"Then take it out," Vera commanded. "We are running out of time."
You've got that right, lady, Vance thought. Three men were just killed. That personal Boeing of Tanzan Mino's better be warming up its Pratt & Whitney's right now. London's about to get too hot for you.
One of the kobun withdrew the Zenith. He placed it on the mahogany table, then unlatched the top and lifted it up, only to stare at the blank gray screen, unsure what he was supposed to do next.
Vera knew. She reached for the switch on the side and clicked it on, then stood back and turned to Eva.
"Call up the file. I want to see if you have really broken the encryption, the way you said."
"Truth time," she laughed, then punched up the translation.
Project Daedalus.
And there it was.
Comrade Karanova studied it a moment, as though not quite believing her eyes. But she plainly had seen it before. "Congratulations. We were sure no one would be able to break the encryption, not even you." She glanced around. "You are very clever."
"Okay," Vance interjected, "I'm sure we all have better things to do this morning. So why don't you take the damned thing and get out of here. It's what you wanted. Just go and we'll all try and forget any of this ever happened."