"David G. Hartwell - Year's Best SF 8" - читать интересную книгу автора (Hartwell David G)

Some time later he felt the dulled stinging of a series of slaps to his head. When she saw that she had
his attention, she poured the tequila onto the floor, accenting this gesture with an eye-opening Persian
harangue. Felix staggered to the bathroom, threw up, and returned to find a fresh cup of coffee. She had
raised the volume and was still going strong.
HeтАЩd never had her pick a loversтАЩ quarrel with him, though heтАЩd always known it was in her
somewhere. It was magnificent. It was washing over him in a musical torrent of absolute nonsense. It was
operatic, and he found it quite beautiful. Like sitting through a rainstorm without getting wet: trees
straining, leaves flying, dark, windy, torrential. Majestic.
Her idea of coffee was basically wet grounds, so it brought him around in short order. тАЬYouтАЩre right,
IтАЩm wrong, and IтАЩm sorry,тАЭ he admitted tangentially, knowing she didnтАЩt understand a word, тАЬso come on
and help me,тАЭ and he opened the sink cabinet, where he had hidden all his bottles when heтАЩd noticed the
earlier disapproving glances. He then decanted them down the drain: vodka, Southern Comfort, the gin,
the party jug of tequila, even the last two inches of his favorite single-malt. Moslems didnтАЩt drink, and
really, how wrong could any billion people be? He gulped a couple of aspirin and picked up the phone.
тАЬThe police were here. They know about us. I got upset. I drank too much.тАЭ
тАЬDid they beat you?тАЭ
тАЬUh, no. TheyтАЩre not big fans of beating over here, theyтАЩve got better methods. TheyтАЩll be back. We
are in big trouble.тАЭ
She folded her arms. тАЬThen weтАЩll run away.тАЭ
тАЬYou know, we have a proverb for that in America. тАШYou can run, but you canтАЩt hide.тАЩ тАЭ
тАЬDarling, I love your poetry, but when the police come to the house, itтАЩs serious.тАЭ
тАЬYes. ItтАЩs very serious, itтАЩs serious as cancer. YouтАЩve got no ID. You have no passport. You canтАЩt
get on any plane to get away. Even the trains and lousy bus stations have facial recognition. My car is
useless too. TheyтАЩd read my license plate a hundred times before we hit city limits. I canтАЩt rent another
car without leaving credit records. The cops have got my number.тАЭ
тАЬWeтАЩll steal a fast car and go very fast.тАЭ
тАЬYou canтАЩt outrun them! That is not possible! TheyтАЩve all got phones like we do, so theyтАЩre always
ahead of us, waiting.тАЭ
тАЬIтАЩm a rebel! IтАЩll never surrender!тАЭ She lifted her chin. тАЬLetтАЩs get married.тАЭ
тАЬIтАЩd love to, but we canтАЩt. We have no license. We have no blood test.тАЭ
тАЬThen weтАЩll marry in some place where they have all the blood they want. Beirut, that would be
good.тАЭ She placed her free hand against her chest. тАЬWe were married in my heart, the first time we ever
made love.тАЭ
This artless confession blew through him like a summer breeze. тАЬThey do have rings for cash at a
pawnbrokerтАЩsтАжBut IтАЩm a Catholic. There must be somebody who does this sort of thingтАжMaybe some
heretic mullah. Maybe a Santeria guy?тАЭ
тАЬIf weтАЩre husband and wife, what can they do to us? We havenтАЩt done anything wrong! IтАЩll get a
Green Card. IтАЩll beg them! IтАЩll beg for mercy. IтАЩll beg political asylum.тАЭ
Agent Portillo conspicuously cleared his throat. тАЬMr. Hernandez, please! This would not be the
conversation you two need to be having.тАЭ
тАЬI forgot to mention the worst part,тАЭ Felix said. тАЬThey know about our phones.тАЭ
тАЬMiss Kadivar, can you also understand me?тАЭ
тАЬWho are you? I hate you. Get off this line and let me talk to him.тАЭ
тАЬSalaam alekom to you, too,тАЭ Portillo concluded. тАЬItтАЩs a sad commentary on federal procurement
when a mullahтАЩs daughter has a fancy translator, and I canтАЩt even talk live with my own fellow agents. By
the way, those two gentlemen from the new regime in Teheran are staking out your apartment. How they
failed to recognize your girlfriend on her way in, that IтАЩll never know. But if you two listen to me, I think I
can walk you out of this very dangerous situation.тАЭ
тАЬI donтАЩt want to leave my beloved,тАЭ she said.
тАЬOver my dead body,тАЭ Felix declared. тАЬCome and get me. Bring a gun.тАЭ