"Charles Stross - Merchant princes 02 - The Hidden Family" - читать интересную книгу автора (Stross Charles)

"A second gang? Jesus, Miriam, you're sucking them up like a Hoover! What's
going on?"

"I wish I knew, believe me." She drained her wineglass. "Hmm. This glass is
defective. Better fix it." Before she could reach for the bottle, Paulette
picked it up and began to pour, her hand shaking slightly. "Had a devil of a
time getting here, I can tell you. Nearly put my back out carrying Brill, then
found some evil son of a bitch had booby-trapped the warehouse. Earlier I phoned
Roland to come tidy upтАФsomeone murdered the site watchmanтАФbut instead someone
put a bomb in it."

"I told you that smoothie would turn out to be a weasel," Paulette insisted.
"It's him, isn't it?"

"No, I don't think so." Miriam shook her head. "Things are messy, very messy. We
ran into one of Angbard's couriers on the train over, so I gave him a message
that should shake things loose if it's anyone on his staff. And now... well."
She pulled out the two lockets from her left pocket. "Spot the difference."

Paulette's breath hissed out as she leaned forward to study them. "Shit. That
one on the left, the tarnished oneтАФthat's yours, isn't it? But the otherтАФ"

"Have a cigar. I took it off the first hired gun last night. He won't be needing
it anymore."

"Mind if I? . ┬ж." Paulette picked the two lockets up and sprang the catch. She
frowned as she stared at the contents, then snapped them closed. "The designs
are different."

"I guessed they would be." Miriam closed her eyes.

Brill stared at the two small silver disks as if they were diamonds or jewels of
incalculable value. Finally she asked, timidly, "How can they be different? All
the Clan ones are the same, aren't they?"

"Who says it's a Clan one?" Miriam scooped them back into her pocket. "Look,
firstly I am going to get a good night's sleep. I suggest you guys do the same
thing. In the morning, I'm going to hire a car. I'd like to be able to go home,
just long enough to retrieve a disk, butтАФ"

"No, don't do that," said Paulette.

Miriam looked at her. "I'm not stupid. I know they're probably watching the
house in case I show up. It's just frustrating." She shrugged.

"It's not that bad," Paulette volunteered pragmatically. "Either they got the
disk the first time they black-bagged youтАФor they didn't, in which case you know
precisely where it is. Why not leave it there?"

"I guess so," Miriam said tiredly. "Yeah, you're right. It's safe where it is."