Kris Longknife's Bloodhound, a novella by Mike Shepherd Read Free Book Online Page B

talisman.  A magic charm.  Call it what you will, but it should ward off the evil electronic bugs for the next week.”
    Taylor held it up to the light and watched the eddies and swirls within it.  “Will it jam my own system?  I’m not totally ignorant of modern life.  I don’t eat with my toes.”
    “No doubt that you are and no doubt that you don’t,” the woman said, seeming to enjoy his joke.  “Now, you go your way and I will go mine.  I’ll get back to you when I have something to share with you.”  Mademoiselle M rose from her chair.
    Taylor rose too, as a gentleman should and said, “Then I may just go fishing until I have something to share with you.”
    “Oh, where do you like to toss in your hook?”
    Taylor chose to ignore the double entendre and answered the simple question.  “The long pier where the Severn meets the ocean.”
    “Oh, I often fish there.  We might run into each other.”
    “I’ll look forward to meeting you again.”
    “Let’s hope you’re not getting my one phone call from jail,” she said and let him leave the room first.
     
     
     
     
    Chapter 7
     
     
    That evening, Taylor found himself knocking on Honovi Longknife’s door, again.  The butler let him in and ushered him upstairs.  He passed the open nursery door; tonight, the wife was doing troubled tummy duty.  The infant seemed less fussy in his mother’s arms.
    Taylor had always envied the way his wife was able to quiet their children.  A glare that would silence the most hardened criminal went right past his crying offspring.
    Life is not fair.
    The Member of Parliament was in his small home office.  The butler knocked, announced him merely as Taylor and left.  After a “come in,” Taylor opened the door and entered.  The room, if anything, was more disheveled than last night.  The politician had several readers open on the desk and was intently studying an old fashion monitor.
    “I hope your day was better than mine,” the Member of Parliament said curtly, not taking his eyes from the screen.
    “Mine was interesting,” Taylor answered with intentional vagueness.
    “Don’t call Annie again,” Honovi said, turning his chair to face Taylor.  “She’s spooked.  Do you know she passed a Nuu Yard security type on the way out of the Lost Dutchman?”
    “Yes, I saw him too.  However, he was gone by the time I left.  I suspect that it is his job to hang over the door like a vulture to scare anyone who might be considering anything not in his boss’s interests.”
    “Well, whatever he was doing there, he scared the bejesus out of her.  If you need to talk to anyone at the dock yard, I’ll give you another contact.”
    “Do you have a date for the launching and fitting out of the Pride of Free Enterprise ?”
    “No, and that bothers me.  Usually, I get invitations to attend those things.  Maybe it’s because I’m a shareholder.  More likely, they want to get photos of a Member of Parliament at one of their shindigs.  Anyway, I’m always told two months in advance.  I can’t believe it will take them more than two months to finish those ships.  There are Navy ships spinning out at the yard that are taking less time than these.”
    “What do you know about the redesign of these ships?”
    Honovi leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, and gave Taylor a blank stare.  Taylor spent the next couple of minutes describing how the ships now had double the reactors and likely double the Smart Metal TM .
    Taylor concluded by saying, “I’ll bet you my pension that the Kris Longknife maneuver at jump points involves high accelerations, high speeds and high rotation on the hulls, something that is anathema among safe and rational star travelers.”
    “Say much more and I’ll have to slit your throat,” was the Member of Parliament’s quiet response.
    So Taylor mentioned the Mark XII fire control system that had no lasers to call the shots for and the small tender that was