"Timothy Zahn - The Blackcollar" - читать интересную книгу автора (Zahn Timothy)

The Blackcollar


Timothy Zahn

The Blackcollar

CHAPTER 1
Blazing down from a clear blue sky, the mid-morning sun seemed to be making only token effort to
drive away the cold snap that had interrupted spring for most of central Europe. Tightening his collar
against the northerly wind blowing off Lake Geneva, Allen Caine picked up his pace a bit. It would
have been nice to ride at least part of the way, but only the uninformed waited for autocabs in
eastern New Geneva on Victory Day. Most of the vehicles had been preempted early in the day to
take government officials to the stadium for the annual rally celebrating the end of the Terran-Ryqril
war. Caine had half expected the cold to keep participation to a minimumтАФloyalty-conditioning
didn't extend to anything as trivial as rallysтАФbut there would be several Ryqril there and New
Geneva's officials clearly knew which side of their bread should stay off the carpet. Already Caine
had heard the muffled roars of two cheers, and he was a good three kilometers from the stadium. An
amazingly unashamed display of hypocrisy, he thought bitterly; and at this, the twenty-ninth year of
such pageantry, one of the longest lived. A visiting stranger would have concluded the Terran
Democratic Empire had won the war.

The streets at this end of town were bustling with business as usualтАФthe common people treated
Victory Day with sullen indifferenceтАФand Caine had no trouble blending into the throng. He'd only
come to New Geneva two weeks agoтАФa slightly late twenty-sixth birthday present, he considered
the tripтАФbut already he felt like a native. Like every other group of people on Earth, this one had its
own characteristic gestures and mannerisms, the learning of which had been Caine's most recent
task. Combined with his clean-cut appearance, such preparation would permit him to pass, if
necessary, as a student, a rising young executive, orтАФif he trimmed his beard in the proper
fashionтАФa member of one of the city's semi-professional guilds. Of course, it wasn't really a
question of whether or not he could pass muster on this side of the city, but since he wouldn't be
crossing to the government end for some weeks yet, he wasn't especially worried. Presumably he'd
be prepared for that by then.

His clothes were a bit on the thin side, but Caine arrived at his destination before he was too badly
chilled. Sandwiched between two bars in a lower-middle-class part of town was a small tape-and-
book store with faded volumes of Dickens and Heinlein in the front window. Entering, Caine stood
just inside the door a moment, letting his eyes adjust to the relative darkness. A few meters away,
lounging by his cash register, the store's proprietor eyed him. "Getting any warmer out there?" he
asked.


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The Blackcollar

"Not really," Caine replied, glancing around the store. Three or four other men were browsing
among the shelves. Looking back at the owner, he raised his eyebrows. The other gave a fractional
nod and Caine moved off down one of the two aisles, pretending to study the titles as he did so.
Taking his time, he worked his way to the back. There, half hidden behind a wide shelf, was a door
with a faded "Employees Only" sign taped to it. Waiting until all the customers were facing away