"Zach Hughes - Pressure Man" - читать интересную книгу автора (Hughes Zach)

were more sounds. He froze, not believing it. A small pop. The workman had
just activated a self-igniting cutting torch. "Turn that thing off, you dumb
bastard," he screamed. "The gas is leaking." "Yeah," the workman said.
The blue-clad legs moved. He saw the flame at the tip of the cutting torch and
knew what was going to happen. He braced the back of his neck against the
caved-in roof of the auto and pushed, momentarily
6 Zach Hughes panicked. He heard the methane ignite,
whooshing, into flame. He felt the heat immediately, and the rank odor of
combustion was in his nostrils. Like millions, billions before him, he was
thinking, "No, not me. Not now. Not yet.21 . Burning paint filled, the crushed
cab with smoke. The heat was a blast furnace. Evil black tendrils of heavy
smoke snaked up into the small area in which he was trapped. A sheet of flame
sprang up outside the slit of the window, cutting off his viqw of the world.
I His mind was surprisingly clear. In a few seconds the entire tank of, gas
would go. At least it would be quick, one massive, blow as the explosion
fireballed up. At least it would be quick.
02o
Barnes was no angel. He never had been and, ss he did a lot of changing, he
never would be. I'V_ ise, calm, methodical, overbearing, yes. Angelic,
Tall, graying at the temples, eyes cold gray behind
o
al rimless glasses,--he towered over the world, n
face just -as remembered, smooth-shaven, mascu-
st handsome. But he was not an angel. Mo
is was evident in a slow swim upward into eness. The world was J.Ps face, and
it was a burning world, and there was a stench of burning gar bage gas. ,zl@-@
His feet hurt. He lifted his head and looked down his body. His feet were
bandaged. "It isn't too bad," J.J. said. "It's painful, -1 know, but the
damage is minor. That sore spot you feel on your ass is the only place they
had to take skin for grafting.$2
He turned his head and saw a hospital table with water pitcher, pill
tray, glass, and a small vase of roses. "Are you with me, Flash?` J.J. asked.
The use of his old nickname helped him bring his eyes into full focus.
"I think so," he said. "That bastard had passed a double screening," M. @i,
said. "Are you ready to hear about it, or do you want to let your head clear a
bit more?"
11W
ater," he said.
7
8 Zach Hughes "Sure." J.J. poured and lie took the glass,
almost letting it slide through his fingers. "Thanks," @ he said. He felt a
twinge of soreness on his left buttock. The world tilted a little, then
stabilized. He drank, and J.J. took the glass. "OK," he said. "Flash, we can't
keep all of them out. No matter how we try we can't screen all of them out.
There are too many of them. They've been infiltrating too long, and some of
them are damned smart." "Why me?" he asked. "Probably because you had a DOSE
decal on your auto," J.J. said. "Working for DOSE is reason enough.
He was looking at his feet. They were bandaged from the calves downward. He
wiggled a toe and it moved and there was only a small pi mi. He could feel
the:motion, but he couldn't see it through the bandages. "They've got the pain