Mercury Man by Tom Henighan Read Free Book Online Page B

if he might find the answer there.
    It was then that he saw the figure in the shadows. A tall man in a black running suit, standing and glaring at him with a fierce and particular intensity.
    Tom stepped back. The man came forward.
    â€œYou!” he shouted.
    For an instant Tom stood frozen, then he turned and ran, at top speed, in the direction of Fabricon.

C HAPTER F OUR
Inside the Future
    Tom ran blindly, straight into Harbour Street. A taxi swerved and missed him, its horn blaring. He caught a glimpse of the driver’s face, startled and angry together, but the cab went on without stopping.
    A car came the other way and the woman who was driving, taking no chances, leaned on her horn, then slowed down and shook her finger in Tom’s direction. He thought he recognized her as one of last year’s teachers and ducked away.
    He hustled out of the street and straight up to Fabricon’s entrance.
    His heart was pounding; his breath came in gasps. His hands touched the cold metal of the company door.
    The man in black had not followed him across. He had remained in front of the park, jogging around, pretending to read the bus schedule.
    He was clever, acting as if he were just killing time, but Tom wasn’t fooled. He knew the man was watching him.
    Is he trying to scare me away, to drive me inside the building?
Tom took a deep breath.
Or is he just some weirdo hanging around parks? There’s got to be a way of figuring this out.
    Into his mind suddenly came the image of his friends, scrambling out of the van and into Fabricon. They had seemed happy enough; they weren’t being kidnapped. And yet it was odd that they were all there together, trooping dutifully into Fabricon as if they were following some Pied Piper. Something was going on — he was sure of it. There had to be a way to find them, to figure things out for himself, to get his own take on Fabricon.
    At that moment two men appeared in the hall inside. They had materialized from a nearby corridor and were laughing and talking, reaching for cigarettes as they moved.
    They came straight out the door and Tom stepped aside to let them pass. They ignored him, absorbed in conversation.
    â€œWhat did she say then?” one of the men asked.
    â€œYou won’t believe this, but she told me she liked the new program.”
    They lit cigarettes and walked south up Harbour. The man in the park was no longer visible, but Tom could almost sense his presence.
    He knew that as soon as he moved, as soon as he started to head back to the safety of home or his grand-father’s place, the man would be after him.
    He stepped boldly through the door and into the great hall of Fabricon.
    It was exactly as he remembered it, and he quickly circumnavigated the fountain and headed straight for the guard desk.
    A grizzled old man looked up from his tabloid paper.
    â€œWhat can I do for you?” he asked, keeping most of his attention on the paper.
    â€œI hope I’m not too late,” Tom said. He tried — it wasn’t difficult — to sound breathless and eager. “I missed the pickup and I guess the kids are already here. I ran after the red van but I just missed it.”
    â€œOh,
them
kids. Sure. And what would your name be?”
    â€œBim Bavasi,” Tom said. His own name, he knew, wouldn’t be on any list.
    â€œJust a minute, I’ll call up and tell them.”
    Now Tom was desperate. They would know that Bim was already there; he would be exposed at once.
    â€œExcuse me, sir,” he said, as the man started dialling. “Is there a men’s room here I could use?”
    â€œRight through them doors, kid. And don’t disappear — they’ll be sending someone down in a minute.”
    Tom stepped quickly through the doors and into the inner sanctum. Luckily, he had remembered from his spring visit that there was a restroom there. He had no intention of stopping there now, however.
    As soon as he