"William C. Dietz - By Force of Arms" - читать интересную книгу автора (Dietz William)

One individual came close, however, and his name was
Neptune Small. The fact that he weighed approximately
350 pounds was an irony of which he was well aware, and
no one chose to joke about. No one who wanted to live.

Small's offices were located over one of the restaurants
he owned, which was rather convenient, since he consid-
ered it his duty to sample the establishment's wares at least
four times a day.

So that's where he was, sitting at his favorite table,
when a functionary named Hos McGurk left the city's di-
lapidated corn center, ignored the pouring-down rain, and
ran the three blocks to the aptly named Rimmer's Rest. He
could have called, could have asked for Small, but the
businessman didn't like corn calls. He preferred to deal
with people face to face, where he could see their fear,
and smell their sweat.

McGurk pushed the doors open, ignored the robotic
hostess, and headed for the back. All sorts of junk had
been nailed, wired, screwed, or in at least one case welded
to the walls. There were nameplates taken off long-


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dismantled ships, a collection of alien hand tools, the shell
from a five-hundred-pound land mollusk, a mummified
hand that someone found floating in space, and a wanted
poster that not only bore Small's somewhat thinner like-
ness, but announced the possibility of a rather sizeable re-
ward. Some of the clientele thought it was a joke—others
weren't so sure.

BY FORCE OF ARMS 11

McGurk had started to pant by the time he arrived in
front of Small's table. The entrepreneur, as he liked to
refer to himself, always wore immaculate black clothing,
and affected a specially made cane- The handle resembled
the head of an eagle and the shaft doubted as a single-shot
energy weapon. It leaned against the table only inches
from it owner's well-dimpled hand. Small dabbed his fat
puffy lips, raised an eyebrow, and spoke in what amounted
to a hoarse whisper. "Good afternoon, Hos—what brings
you out on such a miserable day?"

Thus encouraged McGurk began to babble. His eyes