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(213 of 227) [5/21/03 10:08:40 PM] Herbert, James - The Survivor UC FR As he approached it, he became aware of other presences in the room, pressing down on him, trying to reach him. But his mind could only concentrate on one thing: whoever or whatever waited for him inside that huge, wooden lair. The key of the wardrobe protruded from the lock and he was sorely tempted to turn it and trap this person - this lurking thing - inside. He didn't, though, for he wanted to confront him, wanted answers. The fingers of his left hand softly touched the wardrobe's curved metal handle, slipping over and round it, his grip tightening, poised to twist and pull the door outwards. His muscles stiffened and seemed to lose their strength; his legs felt weak, almost unable to support him. Without giving himself any more time to think, he turned his wrist and pulled the door open. He found himself looking into the twin black holes of a double-barrelled shotgun. The two close-set apertures pointing up at his face had an hypnotic effect on him. It was only with some effort of will that he forced his eyes down the length of the double-barrels, past the finger that trembled around the two triggers, and into the dilated pupils of the madman. The man rose slowly as Keller carefully moved backwards, away from the wardrobe, and the co-pilot took in his bizarre and unkempt appearance. He was muffled up in a heavy overcoat and short woollen scarf; one arm hung stiffly by his side and he emerged from his hiding-place with difficulty. There was a stench about him that increased the pungency of the room noticeably, he had obviously not cleaned himself for weeks. His hollowed, drawn cheeks and jaw Page 128 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html were unshaven, and his grey hair hung in greasy streaks over his forehead. And his eyelids were kept open by grubby strips of sticking-plaster. He stumbled from the wardrobe, but the shotgun hardly wavered away from a position just below Keller's chin. 'So they've sent you now, have they?' The words were slurred, as if the man had been drinking. But among the many smells, there was none of alcohol, nor were there any liquor bottles in evidence. file:///F|/rah/James%20Herbert/Herbert_James_-_The_Survivor__(proofed).htm (214 of 227) [5/21/03 10:08:40 PM] Herbert, James - The Survivor UC FR Keller didn't reply. He continued to back away, the knife still thrust out before him. They think you're enough, eh?' Tears had left paler streaks down the man's face. 'Like the other one. You'll go like the other one.' His snarling lips revealed yellow- stained teeth. The gun shook in his hand. Keller only wanted to run now, answers meant nothing if you were dead. He forced himself to speak, just to gain time. 'You killed Tewson.' He said it as a fact, not a question. Tewson? Who the hell's Tewson? Is it the dead man downstairs?' He seemed to be gaining an aggressive confidence now, almost relieved that he had only been confronted by flesh and blood. What else had he been expecting? Why had he locked himself away like this? 'Answer me!' the man snapped. "Who was he? Did they send him?' Keller deliberately kept his voice low and steady, not wanting to excite the man unnecessarily. 'He was with the AIB, investigating the Eton air crash. But you know about that don't you?' 'Oh yes, I know about that.' A sly look came into his eyes. 'And who are you? 'Keller. I was the-' The co-pilot! The one who escaped. Yes, you're the one they sent. They said they would.' Who said? Who sent me?' The dead, of course. They said they'd preserved someone to find me. They'd saved someone.' He laughed at the co-pilot 'Well, you've found me. Now what?' 'But who are you? Why should I want to find you?' Keller had backed towards the file:///F|/rah/James%20Herbert/Herbert_James_-_The_Survivor__(proofed).htm (215 of 227) [5/21/03 10:08:40 PM] Herbert, James - The Survivor UC FR door and he risked a quick glance to see how far he was from it. Another six feet at least. "You know who I am, liar! I did it! I killed them all!' Keller stopped moving. Despite the levelled gun, his anger began to rise again. 'Yes, me!' The man laughed aloud. 'Barrett had to be stopped somehow. He was trying to ruin me!' Tears began to well up in his eyes now, tears that could not be blinked away because of the retaining sticking plaster on his eyelids. 'The man was wicked. He tried to destroy me, crush the business I've worked so hard for! Don't you know who I am? Pendleton. Pendleton Jets!' Yes, Keller had heard of him. He was a pioneer of the jet engine, had joined Frank Whittle way back in the 1930s when Whittle had formed Britain's first turbo-jet company. He must have been a boy then, or early teens at least, and he'd worked his way up until he'd gained enough knowledge and expertise to form his own company. He was almost a legend in the aircraft manufacturing industry. Page 129 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html 'That's right, Keller. As a pilot you'd have heard of me. Now do you see why I had to kill him?' Keller shook his head numbly. Pendleton spat in disgust. 'Barrett! I had to let him buy into my company years ago, when problems with carbon fibre fan blades almost wiped me out. It nearly caused the collapse of Rolls Royce and my company was nowhere as big as that! But dear Sir James came forward, offering money, offering sustenance. In exchange for two-thirds of the company!' His voice had risen to a scream of rage. 'What choice did I have? I had to have the new titanium blades. It was either that or nothing at all. Well, I agreed, agreed to that slimy bastard's proposals. Do you still wonder why I killed him?" Keller began to move back again, cautiously, inch by inch, his eyes never leaving Pendleton's, waiting for the finger to squeeze one or both of the twin triggers, waiting for the fiery blast. 'No. I don't understand. He saved your company, didn't he?' 'Oh yes, he saved it. He saved it for himself, so he could steal it once it got file:///F|/rah/James%20Herbert/Herbert_James_-_The_Survivor__(proofed).htm (216 of 227) [5/21/03 10:08:40 PM] Herbert, James - The Survivor UC FR back on its feet. My company! The company I'd built myself! All those years - wasted! All my people - sacked! That's what he intended. The Americans were going to move in, take over lock, stock and barrel, bring in their own people, their own ideas. We would have been a small sub-company, owned by a major concern. It was just a cheaper way for them to get my engines! Do you think I would have allowed that?' His face was drained white now, and the whole of his body shook with his rage. Keller prayed the gun wouldn't go off by accident. He stole another inch. 'He laughed at me, said I was finished. Do you know that? I've been ill, all right - but it was caused by him. He said I couldn't hold on to anything - even my wife and daughter had left me! Sneered at me. Said I was so obsessed by my own engines I didn't understand what was going on around me. Well, I understood [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ] |