Free Act of God by John Maddox Roberts, Eric Kotani Page A

ain't really State Department are you?" Ciano said slyly as they rode down in the elevator. "What is it? NSA? CIA? Air Force Intelligence? Naw, not Air Force. You're no zoomie. You got that look, though. What was it kept you out of planes? Inner ear problems?"
    Sam was flabbergasted speechless for one of the few times in his life. The man was crazy as a loon, but his intuition bordered on the supernatural. Of course, there was nothing supernatural about it. It was that rare ability to snatch up random pieces of information entirely out of context and rearrange them into a logical pattern. He had known only a few people with the ability, none of them so acute and none of them trained scientists. When they reached the car, Ciano careened off on yet another tangent.
    "A '56 Chevy! I knew you was no ordinary G-man, Taggart. Only a person of real discernment would own such a vehicle. This is gonna be a real pleasure." He reached up to open a door and hauled himself inside like an ape.
    Laine leaned close to Sam and whispered; "I like him. He reminds me of Dr. Tarkovsky."
    "God help us," Sam muttered, "you mean there are two of them?"
    During the drive to the bar, Ugo and Laine jabbered on about professional subjects, quickly switching to German as a more suitable mutual language for the discussion, Sam already knew that Laine had grown up, like many other Estonians, speaking German. It suited him because he could tune out the conversation and concentrate on the deadly traffic.
    At one point during the drive an inept or possibly drunken driver pulled over without signaling, almost sideswiping Sam's classic Chevy. Laine was distracted from her conversation and saw Sam's hand dart beneath his coat as he bit out something pithy she did not understand. She knew he was reflexively reaching for a gun.
    Ciano cackled and said, still in German: "God help the man who puts a dent in this car!"
    The bar was, as Sam had promised, a quiet place. Sum ordered a double shot of Jack Daniels on the rocks and Laine a double vodka on the rocks. Ciano ordered Wild Turkey straight up. Sam was alarmed. The man couldn't weigh ninety pounds. His tolerance for alcohol had to be low. He hoped this wouldn't get sticky.
    When their drinks arrived, they clinked their glasses.
    "To Estonia," Sam said, diplomatically.
    "To poor Pyotr Tarkovsky," Laine said, "wherever he is tonight."
    "To Planck's Constant and the speed of light," Ciano said, apropos of nothing whatever.
    They took their first sips and settled back in their chairs. "All right, Dr. Ciano," Sam said, "time to deliver. What revelation do you have for us?"
    "The ion drive," Ciano began, abruptly. "It's still theoretical, but, theoretically, it can use anything for reaction mass. It's not like atomic reactions, where you gotta have something rare like uranium. Anything'll do, and the simpler the better. You can do it with water. Miss Tammsalu, didn't you say this new Tsiolkovsky Space Center was built on the Aral Sea, with docks out into the water like a navy base?"
    "Yes—that's true. We wondered about that, but—"
    "Hold it," Sam said. "I'm not an expert like you two, but I know a little about planes and ships and such. It's not enough to have fuel to go out. You have to have fuel to come back again. Could they take that much water with them? It weighs a lot. I've hauled plenty of water buckets in my time."
    Ciano shook his head wearily. "Jesus. You gotta lead them by the hand." Then, shockingly, he jumped up onto his chair, grabbed a handful of ice from Sam's glass and held it under Sam's nose. "Ice, you dumb jerk!" he yelled. Heads swiveled to see the source of this disturbance. "The frigging comets are made of ice! Weren't you listening? Ice is the solid state of water. They pick up their return fuel at their destination! Ice is the key to this whole business!" The little man dropped the ice back into Sam's drink and resumed his seat as if nothing untoward had happened. Sam and Laine sat and