Looking back at the ocean once again and making sure that its surface was still quiet, Barkov entered the door.
The spacious hall of the condominium was stylized like the seabed. The floor was carpeted with a thick pile rug that resembled algae with decorative crabs, starfish and shellfish scattered on it in an artistic order. Tables in the form of closed shells surrounded with chairs resembling open shells were situated on the perimeter of the hall. Only one table was occupied by a young man and a woman who were conversing quietly. In the center of the hall there was the bridge of an ancient ship with a large wooden steering wheel in the middle. To all appearances, it was a concierge counter. However, there was no concierge at the moment.
“How beautiful!” Emily exclaimed as she gazed around. “And the air is cool here. It seems as if we dived into the ocean!”
“If the tsunami strikes, we’ll dive actually.” Andrew went to the doors with the inscription “Elevator Lobby’.
Andrew wanted to find the concierge and to warn him or her about the possible disaster and necessity to evacuate people. But what if the pending disaster would be caused not by a tsunami? The water might have receded from the shore for another reason. What if people should instead be concerned about another powerful earthquake, not a giant wave? In this case, they had to run away from buildings instead of climbing them.
Let seismologists and rescuers think of it. I’ve got another task to resolve.
The elevator lobby door opened and a concierge dressed in a black suit with a mindphone on his lapel came out.
“Can I help you?” he asked courteously looking at Barkov’s holster.
Andrew showed him the badge. “Lieutenant Andrew Barkov. We need to go up to Mr. Lorenzetti’s place.”
“Just a minute.” His mindphone clinked, which meant it had established a connection with a certain apartment that the concierge had chosen mentally. “Hello!” said the man distinctly. “Is this Mister Lippo Lorenzetti?”
Barkov knew little about Lippo Lorenzetti. According to stories from other policemen who investigated cyber-crimes, Lippo was a genius. In his youth, he spent a short time in prison for breaking a bank network. Since then, all his activity had been legal. Working for large commercial and state companies, he found vulnerabilities practically in any system. Sometimes the police used his services when it was necessary to find some prominent illegal hackers. At that, Lippo led a covert life. Andrew had never met him in person and hadn’t even seen his photo. He only knew where Lorenzetti resided – also from colleagues’ stories.
“Hello!” the concierge continued. “Glad to hear you, Rosalinda.” Hearing the name, Andrew and Emily exchanged glances. “Is Lippo home? Very well. I’m sorry to trouble you, there are visitors here, police lieutenant Andrew Barkov and a lady.” Covering the mindphone with his hand, he said to Andrew, “Mr. Lorenzetti’s assistant asks about the purpose of your visit.”
Andrew said, “We have a special order for him.”
The concierge transmitted his words and, listening to the answer, looked at his watch.
“I don’t think our business can wait for fifteen minutes,” Emily said suddenly.
The man stared at her, frowning. “How do you know what she told me?”
The girl smiled. “I have a sensitive ear.”
The concierge still frowned, then listened to his earpiece and said, “Rosalinda says you can go up now,” and pointed with his thumb over his shoulder. “Please proceed to Mr. Lorenzetti’s elevator. It’s the last one on the right. Unfortunately, you can’t go to the penthouse by the stairs as there is no way. Only by the elevator.”
Barkov was surprised. “Who would go to the seventieth floor on foot?”
The man hesitated. “Probably you don’t know yet… Half of our elevators crashed because of the asteroid. Nine people were killed. Many dwellers prefer to go on foot now. Don’t be scared, Mr. Lorenzetti’s elevator is the most reliable one. It is light, armored, safe. By the way, they will ask you to remove your gun before entering the apartment.”
“Sorry, buddy. I’m a cop!”
The man shrugged his shoulders. “You can refuse, of course. It’s up to you. Have a good trip!”
Andrew and Emily directed their steps to the elevator lobby across a wide blue-colored corridor with the succession of white elevator doors whose outlines resembled sails of ancient ships. Some of them were closed up with striped red and yellow sticky tape crosswise over the doors.
“It’s a real nightmare. Nine people!” Emily muttered.
“Yes, among millions of others. Billions are in jeopardy, I’m afraid. Why did you interfere in my conversation with the concierge? We had an agreement that you would keep silent!”
“Yes, at the hacker’s place. We had no agreement concerning the concierge, did we?”
“Okay. There’s one more thing. If you can hear electromagnetic waves, it is not necessary to boast about it to everybody.”
“I didn’t mean to. I got worried, since we don’t have time to wait around. Besides, the guy had no clue. He believed that I simply had a good ear.”
They approached the last elevator on the right. Entering it, Andrew saw a console with just two buttons, “Up’ and “Down’. He pressed the “Up’ button. The doors closed, but the elevator didn’t move. A female voice came from above, “Attention. An armed passenger. Weapon model: Colt. Type of ammunition: service cartridges. Please deposit your weapon for the period of your visit.”
The same text in capital black letters ran from left to right on the white wall of the elevator at eye level. A massive box without locks or handles slid out from under the push-button panel. It was so deep that it could accommodate a dozen pistols.
Probably an intellectual scanner was installed in the elevator, just like at some important government sites. Lorenzetti must have spent quite a lot of money to ensure his safety!
“I’m a policeman!” Barkov announced as he took out his badge and showed it to the camera in the ceiling. “You have no right to request my weapon!”
A few seconds later, the doors opened. The female voice announced, “The armed passenger, you have thirty seconds to leave the elevator or to deposit the weapon. Otherwise, the doors will be blocked until guards and an attorney arrive.”
The text version of the same statement appeared on the wall. Then bright red digits started to flash there. 30, 29, 28… Each digit was accompanied by a loud beep.
“Damn!” Barkov mumbled.
He had neither the authority nor the desire to give his gun away for storage to other people, let alone to put it into a box in an elevator. But meeting Lorenzetti was absolutely essential. He was the only one Andrew had heard of who could get hold of top-secret information.
Pulling the gun out of the holster, Barkov put it into the box. The countdown stopped at once and the box slid into the wall.
“Thank you for cooperation,” the female voice became kindly. “Welcome, dear guests!”
The doors closed and the elevator started. Its movement was so smooth that it was not clear if they were going up or down.
Emily neared Andrew and whispered in his ear, “I’ve heard the signal supplied to the box for it to open and the signal to start the elevator!”
Boasting again. What a strange mania!
“Congratulations,” Barkov replied in low voice. “But I know about your abilities. I don’t need