"Innes, Hammond - Air Bridge" - читать интересную книгу автора (Innes Hammond)

'Good.' He got up as though it were settled and went over to the completed engine. He stood there staring at it, and then he turned away from it with a quick, impatient movement of his shoulders as though throwing off something that was constantly at the back of his mind. 'You won't get any pay. Free board and lodging, beer, cigarettes, anything that is absolutely necessary. You'll work up here until the thing's complete. After that .. . well, we'll see. If things work out the way they should, then you won't lack a permanent job if you want it.'

'You seem to be taking my acceptance rather for granted,' I said.

'Of course I am,' he said, swinging round on me. 'You've no alternative.'

'Look - just what's your racket?' I demanded. 'I'm in enough trouble without getting deeper'

'There's no racket,' he cut in angrily. 'I run a company called Saeton Aircraft Ltd, and I rent these premises from the Air Ministry. It's all perfectly legal.'

'Then why pick on a lonely spot like this? And last night - you were scared of something. And you shouted at me in German. Why in German? And who was the girl?'

He came towards me then, his head thrust forward, his thick neck hard with the tautness of the muscles. 'Take my advice, Fraser - accept my offer and don't ask questions.' His jaw was so tight that the words came through his teeth.

I had got to my feet now. 'Are you sure you haven't pinched this plane?' I asked. Damn it! He wasn't going to get me in a worse mess.

For a moment I thought he was going to strike me. But instead he turned away with a little laugh. 'No. No, I didn't pinch it.' He rounded on me and added violently, 'Nor this engine, nor these tools, all this equipment. There's three years of my life in this hangar - three years of sweating my guts out, improvising, struggling, trying to make fools see that if only . ..' He stopped suddenly. Then in a voice into which he had forced mildness he said, 'You've nothing to worry about, Fraser. It's all perfectly legal. And once this plane is in the air and' He was interrupted by someone banging on the hangar door. He hesitated and then glanced at me. 'That could be the police. Which is it to be - complete the second engine for me or do I hand you over? You'll be quite safe up here in a day or so,' he added.

The banging on the door seemed to merge with the hammering of my heart. The possibility of arrest, which had gradually receded, now became real and instant. But I had already succumbed to a flicker of hope that had grown up inside me. 'I'll stay,' I said.

He nodded as though there had never been any doubt of it. 'Better nip into the fuselage. You can hide in the toilet at the rear. They won't think of looking for you there.'

I did as he suggested and climbed into the fuselage. In the dark belly of the plane I could just make out the shape of three large elliptical tanks up for'ard. I heard the click of the door being opened and the sound of voices. The door slammed to and for a moment I thought they'd left the hangar. But then their footsteps were echoing on the concrete as they came down towards the bench. There was the drone of a man's voice, low and urgent. Then Saeton cut him short: 'Ah1 right. Throw in your hand if you want to. But we'll talk about it back at the quarters, not here.' His voice was hard and angry.

'For God's sake, Bill, be reasonable. I'm not throwing in my hand. But we can't go on. You know that as well as I do.' They had stopped close beside the fuselage. The man was breathing heavily as though he were out of breath. He had a slight cockney accent and his voice was almost pleading. 'Can't you understand -I'm broke. I haven't a bean.'

'Well, nor have I,' Saeton said harshly. 'But I don't whine about it. In three months from now'

'It's been two years already,' the other put in mildly.

'Do you think I don't know how long it's been?' Saeton's voice softened. 'Listen, Tubby, in three months we'll be on top of the world. Think of it, man - only three months. Surely to God you can pull in your belt and stick it as long as that after all we've been through together?'

The other grunted. 'But you're not married, are you chum?'

'So your wife's been getting at you. That's it, is it? I ought to have known it. Well, if you think your wife's going to stop me from getting that plane into the air .. .' Saeton had been lashing himself into a fury, but he stopped suddenly. 'Let's go back to the quarters. We can't talk here.'

'No,' the other said obstinately. 'I'll say what I've got to say here.'

'We're going back to quarters,' Saeton said gently. 'We'll talk about it over a cup of tea.'

'No,' the other repeated, still in the same obstinate tone. 'We'll talk it over here and now if you don't mind. I'm not going to have you rowing Diana for something that isn't her'

'Diana!' Saeton's voice was suddenly harsh. 'You haven't brought her back'

'She's down at the quarters now,' the other said stolidly.

'At the quarters! You bloody fool! This is no place for a woman. They can't keep their mouths shut and'

'Diana won't talk. Besides, she's nowhere else to go.'