"Michael Z. Williamson - Freehold 3 - Better to Beg Forgiveness" - читать интересную книгу автора (Williamson Michael Z)

Baen Publishing Enterprises

P.O. Box 1403
Riverdale, NY 10471
www.baen.com
ISBN 10: 1-4165-5508-0
ISBN 13: 978-1-4165-5508-7

Cover art by Kurt Miller

First Baen printing, October 2007

Distributed by Simon & Schuster
1230 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10020

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
t/k

Printed in the United States of America

CHAPTER 1

"Basically, I'm in it for the money," Aramis Anderson said. "Who can turn down entire weeks' worth of
pay per day?" He sat back in his couch and sipped his drink. He'd already finished his lunch, and the
sandwich must have screamed in terror, seeing and then disappearing down that voracious maw.

"Yeah, but I figure they pay that for a reason. This won't be easy." Former Captain Alex Marlow,
USMC, remembered being young and stupid. That's why he wasformer captain. Granted, he'd gotten
the job done, but Anderson's ego was larger than his had been and potentially a problem, despite all his
training and experience.

"No, not easy," Anderson agreed. "But it's better pay than the infantry, better rules of engagement than
the infantry, and better gear than the infantry."


Anderson kept bringing up the infantry, by which he meant the U.S. Army infantry. "All Marines Are
Riflemen First," but the Army's riflemen were often condescending to the rest of their servicemates.

I'm probably being too harsh, Alex thought.I was much the same and grew out of it. He's well
trained, and he follows orders. He didn't need to let immaturity and abrasiveness cause tension. You
had to get along with your team even if you didn't care for them socially. The kid did well at the
Academy, did have limited real world experience, and was quite bright. He'd keep an eye out, and say
something if he needed to. After all, he'd agreed to bring the kid along as muscle with brains.

"I've never guarded a head of state before," said Eleonora Sykora, leaning back in her couch and clearly
enjoying the smooth flight of the luxury aircraft. The plane was soundproofed, and even her soft tones
were audible. She was a Czech from Earth, but spoke good spaceside English, if a little rough on
pronunciation. She was female, slim, and elegant looking, not exactly the image of an executive security
professional.