"Norton, Andre - Redline the stars" - читать интересную книгу автора (Norton Andre)

making the thickly lashed- eyes appear impossibly large. ;

They were a subtle violet color that seemed to alter with ',
every change of thought or mood. !

The hair was tawny, golden like the coat of a Terran lion. ;

She kept it long, braided and fastened in a coronet to her j
head in the fashion adopted by most female space hounds. S

Her hands, he saw as they shuffled through the contents |
of the slender safe-lock portfolio she carried, were long- I
fingered and beautifully formed. They were also very
small. One of them would not have spanned Van Rycke's
palm, or his own, for that matter.

She chose a document and held it out to them. "My
authorization to act as agent for Teague Cofort of the Rov-
ing Star."

The Cargo-Master accepted the paper and read it, as was
his right in a matter of Trade. "Dated this morning?"

She nodded.' 'He fasmitted it when I informed him of the

possible sale." i

"We hadn't broadcast any interest in parting with the |
Space Wrack," he observed, t

The young woman smiled and shrugged delicately.
"When I planeted, I prowled around, asked a few ques-
tions, and came up with some deductions. Teague told me
to go for it if the deal was reasonable."

Redline the Stars 19

Van Rycke leaned back in his chair. "Ms. Cofort, I con-
fess that I'm finding it a bit difficult to believe you were
sent all the way to Trewsworld on the chance of finding a
small freighter coming up for sale. Trade here isn't all that
spectacular, and similar chances to latch onto a ship aren't
all that uncommon even put here on the rim, much less in
the inner systems you often frequent, not when there's a
good supply of credits on hand to pay for her."

"I was not sent here, of course. I came on the Mermaid."
"The Mermaid lifted yesterday morning."
Her eyes flashed with the anger she otherwise chained.