"C. J. Ryan - Gloria VanDeen 3 - The Fifth Quadrant" - читать интересную книгу автора (Ryan C.J)

the benefit of Dexta and the Empire it served. She was wildly popular in every corner of the
EmpireтАФexcept, perhaps, for the Imperial Household itself, where Charles had yet to reconcile
himself to the new role being played by the woman who had walked out on him nearly seven
years earlier.

Cartago was the fifth intervention for Gloria and OSI, and by far, the easiest. Gloria hadnтАЩt
even bothered to take along any staff; Cartago was just two days away from Earth via Flyer,
and so help was relatively close at hand should any prove necessary.

None did. In less than two weeks on the planet, she had met with a handful of young
lawyers, a clutch of tribal elders, and Praetor Ulmani, adroitly resolving their conflicts through
a combination of judicious bribes and personal persuasion. The Dexta Comptroller would
probably grumble about the bribes, small though they were, but Gloria had thoroughly
enjoyed her sojourn on Cartago.

In fact, resolving the conflicts on Cartago had been so easy that Gloria seriously wondered if
the whole mess had been cooked up by the young lawyers simply to lure her to their world.
Probably not, she conceded; on a desert world, no one played games with water. Still, her fame
and reputation had reached the point that she had to beware the Heisenberg Effect; her mere
presence was enough to alter the terms of any equation.

At the moment, her presence in the streets of Cartago was altering the normal routine of
the bazaar at searing midday, when energy levels and activity normally reached low ebb.
Praetor Ulmani kept his grip on GloriaтАЩs elbow while his entourage of aides and security men
plowed a path through the increasingly excited crowds. They could have taken an
air-conditioned limo skimmer directly to the restaurant, but Ulmani had calculated that it
could not hurt his popularity to be seen escorting Gloria through the teeming streets of his city.
And Gloria didnтАЩt really mind being paraded as if she were one of UlmaniтАЩs hunting trophies;
she was willing to let him get whatever political mileage he could out of the affair. He was a
nice enough man and probably as good a leader as the planet needed. She was content to let
him have his moment; all that really mattered to Gloria was that she had solved CartagoтАЩs
problems and would soon be returning to Earth.
 The outdoor restaurant was just ahead. Security men were already clearing a path while the
ma├оtre dтАЩ stood before a large table in eager, fawning anticipation. Gloria impulsively decided to
give everyoneтАФnot least of all UlmaniтАФone last reason to cheer. She turned to face Ulmani,
pulled him close, and gave him an incendiary kiss. The cheers were deafening. Gloria released
her hold on the astonished Praetor and grinned at him. тАЬYour people adore you,тАЭ she said.

тАЬAfter this,тАЭ Ulmani replied, тАЬthey may start worshipping me!тАЭ

They made their way through the wrought-iron gateway that delineated the restaurant,
greeted the proprietor, and moved to the reserved table. One of UlmaniтАЩs aides pulled out a
chair for her, and Gloria had just bent to be seated when the blue-green bolt of plasma crackled
through the air just above her. The characteristic plasma thunderclap followed an instant later,
as air rushed in to fill the ionized trail of the discharge. And just after that, Gloria heard the
pained, startled moan from the aide standing behind her.

Before she could fully register what had happened, three security men were firing back,
their plasma beams converging on a head and shoulders just visible on the rooftop across the
street. The head and shoulders vanished in green fire, and the triple thunderclap echoed