"David Gerrold - [SS] The Strange Disappearance of David Gerrold" - читать интересную книгу автора (Gerrold David)

finally understood the nature of heroism. You donтАЩt do heroic stuff because you
want to, or because you have to, or even because itтАЩs the right thing to do. You do it
because you do itтАФthatтАЩs all. Because not doing it never even occurs to you.

Without thinking, I turned on the music-player. That would be the normal
thing to do. And whatever else, I wanted to look as mundane as possible, just in
case of whatever. I donтАЩt remember what was playing.

The whatever turned out to be a couple of Hummers parked across the road,
almost but not quite blocking the access to what passed for a highway in this
wilderness. I came left around a curve, up through a corridor of day-darkening
pines, left around another curve, leading out to a cleared area, and there they were.
Three of them stood in my way, and one more sat behind the wheel, talking to
someone on the radio. They werenтАЩt exactly wearing uniforms, but their clothes
suggested some official capacity. Cowboy hats and dark glasses. They moved like
combat veterans. And two of them had rifles slung over their shoulders.
High-powered rifles. IтАЩm not a gun expert, I couldnтАЩt tell you what kind. But they
had the kind of telescopic sights you see on sniper rifles in the spy thrillers.

One of them held up his hand, and I rolled to a stop. He came up to the driver
side window and leaned down to look at me. His eyes were hidden behind his
sunglasses and his face was shaded by his cowboy hat. He had ruddy skin, a little
too ruddy perhaps, a bristly salt-and-pepper mustache, and he stank of sweat and
cigar smoke. I was already fumbling for my driverтАЩs license, but he made no move
to ask for it.

тАЬYou want to turn that off. That music.тАЭ

One button, one touch. The speakers fell silent.

тАЬTurn off your engine too.тАЭ

I did so. The day was suddenly incredibly quiet.

тАЬYouтАЩre not from around here.тАЭ It wasnтАЩt a question.

I decided to play stupid. Very stupid. I have a natural talent for that. I said,
тАЬIтАЩm just driving northтАФworking my way toward Seattle.тАЭ

тАЬWhynтАЩt you take the Interstate?тАЭ

тАЬThis old bucket? ItтАЩs not safe. It only goes fifty downhill with a tailwind.тАЭ
That wasnтАЩt exactly true. Under the hood, the pickup was in excellent running
condition, but keeping it dented and decrepit on the outside was a good way to be
invisible to a lot of people.

I decided to push the issue. тАЬDid I do something wrong, officer?тАЭ

He ignored both the question and the assumption. тАЬYou seen anything strange
or unusual back there?тАЭ