"Chelsea Quinn Yarbro - Crown of Empire" - читать интересную книгу автора (Yarbro Chelsea Quinn)

from presenting herself at the window, turned
and tilted one of the three vanity mirrors so that
she could watch the outside in its depths.


"Oh, how distressing it all is," said Cousin
Helga, at last putting the infopak down. "Just
when I dunk I can bear to remember it тАФ "


"Contain yourself. Cousin," Tira snapped, "Go
begin emergency evacuation procedures. At
once."


"Naturally. Sony. I should have started imme-
diately I reached here." The old lady stumbled to
her feet. "You'll think I've gone foolish on you.
And at such a time."


"Impossible, Cousin Helga," said Tira more
kindly, abandoning her search. It wouldn't do to
totally demoralize her sole ally of the moment.
Two alarms, one shrill and weepy, the other
aggressive, went off at once.


Helga shrieked and bolted for the living room
of the suite. From Helga's own room, which no
one but she should have been able to enter from
the corridor, stamped a squad of armed soldiers
in brown uniforms, with Treasury collar flashes.


Tira rose to her feet, indignation warring with
fear. As she did so, she pressed the toggle that
summoned her own guards, waiting in the corri-
dor. "What are you doing here?"


The man who seemed to be in charge
remained motionless as the others fanned out to
cover the room. "You must come with us," he
said flatly, seemingly indifferent to her response.


Tira wanted to stomp hard on his foot and
pound the heel of her hand into his nose. But
there was something so disinterested, so lethal