"Friedman,.C.S.-.Coldfire.2.-.When.True.Night.Falls" - читать интересную книгу автора (Friedman C. S)

the edge of the clearing and leveled his gun at the man's heart.
"That's enough," he announced. "Party's over, Casca. Stay right
where you are."

The botanist reeled visibly, as though Case's words had not only
stopped him in his tracks but had awakened him from some kind of
trance. He turned toward the commander and gaped at him, as if
trying to absorb the fact of his presence.

"Leo," he said at last. Starting to move toward him. "How did you-"

"Stay where you are!" Case ordered. "And keep your hands where
I can see them." He glanced toward Lise and nodded; she was
kneeling on the tram's bed, inspecting its contents. "No fast
movements, you hear me? Just stay where you are and keep
quiet."

Lise had cut the tie on one of the bundles and was freeing its
occupant. "Well?" Case demanded.

"It's Erik Fielder." She reached a hand in to take his pulse, and
added, "He's alive." Quickly she moved to the other bundle and
unwrapped its upper end. "Liz Breslav. Out cold. I see bruises,
some sort of impact damage to the side of the head... can't say
how bad it is without MedOps. We need to get her back to the
ship."

It took him a minute to put the names in context; when he did, he
darkened. Ian's choice of victims was all too practical. With true
night coming, the colony's other members would have been
huddled together in their makeshift cabins, seeking the dubious
safety that could be found in numbers. It would have been hard for
Ian to single out one or two of them, much less knock them out and
drag their bodies from the camp without being seen. But Fielder
and Breslav had drawn special guard duty for the night, which
meant that they were already outside the camp, standing watch
over the ship and its contents a good mile away. They would have
been especially vulnerable, Case thought, if their enemy was not a
creature of Erna, like they expected, but one of their own kind. A
glib man who might talk his way into their company, and then strike
at them from behind when they least expected it.

His mouth tightened into a hard line as he raised the gun. "That's
proof enough for me."

Sudden understanding gleamed in Ian's eyes. Understanding...
and fear. "Leo, listen to me-"

"The charge is endangering the welfare of the colony," Case said
steadily. "The verdict is guilty." Something tightened inside him,