Free Killing Time by Caleb Carr Page B

reaction that his European work sparked or the
danger to which he'd exposed himself and his team. Investigations were launched
not merely by police forces and academics but by the various European security
services, especially the British; and none of the band wanted to end up with an
SAS bullet in his or her head. Realizing that they were now playing on a new
and much more deadly field, Malcolm decided to enlist the aid of someone who
could help him organize his efforts along the lines of what they appeared to
have become: a campaign.
    He examined the dossiers of
disaffected military officers from around the world, although it was Larissa
who eventually brought Colonel Justus Slayton to her brother's attention. And
in learning why she'd been in a position to make that introduction, I
discovered something that caused me to recoil in shock:
    Apparently, after completing her
university studies, this impressive, beautiful girl with whom I'd been so
taken since the moment of our first meeting had become an international
assassin.
     
CHAPTER 17
     
    The revelation hit me like a
proverbial brick. I stood there for long, dazed minutes, attempting to regain
my composure as Eli fitted me first for a pair of highly insulated but
lightweight boots and then for a seemingly ordinary suit of coveralls that was
in fact highly advanced body armor. Jonah, meanwhile, removed some kind of
handgun from one of the many racks around me and, slapping the thing into my
palm, said, "There—that seems like a good fit. How does the balance feel,
Gideon?"
    "How—" I mumbled.
"How does the—what?"
    "It's a long-range neural
interrupter," Jonah answered, pulling my limp arm up and squeezing my hand
around the weapon. "In other words, a stun gun, though an extremely
sophisticated one. Painless, with absolutely no aftereffects. I'm assuming that
since you're in the medical profession, you don't want to carry anything
lethal. But you will need protection—"
    "Excuse me, " I said
slowly, "but would you repeat that last bit?"
    Eli's tongue began to click as he
stared at the legs of my coveralls. "You're really a very in-between size,
Gideon. We had a hell of a time finding clothes for you, and I'm afraid this
body armor's strictly off the rack."
    "The targeting and firing
mechanisms," Jonah continued, still focused on the gun, "are very
easy to operate—Malcolm was able to simplify the design sketches that Colonel
Slayton brought with him when he left the Pentagon. You can choose either
manual or voice-operated—"
    "Jonah?" I said, trying
to be calm. "I really will pay attention to the gun in a minute. But just
that last bit again. Please."
    "Uh-oh." Eli smiled,
rolling down the cuffs of the coverall legs so that they touched the boots.
"Didn't I warn you not to go blurting it out, Jonah?"
    "What?" Jonah let my
arm fall. "You mean about Larissa?" I nodded once slowly, and he
said, "I don't know why you'd be shocked. Did you think a woman like that
wasn't going to have a past?"
    "A past ?"I
echoed. "What—how—I mean, how did she—"
    "Well," Jonah went on,
"so far as I know, she's always had a kind of fascination with personal
violence—especially politico-corporate killers. I think she got actively
involved through a contact in Germany, and pretty soon she found out that she
was very good at it. In her first year she knocked off three chief execs of
multinationals, along with two heads of state. I'll let her tell you which
ones."
    "Okay," Eli said,
standing up. "Listen, Gideon, the suit will monitor your body's vital
signs and make most microclimate and physiological adjustments automatically.
But in Afghanistan there may be—"
    I held a quick hand up.
"Just—one second, Eli. Just one damned minute, okay?" I turned back
to Jonah. "But—I mean, why? She couldn't have needed the money"
    "Of course not," Jonah
replied, opening a shoulder pouch on the coveralls to reveal a flexible, highly
miniaturized control board. "Hydrocarbon in the microturbine,