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DEDICATED TO:
My wife Andrea Trisciuzzi,
without whom it would
never have been written.
BOOK ONE
CONTACT
Prologue
Perry City, Luna
September, 2105
The Taiwanese captain bowed quickly when his temporary commander-USSF Admiral Nolan Corcoran-rounded the corner. "Admiral Corcoran, I-"
Corcoran, a tall, broad-shouldered man whose sharp blue eyes and trim physique belied his advancing age, raised a silencing hand. He ignored the captain's wai...
"Yes, Admiral. We found him right outside the door to your quarters. I'm sure you have the report by now."
"We do, Captain Chen," answered a second man who came around the same corner that Corcoran had. "But the details are sketchy."
Chen did not recognize the man, who spoke with an English accent. "Apologies, sir: I relayed what I had at the time."
The tall, thin Englishman looked up from his dataslate. "So you weren't present at the incident?"
Chen stood even straighter. "Nonetheless, I am the team leader, sirs."
Corcoran canted his head toward the Englishman. "Mr. Downing is not implying you were at fault, Captain Chen. We know it's your job to take responsibility for...
"The subject-Mr. Riordan-was detected near your quarters at 2020 hours GMT, Admiral. He was behaving in a suspicious manner, apparently attempting to force en...
Downing stared at the cryogenic suspension unit. "And he resisted so strongly that you had to render him unconscious and stick him in a cold cell?"
Chen felt sweat rising on his upper lip. "That was, in hindsight, an excessive response. However, when accosted, Riordan turned sharply and his hand was conce...
Corcoran nodded, but, Chen noted, without the peripheral signs of reassurance that were common among Western commanders. "That explains why he's unconscious. ...
Chen's upper lip was now thoroughly wet with perspiration. "Sirs, you were on the Far Side. I had no way of knowing if you had received our communications. An...
Downing folded his arms. "Why?"
"I reasoned that Mr. Riordan's books might have made him too well-known for us to detain until you returned. And if the local authorities had discovered him i...
"Yes, you had a difficult situation," Corcoran said. And Chen saw that he meant it, but was also disappointed. Now that Caine Riordan was in cold sleep, there...
"Have you informed our contacts that we will need to initiate a 'missing, presumed dead' scenario to cover up Mr. Riordan's disappearance?"
"Yes, sir."
"Very good. Mr. Downing will need access to the corridor security footage. We'll overwrite the recording of the incident with 'neutral view' footage. See to t...
The Englishman grumbled. "Let's just hope somebody hasn't reviewed the video logs already." He moved off to establish communication with their operative insid...
The Taiwanese captain handed it to the admiral, who looked inside as Downing called over, "We're clear; no one's screened the security footage, yet."
The retired admiral stared down into the bag for several seconds before handing it back to Chen. "Keep the contents with Mr. Riordan for now. I'll have need o...
Chen did not allow himself to look puzzled. "Yes, sir."
Downing had returned. He looked at Caine Riordan's deathly white face, made blue by the glass of the cryocell's lid. "You know, I believed Riordan when he sai...
Corcoran's response was quiet. "Well, that's a moot point now."
Downing shrugged. "No tools for breaking and entering, then?" He scanned the area. "So what was in the bag?"
"Nothing," answered Corcoran. "Nothing of importance, at any rate."
Chen almost started in surprise, managed not to glance down at the bag he was holding.
Downing shook his head again. "I'll make arrangements to have Riordan's cold cell shipped to our holding facility in-"
"No, Rich. The Taiwanese will have to transfer Caine from their cryogenic system to ours, first. We can't take receipt of a foreign cryocell: too likely that ...
Downing nodded. "Right," he said. "I'll set up the exchange paperwork now." He moved off to send the necessary orders.
When Downing was well out of earshot, Corcoran looked down at the cold cell again and spoke to Chen in a very low tone. "Because your cryogenic technology is ...
"Oh no, Admiral," Chen corrected in a voice that was both deferential and enthusiastic. "This cryocell utilizes Taiwan's improved pre-toxification system. It ...
Corcoran looked up from the cold cell, his eyes unblinking. "I said, Mr. Chen, that this will be a difficult reanimation. In fact, it will be very difficult, ...
Chen had come to the conclusion that Western commanders were not particularly good at fixing underlings with stern, even terrifying, stares. Now, looking into...
But Corcoran was staring down at the cryocell again. The look on his face puzzled Chen: was it guilt, regret, resolve-or all three?