Hard Fall Read Online Free PDF

the cool evening air. “I could live in a place like this.” Ward wasn’t listening. His privacy had been stripped to the bone in a matter of minutes. There was nothing quite as disturbing. He would never realize that someone had followed him to Sarah Pritchet’s and on to the Kingdome, had pieced his alibi together by simply staying with him for a few short hours on only a few nights. But are any of us protected from such discoveries? Kort wondered. Without living in complete paranoia, is there any way to find true privacy? In his line of work one existed only through such privacy and anonymity. But this was not the result of paranoia; it came at the price of never repeating one’s actions, never staying too long in the same place, never contacting anyone else. Staying ahead of those behind you. It came in the form of a solitary world of self-discipline and silence.
    Kort wanted to lessen the chance of Sarah Pritchet seeing the two of them, so they made the switch from his rental to Ward’s Taurus quickly. The Pay-and-Park, void of lights, provided a perfect spot to make the transfer. Ward was told to drive. Kort removed the potato from the exhaust pipe and tossed it into the bushes on the west edge of the lot. As he took the passenger seat he explained, “Causes enough back pressure that the car won’t start. Muggers use the technique in parking garages. Always check your exhaust pipe before you get in the car. It may save you your wallet.” Then he added, “Or your life.” Kort mentally checked off another step from his itinerary, pleased with how well things were going. He needed his full attention and concentration for the minutes immediately ahead. They drove onto Aurora Avenue and headed south to where it would become East Marginal Way, with the worldwide headquarters of Duhning Aerospace only a few short miles ahead. There, the random elements of this operation would multiply like breeding rats. Kort prepared himself for it.
    â€œSlow down,” he instructed Ward, “you’re driving too fast. If it’s intentional, you’re stupid; if it’s not, you’re nervous. I can’t afford for you to be either. Understand, Roger? You’re simply going to work. You’ve done this a thousand times. I’m a visitor in town from Europe who is interested in the 959-600. That’s all that needs to be said. Now pull yourself together, friend, in case we have to speak to someone.”
    Ward glanced over at Kort from the driver’s seat, a bit more wide-eyed than Kort had hoped. But then he nodded, exhaled, and seemed to settle down.
    â€œThat’s good,” Kort said a few seconds later. “Now let’s go to work.”
    For the next few minutes they drove along a road bordered to the right with derricks and loading cranes. Kort rolled down his window and inhaled some of the pungent salt air of the wharfs. He wondered what it would be like to be a crane operator, a fisherman, a captain, or a deckhand. So different from his own life. He thought of the bizarre twists and turns that had led him to this particular place on this particular night. The air felt as if it might rain. In a perfect world the rain would hold off for another few hours.
    When Ward signaled for a right turn, Kort mustered a sense of authority in his voice and said, “Where do you think you’re going? Not here. Not yet. The badge room first.”
    â€œThere’s no security at Simulation,” Ward protested.
    â€œNo security inside,” Kort corrected. “I know that.” In fact, this blatant lack of security had led them to select a Duhning aircraft as their target. Simplification bred success; he knew it to be true. For unexplained reasons, the human mind tended toward complication. Chaos over order. Kort played the part of mathematician, constantly seeking the lowest common denominator; he continually reassessed the operation, searching out the