"Trevor, Elleston as Hall, Adam - Quiller 03 - The Striker Portfolio 1.1" - читать интересную книгу автора (Hall Adam)

'Waring.'

'Yes.' 'Why him?' Nobody likes Waring because he can't work without a closed-circuit transmitting system and a bullet-proof jock-strap: he's got a 'low threshold of psychological stress', which is Bureau terminology for being shit-scared. 'Because he's due back from leave and sufficiently refreshed.' 'I've never been fitter.'

He looked down from the Lowry. 'Why are you so upset, Quiller?'

'I want the mission.' 'Yes, I can see that. Why?' 'I was there.'

'Ah.' He waited, and I knew I'd have to give him more than that.

But it was personal. The fly in the lens. His loneliness up there eleven miles away from the nearest human being: myself. The silence in the sky and then the long scream and the crater and the shadow I'd lurched against in the weird white light of the chalk-cloud. Personal.

'And I'm interested,' I said, 'in aeroplanes.' 'Ah.'

I wanted to hit him. Everyone does. 'Look, is it something I could be good at?' 'Something...?' The mission. Is it my cup of tea?'

He turned slightly and stared at the wall-clock. 'It isn't really a question of that. It's a question of time. I've already assigned a director.'

'That doesn't affect me. I can start getting my clearance straight away, then he can brief me.' 'We might have to change him.' 'Why?'

'You might not want to work with him.'

'Who is it?'

'Ferris.'

'I'll work with Ferris.'

He looked at the clock again. 'It's an overseas area.' 'You can jump me in.'

He smiled. It was the fixed smile of a ventriloquist's doll. 'You really want this one, don't you?'

I knew then that I'd sold it to him. It hadn't been difficult. Later I knew why it hadn't been difficult.

There was a flap on when I went through the departments for clearance and it took longer than usual because everyone was under pressure. I went through Accounts, Codes and Ciphers, Credentials, Firearms, Field-briefing and Travel. Accounts made me go through the motions of examining my last will and testament - did I want to make any changes ? There was nothing to change: the wording had stood like this for years Nothing of value, no dependents, next-of-kin unknown'.

When I left the building there was one of the Federal Republic Embassy cars outside but it might not have been anything to do with the flap.

They drove me to the airport alone and I didn't see Ferris until I was weighing in. We didn't say anything before we got on to the plan.

Ferris was a thin man with hollow cheeks and horn-rimmed glasses and the remains of some straw-coloured hair that blew about when he walked. He looked like a clever young electronics engineer on the verge of a nervous breakdown, except for his steady eyes.

'How much did Parkis tell you?'

The power was easing off and we slipped our belts.

'Nothing much. Someone tipped them off that another SK-6 was due to hit the deck and I was sent there to confirm.' I watched the lamps of London dimming away below.

'Have you had anything to eat?'