Paycheck (2003) Page 4

  The scoop. Jennings examined the grill. It was slotted in place. He moved it laterally and it fell into his hands. No one was watching. He slid cautiously out, into the room, the Boris gun ready. He was fairly hidden behind the scoop, and the technicians and guards were all the way down at the other end of the room, where he had first seen them.

  And there it was, all around him, the schematics, the mirror, papers, data, blueprints. He flicked his camera on. Against his chest the camera vibrated, film moving through it. He snatched up a handful of schematics. Perhaps he had used these very diagrams, a few weeks before!

  He stuffed his pockets with papers. The film came to an end. But he was finished. He squeezed back into the vent, pushing through the mouth and down the tube. The sewerlike corridor was still empty, but there was an insistent drumming sound, the noise of voices and footsteps. So many passages - They were looking for him in a maze of escape corridors.

  Jennings ran swiftly. He ran on and on, without regard to direction, trying to keep along the main corridor. On all sides passages flocked off, one after another, countless passages. He was dropping down, lower and lower. Running downhill.

  Suddenly he stopped, gasping. The sound behind him had died away for a moment. But there was a new sound, ahead. He went along slowly. The corridor twisted, turning to the right. He advanced slowly, the Boris gun ready.

  Two guards were standing a little way ahead, lounging and talking together. Beyond them was a heavy code door. And behind him the sound of voices was coming again, growing louder. They had found the same passage he had taken. They were on the way.

  Jennings stepped out, the Boris gun raised. ‘Put up your hands. Let go of your guns.’

  The guards gawked at him. Kids, boys with cropped blond hair and shiny uniforms. They moved back, pale and scared.

  ‘The guns. Let them fall.’

  The two rifles clattered down. Jennings smiled. Boys. Probably this was their first encounter with trouble. Their leather boots shone, brightly polished.

  ‘Open the door,’ Jennings said. ‘I want through.’

  They stared at him. Behind, the noise grew.

  ‘Open it.’ He became impatient. ‘Come on.’ He waved the pistol. ‘Open it, damn it! Do you want me to—’

  ‘We - we can’t.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘We can’t. It’s a code door. We don’t have the key. Honest, mister. They don’t let us have the key.’ They were frightened. Jennings felt fear himself now. Behind him the drumming was louder. He was trapped, caught.

  Or was he?

  Suddenly he laughed. He walked quickly up to the door. ‘Faith,’ he murmured, raising his hand. ‘That’s something you should never lose.’

  ‘What - what’s that?’

  ‘Faith in yourself. Self-confidence.’

  The door slid back as he held the code key against it. Blinding sunlight streamed in, making him blink. He held the gun steady. He was outside, at the gate. Three guards gaped in amazement at the gun. He was at the gate - and beyond lay the woods.

  ‘Get out of the way.’ Jennings fired at the metal bars of the gate. The metal burst into flame, melting, a cloud of fire rising.

  ‘Stop him!’ From behind, men came pouring, guards, out of the corridor.

  Jennings leaped through the smoking gate. The metal tore at him, searing him. He ran through the smoke, rolling and falling. He got to his feet and scurried on, into the trees.

  He was outside. He had not let him down. The key had worked, all right. He had tried it first on the wrong door.

  On and on he ran, sobbing for breath, pushing through the trees. Behind him the Plant and the voices fell away. He had the papers. And he was free.

  He found Kelly and gave her the film and everything he had managed to stuff into his pockets. Then he changed back to his regular clothes. Kelly drove him to the edge of Stuartsville and left him off: Jennings watched the cruiser rise up into the air, heading toward New York. Then he went into town and boarded the Intercity rocket.

  On the flight he slept, surrounded by dozing businessmen. When he awoke the rocket was settling down, landing at the huge New York spaceport.

  Jennings got off, mixing with the flow of people. Now that he was back there was the danger of being picked up by the SP again. Two security officers in their green uniforms watched him impassively as he took a taxi at the field station. The taxi swept him into downtown traffic. Jennings wiped his brow. That was close. Now, to find Kelly.

  He ate dinner at a small restaurant, sitting in the back away from the windows. When he emerged the sun was beginning to set. He walked slowly along the sidewalk, deep in thought.

  So far so good. He had got the papers and film, and he had got away. The trinkets had worked every step along the way. Without them he would have been helpless. He felt in his pocket. Two left. The serrated half poker chip, and the parcel receipt. He took the receipt out, examining it in the fading evening light.

  Suddenly he noticed something. The date on it was today’s date. He had caught up with the slip.

  He put it away, going on. What did it mean? What was it for? He shrugged. He would know, in time. And the half poker chip. What the hell was it for? No way to tell. In any case, he was certain to get through. He had got him by, up to now. Surely there wasn’t much left.

  He came to Kelly’s apartment house and stopped, looking up. Her light was on. She was back; her fast little cruiser had beaten the Intercity rocket. He entered the elevator and rose to her floor.

  ‘Hello,’ he said, when she opened the door.

  ‘You’re all right?’

  ‘Sure. Can I come in?’

  He went inside. Kelly closed the door behind him. ‘I’m glad to see you. The city’s swarming with SP men. Almost every block. And the patrols—’

  ‘I know. I saw a couple at the spaceport.’ Jennings sat down on the couch. ‘It’s good to be back, though.’

  ‘I was afraid they might stop all the Intercity flights and check through the passengers.’

  ‘They have no reason to assume I’d be coming into the city.’

  ‘I didn’t think of that.’ Kelly sat down across from him. ‘Now, what comes next? Now that you have got away with the material, what are you going to do?’

  ‘Next I meet Rethrick and spring the news on him. The news that the person who escaped from the Plant was myself. He knows that someone got away, but he doesn’t know who it was. Undoubtedly, he assumes it was an SP man.’

  ‘Couldn’t he use the time mirror to find out?’

  A shadow crossed Jennings’ face. ‘That’s so. I didn’t think of that.’ He rubbed his jaw, frowning. ‘In any case, I have the material. Or, you have the material.’

  Kelly nodded.

  ‘All right. We’ll go ahead with our plans. Tomorrow we’ll see Rethrick. We’ll see him here, in New York. Can you get him down to the Office? Will he come if you send for him?’

  ‘Yes. We have a code. If I ask him to come, he’ll come.’

  ‘Fine. I’ll meet him there. When he realizes that we have the picture and schematics he’ll have to agree to my demands. He’ll have to let me into Rethrick Construction, on my own terms. It’s either that, or face the possibility of having the material turned over to the Security Police.’

  ‘And once you’re in? Once Rethrick agrees to your demands?’

  ‘I saw enough at the Plant to convince me that Rethrick is far bigger than I had realized. How big, I don’t know. No wonder he was so interested!’

  ‘You’re going to demand equal control of the Company?’

  Jennings nodded.

  ‘You would never be satisfied to go back as a mechanic, would you? The way you were before.’

  ‘No. To get booted out again?’ Jennings smiled. ‘Anyhow, I know he intended better things than that. He laid careful plans. The trinkets. He must have planned everything long in advance. No, I’m not going back as a mechanic. I saw a lot there, level after level of machines a
nd men. They’re doing something. And I want to be in on it.’

  Kelly was silent.

  ‘See?’ Jennings said.

  ‘I see.’

  He left the apartment, hurrying along the dark street. He had stayed there too long. If the SP found the two of them together it would be all up with Rethrick Construction. He could take no chances, with the end almost in sight.

  He looked at his watch. It was past midnight. He would meet Rethrick this morning, and present him with the proposition. His spirits rose as he walked. He would be safe. More than safe. Rethrick Construction was aiming at something far larger than mere industrial power. What he had seen had convinced him that a revolution was brewing. Down in the many levels below the ground, down under the fortress of concrete, guarded by guns and armed men, Rethrick was planning a war. Machines were being turned out. The time scoop and the mirror were hard at work, watching, dipping, extracting.

  No wonder he had worked out such careful plans. He had seen all this and understood, begun to ponder. The problem of the mind cleaning. His memory would be gone when he was released. Destruction of all the plans. Destruction? There was the alternate clause in the contract. Others had seen it, used it. But not the way he intended!

  He was after much more than anyone who had come before. He was the first to understand, to plan. The seven trinkets were a bridge to something beyond anything that—

  At the end of the block an SP cruiser pulled up to the curb. Its doors slid open.

  Jennings stopped, his heart constricting. The night patrol, roaming through the city. It was after eleven, after curfew. He looked quickly around. Everything was dark. The stores and houses were shut up tight, locked for the night. Silent apartment houses, buildings. Even the bars were dark.

  He looked back the way he had come. Behind him, a second SP cruiser had stopped. Two SP officers had stepped out onto the curb. They had seen him. They were coming 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 easier.’

  ‘Well, Jennings. So the two of you worked out an elaborate plan to steal our schematics. Why? What’s the purpose? You haven’t turned them over to the Police.’

  ‘No.’

  ‘Then I can assume it’s blackmail.’

  ‘That’s right.’

  ‘What for? What do you want?’ Rethrick seemed to have aged. He slumped, his eyes small and glassy, rubbing his chin nervously. ‘You went to a lot of trouble to get us into this position. I’m curious why. While you were working for us you laid the groundwork. Now you’ve completed it, in spite of our precautions.’

  ‘Precautions?’

  ‘Erasing your mind. Concealing the Plant.’

  ‘Tell him,’ Kelly said. ‘Tell him why you did it.’

  Jennings took a deep breath. ‘Rethrick, I did it to get back in. Back to the Company. That’s the only reason. No other.’

  Rethrick stared at him. ‘To get back into the Company? You can come back in. I told you that.’ His voice was thin and sharp, edged with strain. ‘What’s the matter with you? You can come back in. For as long as you want to stay.’

  ‘As a mechanic.’

  ‘Yes. As a mechanic. We employ many—’

  ‘I don’t want to come back as a mechanic. I’m not interested in working for you. Listen, Rethrick. The SP picked me up as soon as I left this Office. If it hadn’t been for him I’d be dead.’

  ‘They picked you up?’

  ‘They wanted to know what Rethrick Construction does. They wanted me to tell them.’

  Rethrick nodded. ‘That’s bad. We didn’t know that.’

  ‘No, Rethrick. I’m not coming in as an employee you can toss out any time it pleases you. I’m coming in with you, not for you.’

  ‘With me?’ Rethrick stared at him. Slowly a film settled over his face, an ugly hard film. ‘I don’t understand what you mean.’

  ‘You and I are going to run Rethrick Construction together. That’ll be the way, from now on. And no one will be burning my mem
ory out, for their own safety.’

  ‘That’s what you want?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘And if we don’t cut you in?’

  ‘Then the schematics and films go to the SP. It’s as simple as that. But I don’t want to. I don’t want to destroy the Company. I want to get into the Company! I want to be safe. You don’t know what it’s like, being out there, with no place to go. An individual has no place to turn to, anymore. No one to help him. He’s caught between two ruthless forces, a pawn between political and economic powers. And I’m tired of being a pawn.’

  For a long time Rethrick said nothing. He stared down at the floor, his face dull and blank. At last he looked up. ‘I know it’s that way. That’s something I’ve known for a long time. Longer than you have. I’m a lot older than you. I’ve seen it come, grow that way, year after year. That’s why Rethrick Construction exists. Someday, it’ll be all different. Someday, when we have the scoop and the mirror finished. When the weapons are finished.’

  Jennings said nothing.

  ‘I know very well how it is! I’m an old man. I’ve been working a long time. When they told me someone had got out of the Plant with schematics, I thought the end had come. We already knew you had damaged the mirror. We knew there was a connection, but we had parts figured wrong.

  ‘We thought, of course, that Security had planted you with us, to find out what we were doing. Then, when you realized you couldn’t carry out your information, you damaged the mirror. With the mirror damaged, SP could go ahead and—’

  He stopped, rubbing his cheek.

  ‘Go on,’ Jennings said.

  ‘So you did this alone … Blackmail. To get into the Company. You don’t know what the Company is for, Jennings! How dare you try to come in! We’ve been working and building for a long time. You’d wreck us, to save your hide. You’d destroy us, just to save yourself.’

  ‘I’m not wrecking you. I can be a lot of help.’

  ‘I run the Company alone. It’s my Company. I made it, put it together. It’s mine.’