"Joseph Delaney - In the Face of My Enemy" - читать интересную книгу автора (Delaney Joseph)

the desk, and looking right at me. "Find a chair, Miss Ryan. I don't like
looking up at people."
I pulled one of the rough-hewn chairs closer to the desk and sat down
carefully, mindful that it contained splinters, and when I was as
comfortable as I could be in the presence of such awesome power, I asked
him where he wanted me to start.
"At the beginning, Miss Ryan: from the time you first set foot on
Campbell. And you will omit nothing. Is that clear?"
"Very. But actually, it started before I ever got here. I found that out
later. Mr. Bigelow told me."
Carmody slapped the fingers of one hand against his chin. "Whatever,"
he said.
"Well, evidently heтАФthat is, Captain CorsettiтАФhe was the master of the
WilmingtonтАФhad orders to buy a little time for Meyers before I got here.
He called Meyers on the radio as soon as we were in orbit and warned
them I was coming. That's an indication to me that Solar management
back on Earth knew about the cairn, and meant to conceal it from ..."
"Forget that part. I'll take care of them. I want to hear about this
Indian; what's his name?"
 "Kah-Sih-Omah. But we called him Casey. How did you hear about
him?"
"Never mind. Get on with it."
"Yes, sir. Well, here again, some of this is secondhand from Bigelow and
it was much later when I found out about it, but to begin with I certainly
didn't hit it off with Mr. Meyers. He knew why I was here, or thought he
did, and he saw his job about to be snatched out from under him. He'd be
through if I learned of the cairn."
"Without comments, please, Miss Ryan. Stick to what's relevant."
"I'm only trying to show his attitude, Mr. Carmody.тАЭ
Carmody seemed to give up at this point. He didn't respond, and I felt
safe in going ahead, repeating as much as I could remember, verbatim.



It had started out innocently enough; I'd merely thanked Meyers for
meeting me at the dock. His reply had been harsh.
"I didn't come down here for that, lady. I came to check cargo. As far as
I'm concerned, you can go back on the next barge. What do you want here,
anyway?"
"You know why I'm here, Mr. Meyers. I'm here to make the ecological
survey. That's the law. No planet can be opened to colonization or
exploitation until the U.N. Ecological Committee has approved it and
imposed the necessary restrictions. That's my job, okay? I'm not looking
for a fight."
"Nor am I. But I've got enough work to do now without looking after
you and wasting time leading you around."
"I don't need looking after. I don't need leading. I can find my own way
around. You won't even know I'm here."
I started to leave, and that was when he grabbed me by the arm. It hurt,
and I suspected this was his intention. I couldn't shake loose. "Get your