"Asprin, Robert - Myth 09 - M.Y.T.H Inc. In Action" - читать интересную книгу автора (Asprin Robert)

The MP down to reach for the cop, but I get there first... Mostly 'cause I know what is comin' and have a head start.

"Let me!" I sez, then I do somethin' I've been waitin' to do all my life.

I lay my best punch on a cop... In front of witnesses!


Chapter Thirteen:

"Weren't you expecting me?"
J. Rambo

Me and Nunzio have a bit of a wait before the company commander shows up at his office. This is fine by me, as it gives me a chance to stop my nose from bleedin' quite so much, and we even talk the MPs guardin' us in to gettin' some disinfect ant to put on our knuckles.

If from this youse infers that it was quite a brawl, youse is correct. It was... And what's more we are the the winners. Now, the civilian cops may have different opinions regardin' this, but we was still standin' at the end of it and they wasn't so I feel we are justified in claimin' the victory.

As I mentioned, our guards are okay guys and in a pretty good mood to boot, which is understandable as they was fightin' on our side in the fracas under discussion. We have a pretty good time with them while we are waitin', swappin' tales from the fight that were at least partially true, interruptin' each other all the time with comments of "did you see it when I...?" and "Yeah, what about when that big cop...." in fact, we are gettin' downright chummy with 'em, but then the captain walks in.

Ah our talkin', stops when he appears, though he musta heard us long before we saw him, so there isn't really any point tryin' to pretend we have been this quiet all the time. Still, he doesn't look happy, so without any kind of spoken agreement we all drop back in to our appointed roles. By this I mean the guards stand at parade rest and look stern, whilst me and Nunzio just sit and look uncomfort able... Which isn't too hard since, as I said, we have not emerged from the fracas unscathed.

We watch in total silence as the captain sits down at his desk and down studyin' the report which has been placed there. I suppose I could of looked at it myself when we was talkin' with the guards, but to tell you the truth it hadn't occurred to me until I see the captain readin' it and realize the fates of Nunzio and me might well be decided by what is in it. Finally, the captain looks up as if seein' all of us for the first time.

"Where are the others?" he sez to one of the guards.

"At the infirmary tent, sir," the guard sez.

The captain raises his ey ebrows. "Any thing serious?"

"No sir. Just a few bumps and bruises. Besides..."

"The guard hesitates and glances at me, and I knew I was on.

"I told 'em they should get patched up and let me talk to you first, captain... Sir," I sez. "You see, it was Nunzio and me what started the fight, and the squad just pitched in later to help us out... So I figured that... Well, since we was responsible..."

"Can you verify this?" the captain sez to the guard, cuttin' my oration short.

"Yes sir."

"Very well. Send word over to the infirmary. Tell the rest of the squad they are free to return to their quarters after their wounds are treated. Sergeant Guido and corporal Nunzio are taking full responsibility for their actions."

"Yes sir," the guard sez, then salutes and leaves.

This is a bit of a load off my mind, as I have been worryin' a bit about gettin' the crew into trouble with our gambit. A bit, but not all... As there remains the question of what the captain is gonna do about me and Nunzio. This is a for real question, as the stare the captain is levelin' at us is real noncommittal, which is to say he neither looks happy nor upset... though I'm not sure what he would have to be happy about in this situational.

"Are you aware," he sez finally, "that I was called off stage to deal with this matter? One song into my final set, no less?"

"No sir, " I sez , 'cause I hadn't been. This simple statement did, however, settle two things in my mind. First, there is the matter of his rather flashy outfit... Which while it is indeed quite spiffy, is decidedly non-regulation. Second, it removed any doubts I might be havin' as to the level of benevolence the captain is feelin' toward us... Noncommittal stare or not.

"Accordi ng to this, " he sez, lookin' at the report again, "you two were involved in, if not the actual instigators of a barroom brawl, not only with civilians, but with the local police as well. Is there anything you'd like to add to that?"