Cyborg Strike Read Online Free PDF Page B

anyone completely in charge of his own
destiny?”
    “I am, as much as is possible for a man to
be.”
    “Yes, that’s what I meant to talk to you
about.” Markis reached across to snag a cigar from the box, and
accepted the cutter from Nguyen’s hand. A moment passed in silent
ritual, until fragrant smoke curled from the ends of both
stogies.
    “Go on.”
    “All right.” Markis put the cigar down on an
ashtray and poured himself a cup of coffee from the thermos pot.
“You abdicated.”
    “I did what I thought was best for humanity.
If not for me, Captain Absen might have been killed, and with him
humanity’s best hope. I don’t think any other officer aboard could
have commanded Orion and won that battle.”
    “Not even you?”
    Spooky laughed. “Absolutely not me. Do I look
like a seasoned naval officer?”
    “Just checking for megalomania.”
    “You’re the ruler of Earth, DJ, not me.”
    “Oh, that. Not all it’s cracked up to be.”
Markis took a sip of coffee, made a face. “What’s so hard about
brewing a decent pot of java here?”
    “You’re circling hard around the point,
Mister Chairman. Perhaps you could veer toward it a bit?”
    “All right. My sources, and I am sure your
Miss Alkina can confirm this, say that your Committee Chairwoman
Smythe is gunning for you.”
    “Accepted. So?”
    “So we have less than nine years until that
damned Destroyer comes. Every day counts. You got Orion built, not her. You handled your Committee and you made it
happen.”
    “A lot of other people were involved.”
    Markis slapped his hand on the table, making
the tray jump. “False modesty. Sure, everyone was important, but
you were vital. Without you, there would have been delays, and the
loss of a just few more days might have meant an unstoppable
asteroid wiping out all life on Earth.” He shot his index finger
out, pointing at Spooky. “You know what I fear?”
    Spooky shrugged. “What?”
    “I fear the same thing happening. I fear that
without you working your magic in Australia, we’ll be a year or a
month or a week or even a day late – and it will all be for naught.
Because, and I have no idea why, or how: nobody will work as hard
at it as you do, nor do it as well.”
    “You want to know why, and how?” Spooky
filled his mouth with smoke and slowly forced it through his
sinuses and out his nose, resembling nothing so much as the
stereotypical Asian villain of ancient Hollywood B-movies.
    “No. I don’t think I’d like the answer.”
    Spooky chuckled. “Dodging your
conscience?”
    “A necessity of politics. But knowing your
reasons and methods would not persuade me I’m wrong, it would just
make me feel unneeded guilt. To paraphrase Churchill, I’d make a
deal with the devil himself to defeat the Meme.”
    “That’s an unkind comparison.”
    “Apologies, but you get my meaning.
Five-meter targets. Right now I need you – the world needs you –
back in the drivers’ seat in Australia. It’s going to be the
launching pad of the new spacegoing naval force, and that means it
will be literally the most vital defense effort on Earth. I’m
afraid if you don’t take charge, someone like Smythe will derail it
and kill us all. Not to mention what is going on in Russia.”
    Spooky ignored that last for now and smoked
some more, long minutes of thought that Markis left unfilled,
except to build two sandwiches and push one toward the other man.
Finally the Vietnamese spoke.
    “I’m not inclined to do this. I have
discovered far more satisfaction in independent action, and in
self-actualization through martial philosophy. I am less
constrained this way. I might even be able to solve your Russian
problem better on my own, using my Direct Action operatives.”
    Just as Markis was about to speak in protest,
he went on. “But I will do it, because you have persuaded
me.” Spooky picked up the proffered sandwich and bit off a healthy
chunk, refueling his body.
    Markis sighed with relief.