Just like my old friends. Just like you
and Reese.
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Williams, Walter Jon - Voice of the Whirlwind
CHAPTER 20
Griffith looked at him for a long moment. You want to join us,
he said. He looked as if he were saying the words for the first time,
exploring the way they sounded.
I want to work for a winner, and Prime-on-the-Right is going to win, Steward
said. He s smart, he s got the right moves. I ve seen his opposition up close
and they haven t got a chance.
Griffith brushed a hand over his eyes. This is weird, he said.
Prime-on-the-Right uses people who don t have the vee tag,
Steward said. Reese doesn t. He needs people who aren t addicted to him for
use in long-distance errands.
There was color in Griffith s face again. He took a cigarette from his pocket
and lit it. The people without the tag don t know about the Prime. We can
only trust tagged people not to tell.
Steward grinned at him. You can trust me. I found out and I
haven t told anyone. And I won t so long as I get a piece of the action.
Griffith s look was sharp. What do you mean?
Steward barked another laugh. You sure you can t figure it out?
Let s say that I ve got a friend in an orbital habitat who will release
certain information to the scansheets unless I make
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Williams, Walter Jon - Voice of the Whirlwind contact every few hours and give
the proper code. The code changes every time, and only I know how it changes.
You won t be able to get to my friend in time to prevent it it s many hours to
where he lives. And he won t release the stuff to anyone but me, in person.
That means that even if you, ah, do an Ashraf on me and get the codes, you
still won t get the information my friend is holding, just delay its release.
And eventually it ll be released, because there s a time limit on the codes,
and if I don t appear in person within a certain time, they get released
anyway.
Satisfaction welled in Steward s mind. The best part of this was that it was
true. Only the pronoun he was a blind Steward had gone through Janice
Weatherman in the trust office of the
Stone Bank on Solon. They d shared a piece of cream pastry while setting up
the deal and calculating her commission.
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Weatherman acted as if she performed similar tasks every day.
Possibly she did.
There was a muscle working in Griffith s cheek. His gaze was stone. You re
dangerous, buck, he said quietly.
That s why you wanted me to run your mission for you,
Steward said. He laughed. Hey, I ve already done a good job for your boss.
Why should he mind if I want to do a few more? I
just want to get better wages next time.
I have to think.
Let Prime-on-the-Right do your thinking for you. He s better at
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Williams, Walter Jon - Voice of the Whirlwind it. Steward reached into his
pocket and took out a piece of paper, tossed it in Griffith s direction.
There s a map that will take you to a phone booth down the street. Be there
at nineteen hundred tomorrow night. I ll call and then you can tell me what
your source has to say.
Griffith looked at the white slip of paper that had fluttered to the floor
near his legs. He reached out with nicotine-stained fingers and took it.
Steward stood up. I ll be going now. Talk to your boss.
Griffith was still looking at the paper as Steward stepped over him, keeping
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