An actual seagull was dozing beside a twisted, seemingly sea-worn chunk of wood. He made an annoyed sound, unfurled and then refolded his wings, as Jake passed him on foot on his way to one of the entry kiosks to the underground Tube City.
Kiosk 7 was manned by a pair of gunmetal guardbots. “Welcome to Tube City, sir,” greeted the one with A25 stenciled in white across his wide chest. “You are?”
“Jake Cardigan,” he answered. “I have an appointment with Mervyn Illsworth, who lives down on Level 5.”
The second bot—F14 was his name—opened a panel in his metal chest. “While my colleague is taking you through the identification routine, sir,” he said, “let me show you some of the popular Tube City souvenirs that are available at extremely reasonable prices.”
“Actually, I’m trying,” Jake informed him, “to free my life of any and all clutter.”
F14 had a fairly large shelved compartment built into his upper torso. “Here you see,” he announced, pointing into himself, “our very popular Tube City nearcaf mug, the equally popular Tube City cap, the Tube City plazshirt and—”
“If you’ll hand me your ID packet, sir,” requested A25.
Jake obliged.
“You’ll notice,” went on F14, “that all our sought-after Tube City souvenirs have an appealing likeness of the famous Tube City mascot, Lowell the Mole, emblazoned on them.”
“Cute little rascal,” remarked Jake as he took back his identification materials. “Can I descend now?”
Nodding, A25 gestured at the grey floor. “Take the ramp to Entry Tube 7, sir,” he instructed. “Then follow the litearrows down to Level 5. You’ll find Mr. Illsworth residing in Section 5-N.”
A portion of the floor came sliding open and Jake saw a brightly illuminated ramp slanting downward. “Thanks.”
“We’re having a two-for-one sale on the mugs,” called F14 as Jake started down.
Mervyn Illsworth was very fat. Seeing him magnified to twice his actual size up on the high, wide vidwall made his bulk all the more impressive. “I appreciate, truly, your going along with this little quirk of mine, Cardigan,” he was saying in his chirpy voice.
Jake was straddling a chair in the foyer of the researcher’s underground apartment, after having made his way down through a succession of snaking tubes and tunnels. “I’m more interested in getting information than in seeing you face-to-face,” he informed the fat man’s image.
“I’m not exactly, you must understand, really a complete and total recluse,” explained Illsworth. “Yet, I readily admit, I feel much more at ease if I remain here, snug in my studio, and visitors stay out there and we communicate electronically.” The fat man was sprawled in a large, sturdy metal chair surrounded by keyboards and monitor screens.
“Okay, fine,” said Jake, impatient. “Now what about Jill Bernardino?”
“I was, really, extremely upset when you phoned to inform me that Jill may’ve been kidnapped tonight, Cardigan,” Illsworth said in his small, high-pitched voice. “Particularly if it might have something to do with information that I supplied her.”
Jake asked, “Would she come here to your place?”
“Yes, frequently. I consider her, truly, a dear friend as well as a valued client,” answered the fat man. “Jill, of course, always remained out there where you are.”
“When did you talk to her last?”
“She dropped down here just yesterday afternoon to discuss some of the new material I’d unearthed relating to Sonny Hokori and his Tek activities. By the way, I’d very much like to interview you someday soon, Cardigan, about how the late Sonny attempted to destroy you and frame—”
“Let’s get back to Jill,” cut in Jake as he stood up and moved close to the giant image on the wall. “Did she mention being worried or talk about something she’d discovered in the course of her digging into the history of the Hokori Tek operations?”
Illsworth shook his massive head. “No, there was nothing like that, Cardigan,” he answered. “She did seem a bit depressed, but …”
“Well, what?”
“Oh, it occurs to me that Jill did make a rather odd remark yesterday,” said the fat man. “She and I were, as I’ve explained, dear buddies and sometimes we’d just talk about our personal lives and problems.”
“She was seeing somebody?”
The researcher’s immense body quivered when he sighed. “You know, then, about her unfortunate habit?”
“She tends to sleep around, yeah.”
“Can’t help it really.” Illsworth sighed once more. “At any rate—Jill made this remark. She said something along the lines of, ‘Maybe I didn’t need you after all, Merv dear. I’ve just now found out I’ve been involved with somebody who knows more about this whole damn business than you do.’”
“Who would that be?”
“I really haven’t even a vague idea.”
“Didn’t she confide the names of her boyfriends?”
“Not actually, no. She’d simply say, ‘I saw the professor again last night,’ or, ‘I think it’s time to drop the artist.’”
“Are those actual designations—there really was a professor and an artist?”
Illsworth gave a jiggling affirmative nod. “Yes, but I believe she did jettison the artist, whoever the devil he is, over three weeks ago,” he piped. “The professor, she was still seeing on the sly.”
“You don’t know which of these guys has a possible Tek link?”
“No, I don’t,” he said apologetically. “With most of the research I do, while it’s not always orthodox and strictly kosher, I try not to do anything that’ll annoy active crooks and criminals. However, if Jill continues missing—well, I intend to do some very intrusive digging.”
“You come up with anything, contact me at the Cosmos Detective Agency,” requested Jake.
“I will,” promised the fat man. “You don’t, do you, suspect that the poor dear might already be dead?”
“That’s just one,” answered Jake, “of several unpleasant possibilities.”
Buy Tek Net Now!
A Biography of William Shatner
William Shatner (b. 1931) is a celebrated Canadian actor, author, and film director known for his irreverent charm and his star turn as Captain Kirk on the first Star Trek television series, as well as many other roles.
Shatner was born and raised in Montreal, Quebec. He majored in economics at McGill University and upon graduating took a job as the business manager at Montreal’s Mountain Playhouse, where he also pursued classical Shakespearean training. In 1954, Shatner began performing at Canada’s Stratford Shakespeare Festival, appearing in Henry V, Oedipus Rex, and Christopher Marlowe’s Tamburlaine the Great—the play in which he would make his Broadway debut in 1956, as the understudy for Christopher Plummer.
After his first film appearance, in MGM’s The Brothers Karamazov (1958), and roles in the television series Alfred Hitchcock Presents and The Twilight Zone, Shatner was cast in NBC’s Star Trek, playing the courageous, unpredictable Captain James T. Kirk. Though cancelled in 1969 after three seasons, Star Trek became a cult hit in syndication, leading to an animated series and a number of spin-off television series and movies. Shatner starred in seven Star Trek films beginning with Star Trek: The Motion Picture in 1979.
Shatner went on to star as a veteran police sergeant in T. J. Hooker (1982–86) and as aging trial lawyer Denny Crane in Boston Legal (2004–08). He has also remained in the public eye with frequent television guest appearances.
Shatner has published a number of novels, most notably TekWar (1989), a science-fiction thriller that inspired eight sequels as well as video games and a television series. His autobiography, Up Till Now, was published in 2008. He has also released three musical albums, including the infamous The Transformed Man (1968), which introduced Shatner’s unique spoken-word style, and the critically lauded Seeking Major Tom (2011).
In 2012, Shatner returned to Broadway after a fifty-year absence, in Shatner’s Wo
rld: We Just Live in It, a one-man show based on his life and work. After a three-week run in New York City, he took the show on the road, touring around the country. When he isn’t working, Shatner and his wife, Elizabeth, divide their time between Southern California and Kentucky.
After graduating from McGill University in 1952, William Shatner began participating in the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Ontario, Canada. This headshot dates from his early days with the festival. (Photo Courtesy of William Shatner.)
Star Trek, the iconic science-fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry, follows the adventures of the starship USS Enterprise and its crew, led by Captain James T. Kirk, played by Shatner. The series first aired between 1966 and 1969. Shatner’s voice-over before each episode explained the starship’s mission: “to boldly go where no man has gone before.” This photo shows the crew from the original Star Trek. (Photo courtesy of Photofest, Inc.)
Shatner’s debut musical album, The Transformed Man, was released in 1968 while he was still starring in Star Trek. The concept album combined famous pieces of poetry with pop lyrics; for instance, Shatner read Bob Dylan’s lyrics alongside Shakespeare’s verses. (Photo courtesy of Universal Music Enterprises.)
To help the Gorilla Foundation raise awareness for their endangered species campaign, Shatner met Koko, the gorilla who became the foundation’s ambassador, in 1988. Koko can understand more than 1,000 signs based on American Sign Language and more than 2,000 English words. Shatner was awed by the strength of this imposing and powerful animal and considered meeting her a truly amazing experience. (Photo courtesy of William Shatner.)
Shatner recorded his second musical album, Has Been, in 2004. Produced and arranged by Ben Folds, the album featured Shatner’s prose-poems as well as guest appearances from Aimee Mann, Nick Hornby, Lemon Jelly, and Joe Jackson. In 2007, choreographer Margo Sappington used the album for a ballet called Common People. Shatner filmed documentary footage of their collaboration and released a film called William Shatner’s Gonzo Ballet in 2009. (Photo courtesy of Shout! Factory, LLC.)
In 2004, Shatner joined the final season of the legal drama The Practice and won an Emmy for his role as law firm partner Denny Crane. In a 2004 spin-off, Boston Legal, Shatner continued to play Crane, winning a Golden Globe and another Emmy in 2005. He was nominated for several more Emmys before the show ended in 2008. This photo shows the crew of Boston Legal. (Photo courtesy of Photofest, Inc.)
Shatner and his wife, Elizabeth, with their horses. Shatner spends much of his spare time breeding and showing American saddlebreds and quarter horses. (Photo courtesy of Andrew McPherson.)
Shatner with his champion American saddlebred stallion, Sultan’s Great Day. (Photo courtesy of William Shatner.)
All rights reserved, including without limitation the right to reproduce this ebook or any portion thereof in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 1996 by William Shatner
Cover design by Jason Gabbert
ISBN: 978-1-4804-6495-7
This edition published in 2014 by Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.
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Tek Kill Page 21
