"Michael Marshall Smith - Dying" - читать интересную книгу автора (Smith Michael Marshall)

far as weтАЩre concerned, and I could mobilize an entire army if I had a good enough
lead. Nothing I asked for would be too much, now that itтАЩs too late.
тАЬSo,тАЭ I said. тАЬChen. Best guess?тАЭ
тАЬDifficult to say,тАЭ he said, enjoying every word. This was making it official,
and was a kind of ritual weтАЩve developed over the few times itтАЩs got this far. тАЬTo a
degree it depends on the size. ThereтАЩs nothing to give us any scale.тАЭ
тАЬBut a mammal.тАЭ
тАЬDefinitely, Could be a dog, cat. Could be a primate. Shit, it could be loads of
things. Why the fuck couldnтАЩt they have sent us a video?тАЭ
It was frustrating, that. The color of the feces might have told us something,
though if there was an animal still alive somewhere in AfriCity, its diet would hardly
have been that recorded in the old books. WeтАЩd always received videos in the past,
though it must be said that three of them turned out to be footage of fakes and the
other two alleged specimens were never found.
The faking thing is weird. So few people on the planet think about animals
anymore. ThereтАЩs not a lot of point. But some of them must go out of their way to
pretend theyтАЩre still around. I used to wonder why they would do that, why people
who had never seen one should try to keep the memory of animals alive through
faking their tracks and feces. Then I considered what I do for a living. Maybe it isnтАЩt
so different.
Miranda was drumming her fingers hard on the table. I raised an eyebrow at
her.
тАЬChrist,тАЭ she said. тАЬWhy does this have to take so long?тАЭ
None of the other passengers seemed in much of a hurry to leave the Mall
when we landed at AfriCity. IтАЩm not surprised. What theyтАЩd disembark into would
look exactly the same as where theyтАЩd been for the last two hours, and the same as
where theyтАЩd come from. It was like walking down a long street that was the same at
both ends. I donтАЩt know why they bother.
 Either way, we had no problem surging out of the MegaMall first. I started to
get my pass out but it wasnтАЩt necessary; a delegation was already waiting for us at
the gate. We shook hands hurriedly and then with one mind started to trot toward the
exit of the terminal.
Introductions were made in the car, which was open-topped and looked like
an old-fashioned Jeep. The man in charge was a Lieutenant Ng, from the local
security forces. He seemed fired up and capable, but also deferential and eager to do
the right thing. They usually do, which is strange, really. None of us has seen an
animal, with the possible exception of Chen. Our only advantage is book learning,
and the fact that we spend our lives preparing for this kind of thing, guardians of the
flame who spend their whole time looking for a match. Maybe thatтАЩs it. In a way we
have a quest, an old-fashioned mission of a hopelessly romantic kind. Things like
that sit oddly with brushed concreform and neon, seem to stand out in an eerie light
like buildings in front of a storm. Perhaps that commands respect, or something.
The lieutenant got out a map and showed us where we were going. The
sighting of the object had allegedly been made in AfriCity 295, a disused sector
about an hourтАЩs drive away. As soon as the report had come in a corps of local
soldiers had cordoned the area off. Nothing could have come out, and even more
importantly, no one could go in. Someone who got to an animal before we did could
have set their own price. They could almost literally ask for the world.
When we were buckled in, the driver put his foot down hard and we pelted off
down the street. People in the street looked up vaguely to watch the car speed by,