"FWLS11" - читать интересную книгу автора (A Future We'd Like to See)

"I'm stayin' right here," I said. "I can't get outta this
hell-dream, so I'm stayin' put until someone DRAGS me from this
spot. Hell no, I won't go until I'm allowed!"

"But we have to chase Vincent, the Crimson Shadow of Doom,
and get the President to safety!"

"That's what the military's for, bud. Not us. I'll be
taking a nap if you need me. If any bad guys want to talk,
they'll have to come to me--"

"Hello, Mr. Benson," a sinister voice echoed.

"--as you can see," I finalized. "Figures."

"Welcome to your death!" the voice echoed, from an unseen
location. Locations are NEVER seen when a bad guy is in them.
"This cargo hold is filling with water, very slowly. You will
drown, and fail in your attempt to rescue the President!"

"Great!" I said to the world at large. "Terrific! And
where's this water coming from? Won't the extra weight pull the
ship down? And how are you gonna drain it, just dump it over
some city? Yeah, that's a real good way to be spotted by every
local air force base. Or better yet, I drown. Whee! What then?
How does the fantasy continue? Or do I just get rescued at the
very last second? Most likely in time to watch you kidnap my
wife and kids, or to have her show up in spandex with a machine
gun to bail my ass out in time for the audience to get a nice sex
scene. No thank you! I don't want to be in pictures. I'm a bit
sick of this, and I'm sure whoever the fuck is controlling this
nightmare is too! So how about letting me out and then we'll
talk it over like rational, nonheroic, nonsuper-powered,
nondramatic people?!!?"

Dramatic pause. There'd HAVE to be, after all.

"You sure you feel that way?" the overhead voice said,
crestfallen.

"That's the way it's gotta be," I said. "I'm through
playing."

The hangar faded from view, and the guy I originally saw
fading out appeared before me.

He looked downright sad, to put it bluntly. Glasses
slipping down, red jacket a mess, eyes mournful. The kid didn't
seem real happy.