"02 - Blue Gold (b)" - читать интересную книгу автора (Cussler Clive)

Speaking in an eastern European accent, the man on the right said, "Whom do you want . . ."

". . . us to eliminate?" said the man on the left, finishing the sentence.

Their monotone voices were exactly alike. Brynhild smiled with satisfaction. The answer reaffirmed her conviction that she had made the right decision rescuing Melo and Radko Kradzik from the NATO forces that wanted to bring the notorious brothers before the World Court at the Hague charged with crimes against humanity. The twins were classic sociopaths and would have made a mark for themselves even without the Bosnian war. Their paramilitary status conferred semi-legitimacy on the murder, rape, and torture they carried out in the name of national ism. It was difficult to imagine these monsters ever having been in a mother's womb, but somewhere they had forged the ability to intuit what the other was thinking. They were the same men, only in separate bodies. Their bond made them doubly dangerous because they could act without verbal communication. Brynhild had stopped trying to tell them apart. "Whom do you think should be eliminated?"

One man reached out with a hand whose clawlike fingers seemed to be made for inflicting pain and reversed the video tape. The other twin pointed to a man in a blue suit.

"Him," they said simultaneously.

"Congressman Kinkaid?"

"Yes, he didn't . . ."

". . . like what you said."

"And the others?"

Again the video reversed and they pointed.

"Professor Dearborn? A pity, but your instincts are probably right. We can't afford to have anybody with even the trace of scruples. Very well, cull him out as well. Do your work as discreetly as possible. I'm scheduling a meeting of the board of directors soon to go over our long-range plans. I want everything in place before then. I won't tolerate mistakes the way those fools bungled their job in Brazil ten years ago."

She whirled from the room and left the twins to themselves. The men remained there unmoving, their glittering eyes looking at the screen with the hungry expression of a cat choosing the fattest goldfish in the tank for his dinner.

Chapter 8
The river scenery had changed little since Dr. Ramirez waved good-bye from his dock and wished the Trouts a safe trip. The airboat followed mile after mile of the twisting and unbroken ribbon of dark green water. An unyielding wall of trees hemmed the river in on both sides and separated it from the eternal night of the forest. At one point they had to stop because the river was blocked by debris. They welcomed the break from the mind-numbing drone of the airplane engine. They tied lines around the entangled logs and branches and unclogged the bottleneck. The job was time-consuming, and it was late after noon when the leafy ramparts gave way to brief glimpses of open space and cultivated fields along the river's edge. Then the forest opened up to reveal a cluster of grass huts.

Paul reduced speed and aimed the airboat's blunt prow between several dugout canoes drawn up on the muddy banking. With a quick goose on the throttle, he slid the boat onto the shore and cut the engine. He removed the NUMA baseball cap he had been wearing backward on his head and used it to fan his face.

"Where is everybody?"

The unearthly quiet was in sharp contrast to Dr. Ramirez's settlement where the natives bustled about their business throughout the day. This place appeared to be deserted. The only signs of recent human habitation were tendrils of gray smoke that rose from fire holes.

"This is very weird," Gamay said. "It's as if the plague struck."

Paul opened a storage box and pulled out a backpack. Dr. Ramirez had insisted that the Trouts borrow a long-barreled Colt revolver. Moving slowly, Paul placed the rucksack between them, reached inside, unclipped the holster, and felt the reassuring hardness of the grip.

"It's not the plague I'm worrying about," Paul said quietly, scanning the silent huts. "I'm thinking about that dead Indian in the canoe."

Gamay had seen Paul reach into the bag and shared his concern.

"Once we leave the boat it might be tough getting back to it," she said. "Let's wait a few more minutes and see what hap pens."

Paul nodded. "Maybe they're taking a siesta. Let's wake them up." He cupped his hands to his mouth and came out with a loud "Hallooo!" The only reply was the echo of his voice. He tried again. Nothing stirred.

Gamay laughed. "They would have to be sound sleepers not to hear a bellow like that."

"Spooky," Paul said with a shake of his head. "It's too damned hot sitting out here. I'm going to look around. Can you watch my back?"