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Bond spun the dial, selecting the code arranged between Q'ute and himself only
a few days previously.
Another click and he was able to slide a larger portion of the case bottom to
one side, disclosing some of Q Branch's special hardware, packed neatly in
velvet-lined trays.
Removing the tiny receiver/recorder - based on the STR 440, and only
eighty-four by fifty-five millimetres in size, complete with a specialised
tape cassette and foam-padded minute headset Bond switched on, set the
control dial to the figure 1, and saw a small light glow like a red-hot
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pinhead. The bug placed in Murik's study was now active. A cassette lay ready
attached to the machine. Now, any conversation or movement in Murik's room
would be recorded on Bond's receiver. He looked around and decided that, for
the moment at least, it was safe to leave the receiver on the long dressing
table that took up the bulk of one wall. He put the small piece of apparatus
carefully on the dressing table and started to unpack, first sliding the
hidden compartment in the case back to its locked position.
Long experience had taught Bond to pack and unpack with speed and efficiency.
In less than five minutes he had shirts, underwear, socks and other
necessities packed neatly in the drawers which ran down the outer ends of the
long dressing table, and his other clothes hung in the closets built into the
walls on either side of the archway leading to the bathroom. He left one or
two special items in the cases, which, after locking, he placed at the bottom
of one of the closets. Only then did Bond allow himself an examination of the
room, which had all the makings of an expensive movie set.
The centrepiece of the main room was a vast bed, made up with white silk
sheets and pillows. The visible edges of the bed glowed with light, and the
whole was partially enclosed by two high, padded semi-circular panels. Bond
slid on to the bed, and found himself in what was almost another bedroom
within the main room. The inside of the panels was softly lit; a large console
took up the whole of one section to his left, while a television screen was
set into one of the panelled sections which made up the semi-circle at the
bed's foot.
After a few experiments with the console, Bond found that each section of the
two semi-circles could be moved by remote control; that the bed could be
slowly rotated; and even raised or lowered at will. The console also had
facilities for complete quadrophonic sound, television video-recording, the
Ceefax system, a telephone and intercommunication sets. Behind him, in a rack
sunk into the black padding of the panel was a whole range of music and video
cassettes, plus a pair of expensive Koss headphones. Bond glanced briefly at
the cassettes, seeing that Anton Murik appeared to provide for all tastes -
from Bach to Bartok, the Beatles to the latest avant-garde rock bands; while
the video cassettes were of movies only recently released in cinemas.
Bond recognised the bed as the famous and exclusive Slumberland 2002
Sleepcentre, with some modifications, made probably on Murik's own
instructions. He noted that the console provided sound and light programmes
marked 'Peace Mood', 'Wake', 'Sleep' and 'Love'. Something Q'ute would have
appreciated, he thought with wry amusement.
It took a lot of will-power for Bond to leave the so-called Sleepcentre and
investigate the bathroom which also had several intriguing gadgets, including
a sunken whirlpool bath, and even a blood-warm lavatory seat. 'All mod cons,'
he said aloud.
With a short chuckle, Bond returned to the bedroom. He would try out the
communications system and complain that his door seemed to be jammed. As he
headed towards the bed, a glance at the receiver on the dressing table showed
the tape revolve for a second and then stop. The bug placed in Murik's study
was picking up noises. Grabbing the receiver and headset, Bond dived into the
Sleepcentre, slipping the 'phones over his ears.
Someone was in Murik's study. He heard a distinctive cough, then Murik's
voice: 'Come in, the door's open. Close it and shoot the bolt. We don't want
to be disturbed.'
The sounds came clearly through the headphones: the door closing, and then the
rustle as someone sat down.
'I'm sorry about dinner,' Anton Murik said. 'It was unavoidable, and I didn't
think it wise for you to show yourself to my visitor, even though he probably
wouldn't recognise you from Adam.'
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