It was like seeing a different guy, a very scary, very cold, very angry guy, and knowing it was Carson. Carson turning to scan the bar- What she did next surpnsed her It must have surprised Creedmore even more The top of the huge silver buckle made a convenient 143 handle. She grabbed it, pulled, and brought him down, loose-kneed, to kiss his mouth, throwing her arms around his neck and hoping the back of his head, in the backward meshback hat, was between her face and Carson’s. Creedmore’s ready enthusiasm was, unfortunately, about what she’d have expected, had she had the time to think. 144 33. DURIUS
RYDELL was midway back, through that lower-level crunch, when his sunglasses rang. He got his back to the nearest wall, took them out, opened them, put them on. “Rydell?” “Yeah?” “Durius, man. How are you?” “Fine,” Rydell said. The glasses were acting up; weirdly elongated segments of Rio street maps were scrolling down his field of vision. “How are you?” He heard the whine of a drill or power driver, somewhere in LA. “You at the Dragon?” Durius said, “we got major construction under way here.” What for. “Don’t know,” Durius said. “They’re putting in a new node, back by the ATM. Where they had the baby food and child care products before, you know? Park won’t say what it is; don’t think he knows. All the branches gettin’ ’em, whatever they are. How’s your ride up? How’s that ~i Creedmore?” “I think he’s an alcoholic, Durius.” “No shit,” Durius said. “How’s the new job?”
“Well,” Rydell said, “I don’t think I’ve figured out much about it yet, but it’s getting interesting.”
“That’s good,” Durius said. “Well, just wanted to see how you’re doing. Praisegod, she says hi. Wants to know if you like the glasses.”
The Rio street maps shuddered, contracted, stretched again. “Tell her they’re great,” Rydell said. “Tell her thanks.” “Will do,” said Durius. “You take care.”
“You too,” Rydell said, the maps vanishing as Durius hung up. Rydell removed the glasses and put them away.
Beef bowl. Maybe he could grab some Ghetto Chef Beef Bowl on the way back.
Then he thought about Klaus and the Rooster and decided bed better check on the thermos first. 145 WHATS this look like to you, Martial?” Fontaine asked his lawyer, Martial Matitse, of Matitse Rapelego Njembo, whose premises consisted of three notebooks and an antique Chinese bicycle.
Martial made tooth-sucking noises on the other end of the line, and Fontaine knew he was looking at the lists the boy had pulled up. “They seem to be lists of the contents of safety deposit boxes, as required under state law in various jurisdictions. Antiterrorist legislation. Keeps people from stashing drug precursors, nuclear warheads, like that. Plus it was supposed to help prevent money laundering, but that was when money could still be big stacks of green paper. But if I were you, Fontaine, I would be asking my lawyer a different question. To wit: am I not breaking the law by being in possession of these documents?”
“Am I?” Fontaine asked.
Martial maintained telephone silence for a few seconds. “Yes,” he said, “you are. But it depends on how you got them. And I have just determined that the actual owners of the listed properties, in every case, are dead.”
“Dead?”
“Entirely. These are probate documents. Still protected by law, but I would say that some items on these lists are property to be auctioned off as the various estates are executed.”
Fontaine looked over his shoulder and saw the boy, still seated on the floor, down his third iced-guava smoothie.
“How did you get these?” Martial asked.
“I’m not sure,” Fontaine said.
“You aren’t supposed to be able to decrypt files like this,” Martial said. “Not unless you’re the fed. If someone else does the decryption, it’s merely a privacy issue insofar as you’re concerned. But if you’re doing this yourself, or are knowingly party to it, you are in possession of or are party to possession of proscribed technology which can earn you a stay 146 34. MARKET DISCONTINUITIES in one of those extremely efficient prisons the private sector has done such a fine job of building and maintaining.”