"Jim Stark - LieDeck Revolution 02 - Endgame" - читать интересную книгу автора (Stark Jim)

took her seat. He had said тАЬRandy,тАЭ flatly, and not a syllable more. It was short for Randall, the name of
his illustrious grandfather, the founder of Whiteside Technologies. She knew that, of course, but Randy
had declined the opening to say so, or to even mention his surname. After takeoff, she had asked about
his life. тАЬStudent,тАЭ was all he said. He didn't ask why she was on the plane, or where she was going, or
what she did for a living. Instead, he had turned back towards the window and stared out at the endless
sea of brilliant cloud tops. During the last four hours, whenever the social circumstances had permitted,
she had tried various tricks to break throughтАФsome questions about his schooling, a bit of humor, even
some mild flirtation. Nothing. Rien. Nada. Bupkas.

He's got to know I'm WDA, she thought as she studied the perfect tan on the back of his smooth neck.
She had reviewed his Netfile briefly, at 5:03 a.m., right after the second call from Control. The boy was
friendly, by all accounts, and as horny as any guy his age. But I get the cold shoulder, the brush-off.

It bothered her that he hadn't twigged to her efforts at triggering his machismo. The fact that she was six
feet tall and thirty years old shouldn't have been a reason for him to pass on what kids these days usually
called тАЬa tingle.тАЭ On some level, his silent rebuffs made her feel insecure about her sexuality. It's just a
God damned job, she reprimanded herself.

A Customs officer was making his way down the aisle, pre-clearing the first class passengers. He chatted
briefly with each traveler, and made a busy display of confirming bits of information on his hand-held
SnifferтАФhis SuperNet Interfacer, to use the proper term. He was WDA, of courseтАФall Customs officers
were WDAтАФso when he arrived beside Lilly, she just flashed her badge. The officer smiled, and moved
his attention across to Randy.

"Purpose of your visit, Mr.тАФuhтАФWhiteside?тАЭ he asked, checking a list on the small black-and-white
screen of his Sniffer.

Randy slowly turned his headтАФtoo slowly, as if to emphasize that his compliance was grudging, at best.
тАЬI can't putt,тАЭ he said, directly into the man's eyes.

"Would you mind explaining that,тАЭ said the officer, in a distinctly less friendly tone.

Randy sighed. тАЬI'm on a golf scholarship at the University of Miami, as I'm sure you already know, and
I'm the best they ever had, except I can't putt worth shit. I'm taking a couple of weeks off with my family
to decide if I've got what it takes ... to be a pro."

"Any other reason?"

"No."

There was a shiny, electronic тАЬbeep,тАЭ and the Customs officer's whole body flicked with surprise. His
LieDeck was dialed onto the pin-signaling mode, not the beeper mode, so that his LieDeck-verification
results would be discreet. He threw a quick, condemning glance at LillyтАФthe only other person nearby
with a LieDeck-equipped SnifferтАФand he went on with his duties.

"Repeat! Any other reason?тАЭ he asked the boy.

"My little sister wants to join Evolution,тАЭ explained Randy, with audible resentment, тАЬand my parents can't
seem to talk her out of it, so I'm going to give it a shot. I suppose it's really important for the WDA to
know that, eh?"