"Davis, Jerry - Moon At Noon, The" - читать интересную книгу автора (Davis Jerry)

There were two cops and a squad car right in front of him.
One was walking around the bushes toward the meadow, the other
stood at the car and then looked over to see Mike on the sidewalk,
looking guilty. "Hey," he said, walking over to Mike. "What's that
in the bag there?"
"What?"
The officer reached over and unzipped part of the bag, where
a tuft of the nylon had been sticking out. He pulled more of the
nylon out and felt it with his fingers. "I'll be damned," he
muttered, looking up and peering into Mike's eyes. "You're him."
"I'm who?" Mike said, but his voice was shaking, as were his
hands.
"Don't play games with me, you're that crazy bastard mooning
the city from the air!" The officer whipped out his night stick
and smacked Mike in the face. "Pervert!" Whack! "Terrorist!"
Whack, whack! Mike gasped in agony and fell backwards, watching in
horror as the policeman's partner came into view and begin
delivering blows of his own.

#

Consciousness came and went. Mike was aware of the ride in
the ambulance, and the doctors putting stitches in his face. Then
he was in a hospital bed. The gaps in between were like sections
of a video tape that had been erased with a magnet. He lie in the
white, sterile linen, held snugly by the safety straps required of
all hospital beds, and stared at the holes in the ceiling. His
face felt as if an angry cougar used it to sharpen its claws.
Mike thought of his kids, his wife. His job. It was over.
They would never understand. Why did I have to do this? He tried
to feel regret, but it wasn't there. He was glad he was caught ---
he was calm about it. The Freud simulation had been right. In one
single act he'd broken all of the safety laws he so desperately
hated, and he was proud of it. He'd done it, survived, and now he
could get on with his life . . . or at least what there was left
of it.
Someone was yelling outside the door. The voice had the edge
of authority in it, and sounded angry. "Let me get this straight.
You beat up and put into the hospital a man who broke the safety
laws? Is this what I'm hearing you say? I can't believe anyone can
be so stupid! No! Shut up! I don't want to hear any more . . ."
The voice faded out as they conversation moved away from the door.
Mike felt the impulse to smile, but it hurt too much. Good thing
he'd had his safety suit on before the police caught him. It had
probably saved his life.

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