"Alan Dean Foster - Flinx 5 - Flinx in Flux" - читать интересную книгу автора (Foster Alan Dean)

the jungle surrounding them, and someone had gone to the expense of importing a
plastic table made to look like wood. No wonder the thranx found their human
friends a constant source of amusement.
Jebcoat chattered away at the pickup. Finally he shrugged and let the headphone
snap back in place. "I tried the obvious: local cops, immigration records, a
couple of friends. No one matching your description has arrived on Alaspin in
the past two months, much less been reported missing. We still have to check
Alaspinport records, of course, but I ain't optimistic."
"What do you suggest?"
"Lemme get ahold of my buddy at the port. Lundy and Blade will spread it around
the backcountry. But right now, as far as the authorities are concerned, your
battered acquaintance don't exist. Since she's in your room, she's your
responsibility."
"All yours," the other man said cheerfully.
"But I'm just on my way out."
"Offworld again?" Iebcoat was still trying to figure his young friend. "For
somebody your age with no visible means of support, you manage to get around
pretty easy."
"I have an inheritance," Flinx explained. Though not the kind of inheritance
you're thinking of, he added silently. "I can't take her with me, and I don't
want to just abandon her in the room. She's got no credcard, either."
"So?" Jebcoat asked. "The hotel owner would be delighted to put a claim on her."
"Hell," the other man said, "if she's as pretty as you say she is, I'll take her
off your hands myself."


file:///F|/rah/Alan%20Dean%20Foster/Foster,%20...an%20-%20Flinx%205%20-%20Flinx%20In%20Flux.txt (19 of 123) [1/16/03 6:49:12 PM]
 file:///F|/rah/Alan%20Dean%20Foster/Foster,%20Alan%20Dean%20-%20Flinx%205%20-%20Flinx%20In%20Flux.txt

"Ain't you forgettin' something, Howie?"
"What's that?"
"You're married."
A cloud shadowed Howie's face. "Oh, yeah. I'd kinda forgot. "
Jebcoat eyed him mercilessly. "With kids."
"Kids. Yeah," Howie muttered disconsolately.
Jebcoat smiled back at Flinx. "Howie here's been out in the Ingre too long. No,
she's yours, my friend. You can do what you want with her. Wait till she gets
well, take her with you, or just scram. But it's your decision. I don't want
anything to do with it." He indicated the resting minidrags. "I don't have a
couple of lethal empaths to keep an eye on me. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've
other business to attend to. I'll get back to you if I find out anything about
your mystery lady. Howie and I are discussing the price of a theoretical load of
Sangretibark extract."
Flinx said nothing. It was illegal to export Sangretibark. For some it worked as
a powerful aphrodisiac. In others it had unwanted side effects‑such as cardiac
arrest. But then, it was none of his business. Jebcoat was a friend so long as
you treated him with respect. He would make a bad enemy.
He tried a couple of other contacts, with equal lack of success. No one knew
anything about the woman he described. Once his query was met with an openly
hostile response, but only verbally. Pip's presence prevented anyone from