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Chapter 22

 
"The triumph of Evil is as inevitable as the changing of the seasons."
—Conrad Bland

 

Jericho pulled off the road halfway between Binah and Tifereth. Then, because he suspected that he would have to do some shooting at greater than point-blank range on the way to Bland's headquarters, he picked up half a dozen small rocks, lined them up at six-inch intervals on a low-hanging tree limb, stepped back about fifty feet, took aim, and tested the accuracy of his projectile pistol.

The first bullet lodged itself in the branch a good four inches below and to the left of where he was aiming, and he made a minute adjustment to the pistol's sights. He then fired three shots in quick succession, shattering the three rocks he was aiming at into dust.

The stolen car contained a laser pistol, and he now returned to the vehicle, pulled it out, and went through the same procedure until he was satisfied that it was as accurate as he could make it.

He didn't bother with his knife. It was not only his favorite weapon, but also his weapon of last resort, and he would never think of throwing it at a potential victim and thereby losing possession of it.

Then, because he had no intention of reaching Tifereth before dark, be hoisted the car up on a jack and pretended to be working on a tire just in case any passing vehicles spotted him and wondered what he was doing on the roadside.

As it happened, no traffic came by from either direction, and in the fading moments of sunset he put the jack away, got back into the car, and headed north to Tifereth. He passed the remains of three tiny hamlets, which were now nothing more than blackened ruins, and within half an hour he had reached Bland's first line of defense around the city. He presented his pass, waited calmly while it was checked through a portable computer, and received permission to proceed.

He was stopped twice more, questioned perfunctorily both times, and again allowed to continue.

A final check was made at the city line, and it was far more thorough than the others. His face—on which he had used the last of his makeup—was compared to his credentials, his pass was sent through a computer again, his car was searched for hidden passengers, and his projectile pistol was checked out against its registration number. The laser weapon was confiscated when he was unable to prove ownership of it.

He was detained for almost an hour at this final outer checkpoint, but eventually he was allowed to pass, and Jericho, with just the smallest trickle of sweat starting to roll down his face in the humid night air, drove slowly and inexorably into Tifereth.

 

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Framed