"006 The Mutant Corps" - читать интересную книгу автора (Perry Rhodan)

"I have a pretty good idea, but IТd rather discuss this in quiet and peace with you. Would you like to accompany me to the lounge section? We can look then for a nice spot in a corner where we will not be disturbed."They left. While they were on their way to the lounge, Adams stated "IТd like to inform the chief pilot of the theft."He returned in a short while. "Everything is in order - as far, at least, as my report of the theft is concerned. I hope that you can tell me more about it. The inquiries from the police can start only after we have landed. Perhaps they will close off the airport and not permit the passengers to leave, but that is not enough for me. I would prefer if we could take care of this matter ourselves, rather than wait for the police. We should try to find the thieves while we are still in flight. Who would you think is the guilty party?"

"I donТt know, but I would suspect at least six to eight of our passengers here."

"You, think they are here on board, or do you think that my bag was exchanged earlier, perhaps in Zanzibar? No-I looked into the case in the airport restaurant. Then everything was still in order. Therefore, the thief must be here on the plane. The only time the bag could have been exchanged was while we were boarding the plane. We were standing in line and advanced very slowly through the gate. It is possible that I put my bag down on the ground from time to time."

"I am inclined to agree. I share your thoughts there, but I really cannot tell who the guilty party is. We would have to suspect somebody who was close by while we were boarding the plane. I have closely examined these people several times already, but none of them has-the same bag as you do."

"Very strange, indeed. Now you know so little, and yet a little while ago you were so amazingly correct in your suspicions."

"Another question," Marshall said. "The amount you are missing might be quite large for the average person. Would this money be irreplaceable for you?"

"I donТt quite get what you mean," replied Adams hesitatingly. Again he felt distrust for John Marshall. "Your formulations are often quite amazing, Mr. Marshall. On the other hand, I cannot imagine that the man who stole my money would behave as conspicuously as you do."Suddenly the door from the passenger compartment flew open and several men came in noisily. Two of the men slammed the door and then bolted it, as if several other passengers wanted to get in too.

Almost all guests in the lounge section jumped up, completing the sudden confusion. There was so much noise and shouting that no one could hear until one of the men shouted loudly for everyone to be quiet. He emphasized his demand with a pistol.

"Everyone sit down!" commanded the stranger. "I have few questions to ask you, gentlemen. Who of you carries weapon? Please let me know immediately."

The first person to raise his hand was John Marshall. Several others followed suit, including, finally, Homer G. Adams. Altogether, seven people carried arms.

Someone asked what the meaning of all this was.

"Silence!" thundered the voice again. "We are in a very critical situation now. Several passengers have overwhelmed the shipТs crew and have taken over. Some of these men have entered the passenger section to disarm all travellers Our greatest concern now is to guard this door so that nobody can enter the lounge section. We want to hear suggestions how we can restore law and order on this plane."

"You canТt lock that door," protested one lady. "My husband and my children are back there in the passenger section."Several other passengers made similar protests, but they were in the minority, and their demands were ignored.

"We canТt make any concessions now to individual wishes from you, gentlemen. We must ask you to exert self-control and to think of the danger we are in at this moment."

"It would be good," came a voice from the background, "if we did not overestimate the danger. Whoever resists these bandits might get the short end of the stick, but I donТt think these criminals really want to threaten our lives." All they are interested in is our possessions. Therefore, I suggest we capitulate at once, for this is the only way to save our lives for sure."

"Coward!" someone called indignantly.

Another expressed suspicion. "YouТre probably one of these gangsters."

"It would be advisable if only one person spoke at a time," demanded John Marshall. "I believe that I can give you some enlightenment on what has happened here, but only if you, make sure that the entrance to the passenger room is closely guarded."

Several armed men pushed toward the door and reassured him that they would, be in charge of keeping that door firmly closed.

"Go on! Let us hear your explanation," urged the first speaker.

John Marshall said, "IТd like to say at the beginning that I do not know all this with absolute certainty, but I know enough for sure to suspect that this danger should by no means be minimized. The gangsters are undoubtedly out after our valuables, and in particular, they want to get at a sum of more than 23,000 pounds. They have already stolen this money."

"Why then all this hullabaloo? Do you think they will leave rest of us in peace?"

"Most likely. They are probably hardly interested in your money-perhaps just in your wives jewellery. But the greatest danger for us lies in the fact that the gangsters might make an attempt on the life of the man whose money they have stolen, for these criminals seem to. believe that their only guarantee to really keep that money Is to kill that man."

"And who is that person?"

"That doesnТt matter here."But Adams got out of his seat and bowed slightly to the group of excited passengers. "I am this man. Please forgive me if I have caused you such inconvenience by my mere presence on this plane, but in the final analysis I am an innocent victim of circumstances"