"Barbara Karmazin - Blackbird 2 - Out of the Dark" - читать интересную книгу автора (Karmazin Barbara)

Socorro squatted beside the carrier and peered inside. A mournful meow greeted the child's scrutiny.
тАЬLicorice's tired of being cooped up too. She wants me to let her out.тАЭ

тАЬWe'll let her out later when it isn't so crowded,тАЭ Cait murmured. She shifted her attention to the
customs agent and shook her head. Stringy brown hair clung to his scalp like a spiderweb. Why he
couldn't keep his hair clean? Were they rationing water on Earth now?

Indio propped his hip against the counter in front of the custom's agent and waited patiently for the line
to move. Tall and lean with old burn scars on his face, he looked like a hardened criminal instead of a
cop. He should be standing here with his daughter Socorro, but coach tickets had placed them on
opposite ends of the shuttlecraft.

She dredged up a reassuring smile for Socorro. тАЬYour daddy and Tiny will be finished soon.тАЭ

Socorro's gaze grew even more distracted. She slipped her hand into Cait's and whispered. тАЬThey have
selkieskins in their luggage. Won't they get in trouble?тАЭ

Cait blinked. The child was right. Their discovery of the skins on the asteroid had caused an
interplanetary uproar. She and Socorro had opted to leave theirs in storage at Sanctuary Station.

She turned around again. Her husbands had just placed their luggage on the counter. They should have
left their selkieskins behind instead of bringing them dirtside, but there was no reasoning with men.
Stubborn and capricious in their logic, they had decided to keep the valuable biological spacesuits in their
possession.

The agent gestured for them to open their luggage. They looked at each other and shrugged. With a flick
of their wrists they unzipped the bags, turned them over and spilled the contents on the countertop.

Two selkieskins oozed out from the stack of clothingтАФtwo quivering masses of dark plasma.
Shimmering moir├й streaks of iridescent reds, blues and greens rippled across their black surfaces in
random pulses.

The agent puffed his potbellied paunch out to its fullest extent and poked his finger at one of the skins.

тАЬWait! Don't touch it!тАЭ Indio and Tiny shouted.

The skin rippled and oozed over the agent's hand. He staggered backwards while the selkieskin flowed
relentlessly past his elbow. His fear slammed into Cait like a punch in her gut. Being a telempath was a
painful nuisance at times. She needed to get away from everyone and reset her mental shields.

Indio stepped behind the agent. He wrapped his arms around the terrified man and held him still while
Tiny reached out with his gloved hands and peeled the selkieskin off.

тАЬThey're bio-engineered symbiotes, legally registered as artificial life-forms at the Space Station
Sanctuary.тАЭ The distinctive sound of Indio's raspy voice rose above the muted murmur of arrivals and
departures coming from the ceiling loudspeakers.

A second customs agent, her dreadlocked hair tied back into a bushy ponytail, stepped up to the
counter. She held her body very stiff and kept her distance while Tiny and Indio let the selkieskins slither
back into their bags. тАЬI heard about those things on last night's news. May I see the customs clearance