"Joe Haldeman - Blood Sisters" - читать интересную книгу автора (Haldeman Joe)

aboard. She stared open-mouthed and staggered, almost fainting. I took her by the arm and
made introductions, everybody staring.
After a few moments of strange silence, Helmuth Two whispered, "Du bist ein Klon."
"She can't be a clone, silly man," Lisa said. "When did you ever see a clone with a navel?"
Belle was wearing shorts and a halter. "But we could be twin sisters. That is remarkable."
Helmuth Two shook his head solemnly. Belle had told me that a clone can always
recognize a fellow clone, by the eyes. Never be fooled by a man-made navel.
The other two came aboard. Helmuth One was, of course, a Xerox of Helmuth Two. Lisa
introduced Maria Salamanca as her lover: a small olive-skinned Basque woman, no stunning
beauty, but having an attractive air of friendly mystery about her.
Before we cast off, Lisa came to me and apologized. "We are a passing strange group of
people. You deserve something extra for putting up with us." She pressed a gold Krugerrand
into my palmтАФworth at least triple the charter fareтАФand I tried to act suitably impressed.
We had over a thousand of them in the keel, for ballast.
The Abora didn't have an engine; getting it in and out of the crowded marina was
something of an accomplishment. Belle and Lisa handled the sails expertly, while I manned
the wheel. They kept looking at each other, then touching. When we were in the harbor, they
sat together at the prow, holding hands. Once we were in open water, they went below
together. Maria went into a sulk, but the two clones jollied her out of it.
I couldn't be jealous of her. An angel can't sin. But I did wonder what you would call what
they were doing. Was it a weird kind of incest? Transcendental masturbation? I only hoped
Belle would keep her mouth shut, at least figuratively.

After about an hour, Lisa came up and sat beside me at the wheel. Her hair was long and
full, and flowed like dark liquid in the wind, and she was naked. I tentatively rested my hand
on her thigh. She had been crying.
"She told me. She had to tell me." Lisa shook her head in wonder. "Maxine One Kraus.
She had to stay below for a while. Said she couldn't trust her legs." She squeezed my hand
and moved it back to the wheel.
"Later, maybe," she said. "And don't worry; your secret is safe with us." She went forward
and put an arm around Maria, speaking rapid German to her and the two Helmuths. One of
the guards laughed and they took off their incongruous jackets, then carefully wrapped up
their weapons and holsters. The sight of a .48 Magnum Recoilless didn't arouse any nostalgia
in me. Maria slipped out of her clothes and stretched happily. The guards did the same. They
didn't have navels but were otherwise adequately punctuated.
Belle came up then, clothed and flushed, and sat quietly next to me. She stroked my bicep
and I ruffled her hair. Then I heard Lisa's throaty laugh and suddenly turned cold.
"Hold on a second," I whispered. "We haven't been using our heads."
"Speak for yourself." She giggled.
"Oh, be serious. This stinks of coincidence. That she should turn up here, that she should
wander into the office just asтАФ"
"Don't worry about it."
"Listen. She's no more Maxine Kraus than you are. They've found us. She's another clone,
one that's going toтАФ"
"She's Maxine. If she were a clone, I could tell immediately."
"Spare me the mystical claptrap and take the wheel. I'm going below." In the otherwise
empty engine compartment, I'd stored an interesting assortment of weapons and ammunition.
She grabbed my arm and pulled me back down to the seat. "You spare me the private eye
claptrap and listenтАФyou're right, it's no coincidence. Remember that old foreigner who came
by last week?"