Frost's strike team attacks the saboteurs in a high-rise apartment. A shoot-out ensues:
Pages 60-61 “Take cover. Quick. Two go left!”
“Go to hell!”
“You bastard!”
“Come on in, and get killed!”
“Attention. From the internal team… one of the saboteurs escaped through a secret duct! I repeat, a criminal escaped downwards. I threw a sensor into the duct. Are you receiving my signal?”
(Frost) “Command here. I'm receiving a signal. The hatch tunnel ends in the underground parking garages. We'll take care of it.”
Pages 62-63 (Branko) “Did you hear that, Nathan? One got away.”
(Nathan) “Yeah, in the parking garage. This way.”
(Frost's soldiers) “Security! Stop! You can’t escape now!”
“They betrayed us!”
“There was someone behind the door, sir. This damned man was going to warn his accomplices.”
“I saw him. Let's break in right now.”
(Nathan arrives) “One moment, Frost. No one escapes from there. Now is the time to really try to negotiate.”
Pages 64-65 “Try to negotiate? We are not dealing with ordinary criminals, Agent Never. These are terrorists! And then, I already told you. I am the one who decides, here. And I decide… this!” (They kick the door down; the room inside is dark.)
“No, wait!”
“Inside!” (Frost shoots blindly into the dark room)
“We've got their lair and their leader.”
“It sure looks like it. They’ll give everyone three days of bonus leave.”
“Dammit, Frost. You're not going to get away with this!”
“The operation ended well, didn't it? No civilians were involved. What more do you want?”
(Soldier checks the corpse) “Sir… look… it's not possible…”
“It's Engineer Max Powell!”
Pages 66-67 Citizens protest the water shortage: “New Alamo. City Administration building.”
“Water belongs to everyone. Water is not for sale!’
“Whoever speculates on water resources speculates on everyone's life!”
Inside, business leaders grill Bacon about the water supply: “I was the first to be shocked to hear the news that Powell was an accomplice of terrorists.”
“We can understand that. He was your friend, right?”
“Yes, indeed. A friend, first of all, and then a business partner, of course, as you know.”
“It's a good story that has affected all of us, Mr. Bacon, but… now… to be practical, we need reassurance.”
“Do you realize how much we have invested to transform New Alamo into the metropolis it is today?”
“A lifetime of work. And ten trillion credits. This city is practically ours by right, Mr. Bacon.”
“Our industries provide employment and prosperity to New Alamo. But everything would vanish if the water were to be cut off!”
“We made deals with you, agreements packed into precise contracts that promised us water at a constant flow thanks to your dam!”
Pages 68-69 “A constant flow that is failing, day after day, inexorably. And it seems that you are unable to fix it!’
“You are aware of the troubles I am having with the terrorists. In recent months they have damaged the pipelines seven times, with a huge loss of water.”
“You have an entire police section at your disposal to deal with the problem, and now even the support of the Alfa Agency that we have requested from the security council.”
“Yes, of course. And thanks to them a dangerous terrorist cell has just been defeated, but...
“No buts! We want results, Mr. Bacon. We want the flow of water from the dam to the city to return constant as it was months ago!”
“If the flow drops further. we will have problems with the factories.”
“Then we will have to further reduce the water supply to the citizens, and the population will revolt!”
“Yes, I understand.”
“Let me be clear, Bacon. You don't need a new dam if the water is running low. And you have a week to fix the drop in flow! One week, or we will make you the sole scapegoat for the death of New Alamo!”
“The bastards! They have my back up against the wall!”
(Bacon's droid) “I guess you don't want to know the data regarding this morning's water flow, do you, sir?”
“Don't you dare or I'll throw you in a landfill!”
“Duly noted. As I supposed, sir.”
