"Steve Perry - Matador 01 - The Man Who Never Missed" - читать интересную книгу автора (Perry Steven)

hard. There was a paper tube inside the thinly packed flickstick and inside
the tube, a single dart of fluroproj-transparent plastic, just in case. The dart
tore through the tip of the smoldering flickstick and across the desk, hitting
Befalhavare Creg's throat. The poison took him, one knee snapping up into
his desk, throwing him forward. Number twenty-three-eighty-eight, Khadaji
thought. He wouldn't be able to top this one.
He stood and walked to the door, slid it aside and was out. He locked the
door behind him. The Lojtnant looked startled.
"Time to go," Khadaji said.
"That didn't take long."
Khadaji shrugged. "Who are we to question the C.O.?"
"I should check with himтАФ"
"I wouldn't. He told me he wanted a few minutes to think about what I
told him. No calls short of planetary emergency, I think he said."
The Lojt nodded. "All right. This way."
It would take five minutes to get back to the Jade Flower; it would
probably be another twenty or thirty minutes after that before anybody
seriously tried to disturb Befalhavare Creg; there would be another few
minutes of confusion after he was found before the chain-of-command
collected itself enough to check the recording and figure out what happened;
finally, a few more minutes would elapse before troopers stormed the Jade
Flower, looking for the Shamba Scum. He could figure on an hour, at least.
Plenty of time.
Inside the Flower, Khadaji found Sleel. "Clear everybody out," he said.
"We're closing." "Huh?"
 "The Jade Flower is going to close. Tell Anjue to start herding the troops
out; I want the place cleared in fifteen minutes."
"ButтАФbutтАФ"
"Just do it." Khadaji was aware of Sleel's stare at his back as he walked
toward the drug room. He rapped on the densecris window and got Butch's
attention. "What's happenin', Boss?" "Open up, Butch."
The reaper locks snicked open and the thick stainless steel door swung
wide. The chief pubtender stood in the doorway. "Somethin' up?"
"Go help Sleel. We're closing for a little while. I want everybody outside."
"What's the deal?"
"Not to worry, Butch. Somebody will be asking for me soonтАФtell them
where I am." He walked into the drug room and started to cycle the door
shut.
"What is it, Boss? You in some kinda trouble? Listen, me 'n' Sleel can hold
'em off if youтАФ"
Khadaji smiled. "Thanks, Butch, I appreciate it. But you do what I told you,
that'll help the most." The door swung closed. Khadaji walked over in front
of the dispensing window and stood framed in it. He saw Butch and Sleel
both look at him, and at least a dozen troopers saw him before he opaqued
the window. The crystal faded slowly to black. Alone in the room, he took a
deep breath and slowly sat on his heels in the kneeling position called seiza.
He had at least three-quarters of an hour, plenty of time for a short
meditation.
His mind would not be still. It had been over ten years since he'd learned
the first of the calming procedures he'd used from that point. They had