"Kevin O'Donnel Jr. - The Journeys of McGill Feighan 03 - Lava" - читать интересную книгу автора (O'Donnell Jr Kevin)

in manuscript and what they said about it helped me make it better
than it would otherwise have been.


To Cherry Weiner,
because I couldn't spare a gastropod
when she really needed one,
and because without her
the lava might never have flowed.




Chapter I
^┬╗

The psychiatric evaluation of Marion Jefferson Greystein disgusted him.
"Emotional immaturity and consequent rebelliousness, compounded by
alcoholic tendencies." In plain English, Greystein broke whatever rules he
pleased. As that anonymous phone call had just made clear.
Davis drummed his fingers on the desk. PsychSection recommended
nonsense: comprehension, counseling, therapy. All a smokescreen spewed
out to hide its failure to properly indoctrinate Greystein in the first place. If it
had done its jobтАФ damn the personality damage!тАФGreystein would never
have acted up.
Not one Flinger except Harry Lipsiento, whose Psych session he had
overseen personally, seemed to have been indoctrinated properly. Whiners,
all of them! Ask them to work overtime, to squeeze in one extra FlingтАФ"I'm
too tired," or "Couldn't get it there safely," or even, to his fury, "No." Except
for Harry, who was as courteous and as reflexively obedient as any boss
could want.
Time to draw a line. Whip the prima donnas into shape. Make an example
out of Greystein. His roommate Feighan was nearly as bad, but at least
Feighan did his job. Greystein thought he was above all that. Dead last on
the performance ratings the last six months. Four days out of five he came
to work hung over; on the fifth, he came drunk. No therapy for him. What
he neededтАФand would get, if that caller sent the proofтАФ would be a good
headscrub.
That would solve the problem. For sure. And forever.




Chapter II
┬л^┬╗

Teetering on the edge of the bathtub, Sam asked, "Why won't the other kids
play with me?"
McGill Feighan smiled sadly at his three-year-old ward, then raised his
chin to shave beneath his jaw. "Probably because you're different."