"Harry Harrison - SSR 08 - The Stainless Steel Rat Sings the " - читать интересную книгу автора (Harrison Harry)

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"Open that again you idiot? I load the gun then you close the door. When that has been done this business
will be over with once and for all."

We turned a corner and the noxious group vanished from sight behind us. Silently, as ordered, I followed
the lawyer through many a guarded portal, into an elevator, out of it and then through one final door,
escaping the Mint at last. Letting out a great sigh of relief as we went past the armed guards and headed
for the waiting ground car.

"Silence? Into the car. Speak to me in the office about a salary raise-not before."

Narcoses must know things that I didn't. Detector bugs in the ornamental trees we were passing? Acoustic
microphones aimed our way? I realized now that my carefully planned crime had apparently been a
disaster from the moment I had conceived it.

The driver was silent as a tomb-and about as attractive. I watched the buildings stream by, then the
outskirts of the city appeared. We drove on until we reached a small building in a leafy suburb. The front
door opened as we approached, then closed behind us apparently without human intervention. The same
thing happened to the inner door which was tastefully labeled with jewel-studded gold letters
PEDERASTS NARCOSES Attorney at Laws. It closed silently and I wheeled about and pointed a
menacing finger at him.

"You knew about me even before I landed on this planet."

"Of course. As soon as your false credentials were filed the investigation began."

"So you stood by and let me plot and plan and commit a crime and get sentenced to death-without making
any attempt to interfere?"

"That's right."

"That's criminal! More of a crime than my crime."

"Not really. You were always going to be plucked out of that terminal swimming pool in any case. We
just wanted to see how well you did."

"How did I do?"

"Very good-for a lad your age. You got the job."

"Well good for me. But what about my double-the bloke who took my place?"

"That bloke, as you refer to him, is one of the finest and most expensive humanoid robots that money can

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afford. Which money will not be wasted since the doctor who is now performing the postmortem is in our