"FWLS40" - читать интересную книгу автора (A Future We'd Like to See)

"You're what?"

"Being blackmailed. And now that they didn't get the cargo,
odds are they're widebanding my secret now. I'm doomed."

"Doomed? Come on, that's an exagerration. What could you
have done that was so evil it would--"

"I wore a plush dinosaur suit and sang songs about birdies
and trees on Murflan children's TV," she admitted.

"YOU WERE THAT INSIPID PURPLE CRETIN?!" I screamed, before
my tact returned. "Umm. I mean. I know that, umm, well, that,
uh."

"Go on, get mad. I know a million Murfles currently want me
dead on crimes against Murflanity for helping poison a generation
of youngsters with cutesy ideas. I know everybody in the free
universe hated that show. I feel so... dirty. I was young... I
needed the money... anyone would have..."

I hate it when they cry. When a woman has your arm behind
your back and is about to rip it off I can handle, or when they
yell at you for leaving the toilet seat up. Crying I'm not used
to.

"Look. Here, have a hankie."

"That's your sleeve," she burbled.

"I don't have anything else. Look, who is it that's
blackmailing you with this?"

"Some guy, I don't know..." she sniffed, wiping quite a bit
of fluid on my arm. "Works for a rival corp... JakTechs
Incorporated. They wanted me to keep this delivery from going
through, and now that we blew up their attack fleet, they're
gonna ruin my life and career. I'll be dangling at the end of a
Murflan noose by the end of the week because I wore a dumb
costume and brainwashed little children..."

"Calm down," I said, tapping a few commands into the nav
panel. The ship swung neatly around in a 90' arc. "Murfles
don't have a structure high enough to hang you from. Besides, I
know where these guys live."

"What're you doing?" she asked, drying up the last of the
rivers on her face.

"Oh, not much. We're almost there, actually."