"FWLS41" - читать интересную книгу автора (A Future We'd Like to See)

"I want the best. It's the only way."

"It'll cost you..."

"It'll wipe me out, but I'll go for it."

"This is a bit unlike you, Lowbeam, making such an
extravagant purchase... I thought you were one of those odd non-
violent types."

"I need defenses too. The works."

*

I was almost afraid I'd miss the run, sitting there for two
days while all the new equipment was fitted on my ship. When it
was done, I paid the dealer, hopped onboard and plotted an
intercept course.

Love makes you do really dumb things, I thought. Love of a
ship, especially. I increased warp speed.

Radar picked up the ship instantly. It was the same make
and model as the one that burned me previously... exact same make
and model. I checked the ID beacon.

It was the same ship. It was the same pilot.

My holoscreen clicked on automatically, the incoming call
overriding my call-screen security checks. The guy, in his messy
mail uniform, grinned.

"Hey! It's you again!" he laughed. Laugh of a crazy man.
"How ya doin'? How's the ship?"

"Better," I said, not sure of what else to say.

"Great. That'll make it more fun ripping it to shreds. I
am planning to do that, you know. I'm not on a really tight
schedule this time, and I don't like to leave fights unfinished.
Especially fights others tease me about."

"I know the feeling," I said. And I did. It was time to
fall back to basics, to get my wits back in order. "Please
surrender your vessel to my tractor beams and you won't get
hurt."

"Okay. Shutting down engines," he said. And he did.

I blinked. I was expecting some kind of resistance, like he