seen his father twist other arms artfully. But this … “It’s extortion!” he bellowed.
His father smiled and nodded and lit a non-carcinogenic cigar. “Yes, it is a bit of extortion, isn’t it?” Then the old man’s expression hardened. “But Anita Halleck is heading the IAA’s astronomy project.”
“You’re not still angry at her,” McClintock said. But he could see that his father plainly was.
“Her and that bastard Randolph. She’s thrown the contract for assembling her telescopes in space to his Astro Manufacturing Corporation.”
“I didn’t know…”
His face hardening brutally, the elder McClintock promised, “I’m going to break that Aussie bitch if it’s the last thing I do. And you’re going to help me do it!”
ANITA HALLECK
Dutifully, Carter McClintock shuffled down the narrow, low-ceilinged corridor to Farside’s reception area, out at the end of the underground facility’s central tunnel. He wore the best of the three suits he had brought with him to the Moon: midnight blue jacket and trousers over an off-white turtleneck shirt. He took special pains to scuff along in the apelike shamble that substituted for normal walking in the one-sixth gravity of the Moon. He had no intention of stumbling and embarrassing himself in front of Anita Halleck.
Maybe the lobber will crash on landing, he thought. Then Father would finally be rid of her.
But it was too much to hope for. As McClintock sat nervously in the tight little reception chamber, he watched the wall-screen display of the incoming spacecraft falling out of the starry sky like a squat, cone-shaped rock. Then its rocket engines flashed, stuttering, and its descent slowed. It landed squarely on the blast-darkened concrete pad out there on the floor of Mare Moscoviense, all in complete, utter silence.
McClintock got to his feet as the access tube trundled like an oversized caterpillar from the airlock of the reception center to the main hatch of the lobber. The lone clerk got up from behind his desk, checked the readout lights on the control panel set into the stone wall beside the heavy metal hatch, then tapped a square green key set into its bottom row. The hatch sighed open and swung slowly inward.
Peering down the access tube, McClintock saw that only one person was approaching: Anita Halleck, tall and slim, with a long sweep of chestnut hair draped dramatically over one shoulder. She was wearing a one-piece coverall of metallic golden fabric that seemed to glow slightly as she made her way up the slightly flexing tube. She’s the only passenger, he realized. She commandeered a lobber flight just for herself.
He made himself smile for her. “Good to see you again, Anita,” he said, stretching a hand in greeting.
She smiled minimally as she stepped through the hatchway and accepted his hand gracefully.
“Hello, Carter,” she said. “How’s your father?”
She is a bitch, McClintock said to himself. Aloud, he replied, “Still pretty sore about you, I’m afraid.”
She shrugged. “The course of true love ne’er did run smooth.”
Or false love, either, he added silently.
“I was rather surprised to learn you were here,” said Anita Halleck. “I didn’t realize you were interested in astronomy.”
“I’m here to help Professor Uhlrich, sort of an aide to him.”
She nodded knowingly. “So your father is going to invest in Uhlrich’s project, then?”
McClintock replied casually, “Perhaps. We’ll see.”
She turned her attention to the clerk, who had slid back behind his desk; he took the data chip Halleck handed him and snapped it into his desktop computer.
Within a few minutes McClintock was leading Anita Halleck down the gloomy corridor toward the cell that would be her quarters during her visit.
“I had expected Professor Uhlrich to greet me,” she said. “Not his underling.”
Ignoring the barb, McClintock replied, “He’ll see you in his office, of course. He thought you’d
His father smiled and nodded and lit a non-carcinogenic cigar. “Yes, it is a bit of extortion, isn’t it?” Then the old man’s expression hardened. “But Anita Halleck is heading the IAA’s astronomy project.”
“You’re not still angry at her,” McClintock said. But he could see that his father plainly was.
“Her and that bastard Randolph. She’s thrown the contract for assembling her telescopes in space to his Astro Manufacturing Corporation.”
“I didn’t know…”
His face hardening brutally, the elder McClintock promised, “I’m going to break that Aussie bitch if it’s the last thing I do. And you’re going to help me do it!”
ANITA HALLECK
Dutifully, Carter McClintock shuffled down the narrow, low-ceilinged corridor to Farside’s reception area, out at the end of the underground facility’s central tunnel. He wore the best of the three suits he had brought with him to the Moon: midnight blue jacket and trousers over an off-white turtleneck shirt. He took special pains to scuff along in the apelike shamble that substituted for normal walking in the one-sixth gravity of the Moon. He had no intention of stumbling and embarrassing himself in front of Anita Halleck.
Maybe the lobber will crash on landing, he thought. Then Father would finally be rid of her.
But it was too much to hope for. As McClintock sat nervously in the tight little reception chamber, he watched the wall-screen display of the incoming spacecraft falling out of the starry sky like a squat, cone-shaped rock. Then its rocket engines flashed, stuttering, and its descent slowed. It landed squarely on the blast-darkened concrete pad out there on the floor of Mare Moscoviense, all in complete, utter silence.
McClintock got to his feet as the access tube trundled like an oversized caterpillar from the airlock of the reception center to the main hatch of the lobber. The lone clerk got up from behind his desk, checked the readout lights on the control panel set into the stone wall beside the heavy metal hatch, then tapped a square green key set into its bottom row. The hatch sighed open and swung slowly inward.
Peering down the access tube, McClintock saw that only one person was approaching: Anita Halleck, tall and slim, with a long sweep of chestnut hair draped dramatically over one shoulder. She was wearing a one-piece coverall of metallic golden fabric that seemed to glow slightly as she made her way up the slightly flexing tube. She’s the only passenger, he realized. She commandeered a lobber flight just for herself.
He made himself smile for her. “Good to see you again, Anita,” he said, stretching a hand in greeting.
She smiled minimally as she stepped through the hatchway and accepted his hand gracefully.
“Hello, Carter,” she said. “How’s your father?”
She is a bitch, McClintock said to himself. Aloud, he replied, “Still pretty sore about you, I’m afraid.”
She shrugged. “The course of true love ne’er did run smooth.”
Or false love, either, he added silently.
“I was rather surprised to learn you were here,” said Anita Halleck. “I didn’t realize you were interested in astronomy.”
“I’m here to help Professor Uhlrich, sort of an aide to him.”
She nodded knowingly. “So your father is going to invest in Uhlrich’s project, then?”
McClintock replied casually, “Perhaps. We’ll see.”
She turned her attention to the clerk, who had slid back behind his desk; he took the data chip Halleck handed him and snapped it into his desktop computer.
Within a few minutes McClintock was leading Anita Halleck down the gloomy corridor toward the cell that would be her quarters during her visit.
“I had expected Professor Uhlrich to greet me,” she said. “Not his underling.”
Ignoring the barb, McClintock replied, “He’ll see you in his office, of course. He thought you’d
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