"Allston, Aaron - Doc Sidhe 01 - Doc Sidhe" - читать интересную книгу автора (Allston Aaron)

Harris carefully leaned him up against the wall. УIТll be back in just a second.Ф He walked up the steps.
The brighter signal increased in intensity as he ascended, and by the time he reached street level again the fainter signal had returned.
Interesting. Did concrete block transmission? It looked like it. Harris trotted back down the stairs and watched two of the signals fade again. That meant he couldnТt find Gaby while he was below ground.
It also meant the other guys might not be able to track Doc while he was below.
Harris shut the device off and pocketed it, then slid back under DocТs arm. УDoc, we need to ride the subway for a while. IТll tell you the rest when weТre moving.Ф

Phipps watched the new signal brighten on his tracer as they got closer and closer. Then, in a matter of seconds, it faded to nothingness.
The old man must have detected something in his posture. УWhat is it, William?Ф
Phipps wordlessly handed the tracer back.
He braced himself. Sometimes the old man took bad news by Уkeeping in practiceФЧcalmly, coolly pulling out his favorite automatic and extinguishing someone at random. Phipps was the only one within easy reach.
But the old man simply sighed. УHome, William.Ф

Harris and Doc traveled for quite a while, changing subway lines a couple of times.
After that, it only took one call to find her. Harris could have cheered when she came on the line: УThis is Gaby.Ф
УItТs me.Ф
УLet me call you back.Ф
He gave her the number.
A minute later the phone rang under his hand. He picked it up. УHi.Ф
Her voice dropped nearly to a whisper. УIТm at another phone. I didnТt know if they monitored incoming calls.Ф
УGood thinking. Creative paranoia is probably very helpful right now.Ф
УWhat the hell went on in my apartment?Ф
УTwo fake cops jumped in and grabbed my friend Doc. They must have been waiting around for you to come home. We got out of there. Did the real cops get the guys I left there?Ф
УNo.Ф
УDamn. Did you tell the cops I was supposed to be there?Ф
УGive me some credit for intelligence, all right? I said that I got an anonymous call saying that the people who grabbed me before knew I was staying with Elaine. So I decided to go home instead.Ф
УThanks.Ф
УNo, thank you. The cops in New Rochelle say somebody broke into ElaineТs house after we left. So you score big points there. Did you use that device you were talking about to find me?Ф
УNo, I used my poor, misfiring brains. I figured that even if the police were through with you, you wouldnТt want to leave them so fast . . . knowing there was somebody after you. So all I had to do was find out which precinct was nearest your place. Sixth.Ф
УYeah, IТm getting to be a fixture here. They have kind of a museum display in their squad room, and IТm on a first-name basis with every bit of memorabilia.Ф
УI need to talk to you, Gaby. I can fix it so the guys after you canТt follow you.Ф
УHow?Ф
УThis tracer thing doesnТt work if youТre in the subway. When you leave the police, take a cab and see if you can get the driver to lay down some rubber. You have to shake off anybody following you, at least for a minute or two. And use that minute to get down to the subway. Meet us at the platform at Eighty-sixth Street and Lex.Ф
She was long in answering. УIt may be a while before I can get out of here.Ф
УWeТll wait. IТll be easy to spot. IТm wearing the gray suit my grandfather was buried in.Ф
УOkay.Ф
Harris hung up and returned to the bench where Doc sat.
A couple of hours had worked changes on Doc. He now wore sunglasses, a sweatsuit jacket, and the Phantom of the Opera T-shirt Harris had bought in a corner store during a brief solo return to street level.
Harris had also been at him with tricks barely remembered from his college theater career. DocТs hair was now grayЧstreaked with shoe polish applied with a toothbrush in the bathroom. His skin was dark with the orange-brown tan that came out of a bottle. He looked older, his features lined with makeup pencil. Harris could have put an additional twenty years on himЧElmerТs glue, toilet paper, and makeup base could do an amazing job of simulating wrinkled, sagging skinЧbut he hadnТt wanted to get too elaborate. This disguise might be adequate to keep the police from noticing Doc if they had a description of him from witnesses outside GabyТs place.
DocТs wrists were bound up in bandages, but his hands, where they showed, looked better anyway. Dead flesh was slowly peeling away, revealing pink skin beneath. Doc was a long way from being healthy, but the injury was healing much faster than any burn Harris had ever seen. But then, it wasnТt exactly a burn.
And Doc was more alert. He looked as happy and energetic as the losing quarterback in the Super Bowl, but he was awake and could walk under his own power.
He looked up as Harris returned. УYou found her.Ф
УYep. WeТll meet her where I told you.Ф
УWe cannot wait for tonight, Harris. The deviser chasing Gaby will catch up to us. He is very capable. Or all the iron around us will kill me. IТll begin the ritual as soon as we return to the park.Ф
Harris sat down beside him. УYou donТt have the book.Ф
УI remember the ritual. I remember everything.Ф He made it sound like a sentence handed down by an unfriendly judge. УNot always when I need to, unfortunately.Ф
УAre you up to it? You made it sound like it wore people out. YouТre already wiped out.Ф
УI can do it.Ф
УThatТs not what I asked.Ф
Doc looked at him wearily. УHarris, it does not matter. We canТt protect her here. We have to get her back to the fair world.Ф