Paycheck (2003) by Philip K. Dick Read Free Book Online

toward him. He stood frozen, looking up and down the street.
    Across from him was the entrance of a swank hotel, its neon sign glimmering. He began to walk toward it, his heels echoing against the pavement.
    ‘Stop!’ one of the SP men called. ‘Come back here. What are you doing out? What’s your—’
    Jennings went up the stairs, into the hotel. He crossed the lobby. The clerk was staring at him. No one else was around. The lobby was deserted. His heart sank. He didn’t have a chance. He began to run aimlessly, past the desk, along a carpeted hall. Maybe it led out some back way. Behind him, the SP men had already entered the lobby.
    Jennings turned a corner. Two men stepped out, blocking his way.
    ‘Where are you going?’
    He stopped, wary. ‘Let me by.’ He reached into his coat for the Boris gun. At once the men moved.
    ‘Get him.’
    His arms were pinned to his sides. Professional hoods. Past them he could see light. Light and sound. Some kind of activity. People.
    ‘All right,’ one of the hoods said. They dragged him back along the corridor, toward the lobby. Jennings struggled futilely. He had entered a blind alley. Hoods, a joint. The city was dotted with them, hidden in the darkness. The swank hotel a front. They would toss him out, into the hands of the SP.
    Some people came along the halls, a man and a woman. Older people. Well dressed. They gazed curiously at Jennings, suspended between the two men.
    Suddenly Jennings understood. A wave of relief hit him, blinding him. ‘Wait,’ he said thickly. ‘My pocket.’
    ‘Come on.’
    ‘Wait. Look. My right pocket. Look for yourselves.’
    He relaxed, waiting. The hood on his right reached, dipping cautiously into the pocket. Jennings smiled. It was over.
He
had seen even this. There was no possibility of failure. This solved one problem: where to stay until it was time to meet Rethrick. He could stay here.
    The hood brought out the half poker chip, examining the serrated edges. ‘Just a second.’ From his own coat he took a matching chip, fitting on a gold chain. He touched the edges together.
    ‘All right?’ Jennings said.
    ‘Sure.’ They let him go. He brushed off his coat automatically. ‘Sure, mister. Sorry. Say, you should have—’
    ‘Take me in the back,’ Jennings said, wiping his face. ‘Some people are looking for me. I don’t particularly want them to find me.’
    ‘Sure.’ They led him back, into the gambling rooms. The half chip had turned what might have been a disaster into an asset. A gambling and girl joint. One of the few institutions the Police left alone. He was safe. No question of that. Only one thing remained. The struggle with Rethrick!
    Rethrick’s face was hard. He gazed at Jennings, swallowing rapidly.
    ‘No,’ he said. ‘I didn’t know it was you. We thought it was the SP.’
    There was silence. Kelly sat at the chair by her desk, her legs crossed, a cigarette between her fingers. Jennings leaned against the door, his arms folded.
    ‘Why didn’t you use the mirror?’ he said.
    Rethrick’s face flickered. ‘The mirror? You did a good job, my friend. We
tried
to use the mirror.’
    ‘Tried?’
    ‘Before you finished your term with us you changed a few leads inside the mirror. When we tried to operate it nothing happened. I left the plant half an hour ago. They were still working on it.’
    ‘I did that before I finished my two years?’
    ‘Apparently you had worked out your plans in detail. You know that with the mirror we would have no trouble tracking you down. You’re a good mechanic, Jennings. The best we ever had. We’d like to have you back, sometime. Working for us again. There’s not one of us that can operate the mirror the way you could. And right now, we can’t use it at all.’
    Jennings smiled. ‘I had no idea
he
did anything like that. I underestimated him.
His
protection was even—’
    ‘Who are you talking about?’
    ‘Myself. During the two years. I use the objective. It’s