bl.necroscope2-第87章

按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页，按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页，按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部！
————未阅读完？加入书签已便下次继续阅读！


　Quint　said　nothing；　merely　shrugged　again　and　raised　an　eyebrow。
　〃I　am　thinking；〃　said　Krakovitch　slowly；　〃that　from　now　on　I　tell　no　one　how　I　moving　until　after　the　move　is　pleted！〃　He　looked　at　Quint；　saw　his　troubled　frown。　〃Is　there　something　else？〃
　Quint　pursed　his　lips。　〃Let's　just　say　this　Gerenko　fellow　is　a　plant；　a　spy　in　your　organisation。　Am　I　right　in　thinking　he　can　only　be　working　for　the　KGB？〃
　〃For　Andropov；　yes。　Almost　certainly。〃
　〃Then　Gerenko　must　think　you're　a　plete　fool！〃
　〃Oh？　Why　do　you　say　so？　In　fact　he　thinks　most　men　are　fools。　He　fears　no　one；　Gerenko；　and　so　can　afford　to　think　so。　But　I？　No；　I　believe　I　am　one　of　the　few　men　who　he　respects…or　used　to。〃
　〃Used　to；〃　Quint　nodded。　〃But　no　more。　Surely　he　must　know　you'll　work　all　of　this　out　for　yourself　given　a　little　time？　Theo　Dolgikh　in　Genoa；　and　now　this　shambles　at　the　Romano…Soviet　border？　Unless　he　himself　is　an　idiot；　Gerenko　must　know　he's　for　the　high…jump　as　soon　as　you　get　back　to　Moscow！〃
　Sergei　Gulharov　had　managed　to　understand　most　of　this。　Now　he　spoke　to　Krakovitch　in　a　soft；　rapid　burst　of　Russian。
　〃Hah！〃　Krakovitch's　shoulders　jerked　in　a　humourless　chuckle。　For　a　moment　he　was　silent；　then　he　said；　〃Perhaps　Sergei　is　smarter　than　all　of　us。　And　if　he　is；　then　we're　in　for　trouble。〃
　〃Oh？〃　said　Quint。　〃What　did　Sergei　say？〃
　〃He　said；　perhaps　rade　Gerenko　feels　that　he　can　now　afford　to　be　a　little　slipshod。　Perhaps　he　isn't　expecting　to　see　me　again　in　Moscow！　And　as　for　you；　Carl…we　just　crossed　the　border　and　you're　in　Russia。〃
　〃I　know；〃　Quint　quietly　answered。　〃And　I　must　say；　I　don't　exactly　feel　at　home。〃
　〃Strangely；〃　Krakovitch　nodded；　〃neither　do　I！〃
　Nothing　more　was　said　until　they　reached　Chernovtsy。　。
　
　
　Chapter　Fifteen
　Back　in　London　at　INTESP　HO；　Guy　Roberts　and　Ken　Layard　had　traced　Alec　Kyle；　Carl　Quint　and　Yulian　Bodescu。　The　Devon…based　team　of　espers　had　travelled　back　to　the　capital　by　train；　leaving　Ben　Trask　to　mend　in　the　Torquay　hospital。　Having　used　the　journey　to　catch　up　on　some　sleep；　they'd　got　into　HO　just　before　midnight。　Layard　had　roughly　〃located〃　the　three　figures　in　question；　and　Roberts　had　attempted　to　scry　their　whereabouts　a　little　more　precisely。　Desperation　had　seemingly　honed　their　talents　and　the　familiarity　of　their　surroundings　had　helped　them　to　get　results…of　a　sort。
　Now　Roberts　held　a　briefing：　in　attendance　were　Layard；　John　Grieve；　Harvey　Newton；　Trevor　Jordan；　and　three　others　who　were　permanent　members　of　the　HO's　staff。　Roberts　was　red…eyed；　unshaven　and　itchy；　his　breath　reeked　of　an　endless　chain　of　cigarettes。　He　glanced　around　the　table　and　nodded　to　each　man　in　turn；　then　got　straight　into　it。
　〃We've　been　trimmed　back　a　bit；〃　he　said；　untypically　phlegmatic。　〃Kyle　and　Quint　are　out　of　it；　perhaps　permanently；　Trask　is　banged　up　a　bit；　Darcy　Clarke's　up　north；　and。。。　and　then　there's　poor　Simon　Gower。　And　the　result　of　our　outing？　Our　job　isn't　only　that　much　harder；　it's　that　much　more　important！　Yes；　and　we've　less　men　to　do　it。　We　could　certainly　use　Harry　Keogh　now…but　Alec　Kyle　was　Keogh's　main　man；　and　Alec's　not　here。　And　as　well　as　the　danger　we　know　exists…out　there；　loose…there's　now　a　second　problem　which　could　be　just　as　big。　Namely；　the　espers　of　the　Soviet　E…Branch　have　got　Kyle　on　ice　at　the　Chateau　Bronnitsy。〃
　
　This　was　news　to　everyone　except　Layard。　Lips　tightened　and　heartbeats　stepped　up。　Ken　Layard　took　up　the　briefing。　〃We're　pretty　sure　he's　there；〃　he　said。　〃I　located　him…I　think…but　only　with　the　greatest　difficulty。　They've　got　espers　blocking　everything　in　there；　far　more　concentrated　than　we've　ever　known　it　before。　The　place　is　a　mental　miasma！〃
　〃That's　a　fact；〃　Roberts　nodded。　〃I　tried　to　pin…point　him；　get　a　picture　of　him…and　failed　miserably！　Just　a　general　mind…smog。　Which　doesn't　bode　at　all　well　for　Alec。　If　his　being　there　was　all　above　board；　they'd　have　nothing　to　hide。　Also；　he's　not　supposed　to　be　there　at　all　but　here。　My　guess　is；　they'll　be　milking　him　for　all　he's　worth。　And　for　all　we're　worth。　If　I'm　cold…blooded　about　it；　believe　me　it's　only　to　save　time。〃
　〃What　about　Carl　Quint？〃　John　Grieve　put　the　question。　〃How's　he　faring？〃
　〃Carl's　where　he　should　be；〃　Layard　said。　〃Near　as　I　can　make　out；　in　a　place　called　Chernovtsy　under　the　Carpathians。　Whether　he's　there　willingly　is　another　matter。〃
　〃But　we　think　willingly；〃　Roberts　added。　〃I've　managed　to　reach　and　see　him；　however　briefly；　and　I　think　he's　with　Krakovitch。　Which　only　serves　to　confuse　things　further。　If　Krakovitch　is　straight　up；　then　why　is　Kyle　in　trouble？〃
　〃And　Bodescu？〃　Newton　asked。　He　now　felt　he　had　a　personal　vendetta　with　the　vampire。
　〃That　bastard　is　heading　north；〃　Roberts　grimly　answered。　〃It　could　be　coincidence；　but　we　don't　think　so。　Ultimately；　we　think　he's　after　the　Keogh　child。　He　knows　everything；　knows　the　guiding　force　behind　our　organisation。　Bodescu　has　been　hit；　and　now　he　wants　to　hit　back。　The　one　mind　in　this　entire　world　which　is　an　authority　on　vampires…particularly　Yulian　Bodescu…is　housed　in　that　child。　That　has　to　be　his　target。〃
　〃We　don't　know　how　he's　travelling；〃　Layard　carried　on。　〃Public　transport？　Could　be。　He　could　even　be　thumbing　lifts！　But　he's　certainly　not　in　any　sort　of　hurry。　He's　just　taking　it　easy；　taking　his　time。　He　got　into　Birmingham　an　hour　ago；　since　when　he's　been　static。　We　think　he's　put　up　for　the　night。　But　it's　the　same　story　as　before：
　he　exudes　this　mental　swamp。　That's　what　it's　like：
　groping　around　in　the　heart　of　a　foggy　swamp；　You　can't　pinpoint　him　at　all；　but　you　know　there's　a　crocodile　in　there　somewhere。　At　the　moment；　Birmingham　is　the　centre　of　it　。　。
　〃But　do　we　have　any　plans？〃　Jordan　couldn't　stand　the　inactivity。　〃I　mean；　are　we　going　to　do　something？　Or　do　we　just　sit　here　playing　with　ourselves　while　everything　goes　to　hell？〃
　〃There　are　jobs　for　everybody。〃　Roberts　held　up　a　huge；　controlling　hand。　〃First　I　need　a　volunteer　to　go　up　and　help　Darcy　Clarke　in　Hartlepool。　Apart　from　a　couple　of　Special　Branch　men…who　are　good　blokes　but　simply　can't　be　expected　to　know　what　they're　on…Darcy's　on　his　own。　The　ideal　thing　would　be　to　send　a　spotter；　except　we　don't　have　one　right　now。　So　it　will　have　to　be　a　telepath。〃　He　looked　pointedly　at　Jordan。
　Harvey　Newton　got　in　first；　however；　saying：　〃That's　me！　I　owe　Bodescu　that　much。　He　got　by　me　last　time；　but　he　won't　do　it　again。〃
　Jordan　shrugged　and　no　one　else　objected。　Roberts　nodded。　〃OK…but　stay　sharp！　Go　now；　by　car。　The　roads　will　be　empty；　so　you　should　be　able　to　go　flat　out。　Depending　on　how　things　go　at　this　end；　I'll　probably　be　joining　you　sometime　tomorrow。〃
　That　was　all　Newton　had　wanted。　He　stood　up；　nodded　once　to　all　in　general；　got　on　his　way。　〃Take　a　crossbow；〃　Roberts　called　after　him。　〃And　Harvey；　next　time　you　〃shoot　your　bolt〃　make　sure　you　hit　the　target！〃
　〃What's　my　job？〃　Jordan　asked。
　〃You'll　work　with　Mike　Carson；〃　Roberts　told　him。
　〃And　with　me　and　Layard。　We'll　try　to　locate　Quint　again；　and　you　telepaths　can　take　a　stab　at　sending　to　him。　It's　a　long　shot；　but　Quint's　a　spotter；　he's　a　psychic　sensitive；　he　might　just　feel　you。　Your　message　to　him　will　be　simple：　if　he　can　he's　to　get　in　touch　with　us。　If　we　can　get　him　on　the　phone；　we　can　perhaps　find　out　about　Kyle。　And　if　he　doesn't　know　about　Kyle…well；　that　in　itself　will　answer　one　question。　Also；　if　we　do　manage　to　contact　him；　it　might　be　a　good　idea　to　tell　Quint　to　get　the　hell　out　of　there…if　and　while　he　can！　So　that's　the　four　of　us　tied　up　for　the　night。〃　He　looked　round　the　table。
　〃The　rest　of　you　can　concentrate　on　the　proper　running　of　this　place　before　it　es　apart　at　the　seams。　Every　man　Jack　is　on　duty　full　time　as　of　now。　Right；　are　there　any　questions？〃
　〃Are　we　the　only　ones　in　on　this？〃　John　Grieve　asked。　〃I　mean；　are　the　public；　the　authorities；　still　entirely　in　the　dark？〃
　〃Totally。　What　do　we　tell　them…that　we're　chasing　a　vampire　through　the　countryside　from　Devon　to　British　West　Hartlepool？　Listen；　even　the　people　who　fund　us　and　know　we　exist　don't　wholly　believe　in　us！　How　do　you　think　they'd　react　to　the　facts　about