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to dicker with, but the notion won't "
"What do you wanfl" Moore said tightly.
"Why, a fine new body, like Sam's."
Moore was exasperated. "/ certainly can't give it to you!"
"No, you can't. But maybe Jake can."
Moore's eyes grew wary. "Oh?"
"Sure. I know the plant, what it can do. It can manufacture almost anything.
It surely could fabricate me a body as good as Sam's. I'd be willing to bet
that Prime had Sam's built here. Now, I don't think the plant would do it for
me in fact, I'm fairly sure they wouldn't. But Jake's got a rep as something
of an artiste around here. Right Jake? They'd do anything you'd tell them to
do."
"Why not?" I said. "Sure, Corey. It's a deal."
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"Wait just a bloody minute here," Moore said. "There's no deal unless I'm in.
Now, is that understood?" He waited. "I
said, is that underst "
There came a flash of light and a loud crackle from the rear of the trailer.
Moore jumped back and dropped to his knees, gun drawn. A column of blue smoke
rose from where Murray had been standing. I looked. A pile of carbonized
matter lay
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There was nothing else but a heap of ash.
PARADOX ALLEY
233
Moore rose slowly. He stepped cautiously toward the car, peering at the
charred remains of his employee. The stench of burnt flesh filled the trailer.
Moore's face drained, then filled with cold anger. He turned his gun on me.
"God damn you," he breathed, then screamed, "God damn you!"
He drew a bead on my forehead.
"No."
The word fell between us like a carcass dropped from the ceiling. The voice
that had uttered it was not human.
Twrrrll stepped out of the shadows. He held a small hand weapon, and it was
trained on Moore.
"No," he repeated. "The Sacrrred Quarrry cannot be dam-
aged."
Moore didn't move, keeping his deadly aim.
"Don't, Zack," Wilkes' voice warned. "Wouldn't be wise
...just now."
Time passed, a short eternity or two.
Slowly, Moore let the gun drop. "Tie his feet, Darrell," he told his only
conscious helpmate. "Then see if you can bring
Geof around."
Darrell had me sit. He was very careful not to give me an opening for a move.
He tied me with more of the plentiful rope they had brought.
Geof finally came to. I hadn't broken his neck, much as I
wished I had. Rubbing his chin, he picked up his gun and stood up shakily.
"Bring her over here," Moore then instructed, pointing at
Darla.
I strained against my bonds. There was nothing I could do.
"She's pregnant, Zack," Darrell said uneasily.
"So?" Moore thundered. "If you haven't the balls for it..."
Darla didn't look at me. Her face was grim, but resolute. I
was glad she didn't look at me. It would have been worse.
They had her down when something happened outside.
There was a light so intense that, somehow, it seeped into the dark of the
trailer.
Moore rose, cursing. "It's her," he said.
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Suddenly the back door flew up and white light flooded the
234 John DeChancie place. To me it was a divine presence, a deliverance.
"SHOW YOURSELVES, MORTALS," came an amplified voice. I recognized it.
Moore debated with himself before taking only one of the cubes. His face was
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pale, but he steeled himself and moved forward, squeezing around the Chevy.
When he reached the opening, he dropped to his knees.
"We hear. Great Lady," he said, shielding his eyes from the source of divine
light high above. "We have the object you desire."
There was a slight hesitation before the voice answered sharply. "YES. YES,
VERY GOOD. IS THAT FT?"
"Yes, Great Lady."
"GOOD. TELL YOUR COMPANIONS TO COME OUT, I WISH TO SEE THEM. NOT YOUR
CAPTIVES THE
OTHER ONES IN YOUR BAND."
Geof and Darrell began moving, but Moore waved them back.
"See here... Goddess," Moore said tentatively.
"WHAT IS IT?" The voice was impatient.
"We had an agreement. Here is the cube, the object you told us to obtain for
you. We did so, at great peril... we paid a dear price." He grunted in
discomfort, and rubbed his eyes.
The light was much too bright to bear. "I... can't see you, Great Lady," he
said.
"NEVER YOU MIND. I GAVE YOU AN ORDER, AND
I EXPECT IT TO BE CARRIED OUT. PRONTO. ER, RIGHT NOW."
"What order?" Moore said suspiciously.
"I TOLD YOU TO COME OUT OF THAT TRUCK, THAT'S WHAT ORDER. AND LEAVE YOUR
WEAPONS
BEHIND, TOO."
"What? I " Moore strained mightily to see through the blinding glare. "Look!
If you'd cut out the bloody theatrics for a moment "
"DON'T USE THAT TONE OF VOICE WITH ME, SLIMEBALL! WHEN I SAY RABBIT, YOU HOP.
UNDER-
STAND? AND FURTHERMORE "
Moore was beside himself. "Just a bloody minute!"
Sam chose that moment to move. I didn't have time to wonder how he'd gotten
free of the extra-sturdy lumberjack
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235
rope, because things started happening very quickly. He came running out of
the front of the trailer, slamming into Geof after delivering a neck chop en
passant to Darrell, who fell over. Sam and Geof tussled on the floor for a
moment, then the gun popped out of their combined grasp and hit the floor.
They both dove for it. Next thing I knew, John was cutting me free; I hadn't
seen where he'd come from. As I clawed free of the ropes I heard the sizzle
and saw the flash of energy dis-
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