"Mack Reynolds - Day After Tomorrow" - читать интересную книгу автора (Reynolds Mack)

denomination, you know. In the sheaf he was working on the serial
number was duplicated. The computer picked the fact up."

"Couldn't the mistake have been made at the mint? Two bills with the
same serial number?"

The other shook his head. "No. Evidently impossible."

"All right. And then?"

"The reproduction was so perfect that the Secret Service was in an
immediate uproar. Short of the Nazi effort, there has never been anything
like it. A perfect duplication of engraving, and paper. The counterfeiters
have evidently even gone to the extent of putting a certain amount of
artificial wear on the bills before putting them into circulation."

Larry Woolford said, "Once again, this is out of my line. How were they
able to check further, and how many more of these did they turn up?"

"The new computers helped. Secret Service checked out every fifty
dollar bill in every institution in town, both banking and governmental.
Thus far, they have located ten bills in all."

"And other cities?"

"They checked them next. The whole country. None. They've all been
passed in Greater Washington, which is suspicious in itself. The amount
of expense that has gone into the manufacture of these bills does not allow
for only a handful of them being passed. They should be turning up in
great quantity. Lawrence, this reproduction is such that a pusher—I think
they call them that—could walk into a bank and have his false currency
changed by any teller. Why they haven't done it, we have no idea. A pusher
could go into a bank with a packet of fifty of these, and immediately have
it changed into any other denomination he asked for."

"Wow," Larry muttered.

"Indeed."

Larry said, "Do you want me to work with Secret Service on this, on the
off chance that the Soviet Complex is doing us deliberate dirt? I thought
that currently the Cold War was supposedly all warmed up."

"So did we," the other said sourly. "But that is exactly the idea,
Lawrence. Get to work please and keep in touch with me. If you need
support, I can assign Walter Foster or some of the other agents to assist
you. This might have endless ramifications, and there are no limits in
regard to personnel or budget."

Larry came to his feet and snapped a snappy, "Yes, sir. I'll get on it right