"E. E. Doc Smith - D' Alembert 5 -Appointment at Bloodstar" - читать интересную книгу автора (Smith E. E. Doc)
the Head wanted to see him as soon as possible, top priority. Jules shed his makeup in
a hurry-a pleasure, since it itched unmercifully anyway-and left the apartment cloaked in
the all-concealing robes of a Delfian. He rushed down to his car-insofar as any Delfian
can be said to rush and gunned off into the balmy Florida night.
Jules's car looked like a late sports model Frascati, but there were some crucial
differences. As soon as he was out alone on the open highway, he activated a series of
switches and his car turned into a small personal jet, taking off rapidly in the direction of
Miami and the secret headquarters for all of SOTE.
HQ was located in the skyscraper that also housed the Hall of State for Sector
Four-with good reason. The Head of the Service of the Empire was the Grand Duke of
Sector Four, Zander von Wilmenhorst himself. From this imposing edifice he was able
to control the direction, not only of his own sphere of influence, but also of the multilevel
operations of SOTE.
Jules had radioed ahead to let headquarters know he was coming, so his small craft
was allowed to fly unchallenged toward the tall building and land without incident on the
roof. From there he took a private elevator tube down to his boss's office.
Zander von Wilmenhorst decorated with a certain elegant style. The walls and the
file:///F|/rah/E.E.%20Doc.%20Smith/Smith%20-%20d'Alembert%20Vol%205%20-%20Appointment%20at%20Bloodstar.txt
beamed ceiling were all paneled with rich brown solentawood, with original oil paintings
by the best contemporary artists hanging on two of the walls. The eastern wall was a
large picture window looking down on a view of the Atlantic Ocean. Curtains now
covered the picture window, though; the Head did not want even the possibility of
telephoto pictures being taken of one of his top secret agents. The large solentawood
desk was, as usual, covered with reports and papers, all stamped to indicate some
degree of urgency. The Shield of Empire was inlaid on the wall behind the desk. And
standing beside the desk was the Head of SOTE, Zander von Wilmenhorst.
The Grand Duke of Sector Four was an inconspicuous man, who took great pains to
remain that way. He was totally bald and conservatively dressed, of medium height and
build, in his late forties. The only sign that there was more than an average brain within
that body was his eyes; they had a glowing intelligence that could not be denied. In
point of fact, Zander von Wilmenhorst was one of the Emperor's premier policy
advisors, and had as much of a hand in shaping interstellar events as the Emperor
himself.
The Head greeted Jules warmly and motioned him to have a seat. "I'm afraid I don't
have time tonight to be as sociable as I'd like," he said. "With the wedding coming up so
soon, there are a billion and one security details that must be taken care of no later
than the day before yesterday. Most of them are routine but time-consuming. We've
handled worse affairs before. But all of a sudden, about five days ago, we were handed
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