"Resnick, Mike - Oracle 2 - Oracle" - читать интересную книгу автора (Resnick Mike)

"Take me back to the Souk," replied Chandler. "I think I've accomplished quite enough for one morning. I'm going to read for a while and then take a nap."
"Just like that?"
"I'm sorry his death was necessary," said Chandler irritably. "I have no intention of joining the mourners."
"I'd be surprised if there are any," said Gin. He paused. "By the way, I think you can expect the authorities to come calling on you. As long as we confine our killing to each other, they won't give you too much trouble, but they'll have to at least talk to you, just for show."
"It was self-defense," answered Chandler. "I've got more than a dozen witnesses."
"True," agreed Gin. He paused again. "You want me on call outside the Souk?"
"Not for a few hours," answered Chandler. "Right now I want you to make the rounds and tell everyone what happened." He handed a pair of bills to Gin. "And since talking is such dry work, you can use this to lubricate yourself."
"With pleasure," said Gin, taking the bills and stuffing them into a pocket. "I never liked that mean-spirited little slasher, anyway."
"He was just a man doing -- a job," said Chandler. "From now on I'll be doing it."
"Well, you're the man of the hour, as they say," enthused the driver. "By tomorrow the whole damned city will know you're here to stay."
"How soon will word of this reach the other moons?" asked Chandler.
"Before nightfall," Gin assured him.
He wanted to ask if Hades would hear of it, too, but decided not to. The one person for whom he was putting on this performance already knew who he was, and he would be surprised if she didn't also know of the Surgeon's death by the time he reached his rooming house. It was a perfectly logical step for a man in his business to have taken: you could work your way up through the ranks, or if you were good enough and strong enough, you could take on the top dog and assimilate his territory. He had evinced no interest in Hades, had made no inquiries about the Oracle, nor would he. He had come to Port Marrakech for business, and he now had a ready-made clientele to service. It was as simple and clear-cut as that.
The only question, he mused wryly as the landcar pulled up to the Souk, was whether or not she'd buy it.


6

The police woke Chandler from his nap and took him to the local station to record his statement concerning the Surgeon's killing. He got the distinct impression that they were just going through the motions, that the death of an assassin, regardless of the circumstances, didn't bother them in the least. When his deposition matched the various eyewitness accounts, they released him with the bored instructions to keep within the law during his stay on Port Marrakech.
Gin was waiting for him when the police dropped him off at the Souk.
"I see you had company," he noted as the police vehicle sped away.
"They weren't any problem."
"They'd probably have pinned a medal on you if they could have gotten away with it," said Gin. "The Surgeon wasn't exactly the most popular guy in town."
"Neither will I be, when I take over his client list."
"Yeah. Well, in his case, it was a matter of preferring the devil they don't know to the devil they knew."
"I get the distinct impression that they'll leave me alone as long as I don't kill the wrong person."
"That's about right."
"So," continued Chandler, "I think until I know my way around a little better, I might be well advised to confine my activities to the other moons and Hades."
"I can help you out," said Gin. "I know who to lay off of."
"Thanks for the offer, but I don't really want to stake my life on your expertise."
"Okay," said Gin with a shrug. "Have it your way. But you might as well forget about Hades. There can't be a thousand Men on the planet."
"That implies they're pretty important men," said Chandler. "Someone might want one of them dead."
"Forget it," said Gin with conviction. "Ever since the Oracle set up shop there, the place is a goddamned fortress."
"Who is the Oracle?" asked Chandler. "One of the Blue Devils?"
Gin shook his head. "They say she's a human woman. I don't know if it's true or not: almost nobody ever gets to see her."
"Why would a human woman want to live on Hades?" asked Chandler.
"Beats me."
"More to the point, if the Blue Devils hate us, why would they let her live there?"
"Who knows?" replied Gin. "I don't pay much attention to politics."
"Politics?"
"Well, maybe it's not politics. But whatever it is, it doesn't concern the three Ports, and if they leave us alone, that's good enough for me."
"It's interesting, though," said Chandler, "a woman living down there. Why do they call her the Oracle? Has she got a real name?"
"You got me," said Gin.
"Could you find out?"
"I dunno. I never thought much about it." Gin paused. "It wouldn't do you much good, though."
"Why not?"
"First, because you aren't allowed to land on Hades. Second, the Oracle and the Blue Devils leave us alone. And third because every now and then someone shows up on one of the Ports and starts asking too many questions about her, and then one day he just isn't around anymore. So, since you like being alive and I like being employed, let's concentrate on the Surgeon's client list."
"Find out what you can, anyway."
"Why are you so interested in her?" asked Gin.
"I never met an Oracle before. Maybe she could tell me what numbers to bet on next time I play roulette."