When Moses finished, Manz edged him aside to scan the monitor in search of the sort of subtle keys or telltales that a mechanical might overlook. There was one internal company memorandum involving a shipment of vintage Swan Valley champagne that the JeP tax authorities would have found very interesting. Manz made a mental note of it for possible future use.
While he read, Moses worked the room in imitation of his employer. Different perceptions sometimes produced different results.
“Anything?” the mechanical inquired with one part of its mind.
“Not much. Certainly not what we’re looking for.”
“I may have unearthed another line of inquiry.”
Manz looked up from the screen. “Such as?”
“Beneath the chair on which you are sitting is a section of flooring discongruous with the rest. I detect a hollow space of modest proportions surrounded by impenetrable composite materials.”
Making sure to reestablish the security pattern designed to forestall unauthorized inspection, Manz flicked off the screen and pushed back the chair. Together he and Moses carefully bypassed the security threads woven into the section of carpet. When pulled aside it revealed a hingeless door set flush into the floor. It took Manz only a minute to see that the lockseal on the hidden compartment was a custom job, far more intricate than the lock on the outside fire barrier or the office door.
Sitting himself down alongside the opening, he laid out the necessary tools, working by the amplified light provided by the special goggles. Moses kept a careful watch.
Twenty minutes later he’d achieved nothing except cramped fingers and a heightened sense of frustration. Despite the fact that he combined the touch of a surgeon with the skills of an experienced jacker, the seal’s innards turned out to be melded to the point of impregnability.
He pondered his next move. They could forget the compartment and leave quietly. Or he could try something else. The question was: what? How much sensitivity could he trade for effectiveness? At what point should he overstep the bounds of caution and take the chance of setting off a silent warning of unknown proportions?
It was too early for breakfast and too late to go to sleep. Vyra would be sleeping hard enough for the both of them.
“Sense anything outside?”
“Nothing out of the ordinary. Whoever is responsible for the security of this structure seems to have the usual misplaced confidence in expensive electronics.”
Not all mechanicals would be so disingenuous, Manz knew. Turning to the Minder, he indicated the door to the compartment. “What’s your opinion of this?”
The sphere descended to examine the barrier. “Commercial floor safe. Very advanced, very expensive to install. Nearly seamless, with the lockseal woven into the structure of the opening itself. Without additional input I cannot identify the source of manufacture.”
“That doesn’t matter right now. Our conclusions are the same, and I can’t figure the bastard out. Any clever suggestions lurking in those data files of yours?”
“None that present themselves immediately to mind.”
Manz turned to his other mechanical. “How about you, Moses? Any ideas?”
“First, a query. There is nothing else in this room you wish to examine?”
“We’ve run a pretty thorough check. Anything else worthwhile’s likely to be in here.”
“Do I have permission and leeway to proceed?”
Manz rose and stepped aside. “I’m sure as hell not having any luck. If you think you can do better with a different approach, have a go at it.”
Rolling over, the humaniform studied the recalcitrant safe. Two tentacle-tips descended to slip delicately into the only visible depressions in the otherwise smooth surface: a pair of finger holes. These would be utilized by an authorized user to key the seal and release the door.
“Why not put your ear to it?” Manz murmured sarcastically.
Moses replied without rancor. “I’ve tried that before. It does not work with steady-state or fluid-switched devices. Ah. I believe I have secured a purchase.”
Manz blinked. “What do you mean, ‘secured a purchase’?”
“You gave me leeway, remember?” The two tentacles contracted.
The door came up in the mechanical’s grasp. So did the entire compartment, along with loose bolts, flashing optical fibers, and several chunks of floor.
“Unconventional approach.” An anxious Manz knelt to examine the contents of the eviscerated container. He knew he didn’t have time to bawl out the mechanical. That could come later. “Never mind resuming watch. That human company you alluded to earlier is probably on its way here now. I don’t have enough time to scan any of this properly, so you’d better make copies. Don’t dilly-dally.”
Bent over the container, Moses was already hard at work at the task. “This will not take long. I might add that quick scan reveals nothing of relevance to our assignment.”
“Great. I was kind of hoping Borgia was our target. It’d save time, besides which I didn’t much care for the company’s chief executive.” Leaving the humaniform to its work, he moved silently toward the doorway. “We might still be on the right track. If we’re not, at least this break-in will give Monticelli something to worry about. That’s an image that gives me a nice, warm feeling inside. Aren’t you done yet?”
“Just finishing.” The mechanical straightened.
“Then let’s get out of here.” Leading the way back toward the corridor, he paused at the office door. “I guess maybe Borgia’s just good at what they do. Maybe another approach …” He popped the door.
Just in time to intercept a loaded right cross from a large individual clad in the uniform of a private security service. It sent him reeling backwards, fighting to hold on to consciousness as he instinctively rolled with the punch. The Minder bobbed wildly as it sought to maintain contact with the repulsion bar embedded in its owner’s jacket. Dimly Manz glimpsed other shapes milling about behind his assailant.
Moses caught him before he fell.
“Your fear appears confirmed,” the mechanical declared.
“Tactful as always,” replied Manz as he charged, taking his startled attacker low in the gut and driving him backwards into the man crowding close behind him.
The building’s security guards were not particularly adept at their work or well trained, but there were a lot of them. They swarmed the intruder. Puzzled expressions appeared on one face after another as their crowd-control stunners failed to put him down. Sooner or later one of their number would have figured out that their target might be wearing the kind of special, very expensive antistun-tube attire that would harmlessly dissipate the effects of their weapons, but Manz wasn’t worried about eventualities, only the conundrum of the moment.
Since he was in tight among them before they could react properly, they couldn’t use their synthesized pepper gas or other organics without equally immobilizing themselves. That they might try it anyway was a chance Manz was willing to take, since Moses would be quite immune to any such incapacitating devices and could carry him to clean air and freedom while his erstwhile captors rolled about on the floor choking and gasping on their own chemicals.
