"Maria V. Snyder - Protect the Children" - читать интересную книгу автора (Snyder Maria V)

PROTECT THE CHILDREN
by Maria V. Snyder

тАЬThe money?тАЭ The man held out a clean, manicured hand. A startling contrast to his torn and grubby
clothes.

тАЬDonтАЩt you want to see my credentials, Dr. Silver?тАЭ I asked, hoping this man was indeed the
infamous Doctor Samuel Silver.

тАЬDoctor.тАЭ His hoarse laughter turned into a thick coughing fit. Shoulders heaving with effort, he spit a
blood-laced wad of phlegm onto the cracked sidewalk. Wiping his mouth on his sleeve, he said, тАЬIтАЩve no
interest in who you are or what your agenda is. All I want is your money.тАЭ

His pale blue eyes scanned the street for the fifth time since I had approached. I copied his gesture. It
was neither the best neighborhood nor the worst. Run down and abandoned, it was a pocket of the city
bypassed by technology, and was, to the casual observer, uninhabited.

I pulled out a bulging envelope, my payment for his exclusive interview. He snatched it out of my
hands and thumbed through the money. Pulling my business card out of the bills, he shoved the envelope
into a pocket. After a glance, he handed the card back to me.

тАЬOkay, Ms. Glenda Darren, IтАЩm not staying on the street any longer. If you want your story, come
with me.тАЭ

He turned around and darted toward the doorway of a forsaken warehouse. Once inside, he wove
his way through the rubble without pause, and without looking back to see if I followed.

In the murky light, I stumbled, tripped, and banged my shins. But I wasnтАЩt about to let him out of my
sight. He had my newspaperтАЩs money, and the biggest story of my career.

It had taken me months to find him. He never stayed in one city more than two weeks. His loyal
colleagues were adept at dropping false leads, having spent too much time with the maze rats in their
laboratories, I thought sourly. Only when the big bucks were offered did I receive a nibble of information.
And despite what Dr. Silver had said earlier, he cared very much about who I was. The personnel files at
the newspaper had been hacked, and my personal security software had alerted me that someone had
run my name through a background check.

I concentrated on keeping up with him as he switched buildings, changed floors multiple times, and
doubled back. When he finally stopped, he was huffing with the effort, and I was lost. Smiling, he opened
a massive steel door. Inside was a spot of sanity amidst the ruins. A neat, clean, well-decorated office.
He gestured toward a chair in front of an antique desk.

As I sat, I scanned the room. My disorientation deepened. I felt I had been transported back thirty
years to an obsolete doctorтАЩs office. Medical texts filled the shelves, out-of-date magazines were
scattered about, old-fashioned medical instruments like a stethoscope and thermometer hung like
decorations on the wall. No computer, no scanning table and no injection machines.


The loud metallic clank of the doorтАЩs lock sent a repulsion rolling down my spine, as if a large insect had
climbed up my back. I turned my head in time to see Dr. Silver pocket the key.