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DOC :ch22.txt

the service cart was crying the betaphenethylamine gave
it a voice it wouldnt stop not in the crowded gallery the
long corridors not as it passed the black glass entrance to the
ta crypt the vaults where the cold had seeped so gradually
into old ashpools dreams
 the transit was an extended rush for case the movement
of the cart indistinguishable from the insane momentum of the
overdose when the cart died at last something beneath the
seat giving up with a shower of white sparks the crying stopped
 the thing coasted to a stop three meters from the start of
3janes pirate cave
 how far mon maelcum helped him from the sputtering
cart as an integral extinguisher exploded in the things engine
compartment gouts of yellow powder squirting from louvers
and service points the braun tumbled from the back of the
seat and hobbled off across the imitation sand dragging one
useless limb behind it you mus walk mon maelcum took
the deck and construct slinging the shock cords over his shoul
der
 the trodes rattled around cases neck as he followed the
zionite rivieras holos waited for them the torture scenes and
the cannibal children molly had broken the triptych maelcum
ignored them
 easy case said forcing himself to catch up with the
striding figure gotta do this right
 maelcum halted turned glowering at him the remington
in his hands right mon hows right
 got molly in there but shes out of it riviera he can
throw holos maybe hes got mollys fletcher maelcum nod
ded and theres a ninja a family bodyguard
 maelcums frown deepened you listen babylon mon
he said i a warrior but this no m fight no zion fight
babylon fightin babylon eatin iself ya know but jah seh
i an i t bring steppin razor outa this
 case blinked
 she a warrior maelcum said as if it explained everything 
now you tell me mon who i not t kill
 3jane he said after a pause a girl there has a kinda
white robe thing on with a hood we need her

when they reached the entrance maelcum walked straight
in and case had no choice but to follow him
 3janes country was deserted the pool empty maelcum
handed him the deck and the construct and walked to the edge
of the pool beyond the white pool furniture there was dark
ness shadows of the ragged waisthigh maze of partially
demolished walls
 the water lapped patiently against the side of the pool
 theyre here case said they gotta be
 maelcum nodded
 the first arrow pierced his upper arm the remington roared
its meter of muzzleflash blue in the light from the pool the
second arrow struck the shotgun itself sending it spinning
across the white tiles maelcum sat down hard and fumbled at
the black thing that protruded from his arm he yanked at it
 hideo stepped out of the shadows a third arrow ready in a
slender bamboo bow he bowed
 maelcum stared his hand still on the steel shaft
 the artery is intact the ninja said case remembered
mollys description of the man whod killed her lover hideo
was another ageless he radiated a sense of quiet an utter
calm he wore clean frayed khaki workpants and soft dark
shoes that fit his feet like gloves split at the toes like tabi
socks the bamboo bow was a museum piece but the black
alloy quiver that protruded above his left shoulder had the look
of the best chiba weapons shops his brown chest was bare
and smooth
 you cut my thumb mon wi secon one maelcum said
 coriolis force the ninja said bowing again most dif
ficult slowmoving projectile in rotational gravity it was not
intended
 wheres 3jane case crossed to stand beside maelcum 
he saw that the tip of the arrow in the ninjas bow was like a
doubleedged razor wheres molly
 hello case riviera came strolling out of the dark behind
hideo mollys fletcher in his hand i would have expected
armitage somehow are we hiring help out of that rasta
cluster now
 armitage is dead
 armitage never existed more to the point but the news
hardly comes as a shock
 wintermute killed him hes in orbit around the spindle
 riviera nodded his long gray eyes glancing from case to
maelcum and back i think it ends here for you he said
 wheres molly
 the ninja relaxed his pull on the fine braided string low
ering the bow he crossed the tiles to where the remington
lay and picked it up this is without subtlety he said as if
to himself his voice was cool and pleasant his every move
was part of a dance a dance that never ended even when his
body was still at rest but for all the power it suggested there
was also a humility an open simplicity
 it ends here for her too riviera said
 maybe 3jane wont go for that peter case said uncertain
of the impulse the derms still raged in his system the old
fever starting to grip him night city craziness he remembered
moments of grace dealing out on the edge of things where
hed found that he could sometimes talk faster than he could
think
 the gray eyes narrowed why case why do you think
that
 case smiled riviera didnt know about the simstim rig 
hed missed it in his hurry to find the drugs she carried for
him but how could hideo have missed it and case was
certain the ninja would never have let 3jane treat molly without
first checking her for kinks and concealed weapons no he
decided the ninja knew so 3jane would know as well
 tell me case riviera said raising the pepperbox muzzle
of the fletcher
 something creaked behind him creaked again 3jane pushed
molly out of the shadows in an ornate victorian bathchair its
tall spidery wheels squeaking as they turned molly was bun
dled deep in a red and black striped blanket the narrow caned
back of the antique chair towering above her she looked very
small broken a patch of brilliantly white micropore covered
her damaged lens the other flashed emptily as her head bobbed
with the motion of the chair
 a familiar face 3jane said i saw you the night of peters
show and who is this
 maelcum case said
 hideo remove the arrow and bandage mr malcolms
wound
 case was staring at molly at the wan face
 the ninja walked to where maelcum sat pausing to lay his
bow and the shotgun well out of reach and took something
from his pocket a pair of bolt cutters i must cut the shaft
he said it is too near the artery maelcum nodded his face
was grayish and sheened with sweat
 case looked at 3jane there isnt much time he said
 for whom exactly
 for any of us there was a snap as hideo cut through the
metal shaft of the arrow maelcum groaned
 really riviera said it wont amuse you to hear this
failed con artist make a last desperate pitch most distasteful
i can assure you hell wind up on his knees offer to sell you
his mother perform the most boring sexual favors
 3jane threw back her head and laughed wouldnt i pe
ter
 the ghosts are gonna mix it tonight lady case said 
wintermutes going up against the other one neuromancer 
for keeps you know that
 3jane raised her eyebrows peters suggested something
like that but tell me more
 i met neuromancer he talked about your mother i think
hes something like a giant rom construct for recording per
sonality only its full ram the constructs think theyre there
like its real but it just goes on forever
 3jane stepped from behind the bathchair where describe
the place this construct
 a beach gray sand like silver that needs polishing and
a concrete thing kinda bunker he hesitated its nothing
fancy just old falling apart if you walk far enough you come
back to where you started
 yes she said morocco when mariefrance was a girl
years before she married ashpool she spent a summer alone
on that beach camping in an abandoned blockhouse she for
mulated the basis of her philosophy there
 hideo straightened slipping the cutters into his workpants 
he held a section of the arrow in either hand maelcum had
his eyes closed his hand clapped tight around his bicep i
will bandage it hideo said
 case managed to fall before riviera could level the fletcher
for a clear shot the darts whined past his neck like supersonic
gnats he rolled seeing hideo pivot through yet another step
of his dance the razored point of the arrow reversed in his
hand shaft flat along palm and rigid fingers he flicked it
underhand wrist blurring into the back of rivieras hand the
fletcher struck the tiles a meter away
 riviera screamed but not in pain it was a shriek of rage
so pure so refined that it lacked all humanity
 twin tight beams of light ruby red needles stabbed from
the region of rivieras sternum
 the ninja grunted reeled back hands to his eyes then found
his balance
 peter 3jane said peter what have you done
 hes blinded your clone boy molly said flatly
 hideo lowered his cupped hands frozen on the white tile
case saw whisps of steam drift from the ruined eyes
 riviera smiled
 hideo swung into his dance retracing his steps when he
stood above the bow the arrow and the remington rivieras
smile had faded he bent bowing it seemed to case and
found the bow and arrow
 youre blind riviera said taking a step backward
 peter 3jane said dont you know he does it in the dark 
zen its the way he practices
 the ninja notched his arrow will you distract me with your
holograms now
 riviera was backing away into the dark beyond the pool 
he brushed against a white chair its feet rattled on the tile 
hideos arrow twitched
 riviera broke and ran throwing himself over a low jagged
length of wall the ninjas face was rapt suffused with a quiet
ecstasy
 smiling he padded off into the shadows beyond the wall
his weapon held ready
 janelady maelcum whispered and case turned to see
him scoop the shotgun from the tiles blood spattering the white
ceramic he shook his locks and lay the fat barrel in the crook
of his wounded arm this take your head off no babylon
doctor fix it
 3jane stared at the remington molly freed her arms from
the folds of the striped blanket raising the black sphere that
encased her hands off she said get it off
 case rose from the tiles shook himself hideoll get him
even blind he asked 3jane
 when i was a child she said we loved to blindfold him 
he put arrows through the pips in playing cards at ten meters
 peters good as dead anyway molly said in another
twelve hours hell start to freeze up wont be able to move
his eyes is all
 why case turned to her
 i poisoned his shit for him she said conditions like
parkinsons disease sort of
 3jane nodded yes we ran the usual medical scan before
he was admitted she touched the ball in a certain way and
it sprang away from mollys hands selective destruction of
the cells of the substantia nigra signs of the formation of a
lewy body he sweats a great deal in his sleep
 ali molly said ten blades glittering exposed for an
instant she tugged the blanket away from her legs revealing
the inflated cast its the meperidine i had ali make me up
a custom batch speeded up the reaction times with higher
temperatures nmethyl4phenyl1236 she sang like a child
reciting the steps of a sidewalk game tetrahydropyridene
 a hotshot case said
 yeah molly said a real slow hotshot
 thats appalling 3jane said and giggled

it was crowded in the elevator case was jammed pelvis to
pelvis with 3jane the muzzle of the remington under her chin 
she grinned and ground against him you stop he said
feeling helpless he had the guns safety on but he was terrified
of injuring her and she knew it the elevator was a steel
cylinder under a meter in diameter intended for a single pas
senger maelcum had molly in his arms shed bandaged his
wound but it obviously hurt him to carry her her hip was
pressing the deck and construct into cases kidneys
 they rose out of gravity toward the axis the cores
 the entrance to the elevator had been concealed beside the
stairs to the corridor another touch in 3janes pirate cave decor
 i dont suppose i should tell you this 3jane said craning
her head to allow her chin to clear the muzzle of the gun but
i dont have a key to the room you want i never have had
one one of my fathers victorian awkwardnesses the lock
is mechanical and extremely complex
 chubb lock molly said her voice muffled by maelcums
shoulder and we got the fucking key no fear
 that chip of yours still working case asked her
 its eight twentyfive pm greenwich fucking mean she
said
 we got five minutes case said as the door snapped open
behind 3jane she flipped backward in a slow somersault the
pale folds of her djellaba billowing around her thighs
 they were at the axis the core of villa straylight

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Top topics in this doc (% words in doc assigned to this topic)

	(11%)	arrow ninja bow shaft ornate tiles blanket ali ruby entrance ...
	(10%)	case molly thing back left im head asked didnt began ...
	(8%)	jane hideo riviera ball shock pain mineral muzzle intended straight ...
	(8%)	peter maelcum pool remington cart wheres shotgun adaptor robe brushed ...
	(7%)	eyes man hed black face dark past good open back ...
	(6%)	hand youre looked hands back time wall place small whats ...

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