"Timothy Zahn - The Green and the Gray" - читать интересную книгу автора (Zahn Timothy)

Shoving the gun into his pocket, he stepped to the girl's side and put his arm around her slim waist.
A fair percentage of her weight came onto his arm; she really was in bad shape. He just hoped he
wouldn't end up carrying her the rest of the way to the apartment.
He hoped even more that whoever had tried to do this to her wouldn't get to them first.




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He did not, in fact, end up carrying the girl, but it was a near thing. By the time they reached their
building, she was staggering like a drunken tourist, with the two of them supporting nearly her entire
weight. The night doorman was nowhere to be seen, and it was all Roger could do to keep her from
collapsing as Caroline fished out her keys and let them in.
The elevator was deserted, as was the hallway leading to their sixth-floor apartment. With Caroline
again handling the door, Roger maneuvered the girl inside.
"NoтАФthe bedroom," Caroline panted as Roger started toward the living room. "She'll be more
comfortable there."
"Okay," Roger grunted, changing direction.
They made it to the bedroom and got the girl up onto the bed. She was already asleep as Caroline
folded the end of the comforter up to cover her legs. Roger straightened the lapels of his coat across
her shoulders, and as he did so his fingers brushed across her shoulder. The material of her tunic felt
odd, like some cross between silk and satin.
"She looks so young," Caroline murmured.
"How old do you think she is?" Roger asked. "I was guessing about fifteen."
"Oh, noтАФno more than twelve," Caroline said. "Maybe even eleven."
"Oh," Roger said, focusing on the girl's face. He could never tell about these things.
But however old she was, she certainly had an exotic look about her. Her hair was pure black, her
skin olive-dark in a Mediterranean sort of way, and there was an odd slant about her eyes and mouth
he couldn't place. He hadn't had a chance to see her eyes before she fell asleep, but he would bet
money they were as dark as her hair.
"Better leave the closet light on," Caroline said. "She might be frightened if she wakes up in the dark
and doesn't know where she is."
Roger nodded and flipped the switch, and together they tiptoed out, closing the door behind them.
"What do you think?" Caroline asked as she pulled off her coat and hung it on the coat tree by the
door.
"I think we should call the cops and let them sort it out," Roger said, plucking his shirt distastefully
away from his chest as he headed for the kitchen phone. Coming suddenly from the cold night air
into the warmth of the building had popped sweat all over his body, and his shirt was sticking
unpleasantly to his skin. "Deadbolt the door, will you, and put the chain on? And then check the
balcony doors."


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The Green and the Gray