"Arcady And Boris Strugatsky. Prisoners of Power" - читать интересную книгу автораtreated him with a deference that bordered on bootlicking. "You're going to
be the top man here," he would say. "And under you, I'll really show my stuff." How and where he planned to show his stuff was not at all clear, but one thing was certain: Green loved risky jobs and hated routine tasks. Maxim disliked his wild, primitive cruelty. He was an ape in barely domesticated form. "I don't like this operation," said Memo morosely. "It's too risky. No preparation. No checking into anything. No, I don't like it." Memo Gramenu, the Hoof of Death, was perpetually discontented and always appeared to be afraid of something. His past was kept secret because he had once held a very high position in the underground. He had fallen into the hands of the police and somehow survived. Crippled by torture, he was dragged out by his cellmates who had arranged an escape. Thereafter, in keeping with the rules of the underground, he was removed from his position, although he was unquestionably above suspicion. He was appointed Gel Ketshef's assistant. He had fought in attacks on towers, blown up patrol cars, pursued and shot the commander of a Legion brigade, and was known for his fanatic daring and excellent marksmanship. On the eve of his appointment as leader of a group in some small town in the southwest. Gel's group was caught. Hoofer remained above suspicion and was appointed leader of the group, but he was haunted by the belief that his comrades were uneasy about him. Actually his fears weren't justified, although they very well could have been. People who were too lucky were not especially liked in the underground. He was a silent but carping type, well versed in the art of conspiracy and a stickler for the rules, even the most related to the underground; all his energies were devoted to the group. He saw to it that it was fully supplied with weapons, food, money, and safe meeting places. Even a motorcycle. Although Maxim sensed his dislike for him, he didn't understand the reason for Memo's attitude and preferred not to question him about it. Memo wasn't the kind of person one could have a frank conversation with. Perhaps Memo disliked him because Maxim was the only one to sense his constant fear. The others would never have believed that morose Hoofer, one of the founders of the underground movement and a dedicated terrorist who treated staff representatives as his equals, could be afraid of anything. "I can't understand the staff's reasoning," continued Memo, smearing another dose of repellent on his neck. "This isn't tie first time I've heard about the plan. The staff has wanted to try it a hundred times but always rejected it because it means almost certain death. While there's no radiation, we still have a chance to get away in case we fail, and can live to strike somewhere else. But with this plan, the very first failure means we'll all be killed. It seems very strange to me that the staff can't see such an obvious fact." "You're not quite right about one thing, Hoofer," replied Ordi. "Now we have Mac. If anything goes wrong, he can pull us out and maybe even blow up the tower." She smoked languidly, gazing into the distance at the swamp. Cool and calm, she was ready for anything. People were intimidated by her because she perceived them as more or less useful mechanisms of destruction. There was |
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