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258 lines
7.2 KiB
Text
258 lines
7.2 KiB
Text
.LP
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.ce
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.ps 16
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.CW
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`86
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.R
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.ps 8
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.CW
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tags: 1986, freeway_ricky_ross, piro, tab1, tab2
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.R
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.PP
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.ps 10
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Piro eased back on the throttle and the ship came to a stop.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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"All right," he said. "We're here."
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.PP
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.ps 10
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Thomas eyed him.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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"Let's get started."
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.PP
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.ps 10
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Thomas' floating head flickered out of view and was replaced by a
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light rapping on the passenger side window. Piro depressed a switch on
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his console and the window slid down.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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"This way, my man," Thomas said, motioning with his thumb.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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"This is our guy on the inside. Handle: Freeway Ricky Ross. Real
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name: Rick."
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.PP
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.ps 10
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"Pleased to make your acquaintance, Rick."
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.PP
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.ps 10
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Ricky nodded.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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"We've been making a lot of progress. We did three hundred million
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last year in uncut bricks. But Ricky's got a line on some sweet
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chemistry and we've been able to step on these new shipments up to ten
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times before sending them out to the street. And it sells just as well
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as the raw."
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.PP
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.ps 10
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Piro made a low whistle, pretending he understood what Thomas was
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talking about.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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"The small\-time dealers love it. Maximal return on a minimal
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investment."
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.PP
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.ps 10
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"I own five houses," said Ricky.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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"It's become an epidemic," complained Thomas, suddenly forlorn. "In
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spite of our best efforts, Crack is still flooding our streets."
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.PP
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.ps 10
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"But\(em"
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.PP
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.ps 10
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Piro's face contorted in spite of himself. He couldn't quite make
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up his mind if Thomas was being sarcastic.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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He started again.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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"But you're the ones selling it!"
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.PP
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.ps 10
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"Not to worry. We fold all of the profits back into our war on
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drugs."
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.PP
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.ps 10
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Piro shook his head.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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"That makes no sense at all."
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.PP
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.ps 10
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"That's exactly why we need your help. There are still some kinks
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in the process that need to be ironed out. Something has got to be
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done about the spread of illegal drugs, and quickly. People are dying
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out there, Piotr."
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.PP
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.ps 10
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Freeway Ricky Ross leaned back against the hood of his IMPALA\f(CW™\fR. He
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hated this part; waiting for Thomas to make his pitch to some new
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investor was more boring than going to church. He pulled out his
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briefcase and mulled over some past due paperwork. This new lawyer...
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No one could read his handwriting. Ricky snapped the briefcase shut
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and smoked a menthol cigarette. He suddenly noticed that someone had
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scuffed his CHUCK TAYLOR\f(CW™\fRs.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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Piro and Thomas had taken a circuitous route around the parking
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lot. Now they were making their way back towards Ricky. They seemed to
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still be discussing the preliminaries even as their voices drifted
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within earshot.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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"Basically, I bought the Chrysler Building."
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.PP
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.ps 10
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"..."
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.PP
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.ps 10
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"Don't look at me like that. We needed the room."
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.PP
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.ps 10
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"You founded a super\-hero team\(emfunded by drug money\(emto fight
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drug dealers."
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.PP
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.ps 10
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"Among other things, yes."
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.PP
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.ps 10
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Piro could feel his eyes popping out of his head. Thomas was almost
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thirty years old. This kind of self\-destructive behavior was
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inexcusable. But it was true, he
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.I
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had
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.R
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managed to amass some impressive
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resources. Piro stared off into the Los Angeles smog, weighing the
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situation.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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"Almost nothing about this appeals to me. All right, I'll make an
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exception for a few of your acquisitions. Did you know that the
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Chrysler Building is still standing in 4086? Owned by the Crown."
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.PP
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.ps 10
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"Huh. You don't say."
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.PP
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.ps 10
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"Actually, I operated out of the 61st floor for several years,
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myself, training new recruits."
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.PP
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.ps 10
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"Yeah, I remember that training. Dad really had a hard\-on for your
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teaching methods. He always used to tell the rookies, 'If you survive
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one of Piro's seminars, you're hired.' Seemed to think that was
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hilarious for some reason. Of course, years later I told him about
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your Blythe collection."
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.PP
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.ps 10
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Piro laughed. "Who do you think got me started on the doll
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collecting, idiot."
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.PP
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.ps 10
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Thomas smiled at him warmly.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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Things were falling into place, just as he'd hoped.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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"Well Thomas, I'm a little perturbed that you've brought me back in
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time under false pretenses. Crack cocaine is hardly set to swallow the
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known universe. But now that I'm here... Well, what the hell. I can
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see that you've got yourself a heaping full plate. You're going to
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need all the help you can get dealing with this problem you've
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unleashed on the inner city. It probably wasn't such a bad idea for
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you to get me involved."
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.PP
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.ps 10
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"I'm sure dad would agree."
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.PP
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.ps 10
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"Please, tell me he doesn't know anything about your drug dealing,"
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admonished Piro.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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"Relax," said Ricky, flicking his cigarette over the hood of the
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IMPALA\f(CW™\fR. "He's in Japan."
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.PP
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.ps 10
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"The man has full\-clearance access to the mesh, Rick." Piro made a
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face at him, emphasizing the obvious conclusion. "If he hasn't already
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involved himself in this scheme it probably just means you haven't
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been paying close enough attention to the books."
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.PP
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.ps 10
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"I resent that," said Ricky. "We've spent a lot of money on
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accountants."
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.PP
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.ps 10
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New York.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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The Chrysler Building.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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It felt strange to once again be standing on the 61st floor
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observation deck. Piro tilted his head so that his bangs partially
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shielded him from the setting sun. He pondered the circumstances which
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had led up to this present eventuality.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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Thomas had fallen asleep in his apartment downstairs. Freeway Ricky
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had stayed behind in L.A., in order to keep an eye on the business.
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Someone had to do it, he had said. Consequently, Piro had been able to
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claim most of the 61st floor for himself. Just like old times. In
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point of fact, some of his old gear from the 1960s was still locked up
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in the building's armory.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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As Piro's gaze drifted across the city below, he wondered if Thomas
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was aware that he had burned up the remainder of his fuel in the
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process of getting them back to 1986. As a result, the RAGNAROK
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was parked indefinitely within the present temporal frame. Its percept
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drive had run clean out of new perspectives. Face it, there was
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nothing new to be learned from the past.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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No matter. It was true there was a lot of work to be done, here, in
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1986. It could hardly matter if Thomas had deliberately deceived him.
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Petty manipulations were not at the forefront of his mind. In any
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case, it would make little sense for Piro to complain about being lied
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to at this late stage in the game.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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So, his plans would change.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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He willed himself to narrow his focus, concentrating, with some
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effort, solely on the mission at hand. Stopping the crack cocaine
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epidemic before it destroyed the country, if not the entire world.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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Piro checked the logins on his weapons and unlatched his backpack.
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He withdrew the necessary equipment and prepared to launch himself
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over the wall of the observation deck. Before he new it, he was once
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again repelling down the side of the Chrysler Building. This familiar
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action pleased him, and he accelerated with deliberate speed.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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The fading sun reflected at right angles against the skyscraper's
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face as Piro descended its smooth, featureless surface, pacing himself
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to the rhythm of the city.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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Down, down, down.
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