"Laura Anne Gilman - Retrievers 03 - Bring It On" - читать интересную книгу автора (Gilman Laura Anne)

тАЬNice system. Acoustics must rock.тАЭ

Rosen looked to be in her midtwenties, but she spoke younger. Twenty-three, according to the dossier
Wren had put together after the initial contact. Not as complete as what Sergei could have done, but
sheтАЩd done all right, if she did say so herself.

тАЬAnna Rosen. Born in Glendale, raised in Madison, went to school in Boston, came home to work at the
law firm of which Daddy was a partner two years ago, just before his death of a heart attack.тАЭ There.
Taking control of the meeting. Establishing herself as the person with the knowledge.

тАЬAlleged heart attack.тАЭ Rosen took the left-hand chair and sat down without being asked, placing her
oxblood briefcase by her expensive shoes and resting her well-manicured hands on the table surface. тАЬHe
was murdered.тАЭ

Wren stood in the doorway and looked at the client. тАЬI donтАЩt do murders.тАЭ

Not intentionally, anyway. Not by name, as such. Only the dead never seemed to stay properly, quietly
dead, around her.

тАЬNot asking you to.тАЭ Rosen looked at Wren directly, then; the humor in her eyes was muted by pain that
hadnтАЩt had the chance to scab yet. The death hadnтАЩt been that recent; she was carrying around some
significant emotional issues, then. тАЬIтАЩm Null, not stupid.тАЭ

Wren opened her mouth, then snapped it shut. There wasnтАЩt anything she could say at this point that
wouldnтАЩt come out all wrong, anyway, even if the girl had been looking for soothing platitudes.

Null meant a human without any Talent, without the ability to channel current, or magic. Almost half of
her jobs came from the Null world. They hired her as a thief, not a Retriever, but that was a distinction
without a difference to most people. In fact, it probably only meant something significant to another
Retriever, and there were only a dozen or so in the world, as far as Wren knew.

The fact that this Miss Rosen used the word Null with such casualness meant that she was aware of
Talents, by reputation if not personally. Interesting. Possibly totally irrelevant, but interesting. Wren filed
that fact away for later contemplation.

The fact that the client had contacted her directly in the first place might be a little more tellingтАФpeople
who heard about her via the Talent gossip networks usually knew to approach Sergei, first.

She was starting to get too well-known. SheтАЩd been too high profile, lately. A good Retriever wasnтАЩt in
the spotlight. A good RetrieverтАФa successful RetrieverтАФneeded to be invisible, known only for her
actions, not herself. Wren wasnтАЩt much for game-playing; she left that to Sergei. Except here she was,
playing games, inviting clients into her home, buying furniture that didnтАЩt suit herтАж

тАЬLet me get directly to the point,тАЭ Miss Rosen said, crossing her legs in a ladylike fashion, the sheen of
her shoes expensively muted.
Thank God,Wren thought, forcing herself to gather her scattered thoughts and pay attention to what was
going on in the here and now.Focus! DonтАЩt screw the pooch so early in the game, Valere! Damn it, she
wasnтАЩt a negotiator. She didnтАЩt even like to debate. Her thoughts scattered again like butterflies in the
wind. Why had she agreed to meet with this chick anyway, instead of handing it over to Sergei the