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The question went unanswered He looked to his traveling co
With a long hiss, the airlock door rotated open, revealing the interior of a flexible white tube connected to the clith of the round corridor, revealing an expansive cargo bay beyond, where busy dockworkers floated by with no regard for up or down The cargo bay’s dark gray walls were lit sporadically with sonal layout of the eight-slot clio containers lined all the way to the wall, waiting to hitch a ride up or down
Russell floated out past a cleaning crew and passengers waiting for their trip down to Nightcliff They nized each from the manifest he’d studied the day before None looked happy about their ihtcliff was so forced to endure
Fuckers, he thought
He drifted along the u his hand along the soft ertips; no dust They were meticulous up here To live a beyond belief, he couldn’t quite decide which
The title "Director of Nightcliff," a position he’d fought tooth and nail for just a year earlier, had many perks And now he could add a visit to Gateway to that list His bluff with the climber traffic had earned the trip, a foot in the door, exactly as he’d predicted
The council would have to take him seriously
At the end of the tube, a woman in a white coat and pants waited for him She had curly red hair and a splash of freckles on her cheeks Soft skin and a full figure, too--nothing like the bony wo committee?" Russell asked
"The nurse, I’m afraid Decontamination is this way"
She pushed off the ith practiced ease and disappeared around the corner Russell tried to swiain speed, which only left hirunted as his body iled, a sound she tried to stifle with her hand Russell heard it, though, and a felt a rage boiling within
"It takes practice," she said
Her voice had a kindness to it that he found cal," Russell said "Up here Flailing about like this"
The nurse’s sravity soon"
"If that’s what you prefer," Russell said with a grin He winked at her, but the woman turned away
"Follow , white hall, lined with a series of red rungs on one wall The further they went, the o He s on the wall to guide herself
Slowly, gravity began to tug at hi toward the outer edge of the ring-shaped station The rungs on the wall became a ladder, and soon he found it easier to climb than drift
At last they reached the bottorounded Up was finally up, doas down
The nurse guided hih a door and into a stark white rooh there," she said "Leave your clothing I’ll have theht be dirty, too," he said "Care to join me?"
She hurried froht
Thirty minutes later, showered and dressed, he sat in an uncomfortable metal chair "Is all this really necessary? I don’t have SUBS"
A new nurse, not nearly as cute as the last, sat next to hiainst that," she said "It’s the rest we try to keep out Colds, flu … all the usual suspects"
"I’," Russell said as she took a blood sample, "but h"
The nurse’s eyes widened
Russell shrugged "Just thirsty,with hiies," the nurse replied
Though not as attractive as the previous nurse, by Darwin standards she still looked pretty good He’d heard all the stories and jokes, auards, about Orbital women When you could pick and choose your citizens froht tickled him Even at the brink of extinction, people still behaved like people
"You’re clear to enter the station," she said, then departed
Russell put his coat back on, placed the newly acquired book under his arm, and strode out of the ave a curt salute to the security inspector on duty, who allowed hiuard Russell had seen, and it occurred to hi a climber full of soldiers up here and overrun the place If his demands weren’t met, it would be an option
Alex Warthen waited for him on the other side of the checkpoint
Russell had htcliff They were equals, Alex had assured hie of different aspects of the Elevator
The choke points, Russell thought
And yet Alex held a seat on the Orbital Council, despite presiding over a fraction of the population and an incalculably smaller area Meanwhile, Russell re
I deliver your air and water, he thought I can stop just as easily So a feinites ht starve There’s too damn many of them anyway
The man looked sharp, as always Black hair co away
"Taken up the classics?" Alex asked, as they shook hands
Russell arced an eyebrow "Classic what?"
Alex pointed at the book
"Oh," Russell said, "we’ll see How’s it going, ood The cliet loose up here Everyone is on edge"
"The rumors are true, then"
"Afraid so"
Russell knew there was no way such a creature could have made it all the way up to orbit unnoticed No, someone had contracted the disease inside the Aura There was no other way to explain it He alrinned at the turn of events More wood on the bonfire "Sounds like you need a vacation," Russell said
"No tio How about a drink instead?"
Russell motioned for his counterpart to lead on He expected to be taken to an office Instead, Alex led him to a tavern, just a short walk fron on the wall by the door said "Ten Backward" Alex entered first and pushed through the crowded roolanced across the faces within Aand drinking If anyone recognized him, they didn’t show it In fact, they hardly reacted to Alex Warthen’s entry, either Russell wondered how much respect the man really commanded
Alex made his way toward the sparse bar The patrons huddled there wore mostly black--security personnel Their conversation died when they saw Alex, and room was made
Alex asked, "What’s your poison?"
"I’m in a vodka mood"