"Simon R. Green - Hawk and Fisher 2 - Winner Takes" - читать интересную книгу автора (Green Simon R)

them young. Hawk stopped for a while to enjoy the music, but Fisher soon grew
bored, so they moved off again. They left the bustling Promenade behind them,
and made their way through the elegant houses and well-guarded establishments
of Cheape Side, where the lower merchant classes held sway. They'd been
attracted to the edge of the Northside by cheap property prices, and were slowly

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making their mark on the area.

The streets were reasonably clean, and the passersby were soberly dressed. The
houses stood back from the street itself, protected by high stone walls and iron
railings. And a fair sprinkling of armed guards, of course. The real Northside
wasn't that far away. This was usually a quiet, even reserved area, but not even
the merchant classes were immune to election fever. Everywhere you looked there
were posters and broadsheet singers, and street-corner orators explaining how to
cure all Haven's ills without raising property taxes.

Hawk and Fisher stopped suddenly as the sound of a gong resonated loudly in
their heads. The sound died quickly away, to be replaced by the dry, acid voice of
the Guard communications sorcerer:

Captains Hawk and Fisher, you are to report immediately to Reform candidate
James Adamant, at his campaign headquarters in Market Faire. You have been
assigned to protect him and his staff for the duration of the election.

A map showing the headquarters' location burned briefly in their minds, and then
it and the disembodied voice were gone. Hawk shook his head gingerly. "I wish
he wouldn't use that bloody gong; it goes right through me."

"They could do without the sorcerer entirely, as far as I'm concerned," said Fisher
feelingly. "I don't like the idea of magic-users having access to my mind."

"It's just part of the job, lass."

"What was wrong with the old system of runners with messages?"

Hawk grinned. "We got too good at avoiding them."

Fisher had to smile. They made their way unhurriedly through Cheape Side and
on into the maze of interconnecting alleyways popularly referred to as The
Shambles. It was one of the oldest parts of the city, constantly due for renovation
but somehow always overlooked when the budget came round. It had a certain
faded charm, if you could ignore the cripples and beggars who lined the filthy

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