Hidden Variables Read Online Free PDF Page B

gasp, then reach for an antacid pill. They were scattered all over the apartment, never more than a couple of paces away. The ulcer was under control, no worse than it had been a year ago—but no better.
    Reluctantly, Len turned from the telescope and sat down to word the next letter.
    * * *
    "Congressman Willis? I think you ought to see this for yourself."
    The aide had been waiting patiently outside the Committee Hearings. He passed a sheet of plain white paper across to the Congressman.
    "Another one! This is intolerable." Congressman Willis was a big man, close to three hundred pounds, but the suit did a good deal to hide the swelling belly and thick neck. "What's in this one?"
    "The same sort of thing—you'll be hearing more in the future, but you ought to look closely at your voting record."
    "Hmph. Didn't do a bit of good last time, giving this to the FBI. Let me take a closer look."
    "Congressman"—the aide was greatly daring—"Do you think this is genuine? This is the third one, and nothing has happened."
    "And nothing will happen!" Willis stuffed the paper into his pocket and patted the young aide with a thick hand. "You go on back to the office, Ron. Don't worry about it, and I'll take care of the whole thing."
    "Yes, sir." The aide's face cleared and he hurried off along the corridor, back to the Rayburn Building office. Behind him, Willis put one hand out to steady himself against the corridor wall. A thin line of sweat had appeared up where his forehead met his thinning hair. Another one! The threat was vague, but it was there. And it was not the usual hint of financial pressure, of blackmail for past activities, of defamation. It would be physical violence, broken bones, torn flesh . . .
    Congressman Willis had a vivid imagination. He could turn this one over to the FBI and have them again fail to find anything. Fail to protect him, too, when the trouble (the gun, the knife?) came to him. Or else he could take the phone call when it came, vote as he was directed to vote. That was a cheap price for freedom from the terrible fears that had been with him since the first letter. Damn the Free Trade Zone controls—first things first.
    He leaned against the wall, white suit blotched with perspiration, and waited for the end of the Hearing Recess.
    * * *
    Len had made the decision personally. Now everything was falling apart, and there was no doubt who would get the blame. Already, Sal had called in and was telling him that the heat was on, that he had better have something worked out.
    "I'll do what I can, Sal, but I need more facts. What made Mesurier renege on the deal?"
    Meyer's voice was quavery over the line, and his video image showed him looking older than ever. He was being eaten away inside, the drugs doing no more than slowing the spread. "He's greedy, Lips. Pure greed."
    "How much does he want?"
    "I don't know. We promised him a hundred million."
    "Right. Damn it, I picked the Cook Islands for the launch and free trade site because it's nicely out of the way, and because the price was less than half we'd have had to pay to Papa Haynes in Liberia. Who's Mesurier's number two man?"
    "Bartola." Meyer had caught Len's expression. "He'd maybe be easier to work with, but he's an unknown quantity. You thinking of putting out a contract on Mesurier?"
    "No." Len was silent for a few moments. "Make that maybe. I'm not going to let a tin-pot dictator stop us when everything else is going well."
    "So what are we going to do?"
    Strange how their roles had reversed. Sal Meyer had become the dependent one, looking to Len for guidance . . .
    "I think the threat should be more than enough. He'll get the choice, a hundred million for Mesurier, tax-free in a Swiss bank; or a dead Mesurier, and a deal with his second-in-command. He's no fool. The decision shouldn't be too difficult." Len glanced down at his desk. "Not like that damned Senator Macintosh. I can't see any way round him, and he's too brave to scare and too