"Simon R. Green - Haven 06 - Bones of Haven" - читать интересную книгу автора (Green Simon R)

in. Can't let anyone get away with attacking a Guard, or we'll never have any peace."

Hawk nodded reluctantly, and they set about manhandling the man and the woman down the stairs and
out into the street.

They found a Constable, eventually, and let him take over, then set off on their beat again. The rain
continued to show signs of letting up without ever actually doing anything about it. The day wore
slowly on, fairly quiet by Northside standards. Hawk and Fisher broke up half a dozen fights, ran off a
somewhat insecure flasher, and helped talk a leaper out of jumping from a second-story building. The
city didn't really care if a leaper killed himself or not, but there was always the chance he might land
on someone important, so official policy in such cases was to clear the street below and then just let the
would-be suicide get on with it. As in many other things, Hawk and Fisher ignored official policy and
took the time to talk quietly and encouragingly to the man, until he agreed to go down the normal way,
via the stairs. The odds were that by tomorrow he'd be back up on the roof again, but at least they'd
bought him some time to think it over. Working in the Northside, you learned to be content with little
victories.

"You know," said Hawk as he and Fisher walked away, "sometimes, when I'm up on a roof with a
leaper, I have an almost overwhelming urge to sneak up behind him and shout Boo! in his ear. Just to
see what would happen."

"You're weird, Hawk," said Fisher, and he nodded solemnly. At which point a rush of gentle flute
music poured through their minds, followed by the dry, acid voice of the Guard communications
sorcerer.

All Guards in the Northern sector, report immediately to Damnation Row, where there is a major riot
in progress. This order supersedes all other instructions. Do not discuss the situation with anyone else
until you have reported to the prison Governor. That is all.

Hawk scowled grimly as he and Fisher turned around and headed back down the street shoulders
hunched against the renewed heavy rain. Damnation Row was Haven's oldest and largest prison, as
well as the most secure. A great squat monstrosity of basalt stone, surrounded on all sides by high
walls and potent sorceries, it was infamous throughout the Low Kingdoms as the one prison no one
ever escaped from. Riots were almost unknown, never mind a major riot. No wonder they'd been
instructed not to talk about it. The prison's reputation was part of its protection. Besides, if word did
get out, the streets would be thronged with people heading for the prison to try and help the inmates
break out. Most people in Haven knew someone in Damnation Row.

The prison itself stood jammed up against the city wall on the far boundary of the Northside, and
Hawk and Fisher could see its outline through the driving rain long before they got to its gatehouse.
The exterior walls were huge, dark, and largely featureless, and seemed especially grim and forbidding
through the downpour. Hawk hauled on the steel bell pull at the main gate, and waited impatiently with
Fisher for someone to answer. He'd never been inside Damnation Row before and was curious to see if
it was as bad as everyone said. Conditions inside were supposed to be deliberately appalling. Haven
had nothing but contempt for anyone dumb enough or unsuccessful enough to get caught, and the idea
was that a stay in Damnation Row would scare the offender so much he'd do anything rather than be
sent backтАФincluding going straight. The prison's excellent security record also made it a useful
dumping ground for dangerous lunatics, untrustworthy magic-users, and political and religious
embarrassments. The city firmly believed in taking revenge on its enemies. All of them.