"Richard Harding - Outrider 02 - Fire And Ice" - читать интересную книгу автора (Harding Richard)

"Gas," he said. "Good," said Lucky, "there's not a hell of a lot of the stuff
around these days." Bonner tossed a wave in the direction of the little
mechanic and then hit the gas, screaming down the ramp. The loud exhaust from
the twin pipes just behind Bonner's shoulders blared their internal-combustion
life into the enclosed space. The car and driver burst out into the daylight.
Waiting at the base of the ramp was Starling. He was mounted on a huge red
panhead Harley Davidson, a piece of loot he had won from a fearful squad of
Radleps that he and Bonner had encountered and destroyed during their raid
into the Slavestates. It was a couple of yards of pure power and obviously had
once been the prized possession of some long-forgotten biker who had eaten up
the miles on his proud steed. Standing next to the hard, wiry rider were two
men, their giant forms casting long shadows in the morning sun. Bonner
stopped short, the screech of brakes sending shivers down the spine of Lucky,
who watched from the upper stories of the bus station. "Watch them brakes,
boss," shouted Lucky. "Hey," said Bonner, smiling broadly, "the Mean
Brothers." The Mean Brothers lumbered over to Bonner and tried to crush him
in a bear hug. "That's okay, Means," said Bonner, "good to see you too." The
Brothers were identical twins, both great bears of men, each covered with hair
matted like fur. They were mutes so no one knew their names, if indeed, they
had names at all. Bonner had sprung them from a Leatherman prison on Prison
Island in New York-he hadn't planned to, but that was the way things worked
out-and now the Mean Brothers were his friends for life. You could see it in
their eyes: they would never forget Bonner's kindness, they would never betray
him, they would cheerfully die for him. They would follow him into the jaws of
hell if he would lead them there. If you became the Mean Brothers' friend,
they would never let you down. If you became their enemy, they would not rest
until they brought you down. The Mean Brothers' weapons were an ax and a
shovel, the implements having been presents from Bonner. Prior to that they
had been able to do a large amount of damage using only the great strength of
their hands. Despite the chill they were clad in their usual clothing, shorts
and leather sandals. It was as if they relied on their luxuriant body hair to
keep them warm. "I thought they might want to come along," said Starling.
"You want to come along. Mean Brothers?" The Mean Brothers nodded
vigorously. "See, they want to go. There must be a few Stormers left they
ain't killed yet." At the mention of the Stormers the Mean Brothers' huge
faces darkened. "I have a feeling they would hold it against us if we didn't
take them with us," said Bonner. "Yeah, and it would be our bringdown," said
Starling. One of the Mean Brothers shook his head vigorously. No, he was
saying, it was Bonner's decision. They would never try to hurt him. "Just
kidding. Mean Brother," said Starling. "We was just having a little fun." The
Mean Brother shrugged as if to say: "Some joke." "Think they'll be warm
enough?" asked Bonner. Starling slipped his scooter into gear. "Hey, they
look worried to you?" "No." "They look sick to
you?" "Nope." "Then?" "Okay, Mean Brothers, let's go." The two giants
jumped aboard, settling down on the big exposed fuel tank. "Hit it,
Starling," said Bonner. The tall, thin, deadly rider gave the Outrider the
thumbs-up and released his brake, bouncing down the cracked Chicago
streets. They navigated their way through what had once been downtown and
swung out onto the once-fashionable and rich Lake Shore Drive. There they
could see the rising morning sun sweeping gold and pink light out onto the