"Charles Stross - Trunk and Disorderly" - читать интересную книгу автора (Stross Charles)

тАЬOh, absolutely not,тАЭ I reassured her: тАЬbut IтАЩll feel much better
afterward! Nothing like realizing youтАЩre millimeters away from flaming
meteoritic death to get the old blood pumping, what?тАЭ

тАЬOne couldnтАЩt say.тАЭ Miss Feng looked doubtful as she accepted the
empty flask. тАЬOneтАЩs normal response to incendiary situations that get the
blood pumping is a wound dressing and an ambulance. Or to keep the
employer from walking into the death trap in the first place. Ahem. I assume
Sir intends to survive the experience?тАЭ

тАЬThatтАЩs the idea.тАЭ I grinned like an idiot, feeling the familiar pulse of
excitement. It takes a lot to drive off the black dog of depression, but
dodging the bullet tends to send it to the kennels for a while. тАЬBy the way, if
Laura calls could you tell her IтАЩm dying heroically to defend her virtue or
something? IтАЩll see her afterтАФoh, that reminds me! Abdul al-Matsumoto
has invited usтАФall the survivors, I meanтАФto a weekend party at his place
on Mars. So if you could see that the gig is ready to leave after my drop as
soon as IтАЩve dressed for dinner, and I donтАЩt suppose you could make sure
thereтАЩs a supply of food for the little monster, could you? If we leave him
locked in the garret dungeon he canтАЩt get into trouble, not beyond eating the
curtainsтАФтАЭ

Miss Feng cleared her throat and looked at me reproachfully. тАЬSir did
promise his sister to look after the beast in person, didnтАЩt he?тАЭ

I stared at her, somewhat taken aback. тАЬDash it all, are you
implying...?тАЭ

Miss Feng handed me my pre-emptive victory cigar. She continued,
in a thoughtful tone of voice: тАЬHas Sir considered that it might be in his best
interestsтАФshould he value the good opinion of his sisterтАФto bring Jeremy
along? After all, Lady FionaтАЩs on Mars, too, even if sheтАЩs preoccupied with
the apr├иs ski circuit. If by some mischance she were to visit the EmirтАЩs
palace and find Sir sans Jeremy it might be more than trivially
embarrassing.тАЭ
 тАЬDash it, youтАЩre right. I suppose IтАЩll have to pack the bloody
pachyderm, wonтАЩt I? What a bore. Will he fit in the trunk?тАЭ

Miss Feng sighed, very quietly. тАЬI believe that may be a remote
theoretical possibility. I shall endeavor to find out while Sir is enjoying
himself not dying.тАЭ

тАЬTry beer,тАЭ I called as I picked up my surfboard and climbed aboard
the orbital delivery jitney. тАЬJeremy loves beer!тАЭ Miss Feng bowed as the
door closed. I hope she doesnтАЩt give him too much, I thought. Then the
gravity squirrelizer chittered to itself angrily, decided it was on the wrong
planet, and tried to rectify the situation in its own inimitable way. I lay back
and waited for orbit. I wasnтАЩt entirely certain of the wisdom of my proposed
course of actionтАФthere are few predicaments as grim as facing a
mammoth with a hangover across the breakfast tableтАФbut Miss Feng