"Gordon, Steve - Insectoid 03 - Death to the Insectoids!" - читать интересную книгу автора (Gordon Steve)

"Who's to say that the patrols will be any lighter in an outlying
area?" Sally asked.
"It just makes sense that they would build up their presence in
the capital first," said Croft.
"And what happens when they build up their forces so much that
it's not safe for us anywhere?" Yaney asked.
"Then we find a way to get off-planet," said Croft. He noticed
their expressions. "Listen, I know we've just taken a bitter blow. All
of us have lost friends. You guys have lost everyone you worked with
under General Markov. We've lost the Silencer and-"
"He's right there," said the Clapper, clapping slowly.
"-and Preston, who were colleagues of ours," said Croft, ignoring
the Clapper.
"The Silencer's right there," said the Clapper, clapping slowly.
"What do you mean?" said Croft, looking annoyed at being
interrupted.
"There," said the Clapper, pointing with a nod of his head, as
his hands were busy clapping.
They all turned to look at the monitor. Croft had tapped into the
internal network, to monitor Insectoid communications. The image on the
screen was the Silencer, in the arena, holding a weapon of some kind,
fighting three other gladiators.
Correction. Make that two. One of them went down with the
Silencer's weapon in him. The Silencer gave a tug with his good arm to
retrieve the weapon, but the weapon stayed firmly stuck to the
Insectoid. A curved blade came whistling down on the Silencer's back
even as he tugged; he jerked away at the last minute, gave its holder a
sharp kick, and grabbed the weapon from the surprised Insectoid.
In moments, it was over, and the Silencer, expressionless, was
standing over the bleeding bodies of three Insectoids.
"He's alive," said Croft. "We have to go get him."
The Clapper started to clap more quickly.
"Wait a minute," said Red Sally. "You were just saying how we
needed to evacuate. Now you want us to go even deeper into the heart of
the capital to make a rescue attempt?"
"Yes," said Croft simply.

Two days later, the Silencer was sitting in a cold, dark,
windowless cell, quietly eating the bowl of gruel that he had been
given. He didn't look up when he heard the cell door open, or even
when he heard the familiar jeering buzz.
"Get up, human!"
"I'm not done," said the Silencer, continuing to eat.. He
recognized his jailer; this one had given the Silencer a
disproportionate share of his bruises and cuts.
The Insectoids reached out to give the Silencer a wack with one
of its sharp arms. The Silencer ducked to the right before the arm
landed, continuing to eat. The arm snaked out again, and the Silencer
ducked to the left.
Roaring, the Insectoid lunged forward with two of its arms, and