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

Lucky. I felt numb, as if my whole body had
been immersed in a thick enveloping fog. I could
see and move and breathe and think. But I could
not feel. I wanted to be angry, or grief-stricken, or
even frightened. But I was as calm as a stupid
cow, staring at the world with placid eyes. I thought
about the young woman who was being taken off
to a hospital. What made me try to save her? Who
was responsible for the bombing? Were they trying
to kill her? Or one of the men at the bar?

Or me?

Two TV vans had arrived by now, and the news
reporters were speaking to the police captain in
charge of the scene while their crews unlimbered
their mini-cameras. One of the reporters, a sharp-
faced woman with a penetratingly nasal voice, in-
terviewed me for a few minutes. I responded to
her questions automatically, my mind dull and
slow.

Once the police let me leave, I pushed my way
through the milling crowd that had been drawn
by the excitement and walked the three blocks
back to my office. I told no one about the explosion.
I went straight to my private cubicle and shut the
door.

As evening fell, I was still sitting at my desk—
wondering why the grenade had been thrown and
how I had escaped being killed by it. Which led

ORION

me to wondering why I have such phy
ties and whether those two strangers ^
peared from the bar had the same power
again about the young woman. Closing
recalled from my memory the image of
lance that had taken her away. St. Mere
was printed along its side paneling. A q
with my desktop computer gave me the
address. I got up from my desk and left
the lights turning off automatically beh

ORION 15

CHAPTER 2