"Michael Stackpole "The Bacta War"" - читать интересную книгу автора

"What?"
"Oh, please, don't act so incredulous." Karrde shook his head gravely. "I can't
have her threatening my customers. It's bad for my reputation and bad for morale
and puts me at a serious disadvantage in my business dealings. She's going to
die."
"You gave me a choice of how she dies."
"Old age is not one of the options I had in mind." Karrde waved away Booster's
comment. "No, she has to die. There is no retreating from this point."
"No?" Booster arched an eyebrow over his artificial eye. "I have more things to
buy. I can always take my business elsewhere."
"If I had a credit for every time I heard that sort of empty threat, I could buy
and sell Thyferra and Isard a dozen times over." Karrde snorted. "I believe our
old business is con-cluded. Now about that lanvarok . . ."
"Don't be so anxious here, Karrde." Booster slowly smiled. "You've got our
munitions business already-though that could change. This is something more."
"It would have to be special if you expect to buy Me-lina's life with it."
"I think it is. I was going to give it to Billey-pitch some work his way for old
times' sake."
Karrde nodded. "Dravis, the new guy working for him, is good."
"So I've heard, but you're better."
Karrde smiled. "So I've heard."
"Anyway," Booster growled, "I want a gravity well pro-jector."
Mirax covered a smile as Karrde coughed and regarded her father with disbelief.
So you can be surprised, Karrde, Not easily, but possibly.
"A gravity well projector?" Karrde shook his head. "Bil-ley can't get it for
you."
Booster nodded. "It's impossible to get one, I know, but I could use it, and so
I thought I'd start asking. If you can't do it . . ."
"Reverse thrust there, Booster. I just said Billey couldn't get it."
"You can?"
Karrde lifted his chin. "Easily."
"Sure. That's the deepest bucket of sithspit I've ever heard being sloshed
about."
"I can, and I will, and it will cost you." Karrde's eyes narrowed. "But giving
me that purchase order doesn't get you Melina Carniss's life."
Booster smiled. "Does it give me six months of her life?"
Karrde closed his eyes for a moment. "Two months, but she'll be isolated from
most of my operations."
"I see. I also need parts for a squadron of TIE fighters. I want some Y-wing ion
cannons and circuitry refit kits that will allow me to put the cannons in the
starfighters."
"That's custom work. It'll be expensive." Karrde looked at the fingernails on
his right hand. "And it will get you an-other month of Melina's life."
Booster leaned forward, his fingertips digging into the plush cushioning of the
chair's back. "Take it out of the money you'll make selling our bacta hauls."
Karrde laughed as he shook his head. "You're selling me bantha hides before
you've killed the bantha, Booster."
"I'd ask you to trust me on this one, Karrde, but I know that would take more
credits than buying Carniss's continued survival." Booster frowned. "We have ops
planned that will pull in bacta. Locate the items and wait for us to deliver