"George R. R. Martin - Override" - читать интересную книгу автора (Martin George R R)

Kabaraijian closed his eyes, and tried to shut off his ears. He deliberately blotted his senses, and
concentrated on the distant sensory echoes that still murmured in his mind. They were there. Even vaguer
than usual, but less confused; there were only two sets of images now. His third corpse floated a few feet
from him, and it wasn't sending anything.
He twisted his mind tight, and listened, and tried to see. The blurs began to define themselves. Two
pictures, both wavering, took form, superimposed over each other. A sense tangle, but Kabaraijian
pulled at the threads. The pictures resolved.
One corpse was waist-deep in green water, moving slowly, holding a pick. It could see the shaft of
the tool, and the hand wrapped around it, and the gradually-deepening water. But it wasn't even looking
in Kabaraijian's direction.
 The second dead man was in the launch, one hand resting on the controls. It wasn't looking either. It
was staring down, at the instruments. It took a lot of concentration for a corpse to run any sort of
machine. So the handler was having it keep a firm eye on the engine.
Only it could see more than just the engine. It had a very good view of the entire launch.
And suddenly everything fell into place. Certain now that the wrecked launch hid him from view,
Kabaraijian moved farther back into its shadow, then threw a hand over the side and pulled himself on
board, crouching so he wouldn't be found. The rocks had torn a hole in the bottom of the boat. But the
tool chest was intact. He crawled to it, and flipped it open. The corpses had unpacked most of the mining
equipment, but there was still a repair kit. Kabaraijian took out a heavy wrench and a screwdriver. He
shoved the screwdriver into his belt, and gripped the wrench tightly. And waited.
The other launch was nearly on top of him, and he could hear the purr of its motor and the water
moving around it. He waited until it was next to his boat. Then he stood up suddenly, and jumped.
He landed smack in the middle of the other boat, and the launch rocked under the impact.
Kabaraijian didn't give the enemy time to reactтАФat least not the time it takes a corpse. He took a single
short step, and brought the wrench around in a vicious backhanded blow to the dead man's head. The
corpse slumped back. Kabaraijian bent, grabbed its legs, and lifted.
And suddenly the dead man was no longer in the launch.
And Kabaraijian, wheeling, was looking down at the stunned face of Ed Cochran. He hefted the
wrench with one hand even as his other reached for the controls, and upped the speed. The boat
accelerated, and dove toward the exit. Cave and corpses vanished behind, and darkness closed in with
the rocky walls. Kabaraijian switched on the lights.
"Hello, Ed," he said, hefting the wrench again. His voice was very steady and very cold.
Cochran breathed a noisy sigh of relief. "Matt," he said. "Thank God, I just came to. My
corpsesтАФtheyтАФ"
Kabaraijian shook his head. "No, Ed, it won't wash. Don't bother me with that, please. Just give me
the override box."
Cochran looked scared. Then, fighting, he flashed his grin. "Heh. You gotta be kiddin', right? I don't
have no override box. I told you I heard another launch."
"There was no other launch. That was a set-up, in case you failed. So was that blow you took on the
beach. I'll bet that was trickyтАФhaving your corpse swing the pick so you got hit with the side instead of
the point. But it was very well done. My compliments, Ed. That was good corpse handling. As was the
rest. It isn't easy to coordinate a five-crew doing different things simultaneously. Very nice, Ed. I
underestimated you. Never thought you were that good a handler."
Cochran stared at him from the floor of the launch, his grin gone. Then his gaze broke, and his eyes
went back and forth between the walls that pressed around them.
Kabaraijian waved the, wrench again, his palm sweaty where he gripped it. His other hand touched
his shoulder briefly. The bleeding had stopped. He sat slowly, and rested his hand on the motor.
"Aren't you going to ask me how I knew, Ed?" Kabaraijian said. Cochran, sullen, said nothing. "I'll
tell you anyway," Kabaraijian continued. "I saw you. I looked through the eyes of my corpse, and I saw
you huddled here in the boat, lying on the floor and peeking over the side to try and spot me. You didn't