"Clash By Night" - читать интересную книгу автора (Moore C. L)

'Right,' Scott said. 'Can you get him?'

'I think so. We haven't agreed yet on the bonus. I've been telaudioing him on a tight beam, but he keeps putting me off - waiting till the last moment, when he can dictate his own terms.'

'What's he asking, sir?'

'Fifty thousand cash and a fifty per cent cut on the loot.'

'I'd say thirty per cent would be about right.'

Rhys nodded. 'I've offered him thirty-five. I may send you to his fort-carte blanche. We can get another Company, but Mendez has got beautiful sub-detectors - which would come hi handy against the Helldivers. Maybe I can settle things by audio. If not, you'll have to fly over to Mendez and buy his services, at less than fifty per cent if you can.'

Scott rubbed the old scar on his chin with a calloused forefinger. 'Meantime Commander Bienne's in charge of mobilization. When-'

'I telaudioed our fort. Air transports are on the way now.'

'It'll be quite a scrap,' Scott said, and the eyes of the two men met in perfect understanding. Rhys chuckled drylyx.

'And good profits. Virginia Keep has a big supply of korium . . . dunno how much, but plenty.'

'What started the fracas this time?'

'The usual thing, I suppose,' Rhys said disinterestedly. 'Imperialism. Somebody in Virginia Keep worked out a new plan for annexing the rest of the.Keeps. Same as usual.'

They stood up as the door-curtain swung back, admitting President Crosby, another man, and a girl. The man looked young, his boyish face not yet toughened under actinic burn. The girl was lovely in the manner of a plastic figurine, lit from within by vibrant life. Her blonde hair was cropped in the prevalent mode, and her eyes, Scott saw, were an unusual shade of green. She was more than merely pretty -she was instantly exciting.

Crosby said, 'My niece, Ilene Kane - and my nephew, Norman Kane.' He performed introductions, and they found seats.

'What about drinks?' Ilene suggested. 'This is rather revoltingly formal. The fight hasn't started yet, after all.'

Crosby shook his head at her. 'You weren't invited here anyway. Don't try to turn this into a party - there isn't too much time, under the circumstances.'

'O.K.,' Ilene murmured. 'I can wait.' She eyed Scott interestedly.

Norman Kane broke in. 'I'd like to join Doone's Free Companions, sir. I've already applied, but now that there's a battle coming up, I hate to wait till my application's approved. So I thought-'

Crosby looked at Cine Rhys. 'A personal favour, but the decision's up to you. My nephew's a misfit - a romanticist. Never liked the life of a Keep. A year ago he went off and joined Starling's outfit.'

Rhys raised an eyebrow. 'That gang? It's not a recommendation, Kane. They're not even classed as Free Companions. More like a band of guerrillas, and entirely without ethics. There've even been rumours they're messing around with atomic power.'

Crosby looked startled. 'I hadn't heard that.'

'It's no more than a rumour. If it's ever proved, the Free Companions -all of them - will get together and smash Starling in a hurry.'

Norman Kane looked slightly uncomfortable. 'I suppose I was rather a fool. But I wanted to get in the fighting game, and Starling's groups appealed to me-'

The cine made a sound in his throat. 'They would. Swashbuckling romantics, with no idea of what war means. They've not more than a dozen technicians. And they've no discipline - it's like a pirate outfit. War today, Kane, isn't won by romantic animals dashing at forlorn hopes. The modern soldier is a tactician who knows how to think, integrate, and obey. If you join our Company, you'll have to forget what you learned with Starling.'

'Will you take me, sir?'