"Jane Lindskold - Endpoint Insurance" - читать интересную книгу автора (Lindskold Jane)

it. Moreover, your lienholder on the Mercury might not okay such minimal
coverage.тАЭ
тАЬAASU,тАЭ I reminded him, тАЬis also the lienholder.тАЭ
тАЬWell, then,тАЭ Spike said, a slight grin tugging the left corner of his mouth, тАЬI can say
that your lienholder would not permit such minimal coverage. We take enough risks
with you.тАЭ
тАЬBosh!тАЭ I protested, knowing that he knew as well as I did that I ran a tight ship.
Spike laughed loudly.
тАЬIтАЩd think,тАЭ I said stiffly, тАЬthat AASU could make an exception for a faithful
customer like myself. IтАЩve always paid my premiums on time and my claims have
been modest.тАЭ
тАЬTrue,тАЭ Spike said, тАЬbut we are assigned certain guidelines for underwriting policies.
IтАЩve already stretched the limits for you. Now, if you worked for AASUтАжтАЭ
He let the sentence trail off, and if I wasnтАЩt a skilled haggler and poker player, I might
have missed his hint.
I glanced at him sharply. тАЬWhatтАЩs on your mind? AASU has its own courier fleet.
You donтАЩt need to hire me.тАЭ
тАЬNot as a courier,тАЭ Spike said, тАЬbut we could use your help catching some pirates.тАЭ
тАЬMe?тАЭ I felt my expression turn suspicious and schooled it into a comfortable
neutrality. тАЬWhy me? IтАЩm just a freelance courier.тАЭ
тАЬBosh,тАЭ Spike said, deliberately echoing my inflection of a moment before. тАЬCaptain
Ah-Lee, you have a good many skills and lots of knowledge you donтАЩt advertise, but
before I puff up your ego, let me tell you about AASUтАЩs problem.тАЭ
тАЬGo ahead,тАЭ I replied, settling back in my chair. тАЬFor all my much-vaunted
knowledge, I havenтАЩt heard that pirates are using Endpoint.тАЭ
тАЬThe local government,тАЭ Spike admitted, тАЬhas tried to keep it quiet. Pirates arenтАЩt
good for business. Up to a point, AASU is willing to support this view, but not
when the local governmentтАЩs unwillingness to act means that the pirates have easy
use of the system.тАЭ
тАЬI can see that,тАЭ I agreed. тАЬYouтАЩre sure itтАЩs pirates, not smugglers? I donтАЩt have
anything against smugglers.тАЭ
тАЬPirates,тАЭ Spike assured me. тАЬA rather large consortium of pirates, if I donтАЩt miss
my guess. Let me fill you in.тАЭ
According to Spike, about a hundred standards ago, End-point took a large leap in
population. Part of the increase was due to the arrival of refugees from the war
between the Absolutes and the Loyalists in the Bath system, part to a successful
advertising campaign.
Nearly five thousand new colonists registered for permanent taxpayer status. Fifteen
thousand isnтАЩt many people by the standards of a world like Home Earth, where I
hear even a small city can number in the millions, but by the time you add in visitors
like myself, resident aliens, and nonpermanent residents, you have a large enough
population that no one can know everyone else.
Right on the heels of this new influx came the pirates. Endpoint didnтАЩt provide
enough traffic to be tempting for actual piracy-though I didnтАЩt doubt that this would
follow in time. However, there was plenty of cover for illicit shipping
тАЬPirates are like epidemics and property taxes,тАЭ I commented cynically when Spike
paused, тАЬthey come with growth. Why are you so worried?тАЭ
Spike frowned. тАЬBecause AASU insures many of the ships and businesses the
pirates prey on. Whether itтАЩs a cargo that doesnтАЩt get to its destination or a local
business that gets undercut by black market competition, piracy hurts our clients.