"Gordon Eklund - Serving in Time" - читать интересную книгу автора (Eklund Gordon)

Jan came cautiously to his feet.

The man stopped a few paces short of Jan. He shook an angry
finger: "I've come here to tell you a few things, boy. You want to
listen to me or not?"

"I want to go home," Jan said. "I've been kidnapped against
my will. That's against the law."

"Here w& make the laws, not you. This is your home from now
on. You can forget about that other place."
 Glimpsing no prospect of hope in the man's words, Jan
shrugged. "OkayтАФthen I guess I'll listen." He dropped his arms
casually to his sides.

"To begin withтАФ" the man began.

Then Jan hit him with a left hook.

The blow struck neat and clean and swift. Unfortunately, it
appeared to have no effect whatsoever upon its intended victim.

The big man blinked, grunted, licked his lips. Without a word,
he swung at Jan. His fist sailed through the air like a massive
hammer. Jan's paltry defenses were as useless as a barricade
formed of wet paper. The blow struck him squarely on the right
cheekbone and he crumpled.

The man glared down at Jan, who lay motionlessly upon the
floor. "Ready to listen yet?"

"Sure," Jan muttered. Slowly, he struggled to his feet.

Once there, he swung.

This time the big man ducked, dipped, and bobbed upright.
He struck in return without hesitation.

Jan hit the floor hard and bounced off.

"Want to listen?"

Jan nodded weakly. Pushing up with his hands, he staggered
to his feet. He swayed, swung, and missed connecting by several
feet.

Crack. He hit the floor again. This time he didn't get back up.

When he regained consciousness, the following portions of