Sorrow Space by James Axler Read Free Book Online Page A

specific parts of the construction.
    “See that?” Pellerito said, gesturing to the enclosed area.
    Kane placed his hands on the catwalk’s safety rail and peered over the edge. Below him, over the lip of the curtained-off area, he saw a massive tubelike structure in the process of construction. A metallic cylinder with a two foot diameter was being put together piece by piece, sections of it waiting to be attached, workmen running metal files over its surface to smooth the edges where they would join. Because it was still in pieces, it was impossible to judge how long the cylinder would ultimately be, but it looked huge.
    Kane’s gaze worked over the parts for a half minute, recognizing the flaring tail fins and the nose cone with its bed of circuitry. The ex-Mag’s stomach clenched as he realized what Pellerito’s men were constructing.
    “What is that?” Kane asked, to confirm his worst fears. “A missile?”
    Smiling wickedly, Pellerito nodded. “Guided missile,” he explained. “Nuclear payload, the works. I have several buyers lined up who’ll pay a lot for one of these.”
    “What are they hoping to do?” Grant asked, peering over the edge of the walkway. “Start a war?”
    Turning to him, Pellerito shrugged. “I’m just supplying the goods, not playing Magistrate. The baronies are in disarray, villes are starting to make their own laws now. Guess you never know when you’ll need more firepower than your friendly—or not-so-friendly—neighbor.”
    Turning back from the platform edge, Brigid addressed Pellerito. “You said this thing was nuclear?”
    “Nuclear capability, yes,” Pellerito clarified.
    “And you have the load material?” Brigid asked insistently.
    Pellerito offered a broad smile. “What is this, the third degree?” He was becoming suspicious, Kane could see, uncomfortable with the direction Brigid’s questions were leading.
    Kane reached one strong arm around the man’s shoulders before he could step away. “We’re planning to give you a long line of credit, Jerod,” he said. “We want to know what we’re getting into. Stands to reason, doesn’t it?”
    Pellerito nodded, as if convincing himself. “Yes, that does make sense,” he said after a moment.
    “So?” Kane probed. “Are you ready to go nuclear or not?”
    Pellerito smiled, and it was the ugly smile of the school bully. It was the same smile Kane had seen all those years before, back when he had arrested Jerod Pellerito as a rebellious teen. “We’re all set, Kane. Nuclear strikes on command.”

Chapter 5
    Kane stared at Jerod Pellerito with his steel-gray eyes like bullets. If Pellerito could supply nuclear missiles, this situation just went from disquieting to catastrophic. Kane and his team had come here to assess an arms factory, not to halt a nuclear conflict.
    “Have you supplied many of these—what did you call them—guided missiles?” Kane blustered.
    “We only tapped into the designs last week,” Pellerito explained. “What you see here is fresh off the production line.”
    Removing his arm from Pellerito’s shoulder, Kane leaned over the edge of the railing, letting out a long sigh as he scanned the missile construction area. Suspecting that he was losing his backer, Pellerito sidled next to him and said conspiratorially, “There’s interest out there. A lot of interest. This’ll sell, Kane. With the right backer, we could take this to the next level.”
    “No,” Kane said, turning back to the arms dealer. “I’m sorry, Jerod, but I can’t back this. We’re out.”
    Pellerito looked astounded, but he composed himself swiftly. “That’s too bad,” he lamented. “You could have been a kingmaker.”
    “Not my style,” Kane told him, signaling to Grant and Brigid that they were leaving. Kane was uncomfortable here now, standing this close to the very type of weapon that had set humanity on the road to self-destruction two hundred years before. That time, the population had been