"(novel) (ebook) - Perry Rhodan 0006 - (3b) The Mutant Corps" - читать интересную книгу автора (Perry Rhodan)

Homer G. Adams ate his meal as quickly as he could. He kept looking at the big clock on the wall of the restaurant while swallowing every bite almost without chewing it. He asked for his bill as soon as the waiter served his dessert. He left the table while he was still chewing the last bite, paid the cashier and then walked over to the luggage counter.

"Pardon me, sir, but could you please check if my luggage is already aboard the plane?" He showed the clerk his luggage check.

"The jet to Tokyo," said the clerk. "The luggage is being put aboard this very moment."

"But are you quite positive that my suitcases are there too?"

The clerk took a deep breath and obviously had difficulty keeping his temper. "Of course your luggage is being put aboard, sir. You have the receipt. We are very reliable people, and it is not at all necessary to double check."

"I beg your pardon. If you say so."

Adams pretended to be satisfied, but in reality he was still deeply worried about another matter. He went to the gate and learned that the passengers were not yet permitted to pass to the airplane. Then he hurried to the exit at the north side of the airport and called a taxi.

"Take me to Epsom, please. Go as fast as you possibly can."

The driver raced at breakneck speed and received a generous tip at the end of the trip. Homer G. Adams then hailed another taxi and asked to be taken to Dorking. There he hailed a third taxi and directed the driver to return to Croydon Airport. As he got into the cab it was 1335.

"Can you make it to the airport in ten minutes?"

"Impossible, sir."

"Try to do your best," encouraged Adams in a kind but urgent voice.

"But it is really not possible, sir. I know this area inside out. We will need at least thirteen minutes to get there if everything goes right."

"Okay, but drive as fast as you can. A jet is leaving for Tokyo at 1345. If we manage to see that plane leave, youТll get an extra tip of ten pounds."

"Do you want to catch that plane?"

"No. All I want is to see it leave the airport."

The driver did his utmost, and he was lucky not to rim into much traffic. The taxi arrived at the north exit of the, airport at exactly 1347.

Adams raced into the hall and observed the Tokyo jet disappearing in the midday sky. His face showed an expression of great satisfaction, quite in contrast with the gentle man next to him, who expressed his anger loudly. It was obvious that he had just missed the plane. Adams felt moved to address the man.

"DonТt be so upset about this, sir. I, too, have missed the jet, but I know a way out of this misfortune."

"Who are you?"

"A fellow sufferer. IТm expected in Tokyo tonight, and I hope I can still meet my friends there at the time we arranged."

"Do you have a private jet?" asked the stranger, showing more interest.

"No. I donТt have a private jet but I know that another flight is leaving for Sydney, Australia, in twenty-five minutes. The plane will stop over in Zanzibar, and there we can catch another plane to Tokyo, coming from Cape Town, South Africa."

"Well, beggars canТt be choosers. Many thanks, sir. This way we will still get to Tokyo before noon."

In Zanzibar they bad a stopover of almost an hour. They went to the air port restaurant. Adams had found out that his companionТs name was John Marshall and that he was twenty-six years old. Marshall had said nothing about his profession, and Adams was not interested in finding out, since at this moment he could not guess the significance of his meeting with this young man.But the mutual game of hide and seek came shortly to an end. Adams bought a newspaper from a little boy. The paper came fresh from the presses and contained the very latest news.