"Shadowrun - Secrets of Power 02 - Choose Your Enemies Carefully - Rober N Charrette" - читать интересную книгу автора (Charrette Robert N)

She only made it up two flights before she collapsed,
whimpering. Silently she cursed her waning strength.
Orks were supposed to be tough. The physical power
she had known for the last year had been the only
compensation for her change, and now that strength
had abandoned her. Just like Hugh. And Ken before
him. Even her brother had left her to be disposed of
with the rest of the unsightly trash.
They could all rot in hell.

The blaze inside her had died to coals, a hot pain
but bearable. In the recession of the pain, she became
aware of a bone-numbing ache in her limbs. Her mus-
cles, exhausted from her climb, trembled. Her skin
was clammy with sweat and itched unbearably. She
wanted to puke.

Her position on the landing offered her a view into
one of the derelict apartments. The darkening sky was
framed in the room's window. Outside, the lights of Hong
Kong sparkled awake, forming constellations of sub-
lime and taunting beauty. The thin, seesaw wail of a
police siren drifted in through the open aperture. It
offered no hope of rescue. None of the corporate po-
lice ever came to the Walled City. Not even the En-
clave Police Agency, money-grubbing hirelings that
they were, could be easily bribed to appear in the
Walled City after dark. Gangs ruled the Walled City,
and many of them hunted the changed for fun,

A scuffing sound came from the bottom of the stair-
well and she froze. Her physical torment vanished in
a rush of fear. Praying all the while, she strained to
hear anything further. The noise began again, and she
recognized the sound of footsteps on the stairs.

She pushed off with her arms, forcing herself up-
right. The world spun around, but she managed to stay
on her feet and stagger up another flight. This landing
was as littered with trash as the last, but several of the
rooms on this floor still had doors. That meant some-

CHOOSE YOUR ENEMIES CAREFULLY 5

one still lived here. Hoping the hunters wouldn't press
the search into occupied areas, she chose an open
doorway and headed for it. As she attempted to pass
through the doorway, her head slammed against the
lintel. The shock forced an involuntary grunt of pain.