"Zach Hughes - Mother Lode" - читать интересную книгу автора (Hughes Zach)

She told the colonel about her gold ore, showed him the assay figures
from the government approved testing facility. He nodded and reached for
a communicator. He winked at her and said, "Lieutenant, if you won't
consider this a sexist suggestion, there's a pot of fresh coffee just outside
the door. I'd love to have a cup, and you're more than welcome to join me.
White and sweet for me, if you please."

She went out of the office and poured. She heard him ask for the
Planetary Attorney General's office. She was back in the room, putting his
coffee in front of him when he said, "Sam, how the hell are you?"

It was good coffee and it was good talk she heard. He was only a
groundbound colonel, but he was X&A, the voice of the most powerful
agency in the civilized galaxy. He had the attention of Sam, the Attorney
General. He grinned at Erin, winked as he listened. When he switched off
he was still grinning.

"Lieutenant," he said, "I think that if you'll visit Mr. Murdoch Plough
again in about two hours you might find that he has refigured the worth
of your ore."

Erin rose, kissed the colonel on his cheek. He had the grace to blush. He
laughed. "If you didn't leave any lipstick on my cheek, do it again. It's
about time I made my wife a little jealous."

"It's true," she said.
 "Yep," he said, nodding. "We do take care of our own."

Murdoch Plough did not rise from his desk when she entered his office
after being announced by his secretary. He looked up sullenly, stared at
her for a long time before he spoke.

"It seems, Lieutenant Kenner, that there was, ah, a bit of a mix-up in
the assay of your ore."

The fact that he called her lieutenant told her that he had received
some sort of a communication from on high. She nodded.

He threw a gold-tone check across the desk toward her. She picked it
up and read the figures—1,000,456.54 C. Over one million credits. On a
certified check.

"Thank you. I do appreciate the fast work."

Plough had evidently thought about the situation. "Will you be selling
again, Lieutenant?"

"There is that possibility," she admitted.

"We here at Plough are always interested in doing business," he said.