"Michael Moorcock - An Evening at Home" - читать интересную книгу автора (Moorcock Michael)

Max, as you probably know."

All I knew was that his plane had been found but that he had been missing. I
told him this. I said how worried I had been.

I was half-crazy with distraction, aware the whole time that the Duce himself
was waiting in the car. I could not find my office keys. As I went towards the
bedroom to look for them, Mandy came out. She seemed surprised to see me. "Oh,
Max," she said. "I'm not sure you want to get involved in this."

"Involved?" I still had my momentum. I was still searching for my keys. "I'm
delighted that Fiorello is safe. I have something to do that will take less
than an hour and then I will be back."

"Fiorello isn't safe," she said. "At least, not that safe."

"I can't find my keys," I said. "Have you seen them?"

She suggested I look in the box on my dressing table. Sometimes I put them
there.

"What do you mean?" I asked. There they were, in the box! I snatched them up.
"Not safe? He's here, with us!"

"I wasn't sure how you'd take it," she said.

"Take what? Listen, my darling, I have a car waiting. It is very important
that I leave immediately. Take what?"

"Fiorello's on the run," she said. "He was caught coming back from
Switzerland. He never made it to his plane. They kidnapped him. Beat him up.
One of them was De Vecchi, the Education Minister!"

I agreed it was terrible, but was glad he was safe now. When I turned to
leave, Fiorello was standing in the doorway, his lopsided, hideous face
looking like something you would find in a charnal house, scarcely human at
all. "I don't expect you to help," he said. "I was trying to get Laura to
safety. She's all right now. She's in Austria I'm sure." He shrugged and
glanced away. "Bloody commy."

"You helped a communist?" I asked disbelievingly. Suddenly the enormity of the
situation struck me. My legs lost their power to hold me. l I sat down on the
couch. Outside, with his motor running, was the supreme Fascist. Inside, a
supreme traitor to Fascism. Should they meet, I would be irredeemably
compromised. But there was nothing I could do, save dash back out to the car
and hope Mandy had solved the problem by the time I returned. I began to give
up any idea of going on to the private party.

"He'll be gone when you get back," Mandy promised.