"Bruce McAllister- Kin" - читать интересную книгу автора (Mcallister Bruce)

5
 Kin
by Bruce McAllister


It was translator's idiom only. "Seeing" was not the same
as "understanding." The young human had done what the
military and civilian intelligence services of five worlds had
been unable to doтАФidentify him as a professionalтАФand it
made the alien reflect: Why had he answered the message?
Why had he taken it seriously? A human child had delivered
it, after all. Was it that he had sensed no danger and simply
followed professional reflex, or something else? Somehow the
boy had known he would. How?
"How much..." the alien said, curious, "are you able to
pay?"
"I've got two hundred dollars, sir."
"How ... did you acquire them?"
"I sold things," the boy said quickly.
The rooms here were bare. Clearly the boy had nothing to
sell. He had stolen the money, the alien was sure.
"I can get more. I canтАФ"
The alien made a sound that did not translate. The boy
jumped.
The alien was thinking of the 200,000 inters for the
vengeance assassination on Hoggun's third moon, the one
hundred kilobucks for the renegade contract on the asteroid
called Wolfe, and the mineral shares, pharmaceuticals, and
spacelock craftтАФworth twice thatтАФwhich he had in the end
received for the three corporate kills on Alama Poy. What
could two hundred dollars buy? Could it even buy a city rail
ticket?
"That is not enough," the alien said. "Of course," it added,
one arm twitching, then still again, "you may have thought to
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 Kin
by Bruce McAllister


record ... our discussion ... and you may threaten to release
the recording ... to Earth authorities ... if I do not do what
you ask of me...."
The boy's pupils dilated thenтАФlike those of the human
province official on Diedor, the one he had removed for the
Gray Infra there.
"Oh, noтАФ" the boy stammered. "I wouldn't do thatтАФ" The
skin of his face had turned red, the alien saw. "I didn't even
think of it."
"Perhaps ... you should have," the alien said. The arm