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

canтАЩt change the situation. LetтАЩs go.тАЭ
I hate having to be right the whole time, but someone has to do it. HyeтАЩs men
were indeed quiet. As Chen, Miranda, and I walked down the center of the road
three abreast, I had to keep checking behind every now and then to see if they were
still there. They were, fanned out across the road. And they were carrying guns.
тАЬWhat is this shit?тАЭ Chen asked, quietly.
тАЬWhat Ng said, I guess. Some pointless political game.тАЭ
тАЬI donтАЩt like it.тАЭ
тАЬNeither do I.тАЭ
When weтАЩd been walking for about five minutes, Ng appeared soundlessly
behind us.
тАЬWe are now in subsector 4. The sighting of the material allegedly took place
within this area.тАЭ
тАЬWe donтАЩt know where?тАЭ
тАЬNo. The photo was left without any further statement.тАЭ
тАЬOkay. See if you can get them to drop back a little further.тАЭ
They did, but not much. Following standard procedure, Chen and I headed
toward the sides of the road, looking carefully at the ground. Miranda walked down
the center, keeping half an eye on the road but mainly casting glances up at the walls
of the buildings on either side. Many were empty shells, and a few looked as if
theyтАЩd been burnt out. This sectorтАЩs demise had obviously been more violent than
most.
After about two hundred yards of proceeding in this fashion, I began to see a
glow in the twilight up ahead, which meant habitation. I stopped.
тАЬWeтАЩve passed the core of the disused area.тАЭ The theory Chen and I worked
on was that if any animal was still alive it would tend to seek out places as far away
from humankind as possible, for its base, at least. Though it might veer toward
inhabited areas in the search for food, we reasoned that it would want to sleep
somewhere safe.
тАЬDo we turn round?тАЭ Miranda asked. She was looking balefully at the soldiers,
who had also stopped and were standing in a line ten yards away.
тАЬYes,тАЭ Chen said curtly, rubbing his chin. тАЬThen we fan out down each of the
side streets weтАЩve passed. Then we go into each building and look on each floor.тАЭ
Miranda looked up at the fading light.
тАЬMaybe we should ask the soldiers to . . .тАЭ Suddenly Miranda stopped, an
expression of what looked like terror on her face. She pointed wordlessly behind
me. тАЬOh my God.тАЭ
I whirled round and stared at the shadows at the base of the building about
five yards away.
тАЬWhat,тАЭ I said. тАЬWhat?тАЭ
The wall disappeared in a stroboscopic blaze of rifle fire. Line after line of
pink arcfire sliced into it until the whole of the front of the building crashed down. I
stumbled backward, falling into Miranda, and the two of us crouched down until the
noise had stopped.
When I looked up, Chen was marching furiously up to Hye.
тАЬWhat the FUCK,тАЭ I heard him scream. тАЬWhat the flying blue fuck do you
think youтАЩre doing?тАЭ I leapt up and ran toward him. Hye stared impassively at Chen,
and then shoved him hard in the chest. Chen wavered, but didnтАЩt fall, and launched
himself at the soldier.
Luckily Ng got there in time and yanked Chen away. I grabbed ChenтАЩs arms