"George R. R. Martin - WC 1 - Wild Cards" - читать интересную книгу автора (Martin George R R)

"It's good to be back, Filmore." Tod was dressed in a baggy suit, and had on an
overcoat even though it was August. He wore his hat pulled low over his face,
and from it a glint of metal was reflected in the pale lights from a warehouse.
"This is Fred and this is Ed," said Filmore. "They're here just for the night."
"'Lo," said Fred. "'Lo," said Ed.
They walked back to the car, a '46 Merc that looked like a submarine. They
climbed in, Fred and Ed watching the foggy alleys to each side. Then Fred got
behind the wheel, and Ed rode shotgun. With a sawed-off ten-gauge.
"Nobody's expecting me. Nobody cares," said Dr. Tod. "Everybody who had
something against me is either dead or went respectable during the war and made
a mint. I'm an old man and I'm tired. I'm going out in the country and raise
bees and play the horses and the market."
"Not planning anything, boss?"
"Not a thing."
He turned his head as they passed a streetlight. Half his face was gone, a
smooth plate reaching from jaw to hatline, nostril to left ear.
"I can't shoot anymore, for one thing. My depth perception isn't what it used to
be."
"I shouldn't wonder," said Filmore. "We heard something happened to you in '43."
"Was in a somewhat-profitable operation out of Egypt while the Afrika Korps was
falling apart. Taking people in and out for a fee in a nominally neutral air
fleet. Just a sideline. Then ran into that hotshot flier."
"Who?"
"Kid with the jet plane, before the Germans had them."
"Tell you the truth, boss, I didn't keep up with the war much. I take a long
view on merely territorial conflicts."
"As I should have," said Dr. Tod. "We were flying out of Tunisia. Some important
people were with us that trip. The pilot screamed. There was a tremendous
explosion. Next thing, I came to, it was the next morning, and me and one other
person are in a life raft in the middle of the Mediterranean. My face hurt. I
lifted up. Something fell into the bottom of the raft. It was my left eyeball.
It was looking up at me. I knew I was in trouble."
"You said it was a kid with a jet plane?" asked Ed. "Yes. We found out later
they'd broken our code, and he'd flown six hundred miles to intercept us."
"You want to get even?" asked Filmore.
"No. That was so long ago I hardly remember that side of my face. It just taught
me to be a little more cautious. I wrote it off as character building."
"So no plans, huh?"
"Not a single one," said Dr. Tod.
"That'll be nice for a change," said Filmore. They watched the lights of the
city go by.
He knocked on the door, uncomfortable in his new brown suit and vest.
"Come on in, its open," said a woman's voice. Then it was muffled. "I'll be
ready in just a minute."
Jetboy opened the oak hall door and stepped into the room, past the glass-brick
room divider.
A beautiful woman stood in the middle of the room, a dress halfway over her arms
and head. She wore a camisole, garter belt, and silk hose. She was pulling the
dress down with one of her hands.
Jetboy turned his head away, blushing and taken aback. "Oh," said the woman.