"Ann Maxwell - Risk unlimited 02 - Shadow and Silk" - читать интересную книгу автора (Maxwell Ann)

the Potala Palace wall, he caught a glimpse of a truck.
The truck had not been there a few minutes ago.
Even in the twilight Shane had no difficulty recognizing the military shade of green. Like the sound of the tailgate
dropping, he had seen the colors of the PRC all too often, in every kind of light.
The only way the truck could have arrived without being noticed was to roll in with the engine off and brake to a
halt with the taillights unplugged.
This is no routine patrol, Shane realized. These are top security troopers on a well-planned mission.
Shit.
Shane turned his head and looked back toward the heart of the city. He saw more headlights moving in his
direction.
Feng and Dani are rats in a trap, Shane thought. But then, so am I. The only difference is that I know it.
 Shane hoped it would be enough of a difference.
Then he caught another sound, a boot scraping carelessly on a paving stone. The soldiers were closing in.
IтАЩll have to make a grab for the silk, Shane decided calmly. ItтАЩs my best chance. My only one.
Slowly Shane raised himself on the roof, measuring his distance from Feng and the aluminum tube.
тАЮWell, Feng?тАЬ Dani prodded. тАЮWhy did you choose me out of all the Westerners in the market this morning?тАЬ
Feng sighed, smiled nervously, and gave in.
тАЮYou are very quick, Miss Warren. I came to you because тАУ тАЬ
There was a soft, muffled popping sound.
Silencer, Shane thought instantly. Christ.
Dani saw a look of surprise on FengтАЩs face as a rip suddenly opened up on his jacket. Blood burst through the
cloth as Feng was flung back against the wall.
Instinctively Dani grabbed for the aluminum tube as Feng slumped to the cobbles, but he was already beyond her
reach. His body had folded protectively around the tube.
In numb disbelief Dani stared at FengтАЩs surprised face, his twisted body. A strange slackness came over him, but
he didnтАЩt release the tube.
Blood stopped flowing from the fresh wound.
Abruptly Dani knew that Feng would never answer her question. He was quite dead.
Shane had known Feng was dead from the way he hit the wall. With cool precision Shane weighed impacts and
timed sounds and calculated trajectories.
The Russian, Shane concluded instantly. It has to be. Security troopers donтАЩt use silencers. They come in with all
barrels blazing and jackboots slapping on the pavement.
ShaneтАЩs years of military training took over. Knowing he was still concealed from the assassin, he slowly turned
his head toward the spot from which the shot had come. He caught a flicker of movement.
The Russian, changing positions.
Dani gasped as the blank-faced blond Westerner who had followed her earlier stepped out of the shadows thirty
yards away.
The gun he carried was pointed right at her heart.
тАЮStand back from the silk,тАЬ he said, тАЮor die.тАЬ
 Chapter Three

Except for ShaneтАЩs own reactions, the world seemed to shift into slow motion for him. It was always that way for him in
battle. It gave him an edge many other men didnтАЩt have.
As Shane rolled to one side, he slipped his own weapon out of the holster in the small of his back. The gun was a
matte-black small-caliber pistol with a long barrel, a varmint gun of the sort that many backpackers carried in the
outlands of Tibet.
Shane valued accuracy over stopping power. In any case, a small pistol was easier to explain to authorities in
places like Tibet than a high-caliber man killer with a fifteen-round clip and all the bells and whistles.
Before Shane could bring the pistol to bear on the Russian target, he heard a sudden shout in Chinese.
тАЮStop! We are the authorities!тАЬ