"Flint, Eric - Weber, David - Honorverse SS - From the Highlands" - читать интересную книгу автора (Flewelling Lynn)

captain heard the ambassador's voice chiming in:
"Yes. There is simply no reason they would harm your daughter,
Captain. As you have pointed out yourself, that would be quite
out of character even for the Peeps. As it is, this brutal and
desperate deed goes far beyond normal boundaries of
intelligence work."
The captain's blocky form remained still and unmoving in his
chair, his thick hands clutching the arm rests. Only his eyes
swiveled, to bring the pudgy figure of Ambassador Hendricks
under his gaze.
The captain spared only a moment's glance at Hendrick's jowls.
He had already concluded that the fat girdling the Ambassador's
neck would present no obstacle whatever to strangling him also.
But he still favored two or three maneuvers which were quite
illegal in tournament wrestling. And for good reason, since all of
them would result in ruptured internal organs. The captain thought
Hendricks' obese appearance would be much improved, with
blood hemorrhaging from every orifice in his body.
He forced his mind away from those thoughts, and brought his
attention back to the ambassador's words.
"Чcan't believe SS is so arrogantly insane to pull something like
this. On the eve of Parnell's arrival here on Terra!"
Admiral Young nodded. "They're going to be suffering the worst
public relations disaster they've ever had here in the Solarian
League. The last thing they'd do is compound it by murdering a
fourteen-year-old girl."
Even to himself, the captain's voice sounded thick and hoarse.
"I keep telling you," he snarled, no longer even bothering with
military formalities, "that this is not a Peep operation. Or, if it is,
it's a rogue operation being conducted outside of the loop.
There's no way of telling what the people who took Helen might
do. I have got to have leeway to start investigatingЧ"
"Enough, Captain Zilwicki!" snapped the ambassador. "The
decision is made. Of course, I understand your concern. But, at
least for the moment, all of our attention must be focused on the
opportunities presented to us by Parnell's arrival here on Terra.
As a professional intelligence officer, rather than a worried father,
I'm sure you agree. We can play along with this Peep
diversionary maneuver easily enough. What we musn't do is
allow it to actually divert us."
"And mind your manners," growled Young. The admiral leaned
back even further in his chair, almost slumping in it. "I've made
allowances for your behavior so far because of the personal
nature of the situation. But you are a naval officer, Captain. So
you'll do as you're toldЧand stay within the boundaries of military
protocol while you're at it."
For a moment, the captain almost hurled himself across the
desk. But a lifetime of discipline and self-control stayed with him.
And, after a few seconds, reasserted itself.
What kept him steady even more than training and habit was a