"Greg Egan - Luminous (2)" - читать интересную книгу автора (Egan Greg)

"Then tell me now, and save yourself some trouble." She rotated the scalpel between thumb and
forefinger impatiently. My skin did a cold burn all over, nerve ends jangling, capillaries closing
down as blood dived for cover.

I said, "Trouble gives me hypertension."

She smiled down at me thinly, conceding the stalemate-then peeled off one stained surgical glove,
took out her notepad, and made a call to a medical equipment supplier. She listed some devices
which would get around the problem-a blood pressure probe, a more sophisticated pump, a suitable
computerized interface-arguing heatedly in fluent Mandarin to extract a promise of a speedy
delivery. Then she put down the notepad and placed her ungloved hand on my shoulder.

"You can relax now. We won't have long to wait."




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I squirmed, as if angrily shrugging off her hand-and succeeded in getting some blood on her skin.
She didn't say a word, but she must have realized at once how careless she'd been; she climbed off
the bed and headed for the washbasin, and I heard the water running.

Then she started retching.

I called out cheerfulIy, "Let me know when you're ready for the antidote." l

I heard her approach, and I turned to face her. She was ashen, her face contorted with nausea,
eyes and nose streaming mucus and tears.

"Tell me where it is!"

"Uncuff me, and I'll get it for you."

"No! No deals!"

"Fine. Then you'd better start looking, yourself."

She picked up the scalpel and brandished it in my face. "Screw the cargo. I'll do it!" She was
shivering like a feverish child, uselessly trying ~ to stem the flood from her nostrils with the
back of her hand. ~ I

I said coldly, "If you cut me again, you'll lose more than the cargo."

She turned away and vomited; it was thin and gray, blood-streaked. The toxin was persuading cells
in her stomach lining to commit suicide en masse.

"Uncuff me. It'll kill you. It doesn't take long."