"Charles Stross - Ancient Of Days" - читать интересную книгу автора (Stross Charles)

soul at Checkpoint Charlie, running jobs for Stasi and the CIA and another, less familiar
Organisation. With the collapse of the Wall he had been set free to wander, and finally to turn
his hand to Family business. As he prepared for the job in hand he whistled a half-forgotten
marching song to himself.
"Will you stop doing that?" asked Sue.
He glanced up from his kit and caught her eye. "Why?"
"Anyone would think you were an old Nazi," she said.
"Oh." He glanced down again so that she wouldn't see his smile. Now he
remembered what the tune was. "Time flies," he said, clipping the camera shut. Then he
stood up. "How long have you been here then?" he asked.
Sue walked to the window and stared out of it again. "Two years," she said, "but
that's only in this job. I had to go to one of their Universities to qualify for it. My family тАУ"
"Demonstrated a laudable degree of fore-sight," opined Kristoph.
"In this day and age anything else condemns you to life as a menial. Times have
changed. If you want to get ahead you've got to play by their rules. The net's too tight."
Kristoph, who knew better than she, held his silence.
"I've heard all the old tales," Sue continued. "My parents are really keen on them. But
things aren't the same, are they? It's hard to maintain a sense of ... community ... while all
around us ..."
Kris stood up. "I think you'd better show me to the offices. We don't want to start too
late; this could take all night."
Sue turned slowly, looking around as if she had forgotten where the door was. When
she opened it she glanced swiftly down the corridor outside. "Clear," she called over her
shoulder as she slipped out of the basement laboratory. Kristoph looked around curiously as
he followed her through the deserted passages of the department.
The concrete floor was scuffed and dirty and the whitewashed walls had seen better
days. Fluorescent lights flickered overhead, casting what Kristoph saw as a gangrenous blue-
green glare across the crowded bulletin boards. An ancient ultra-centrifuge keened to itself in
a shadowy niche as they hurried past. Sue pushed through two pairs of fire doors and turned
a corner on a concealed staircase. "Meet me in room D-11 if we become separated," she
said. "It's two flights up. There's a walkway from the corridor opposite it to the Geophysics
block if you need a quick getaway."
"I don't think that will be necessary," he said quietly.
"You know there are security guards?" she asked, pausing on a landing half-way
between floors.
"Whatever makes you think we'll encounter any trouble?" he replied, looking her
straight in the eyes.
She appeared to be slightly flustered. "Nothing," she said. "I just thought you spook
types always liked to know a way out of a tight corner тАУ"
Kris held her gaze for a moment then nodded. "The ones you read about are the
ones who get caught," he said. "Don't worry about me, Sue. I can take care of myself." He
waved a hand in an abrupt cutting motion. "Carry on. We haven't got all night."
Presently they arrived outside a locked door. "This is it," she said.
Kristoph bent over the lock for a couple of minutes, fiddling with a set of fine-tipped
pliers. "You've got to be careful to leave all the right signs," he murmured. "Otherwise the
Polizei get suspicious. Is there a vending machine anywhere near here?"
"Sure," said Sue. "Why?"
"Get me a cup of coffee, please," he said. "White, no sugar. We're going to be here a
while."
The lock snicked open and he turned the door handle as she walked away. The room