"Robert Rankin - They Came and Ate us" - читать интересную книгу автора (Rankin Robert)

Came and Ate Us.' Jack looked up fearfully, he hadn't heard her come in.

'Car phones don't have cords,' she observed. 'It would be physically impossible to push a Filofax
down any-one's throat and as to slicing off heads with a credit card . . .'

She was laughing as she left the room. She made no attempt to hide it. Jack did lip chewings. One
day he would be famous. He just knew it. One day. And when he was . . . when he was. Jack punched
in FILE UNDER SEMINAL NOVEL and closed down.

Four men sit about a table in a secret room. A top-secret room. It is an American top-secret room.
It is in a government establishment. It is deep under the ground. To get into this room you need
major security clearance. Only these four men have such clearance.

These men wear identical grey suits. They might be brothers.

The room is lit from above, the way that snooker tables are lit. Great for atmosphere, card games,
that kind of thing. Good on cheekbones and hands. Hands which bear enigmatic signet rings. We have
seen all this kind of thing before. We hope that this time it is going to be worth it.

'Gentlemen.' One man speaks, the others listen. 'Gentlemen, we have a crisis situation here.'

'Are we in security?' asks one. It doesn't matter which.

'Free from bio-scan?'

'The monitors read out at zero.' Heads nod. Cheek-bones are brought into play. All this is being
viewed from above.

'Gentlemen.' The first speaker again. 'You have all had time to view the tapes. You have all been
at the press conferences. You all have intimate knowledge of the problem at hand.' More sombre
nods. Some papers are moved slightly.

14

'I can see no alternative but to put the plan into operation. Any delay now could prove
disastrous, with the talks coming up.'

'You have run this through the appropriate channels? It can be done? It will actually work?'

'With the present situation being what it is no-one will suspect anything. We are responsible for
security. The measures are purely protective.'

'Then Project Wormwood has a green light.'

'There is no other alternative?'

'None.'

'And you are certain that the public will not suspect?'