DeathWeb (Fox Meridian Book 3) Read Online Free PDF Page A

off fighting and someone had to build the equipment.’
    ‘I do not look like that.’
    ‘No.’ Kit flipped the image to show a sexier, blonde version of the same, this time a still of considerably better quality. ‘This is a singer, Christina Aguilera, portraying the same style of character in a much later music video. More your style. The “Rosie” archetype continued well into the early part of this century, particularly as the equality movement picked up. It died away again in the forties.’
    ‘There was a really crass Army recruiting campaign in the late forties,’ Fox said. ‘“Come Join This Man’s Army.” The slogan was accompanied by a woman with enormous tits who would have been seriously on charges for the state of her uniform. Did suggest she was kicking ass, but it was fairly sexist. It worked, raised recruitment of both sexes for the next two or three years.’
    ‘Sex sells,’ Sam said, ‘even now when it’s more readily available than ever.’
    ‘You two could sell sand in a desert,’ Marie said.
    Fox gave a shrug. ‘Only if I have to be passionate about it.’
    8 th June.
    ‘Oh it just gets worse,’ Fox moaned as she stepped out of the shower. ‘And when does Barrera sleep?! Barely eight-thirty and she’s wanting plans for a conference I hadn’t heard about until two minutes ago.’
    ‘There’s a conference?’ Marie mumbled. She sat up, rubbing at her eyes. ‘What conference?’
    ‘According to this, it’s going to be the “Future of Policing Conference,” and it’s going to take place in a convention centre MarTech Services runs beside the main MarTech tower.’
    ‘Future of Policing. Right.’
    ‘And the proposers of the resolution are holding it, but the announcement says it’ll cover all aspects of policing, no matter what the outcome.’ Fox frowned, sitting down to pull a bodysuit up her legs. ‘So they’ve been planning this for a while, but they left the announcement and, presumably, the booking to the last minute to give everyone else no time to prepare.’
    ‘Uh, why? When is it?’
    ‘A week, starting the twenty-first of June. Okay, nearly two weeks, but still…’
    Marie shook sleep out of her head and blinked. ‘You can do that? Just book a conference hall at that kind of notice?’
    Fox gave a shrug. ‘Apparently. Large-scale things like this aren’t that common. A lot of them are held in virons. I guess the building is mostly hotel, but it has facilities for hosting a conference and it’s sometimes useful.’
    ‘Generally for large, corporate events,’ Kit said, appearing beside the bed. ‘MarTech occasionally gathers as many people together as possible for a company party. Political or semi-political events are not so uncommon. Many with political leanings like to do their persuading face-to-face.’
    ‘I guess that makes sense,’ Marie said. ‘Kit, could you make sure the coffee is strong? I feel like I need the motivation.’
    ‘Just because you didn’t get the part yesterday,’ Fox said, ‘doesn’t mean there won’t be another along soon. And it’s all good experience.’
    ‘This was stage work. Real stage work, on a stage, with real costumes, and sets. On a stage.’
    ‘I got the stage element of the deal.’ Fox understood what Marie was getting at: there were relatively few actual stage acting roles about these days because there were relatively few theatres. ‘There’ll still be other roles. You realise that you haven’t really been trying to do this for that long?’
    ‘I know.’ Marie stumbled out of bed and then walked around, past Fox, to get to the shower. ‘I just really kind of wanted– Hey!’ Her whine was cut off as Fox pulled her down onto her lap.
    ‘Have some breakfast, let it settle, and I’ll come out running with you.’
    ‘It’s too hot to run.’
    ‘Not if we take the maglev out to the tower and run in the park at the top.’ Bending her head, Fox nipped at the point where Marie’s shoulder shaded