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

"I'd have thought it was obvious," Iris pointed out quickly. "If she'd known,
they wouldn't have gotten near her." She shook her head. "A really bad business,
that." For a moment she looked angry, and determinedтАФthe same expression Miriam
had glimpsed in a mirror recently. "And it hasn't gone away." She snorted. "Give
me your secret phone number, girl."

"My secretтАФwhat?"

Iris grinned at her. "Okay, your dead-letter drop. So we can keep in touch when
you go on your wanderings. You do want to keep your old mom informed of what the
enemies of freedom and civilization are up to, don't you?"

"Ma!" Miriam smiled right back. "Okay, here it is," she said, scribbling her
new, sanitized mobile number down on a piece of paper and sliding it over to
Iris.

"Good." Iris tucked it away quickly. "This locket you foundтАФyou think it goes
somewhere else, don't you?"

"Yes. That's the only explanation I can come up with."

"To another world, where everything will of course be completely different."
Iris shook her head. "As if two worlds wasn't already one too many."

"And mystery assassins. Don't forget the mystery assassins."

"I'm not," said her mother. "From what you've been telling me ..." She narrowed
her eyes. "Don't trust any of them. Not the Clan, not even the one you bedded.
They're allтАФthey sound likeтАФa bunch of vipers. They'll screw you as soon as you
think you're safe."

"Ma." Miriam began to blush. "Oh, I don't trust them. At least, not to do
anything with my best interests at heart."

"Then you're smarter than I was at your age." Iris pulled on her gloves. "Give
an old lady a lift home? Or at least, back to the woods? It's a cold and scary
night. Mind you, I may have forgotten to bring your red cloak, but any wolves
who try to lay hands on this old granny will come off worse."

PawnBroker

It's no good," said Miriam, rubbing her forehead. "All I get is crossed eyes,
blurred vision, and a headache. It doesn't work." She snapped the assassin's
locket closed in frustration.

"Maybe it doesn't work here," Brill suggested. "If it's a different design?"
"Maybe." Miriam nodded. "Or then again, it's a different design and it came
through on the other side. How do I know where I'd end up if I did get it to
work here?" She paused, then looked at the locket. "Maybe it wasn't real clever