"David Robbins - Blade 13 - Vengeance Strike" - читать интересную книгу автора (Robbins David L)

"No, handsome. Let me show you," he said, and walked slowly forward,
restructuring the lower half of his face into its natural state as he did. He
almost laughed at the horrified expression on Portly Butt's puss. Instead,
he opened his mouth wide, exposing the triple rows of razor-tipped teeth
lining his upper and lower jaws, and leaped, covering the ten feet in the
single bound.

Portly Butt was parting his lips to scream when those jaws crunched
down on his face.


CHAPTER ONE
The herculean giant sat in the back seat of the yellow taxi, directly
behind the driver, immersed in deep thought. A black leather vest, fatigue
pants, and combat boots clothed his seven-foot-tall frame, barely
containing the bulging muscles that gave the illusion of being sculpted
from solid bronze. Strapped around his waist were a matching pair of big
Bowies, and resting across his stout thighs was a Marlin 45-70. Propped
between his legs was an Uzi.

He absently stared out the window at the passing California scenery
and brushed at the comma of dark hair that dangled down his brow. His
gray eyes narrowed as he contemplated his impending homecoming. How
should he handle the problem? he wondered. Before he could formulate a
plan, the driver interrupted his train of thought.

"I can't believe it's you, "the young man said. "I mean, no one is going
to believe I had the head of the Freedom Force in my cab."

"Why not?" asked the giant.
 "Are you kidding, Blade?" the awed cabbie said. "You're the most
famous guy in California. My buddies are bound to think I made the whole
thing up."

Blade said nothing. Such unwarranted flattering had been directed his
way several times in recent months and he found it oddly discomfiting.
True, he was the head of the Force, the elite tactical squad organized to
protect the interests of the Freedom Federation, but in his estimation
such a position hardly deserved the adulation heaped on him by the
public.

Thinking about the Federation brought to mind the seven factions of
which it was composed and how they might react to the upcoming
confrontation.

Of all the factions, the Free State of California most resembled the
California that existed over 106 years ago, prior to the Armageddon called
World War Three. Thanks in great measure to its abundant natural
resources, the postwar standard of living was higher in California than in