"Dibdin, Michael - Aurelio Zen 02 - Vendetta UC - part 05" - читать интересную книгу автора (Dibdin Michael)

and all the rest of it, do you know what that amounts to'?
Traffic accidents, that's all. If you have roads and cars, a
certain number of people are going to get killed and
injured. Those people attract a lot of attention, but they're
really just a tiny percentage of the number who arrive
safely without any fuss or bother. It's the same in busi-
ness, Aurelio. The system's there, people are going to use
it. The only question is whether you want to spend your
time cleaning up after other people's pile-ups or driving
off where you want to go. Fancy a cognac or something?'
It was after three o'clock when the two men emerged,
blinking, into the afternoon sunlight. They shook hands
and parted amicably enough, but as Zen walked away it
felt as though a door had slammed shut behind him.
People changed, that was the inconvenient thing one
always forgot. It was years now since Gilberto had left the
police in disgust at the way Zen had been treated over the
Moro affair, but Zen still saw him as a loyal colleague,
formed in the same professional mould, sharing the same
perceptions and prejudices. But Gilberto Nieddu was no
longer an ex-policeman, but a prosperous and successful
businessman, and his views and attitudes had changed
accordingly.
On a day-to-day level this had been no more apparent
ihan the movement of a clock's hands. It had taken this
crisis to reveal the distance that now separated the two
men. The Sardinian still wished Zen well, of course, and
would help him if he could. But he found it increasingly
difficult to take Aurelio's problems very seriously. To him
they seemed trivial, irrelevant and self-infiicted. What was
the point cf getting into trouble and taking risks with no
prospect of profit at the end of it all?
Gilberto's attitude made it impossible for Zen to ask him
for help, yet help was what he desperately needed for the
Project that was beginning to form in his mind. If he
couldn't get it through official channels or friendly con-
tacts then there was only one other possibility.
The first sighting was just north of Piazza Venezia. After
the calm of the narrow streets from which most traffic was
banned, the renewed contact with the brutal realities of
Roman life was even more traumatic than usual. I'm
getting too old, Zen thought as he hovered indecisively at
the ke rb. My reactions are slowing down. I'm losing my
nerve, my confidence. So he was reassured to see that a
tough-looking young man in a leather jacket and jeans was
apparently just as reluctant to take the plunge. In the end,
indeed, it was Zen who was the first to step out boldly into
the traffic, trusting that the drivers would choose not to
exercise their power to kill or maim him.
It was marginally less reassuring to catch sight of the