else.”
“Okay,” Hack said. They went in. The same music, “Every Breath You Take,” was playing. That must get pretty annoying, Hack thought. “Can I speak to Sergeant Pearson, please?”
“Certainly, sir.” It was the same receptionist. She smiled at him. “Your name?”
“Hack Nike.”
She looked at John. “And?”
“A friend,” John said.
The receptionist eyeballed him. She was friendly so long as you didn’t mess with her, Hack realized. “Take a seat.”
They sat. “You gave your real name?” John whispered.
Hack said nothing. He was thinking about Violet at home with the other John.
Pearson didn’t keep them waiting: within a minute he strode into the lobby. He was a real presence, Pearson, Hack thought. Pearson commanded respect. “Hack, glad to see you. Right this way.” He led them into the same meeting room. “What can I do for you?”
Hack said, “I’m here to talk about the job.”
“Uh-huh.” Pearson raised his eyebrows at John.
“I know about it,” John said.
“Uh, yeah, he does,” Hack said. “I just wanted to ask who you, um, gave the job to.”
Pearson was silent. “Are you happy with the results, Hack?”
“Happy?” he said, and almost laughed. “I—sure, I guess.”
“This was a significant enterprise. I’m not sure if you appreciate the complexity of the assignment. The pricing we offered was extremely generous.”
“Um, sure. I just want to know about subcontracting.”
“I see,” Pearson said. “You knew we reserved the right to do that, right?”
“Well… I guess. I mean, it doesn’t matter if the NRA actually did it. I just want to know—”
Pearson’s eyebrows shot up. “What makes you think it was NRA work?”
“Oh!” Hack glanced at John, who looked disgusted. “I just…thought.”
“Did you?” Pearson said. “Well, that’s a very interesting guess, Hack. Because, as we discussed, we treat our business associations with the utmost confidence. The
utmost
confidence.”
“That’s what I want to talk about. I want to know if there were any other, um, business associates, besides the NRA.”
Pearson folded his hands neatly. “In our line of work, Hack, discretion is critical. I’m surprised you don’t know this already. Did I give you a brochure?”
“Ah—”
“I’ll give you a brochure. We have safeguards in place to protect your confidentiality. They are incontrovertible.”
“Okay,” Hack said.
“But I see you want additional assurance,” Pearson said. “Which, given the nature of the job, I can understand. Very well. I can inform you that the directive passed directly from us to a third party, who carried out the work. No intermediaries were involved.”
“Right,” Hack said, relieved. “Okay, well, thanks—”
“I hope you appreciate the magnitude of what we’ve accomplished here, Hack. You will remember that when you make your monthly payments.”
“Yes, Sergeant Pearson,” Hack said.
“Senior Sergeant Pearson,” Pearson said.
J ohn was upbeat on the walk home from the Police. “They’re a very focused organization, all right. John was one hundred percent right about that.”
“Uh-huh,” Hack said. He was thinking about Violet again.
John peered at the brochure. “Each case has a single contact. Everything’s encrypted, so employees can’t tell what their colleagues are working on. Even management can only access job numbers, not names. And it’s the largest Australian-based company in the world! Did you know that?”
“No.”
“You want to know why Americans took over the world, Hack? Because they respect achievement. Before this was a USA country, our ideal was the working-class battler, for Christ’s sake. If Australians ruled the world, everyone would work one day a week and bitch about the pay.” He shook his head. “Then there’s the British, who thought there was something wrong with making money. No surprise they ended up kissing the colony’s ass.
“Okay,” Hack said. They went in. The same music, “Every Breath You Take,” was playing. That must get pretty annoying, Hack thought. “Can I speak to Sergeant Pearson, please?”
“Certainly, sir.” It was the same receptionist. She smiled at him. “Your name?”
“Hack Nike.”
She looked at John. “And?”
“A friend,” John said.
The receptionist eyeballed him. She was friendly so long as you didn’t mess with her, Hack realized. “Take a seat.”
They sat. “You gave your real name?” John whispered.
Hack said nothing. He was thinking about Violet at home with the other John.
Pearson didn’t keep them waiting: within a minute he strode into the lobby. He was a real presence, Pearson, Hack thought. Pearson commanded respect. “Hack, glad to see you. Right this way.” He led them into the same meeting room. “What can I do for you?”
Hack said, “I’m here to talk about the job.”
“Uh-huh.” Pearson raised his eyebrows at John.
“I know about it,” John said.
“Uh, yeah, he does,” Hack said. “I just wanted to ask who you, um, gave the job to.”
Pearson was silent. “Are you happy with the results, Hack?”
“Happy?” he said, and almost laughed. “I—sure, I guess.”
“This was a significant enterprise. I’m not sure if you appreciate the complexity of the assignment. The pricing we offered was extremely generous.”
“Um, sure. I just want to know about subcontracting.”
“I see,” Pearson said. “You knew we reserved the right to do that, right?”
“Well… I guess. I mean, it doesn’t matter if the NRA actually did it. I just want to know—”
Pearson’s eyebrows shot up. “What makes you think it was NRA work?”
“Oh!” Hack glanced at John, who looked disgusted. “I just…thought.”
“Did you?” Pearson said. “Well, that’s a very interesting guess, Hack. Because, as we discussed, we treat our business associations with the utmost confidence. The
utmost
confidence.”
“That’s what I want to talk about. I want to know if there were any other, um, business associates, besides the NRA.”
Pearson folded his hands neatly. “In our line of work, Hack, discretion is critical. I’m surprised you don’t know this already. Did I give you a brochure?”
“Ah—”
“I’ll give you a brochure. We have safeguards in place to protect your confidentiality. They are incontrovertible.”
“Okay,” Hack said.
“But I see you want additional assurance,” Pearson said. “Which, given the nature of the job, I can understand. Very well. I can inform you that the directive passed directly from us to a third party, who carried out the work. No intermediaries were involved.”
“Right,” Hack said, relieved. “Okay, well, thanks—”
“I hope you appreciate the magnitude of what we’ve accomplished here, Hack. You will remember that when you make your monthly payments.”
“Yes, Sergeant Pearson,” Hack said.
“Senior Sergeant Pearson,” Pearson said.
J ohn was upbeat on the walk home from the Police. “They’re a very focused organization, all right. John was one hundred percent right about that.”
“Uh-huh,” Hack said. He was thinking about Violet again.
John peered at the brochure. “Each case has a single contact. Everything’s encrypted, so employees can’t tell what their colleagues are working on. Even management can only access job numbers, not names. And it’s the largest Australian-based company in the world! Did you know that?”
“No.”
“You want to know why Americans took over the world, Hack? Because they respect achievement. Before this was a USA country, our ideal was the working-class battler, for Christ’s sake. If Australians ruled the world, everyone would work one day a week and bitch about the pay.” He shook his head. “Then there’s the British, who thought there was something wrong with making money. No surprise they ended up kissing the colony’s ass.
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