"Robert Weinberg - Logical Magician 02 - A Calculated Magician" - читать интересную книгу автора (Weinberg Robert)

тАЬHe poisoned his fellow countrymen to test the effect of a plague virus?тАЭ repeated the Rager,
sounding properly outraged. тАЬWhat happened?тАЭ
тАЬExactly what you would expect,тАЭ said Boris. тАЬAnthrax symptoms are very similar to those of
pneumonia but the treatment for one and the other are entirely different. The disease is deadly unless
handled properly. Nearly a hundred people died before KarsnovтАЩs crime was detected. It took a
massive effort by the army and the KGB to stop the spread of the plague. By the time Karsnov was
implicated in the crime, the scientist had managed to flee the country.тАЭ
тАЬAnd now you want him dead,тАЭ said the Retaliator. тАЬYou want justice for those who died.тАЭ
тАЬOf course,тАЭ said Bronsky, knowing he was treading on dangerous ground. The assassins
demanded motivation as well as money. In a strange manner, they were highly moral killers. тАЬThe blood
of their mother, of Mother Russia, demands revenge.тАЭ
тАЬThe rules of the state must be obeyed,тАЭ said the third killer, who had remained silent until now.
Her voice was cold and remote. She was called тАЬthe Endless.тАЭ
тАЬThat is the law,тАЭ said the Retaliator in agreement.
тАЬThat is the law,тАЭ repeated the Rager.
Sighing deeply, Boris nodded. By those words, he knew that the three had taken the assignment.
Karsnov was as good as dead.
тАЬYou said he fled,тАЭ continued the Retaliator. тАЬWhere did he go?тАЭ
тАЬTo America, we think,тАЭ said Boris. тАЬKarsnov has two passions. A prot├йg├й of hard-liners in the
Kremlin, he hates the United States with an all-consuming mania. He has spent most of his adult life
perfecting weapons to he used against the Americans. With the cold war over and peace between our
two nations, we suspect he plans to use the anthrax plague to fulfill his own twisted agenda.тАЭ
тАЬHis other passion?тАЭ asked the Endless.
тАЬKarsnov loves to gamble. He plays cards compulsively, for hours, sometimes days on end. The
desire to win at any cost engulfs him and sweeps him away. That is why we think he is in America. My
colleagues in the Secret Service believe he is in Las Vegas, Nevada. Gambling,тАЭ he added unnecessarily,
тАЬis legal there.тАЭ
тАЬYou have warned the Americans?тАЭ asked the Rager.
тАЬOf course not,тАЭ said Boris. тАЬThey would never believe that Karsnov has turned rogue and is
working on his own. Like my superiors, they see a plot under every rock. Comrade Yeltsin is in the midst
of delicate negotiations for more aid from the United States. One mention of the anthrax plague would
destroy any hopes of that mission.тАЭ
тАЬHow did the scientist escape your own KGB?тАЭ asked the Retaliator. тАЬUsually they are quite
capable of dealing with traitors.тАЭ
тАЬWe are not sure,тАЭ said Boris. тАЬAccording to several reliable though not official sources, Karsnov
is being aided by an ultrasecret group of Islamic terrorists based in the United States. The groupтАЩs plans
are not known to us, but evidently they want revenge against the United States for the humiliation suffered
by Iraq in that war of a few years ago. What better way than to unleash a plague virus on the
unsuspecting citizens of a major American city?тАЭ
тАЬWe have dealt with fanatics before,тАЭ said the Endless.
тАЬThose same unnamed sources,тАЭ said Boris slowly, тАЬreported that members of this group, The
Brotherhood of Holy Destruction, wielded seemingly supernatural powers. According to unconfirmed
reports, they smuggled Karsnov out of Russia on a magic carpet. I knew it sounded incredible, but I
thought it only proper I should mention the story to you.тАЭ
 тАЬWe have dealt with sorcery before as well,тАЭ said the Endless, her voice unchanged. тАЬIt exists,
but it can be stopped. We shall not fail.тАЭ
тАЬIтАЩm not worried,тАЭ said Boris, thinking of the previous sixty-three assignments. The meeting was
drawing to a close. There were only a few things left to be done. He reached into the attach├й case at his
feet. тАЬI brought along KarsnovтАЩs files for you.тАЭ
тАЬAnd a personal effect?тАЭ asked the Rager.