Arch Enemy by Leo J. Maloney Read Free Book Online

mechanical. You know, automatic, going off if the elevator hits a certain speed.”
    â€œThat’s how it’s supposed to work,” Upshaw said.
    â€œSo it didn’t?” asked Frieze. “What happened?”
    â€œLook, that elevator down there is a big twisted pile of scrap metal. One look ain’t enough for me to tell you what happened there. But I’ll tell you one thing. Whatever made that elevator act all wonky in the first place, it wasn’t mechanical.”
    â€œOh?” said Frieze.
    â€œI tested the motor, couldn’t reproduce the error. It stopped every time the program told it to.”
    â€œSo the problem is the software?” she said.
    â€œThat’d be my guess. The computer folks should be going over the electronic records now.”
    â€œCould we get a copy of those records?”
    â€œYou’ll have to check with the boss. They tend to be pretty territorial about what they show anyone, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they asked for a warrant. But call ’em up. You never know.”
    â€œMind if I take your card?” Lisa asked.
    Upshaw stopped at the landing on the fifth floor. He reached into his pocket and handed her a business card with a greasy, sweaty hand.
    They parted ways at the lobby, the technician moving off toward the exit while Conley and Frieze hung back.
    He was all business. “If we go over there soon maybe we can—”
    â€œNo, you can do that yourself,” she said. Man, it felt good saying no to him. “I need to go if I want to keep my job.”
    â€œThey won’t talk to me.” He laid his knobby, masculine hand on her shoulder. “Not without you.”
    She shoved his hand away. “Tell you what. I’ll call Hornig from the road and see what I can do.”
    She turned her back on him.
    â€œWhere are you going?”
    â€œTo do my job.” She dropped her card at the turnstile and walked out into the street.

Chapter 6
    â€œT his is a debriefing session for operation number 1032A-3. Subject is Daniel Morgan, code name Cobra, internal designation AZ27-F. Speaking is Diana Bloch, AZ04-D. At my side are Paul Kirby, AZ43-I, and code name Smith, AA-004.”
    Clear, crisp, and professional, Diana Bloch rattled off the information, pretending to look at a script even though Morgan knew she needed no prompting. The prim head honcho of Zeta Division, brown hair in an impeccable bun, neutral makeup on a face set in neutral professionalism, in a classic silk blouse and pearl earrings, sat review-panel style between two others. On her left was Paul Kirby, his back so straight that a broomstick might have run all the way from the chair to his oversized oval head. His chin was raised and his weasel face was at a slight angle, giving him an air of insufferable smugness. To her right was Smith, the inscrutable, with his fastidious short hair, his blank façade, in his trademark black suit, hands lightly clasped on the table. From the far corner of the tiny interrogation room, a camcorder on a tripod recorded him at a three-quarter angle.
    â€œCould we turn down the heat?” said Morgan. The air inside Zeta headquarters felt like a midsummer day. He ran his hands over his still-wet hair from the shower. He’d carried the grime from the Saavedra compound through the airlift all the way here, so they let him bathe in the Zeta gym and pull on a fresh T-shirt and jeans he kept in his locker before the session.
    â€œSurprising as it may seem, the thought had crossed our minds,” said Kirby in his usual pissy-polite tone. His forehead, extended by a receding hairline, was glistening with sweat.
    â€œThere’s some problem with the regulating software,” said Bloch. “Shepard’s looking into it. Now, if you don’t have any further objections, shall we start?” Morgan nodded in assent. “The purpose of the mission was to gain the trust of Francisco Ruiz, also