"Bova, Ben - Orion 01 - Orion" - читать интересную книгу автора (Bova Ben)

his back faced the curtained window. If the first
man was a golden angel, this one had the look of a
midnight netherworld about him. His face was
heavy and grim; his muscular body bulged his
clothing. His hair was jet black and his eyes burned
angrily under heavy, bushy brows. Even his voice
seemed heavy and dark with fury when he ordered
a brandy.

I finished my coffee and decided to ask for my
check, then stop at the model's table on my way
out. I started to look for my waiter among the four
of them loafing by the kitchen doors in the rear of
the restaurant, conversing in a mixture of French
and Italian. That is what saved me.

A bald little man in a black coat popped out of
the kitchen's swinging door and tossed a black
egg-shaped object the length of the restaurant. A
hand grenade.

I saw it all as if it were happening in slow
motion. I realize now that my reflexes must have
suddenly gone into overdrive, operating at a fan-
tastically fast rate. I saw the man ducking back
inside the kitchen, the waiters stiffening with
surprise, the couples at the other tables still talking,
not realizing that death was a second or two away.
The young beauty a few tables away from me had
her back to the grenade, but the bartender stared
straight at it as it clunked on the carpet and rolled
lumpily along to within five feet of me.

I shouted a warning and leaped across the inter-
vening tables to knock the young model out of the

way of the blast. We thudded to the floor, me on
top of her. The clatter of dishes and glassware was
lost in the roar of the explosion. The room flashed
and thundered. It shook. Then—smoke, screams,
the heat of flames, the acrid smell of the explosive.

I got to my feet unharmed. Her table was splin-
tered and the wall behind us shredded by shrapnel.
Smoke filled the room. I got to my knees and saw
that the young woman was unconscious. There
was a gash on her forehead, but she seemed other-
wise unharmed. I turned and saw through the
smoke the other people in the restaurant mangled
and bleeding, sprawled on the floor, slumped