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"Okay Fisel, let et a jump on this "

The computer was hooked up to a small suitcase that

contained a satellite phone The solarpowered package cost her an ar, but it put her in touch with her home base from anywhere in the world She punched out a nuing through the ether until it bounced off a loworbit Inlobal communications satellite, which inlayed it to a dish that fed the inforht into the database at the University of Pennsylvania

Nina clicked off her computer, satisfied that her reports and pictures were safely in the databank at the university She was unaware that even on the 'inforerous detours

San Antonio, Texas

3 ON OFFICIAL BLUEPRINTS THE WINDOWLESS roo the peaceful waters of the San Antonio River did not exist Even the city inspectors had no idea it was there The subcontractors who installed the soundproof walls, the separate electrical conduits, and the voiceactivated security locks were paid well to keep their e to build a secret door through the shower stall of a private bathroom, they kept their opinions to themselves

The room's decor was as clinically functional as a laboratory Uncluttered beige walls A bank of oversized IBM computer monitors and hard drives, a document safe, and a center worktable A man sat in front of a coht froes of type and photos and stopped at a series of line drawings

With a click of the cursor he enlarged one particular sketch and zoo in every detail Satisfied he had seen the entire file, he saved it on a floppy disk and pressed the print cohspeed printer whirred away, he put the disk in an envelope and locked it in the safe He gathered the printed file into a h another door into his office, and switched on an intercom

"I'll need a few ht away" he said

"He has time now," a female voice replied "Ten minutes in between appointments"

He left his office with the folder and walked through a maze of thickly carpeted hallways He was tall, at least six feet, no longer young, but the only concession to age was his close-cropped silver hair and a slight stoop to his muscular shoulders His athletic body was still liimen of diet and exercise Because he rarely smiled or frowned, his face was relatively unlined around the mouth and eyes, as if the skin had been lifted off and stretched over the square jaw and high cheekbones

The floor held the company's administrative offices arid could be entered only by those with hand and voice ID: The work spaces were all on other levels, and he saw nobody until he came to the spacious reception area

The highceiling space was done in burnt red, brown, and green earth colors, repeating a stylized arrow and square Indian pattern on floor and walls Behind the receptionist was a seiant sprouting quetzal feathers were so intertwined it was hard to tell whether the painting depicted a human sacrifice or a cocktail party The receptionist sat at a desk that seee, unmindful of the painted drama behind her head

The lanced toward a thick, darkwood door carved with dozens of writhing figures being tormented in a peasant artist's depiction of hell

"Mr Halcon will see you," said the receptionist, a ed wo loyalty