"13 - Alien Invasion" - читать интересную книгу автора (Pike Christopher)

The Lizzie nodded.
Sally lowered the rifle slightly. 'Don't worry, we'll land in a secluded spot. You understand?'
The Lizzie nodded.
'Africa. Any place on that continent except the Sahara. I hate sand and hot weather. You understand?'
The Lizzie nodded and turned back to the controls.
Sally stayed close, watching its moves. 'If you try anything funny, I will destroy this ship. We are a noble people. We gladly give our lives to protect others.'
'Not gladly,' George muttered as he went about tying up the other two aliens who remained on their knees. The other one, the Lizzie she had stunned, was showing more signs of life. Sally told George to tie him up as well. For the first time since waking up on the ship, she felt in control. The Lizzie beside her was doing what she asked. Out of the window she could see the earth terrain changing, coming closer. They were definitely moving in the direction of Africa.
She had wanted an out of the way place to land because she was afraid the US Air Force would try to blow them out of the sky if they appeared on their radar screens. Of course, she had no intention of letting the aliens go, even if they dropped her and George off where they wanted. The Lizzies were too dangerous; they had to be destroyed.
But even the best laid plans of humans and aliens are subject to change. The window in the engine room was not really a window at all, so it seemed, but a viewing screen. The view of approaching Africa was suddenly replaced by the faces of Adam and Bryce. Each had a Lizzie on either side, and an exotic gun to their heads.
'Boys,' Sally said in surprise. 'What are you two doing here?'
'We beamed aboard to rescue you,' Adam said, and he glanced up at their captors. 'But they caught us the moment we appeared in their control room.'
'That was not a smart place to transport into,' Sally said.
'We didn't exactly have a lot of choice in the matter,' Bryce said.
'Bryce,' Sally said in a condescending tone. 'Why is it that whenever you try to rescue somebody you always end up needing help yourself?'
Bryce was not amused. 'At least you could thank me for making the effort.'
'Hi, guys,' George said as he walked closer to the screen.
'George!' Adam said with pleasure. 'We thought you were dead.'
'I am tougher than I look,' George said.
Sally sighed. 'Oh brother.'
'Sally,' Adam said as he was nudged by the Lizzie who stood over him. 'We have a problem here. These aliens don't speak English very well but they have made it clear that you have taken control of their engine room.'
'That's correct,' Sally said. 'I am at this moment directing the ship towards Africa.'
'Why Africa?' Bryce asked.
'I love lions and elephants,' Sally said.
'Sally,' Adam continued in a serious voice as he glared once more at his captors. 'The aliens have made it clear to us that if you don't surrender the engine room they will shoot one of us.'
'Do you have a choice which one of you they shoot?' Sally asked.
'I knew she was going to say that,' Bryce groaned.
Adam showed rare signs of distress. 'I think they are serious, Sally.'
Sally hesitated then slowly nodded. 'I understand,' she said in a gentle voice. 'What do you want me to do, Adam?'
'Don't I get a vote?' Bryce complained.
'I know exactly how you feel,' George muttered as he returned to tying up the aliens.
'I'm not sure,' Adam replied to Sally. 'You and George have done well for yourselves. I only regret we have fouled up your plans. But I don't know if I have a right to tell you to give up the engine room. You know, the stakes might be pretty high here.'
Sally understood. 'The safety of the whole world might be at stake.'
Adam nodded grimly. 'That is more important than our few lives.'
'It depends on how you look at it,' George said hastily.
Sally slowly moved her weapon away from the Lizzie who was guiding the ship to Africa, and pointed it once again at the power cube, which continued to shine with waves of blue and violent energy.
'Tell your guards,' Sally said in a deadly voice, 'that I want to be able to keep and eye on you at all times. 'That if they even remove you from my sight Ч never mind harm you Ч I will destroy this vessel.'
'Are you bluffing?' Bryce asked under his breath.
Sally flashed a dark grin. 'When it comes to all of mankind, I don't bluff.'


Eleven

When Cindy and Watch reached the school, they found Mr Snakol sitting outside behind the science class beside a cage with a hamster in it. The night was dark; they were able to get close to him without his knowledge. He had on his human disguise. They peered at him from round the side of the building. Cindy spoke with disgust.
'I can't believe how he eats them alive,' she said.
'You might judge him too harshly,' Watch said. 'We eat hamburgers, but can you imagine if we had to go out, kill the cow, and then cut it to pieces before we had a burger? We would probably all become vegetarians.'
Cindy grimaced. 'I see what you mean. But Mr Snakol and his alien friends are still invaders. They came here in secret and they have at the very least kidnapped two of our people.'
'We are not sure they are here to invade,' Watch said. 'Their technology is obviously superior to our own. If they wanted just to take over, I don't think they would have much trouble.'
'You're saying if their intentions were totally evil you don't think they would bother to act as school teachers?' Cindy asked.
Watch shrugged. 'We are guessing in the dark. Yet look at him now. He looks depressed.'
'Probably because he just discovered we stole his transporter,' Cindy said.