"William W Johnstone - Ashes 32 - Destiny in the Ashes (txt)" - читать интересную книгу автора (Johnstone William W)

to the higher-ups in the government, or to friends of the rich and
powerful."

"So, I guess the socialist/democratic form of government is like all the
others, in spite of their rhetoric about everyone being equal?" she asked.

Harley Reno glanced at her, his eyes warm. "You don't repeal the laws of
nature by passing man-made laws, Anna. Man is an animal just like the
lion or tiger in the jungle. When push comes to shove, he'll take what
he can in whatever way he can in order to survive."
"Yeah," Coop said in disgust, "I'll bet Claire Osterman and her group of
sycophants haven't lost any weight lately."

He turned the HumVee around a corner, and in front of them was the
Indianapolis Hilton, a twenty-story ramshackle building that had
obviously seen better days.

After he parked and they unloaded their own bags and trunks of
equipment, there being no bellboys around, they went up to the front desk.

A seedy-looking man in a tattered black coat stepped to the counter.

"Can I help you?" he asked.

"We're part of the medical team from the SUSA," Harley said, putting the
paper Ben had given him on the countertop.

"Ah, yes," the man said. "I'm Wilford Riley, the manager of the Hilton."

He turned, grabbed a handful of keys off a board behind him, and placed
them on the counter. "Your rooms are on the tenth floor." He hesitated.
"In fact, you have the entire floor to yourselves."

"Business not too hot, huh?" Coop asked.

Riley glanced at him. "Not since the ... war. No one seems to have any
money for traveling anymore."

"How about room service?" Coop asked.

Riley laughed quickly, then caught himself. "I'm afraid room service has
been discontinued due to the shortage of food lately."

32

He looked around, as if to see if anyone were listening, then leaned
across the counter. "However, if you have sufficient funds, cash I mean,
I'm sure you can get just about anything you want."

"You mean on the black market?" Anna asked.