"Richard Paul Russo - The Second Descent" - читать интересную книгу автора (Russo Richard Paul)

glowing tip of his cigarette. тАЬBut we wonтАЩt succeed. We wonтАЩt get within
hailing distance of the gates.тАЭ

тАЬWhy not?тАЭ

тАЬAsk YusufтАФhe knows.тАЭ

тАЬIliana says Yusuf is dead.тАЭ

Father Dominic nodded. тАЬSo he is. Which is why he knows.тАЭ

****

In that other life, the one he leads when he is not on this mountain or
some other, Rafael is a labor lawyer. He represents unions negotiating
contracts or making strike decisions, workers with grievances. The
satisfaction he derives from his workтАФfrom aiding those who too often
have been exploited when they did not have the support of unions or
attorneys or even their fellow workersтАФmore than makes up for the
substantially lower income he earns. As a corporate attorney, he could
easily make two or three times as much money.

When at the end of a long day he comes home to the small house in
the working class neighborhood, waves to his neighbors, climbs the porch
and enters his home, then kisses and hugs his wife and daughter, he
realizes he has all he needs and more, and appreciates how fortunate he
truly is.

****

A snowstorm raged for two days, confining them to their tents with its
howling winds and ice that nearly buried them. Rafael still shared the tent
with Yusuf, but didnтАЩt speak to him now. When the storm finally ceased and
the climbers dug their way out of the tents, the early morning sun shone
brilliantly across the fresh snow with blinding silver and blue
incandescence. Squinting against the glare, they found that Kuma-Shan
now stood above them on the mountain.

The city took on a different appearance in the daylight, but was no
less inviting. The sun reflected off stained glass, bright multicolored
banners snapped in the breeze, and the gleaming metal of satellite dishes
rotated in slow, changing patterns atop the stone towers.

Kuma-Shan appeared to be no more than a half dayтАЩs climb around a
jagged serac and along a wide series of ledges. They all agreed to put the
descent on hold and make for the city.

Everything went smoothly until they traversed one section of a ledge
where the overhanging rock hid the city from view. When they emerged into
the open and looked at Kuma-Shan, the city was farther away from them