"Mark Phillips - The Queen's own FBI Trilogy - Brain Twister, The Impossibles, Supermind" - читать интересную книгу автора (Phillips Mark)

 The thought of pistol practice made his head begin to throb with the authority of a true hangover. There
were fifty or sixty small gnomes inside his skull, he realized, all of them with tiny little hammers. They were
mining for lead.

"The lead,тАЭ Malone said aloud, тАЬis farther down. Not in the skull."

The gnomes paid him no attention. He shut his eyes and tried to relax. The gnomes went right ahead with
their work, and microscopic regiments of Eagle Scouts began marching steadily along his nerves.

There were people, Malone had always understood, who bounced out of their beds and greeted each
new day with a smile. It didn't sound possible, but then again there were some pretty strange people. The
head of that counterfeiting ring, for instance: where had he got the idea of picking an alias like Andr├й
Gide?

Clutching at his whirling thoughts, Malone opened his eyes, winced, and began to get dressed. At least,
he thought, it was going to be a peaceful day.

It was at this second that his private intercom buzzed.

Malone winced again. тАЬTo hell with you,тАЭ he called at the thing, but the buzz went on, ignoring the code
shut-off. That meant, he knew, an emergency call, maybe from his Chief of Section. Maybe even from
higher up.

"I'm not even late for work yet,тАЭ he complained. тАЬI will be, but I'm not yet. What are they screaming
about?"

There was, of course, only one way to find out. He shuffled painfully across the room, flipped the switch
and said:

"Malone here.тАЭ Vaguely, he wondered if it were true. He certainly didn't feel as if he were here. Or
there. Or anywhere at all, in fact.

A familiar voice came tinnily out of the receiver. тАЬMalone, get down here right away!"

The voice belonged to Andrew J. Burris. Malone sighed deeply and felt grateful, for the fiftieth time, that
he had never had a TV pickup installed in the intercom. He didn't want the FBI chief to see him looking
as horrible as he did now, all rippled and everything. It wasn't-well, it wasn't professional, that was all.

"I'll get dressed right away,тАЭ he assured the intercom. тАЬI should be there inтАФ"

"Don't bother to get dressed,тАЭ Burris snapped. тАЬThis is an emergency!"

"But, ChiefтАФ"

"And don't call me Chief!"

"Okay,тАЭ Malone said. тАЬSure. You want me to come down in my pyjamas. Right?"

"I want you toтАФтАЭ Burris stopped. тАЬAll right, Malone. If you want to waste time while our country's life is
at stake, you go ahead. Get dressed. After all, Malone, when I say something is an emergencyтАФ"