"Alfred Bester - Demolished Man, The" - читать интересную книгу автора (Bester Alfred)

seven, sir; six, sir; five, sir... He always had... He always would control
Church.
"What do you want?" Church asked sullenly.
Reich snorted. "You're the peeper. You tell me."
"I don't know," Church muttered after a pause. "I can't read it.
There's crazy music mixing everything up..."
"Then I'll have to tell you. I want a gun."
"A what?"
"G-U-N. Gun. Ancient weapon. It propels projectiles by explosion."
"I haven't anything like that."
"Yes, you do, Jerry. Keno Quizzard mentioned it to me some time ago.
He saw it. Steel and collapsible. Very interesting."
"What do you want it for?"
"Read me, Jerry, and find out. I haven't anything to hide. It's all
quite innocent."
Church screwed up his face, then quit in disgust.
"Isn't worth the trouble," he mumbled and shuffled off into the
shadows. There was a distant slamming of metal drawers. Church returned
with a compact nodule of tarnished steel and placed it on the counter
alongside the money. He pressed a stud and the lump of metal sprang open
into steel knuckle-rings, revolver and stiletto. It was a XXth Century
knife-pistol... the quintessence of murder.
"What do you want it for?" Church asked again.
"You're hoping it's something that can lead to black-mail, eh?" Reich
smiled. "Sorry. It's a gift."
"A dangerous gift." The ostracized peeper gave him that sidelong
glance of snarl and laugh. "Ruination for someone else, eh?"
"Not at all, Jerry. It's a gift for a friend of mine. Dr. Augustus
Tate."
"Tate!" Church stared at him.
"Do you know him? He collects old things."
"I know him. I know him." Church began to chuckle asthmatically. "But
I'm beginning to know him better. I'm beginning to feel sorry for him." He
stopped laughing and shot a penetrating glance at Reich. "Of course. This
will make a lovely gift for Gus. A perfect gift for Gus. Because it's
loaded."
"Oh? Is it loaded?"
"Oh yes indeed. It's loaded. Five lovely cartridges." Church cackled
again. "A gift for Gus." He touched a cam. A cylinder snapped out of the
side of the gun displaying five chambers filled with brass cartridges. He
looked from the cartridges to Reich. "Five serpent's teeth to give to Gus."
"I told you this was innocent," Reich said in a hard voice. "We'll
have to pull those teeth."
Church stared at him in astonishment, then he trotted down the aisle
and returned with two small tools. Quickly he wrenched each of the bullets
from the cartridges. He slid the harmless cartridge cases back into the
chambers, snapped the cylinder home and then placed the gun alongside the
money.
"All safe," he said brightly. "Safe for dear little Gus." He looked at
Reich expectantly. Reich extended both hands. With one he pushed the money