"Eric Nylund - Paladin Blake and The Secret City" - читать интересную книгу автора (Nylund Eric)

coveralls.

"What's the emergency this time, my friend?" he asked Paladin.

Paladin handed him the telegram.

Tennyson stroked his white beard as he read and then re-read the message. "It's a trap, of
course," he murmured. "Matthew knows you are a man of character. A man who would not
hesitate to charge to Flora's rescue."

"You're right," Paladin said. "But...she's my sister, Tennyson. What would you do? Ignore
it?"

"What would I do?" Tennyson pondered this, frowned, and then declared, "Why I would
come with you, naturally. Obviously, you'll require a wingman."

Paladin set a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Can't let you do that. Half the people in
Colorado wouldn't mind seeing me dead. The other half wouldn't mind killing me."

Tennyson's hands clenched and then relaxed. "Our friend, Dashiell, has started a rather
morbid pool wagering when your final mission will occur. I can see he is not too far from the
truth." He exhaled. "But if you are determined to meet Matthew's deadline, you must take
my Devastator. I have fine-tuned her motor to perfection. She is the fastest plane here-" he
arched a bushy white eyebrow "-she has to be, to survive the modifications I have made."

Paladin eyed the plane curiously. "Show me."

Tennyson turned on his heels and marched toward the suspended Devastator. He stood
under the aircraft with his arms akimbo. "Tell me what is different."

"I don't have time for a quiz-" But Paladin saw it immediately: all eight of the Devastator's
hardpoints were loaded. Two pairs of rockets, however, pointed backwards.

"Ah, you've spotted them," Tennyson said. "The outer set are flash rockets. The inner two
are high explosives. Both have a customized fuse that detonates a quarter of a second after
launch."

Paladin shook his head with disbelief. "That'll blow off the tail."

"Correct," Tennyson replied. He mounted the ladder next to the Devastator and gestured
inside the cockpit. "With one caveat, however."

Paladin climbed after Tennyson saw he pointed at a hand-painted line on the airspeed
gauge.

"If you're flying faster than this," Tennyson explained, "there is a very good chance you will
outrun the explosion-at least, that's what my calculations indicate. They should make for a
nasty surprise to an opponent on your six, don't you think?" Before Paladin could reply,
Tennyson continued: "I was going to test the modifications tomorrow, with a flash rocket
loaded with a charge of paint."