"Michael Flynn - Falling Stars" - читать интересную книгу автора (Flynn Michael)

three bikers finished their beers, saluted Al, shook hands with Chase, and took their leave. тАЬAnything
comes up,тАЭ Winfrey said to Chase before he left, тАЬlet me know, one otter to another.тАЭ He blew a kiss to the
waitress and the screen door slammed behind him.
Chase grinned and shook his head over his long-neck. Just goes to show. Three rough-looking bikers
done up in leather and denim and steel, and they turn out to be a trio of family guys on an outing. A couple
of dogs and an otter.
He was just finishing his pulled pork when the waitress slid into the booth opposite him with her own lunch
in hand. A sandwich and a beer. She was dusky-complexioned with high cheekbones and dark eyes and
hair. More than a little Indian blood in there. A fine line of heat perspiration beaded her forehead. When
she leaned over the table, she displayed an impressive amount of cleavage. тАЬHi,тАЭ she said. тАЬIтАЩm Honey.тАЭ
тАЬI bet you are.тАЭ Chase stopped himself before he asked for a taste. He glanced over at Al, but got no clue
from the bartenderтАЩs expressionless face.
тАЬIron Al tells me youтАЩre a space pilot,тАЭ Honey said, sucking sauce from her fingertips. тАЬMmm. Al makes one
bad barbecue sandwich. WhatтАЩs it like? The Moon, I mean.тАЭ
тАЬNot much. Couple of mines. Farside Observatory. Mostly robots and waldos. A few miners and scientists.
Nightlife really sucks.тАЭ
тАЬDo you go there a lot?тАЭ
тАЬIтАЩve landed a few times,тАЭ he allowed, тАЬbut mostly itтАЩs just fly-by pickups. The mines use catapults to launch
pods into LoLO тАФ thatтАЩs Low Lunar Orbit тАФ and we circle around and around and snatch them up. Silicon
for the chip-makers in Goddard and Europa; oxygen for all the stations. Metals.тАЭ He shrugged. тАЬNothing
glamorous. They were building a bigger catapult, one that can park cargo in L-1, but I guess the Dip has
stopped work on that, too, by now.тАЭ
тАЬHow do you make a pickup? I mean, isnтАЩt that dangerous?тАЭ
тАЬOh, I move up real close and nudge my prong into the coupling basket.тАЭ
Honey paused, then laid her sandwich in the basket. тАЬThat sounds тАж fun. Do you dock often?тАЭ
Chase began to imagine docking with Honey тАж He was treading dangerous ground, he knew. The
thought was mother to the deed. But the talk was pleasant and he had nowhere he had to be, so any
conversation was better than stewing in his own problems. He told her some of his shopworn yarns and
received some gratifying gasps or laughs. Well, it had been a long time since he had a fresh audience.
Some of the yarns were good enough that they needed very little in the way of embellishment.
When he described how he and Ned DuBois had flown into Skopje to rescue the UN peacekeepers,
Honey placed her hand over his and said he must be very brave. тАЬI ainтАЩt no hero,тАЭ Chase told her with just
the right touch of humility. тАЬJust a guy with a job to do.тАЭ HeтАЩd learned that from Ned DuBois.Once you learn
to fake sincerity, The Man Who had told him,the rest comes easy .
тАЬOn my cadet flight,тАЭ he said, тАЬForrest Calhoun and I lifted the rocket motors to raise the first external tank
into orbit with Mir. Me and him and Ned DuBois and тАФтАЭ And who had been the Russian commander on
Mir? Sugachev? No matter. тАЬWe hooked the motors onto the tank and lifted it into co-orbit with Mir; so you
might say that we were the ones who proved it was possible to build Leo and the other stations that way.тАЭ
Okay, if it hadnтАЩt been him it would have been someone else, but it never hurt to exaggerate your own
importance when you were talking with a pretty woman.
тАЬMust be a bitch, getting laid off,тАЭ she said. тАЬAllen told me about that. Real bitch.тАЭ
Chase tried to be blas├й about it. тАЬOh, they canтАЩt keep the ships grounded forever. When they start lifting
again, they know where to find me.тАЭ
тАЬWell, handsome, if you need a shoulder to cry on,тАЭ the waitress said, тАЬyou know where to find me, too.тАЭ
Chase hesitated. There was more to her offer than a shoulder. He could see that in the curl of her mouth.
A friendly invitation. There was none of the weary hardness heтАЩd seen on some women тАФ just a healthy,
good olтАЩ gal who knew better ways than serving pork to get a guyтАЩs morale up and have a little fun herself
in the bargain. тАЬWouldnтАЩt be your shoulders IтАЩd cry on,тАЭ he said with an answering grin.
Honey laughed and squeezed his hand. тАЬNah, you never would.тАЭ She pushed out of the booth and piled
her basket on his plate. тАЬA gal knows when a guyтАЩs on the reservation; and, handsome, you are one