"Laurell K. Hamilton - Anita Blake 03 - Circus Damned" - читать интересную книгу автора (Hamilton Laurell K)

He cleared his throat sharply. тАЬYou know what I mean.тАЭ
тАЬNo, Mr. Ruebens, I donтАЩt.тАЭ
тАЬWell, a zombie queenтАжтАЭ He stopped in mid-sentence. I was getting pissed,
and it must have shown on my face. тАЬNo offense,тАЭ he said softly.
тАЬIf you came here to call me names, get the hell out of my office. If you
have real business, state it, then get the hell out of my office.тАЭ
Ruebens stood up. тАЬI told you she wouldnтАЩt help us.тАЭ
тАЬHelp you do what? You havenтАЩt told me a damn thing,тАЭ I said.
тАЬPerhaps we should just tell her why we have come,тАЭ Inger said. His voice
was a deep, rumbling bass, pleasant.
Ruebens drew a deep breath and let it out through his nose. тАЬVery well.тАЭ He
sat back down in his chair. тАЬThe last time we met, I was a member of Humans
Against Vampires.тАЭ
I nodded encouragingly and sipped my coffee.
тАЬI have since started a new group, Humans First. We have the same goals as
HAV, but our methods are more direct.тАЭ
I stared at him. HAVтАЩs main goal was to make vampires illegal again, so
they could be hunted down like animals. It worked for me. I used to be a
vampire slayer, hunter, whatever. Now I was a vampire executioner. I had to
have a death warrant to kill a specific vampire, or it was murder. To get a
warrant, you had to prove the vampire was a danger to society, which meant you
had to wait for the vampire to kill people. The lowest kill was five humans,
the highest was twenty-three. That was a lot of dead bodies. In the good olтАЩ
days you could just kill a vampire on sight.
тАЬWhat exactly does тАШmore direct methodsтАЩ mean?тАЭ
тАЬYou know what it means,тАЭ Ruebens said.
тАЬNo,тАЭ I said, тАЬI donтАЩt.тАЭ I thought I did, but he was going to have to say
it out loud.
тАЬHAV has failed to discredit vampires through the media or the political
machine. Humans First will settle for destroying them all.тАЭ
I smiled over my coffee mug. тАЬYou mean kill every last vampire in the
United States?тАЭ
тАЬThat is the goal,тАЭ he said.
тАЬItтАЩs murder.тАЭ
тАЬYou have slain vampires. Do you really believe it is murder?тАЭ
It was my turn to take a deep breath. A few months ago I would have said
no. But now, I just didnтАЩt know. тАЬIтАЩm not sure anymore, Mr. Ruebens.тАЭ
тАЬIf the new legislation goes through, Ms. Blake, vampires will be able to
vote. DoesnтАЩt that frighten you?тАЭ
тАЬYes,тАЭ I said.
тАЬThen help us.тАЭ
тАЬQuit dancing around, Ruebens; just tell me what you want.тАЭ
тАЬVery well, then. We want the daytime resting place of the Master Vampire
of the City.тАЭ
I just looked at him for a few seconds. тАЬAre you serious?тАЭ
тАЬI am in deadly earnest, Ms. Blake.тАЭ
I had to smile. тАЬWhat makes you think I know the MasterтАЩs daytime retreat?тАЭ
It was Inger who answered. тАЬMs. Blake, come now. If we can admit to
advocating murder, then you can admit to knowing the Master.тАЭ He smiled ever
so gently.