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Dataset card Data Studio Files
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Nolan laughed. "Relax: all the Circes, sirens, and other monsters are far away from here. First, the tip of this headland is well beyond sniper range. Secondl...
Caine looked over at the serried ranks of low, white buildings that started four kilometers back from the base of the headland. His glance must have imparted ...
"And how am I supposed to get around?"
"The car you came in is still down at the bottom of the slope."
"I think my driver's license expired about fourteen years ago."
"We've already taken care of that. Besides, cars are automated now-well, in most places. Should be here, although I think they may still be expanding the road...
"Guards?"
"Not needed-and they'd only draw attention."
Caine looked up at the craggy, arid highlands Nolan had indicated. Well, maybe a quick drive would be fun-
"Oh, and on the way up, drop in on Richard and tell him his collarcom has apparently died."
"Sure. Where is he?"
"At the Herakles Olympic training stadium, just a few kilometers out on the western coast road, near Legonia. The car will have it in memory."
"The keys?"
"In the car. Tell Richard I'll meet him at the villa, and will brief him at 1900. It's where you're staying also, so the car knows the way back home."
Caine nodded, put up a hand in farewell.
Nolan returned the wave, smiled, and went back to inspecting the sea and the sky, framed between the same two columns.
Chapter Fifteen
ODYSSEUS
The car clearly knew where to go: at a word, it started itself and sped out of the Kapo Sounio national park, swerving briskly to the right as it came to the co...
The vehicle, conspicuously large among the prevalent two-seater fuel cell econoboxes, weaved expertly through the streets, giving wide berths to the terrifyin...
And then bucked and screeched to a halt in the middle of the road, a red light pulsing urgently at the center of the dash.
Caine searched for a problem, found none, wasn't even sure what all the gauges meant. "What the hell is wrong?" he asked, and then realized, Jesus Christ, I'm...
Stranger still, it answered. "Road sensors inoperative in this region; please assume manual control."
"But which way do I-?"
"All automated functions suspended. Road sensors inoperative in this region: please assume-"
"Oh, all right"-and, foot on the brake, he fumbled for the shifter. Expecting more resistance-it was a digital sliding switch now, not a mechanical gear selec...
Horns-from behind and in the cross-street he had just blocked-registered local reactions to his driving abilities. As Caine eased into the next gear-the car s...
Caine grimaced a smile back at him, advanced the gear switch, realized he still had his foot on the brake, and lifted it. The car seemed to hop forward, rushi...
In the rearview mirror, the tall tourist with the sunglasses was still looking after him. And was still smiling . . .
CIRCE
Still smiling, the tall man turned to resume his journey, found his way blocked by a squat and rather hirsute local who was shaking a half-hearted fist after th...
The tall man kept looking, kept smiling, the wraparound sunglasses a bar of black opacity. The local smiled, shrugged an apology, and moved off, with one back...
Turning on his heel, the tall man resumed his measured walk to the corner, turning into the narrow side street. Genuine cobblestones-older than the mostly rep...
Three young boys blocked his path, playing something akin to street hockey with makeshift boards and a small child's ball, stamped with the outline of a Micke...
The tall man carefully selected one of the keys as he approached the only two-story building at the end of the street: a dilapidated duplex with a distinct la...
Entering the sea-facing apartment, he put the keys back in his pocket as he crossed into the kitchenette: cockroaches scurried away to refuges under the cupbo...
He pushed open the balcony door, still cradling the bag carefully, and scanned north. Halfway to the hills which flattened down into the coast, a small rim of...
Then he scanned west. A clear view of the Sounion headland and the Temple of Poseidon, just over six kilometers away. He reached down into the grocery bag, pu...
He pried back the seal on the canned ham, pulled the covering fazade of meat aside, removed the plastic-sealed wide-lens binoculars, the jar of Vaseline, and ...
He began to lean away from the binoculars, halted, then rotated them in the other direction, slowing and adjusting the focus as the roof-topping lip of the He...
MENTOR
As she sprinted out of view to the right, Downing noted the way Opal pumped her arms from the shoulders, and he thought, she runs like a man.
He advanced until he could see the entirety of the track, but remained in the shadows of the entry. As she crossed what would normally be the finish line, she...
She heals quickly. Tans nicely too; gold-bronze, despite the fair skin and light brown hair. Feet and hands so small that you could almost call them dainty. T...
But her shoulders and her pelvis were square and strong, her legs well-muscled, and she moved with a slight, forward-leaning tension: she was a spring coiled ...
If only she embraced it. That, so far, had been the sticking point.
As Opal entered the last turn, her sandy bangs were wet at the fringes, her chin tucked down. Still pumping her arms, she leaned into the turn until she emerg...
But she had already turned around. "Do you approve of my training, Mr. Downing?"
He had watched her eyes as she ran; she had never looked over in his direction. Impressive peripheral vision. "Captain, I'm sorry if I surprised you-"