"LaHaye, Tim - Left Behind 11 - Armageddon" - читать интересную книгу автора (LaHaye Tim)

"I just wish-"
"If you can't send me a pair of eyes, I can't think of a thing."


SIX


THE TATTOO artist snapped on her rubber gloves and asked Mainyu Mazda in an Indian accent if he wanted anesthetic. He pulled back and looked at her.
"You never do," she said. "Head back, chin up."
Albie did not expect a meeting with this man in this part of this town to be other than bizarre, but neither did he dream he would have to compete with a derma-tological procedure.
"Go ahead, my friend," Mainyu said, gesturing. "You come to me why?"
Albie leaned forward, forearms on the desk, and told MM of his urgent need in Al Hillah. The woman's battery-powered applicator emitted a loud, rapid clicking as she worked. Mainyu winced but managed to encour-age Albie with "Uh-huhs" and "Hmms." Finally he said, "A moment, Kashmir." The woman pulled away and busied herself with the needle in the glow of the lamp.
"It is no secret that you are not a friend of the poten-tate," MM said.
Albie smiled. "I hope it is a secret in some places." "Why do you not let me have Kashmir give you a loyalty mark? Any number you wish."
"You know I cannot do that, Mainyu."
"Oh yes. You are now a Judah-ite and believe in the evil spirits."
"The evil sp-?"
Mainyu waved with the back of his hand. "Don't you people believe that anyone who takes the mark of Car-pathia goes to hell, something like that?"
"More important is where our loyalty lies."
MM looked at Kashmir, then leaned back and grinned at Albie. He laughed loudly. "You are not going to start in on me now, are you, old friend? I wondered."
"No, you have made your choice. I am curious as to why you have a 72 and not a 216, though."
"You think I am a friend of the international regime?" "Well, I wond-"
"You think my mark is real? You know me better than that." He spat.
"But the penalty for a fake mark is worse than death," Albie said.
"Public torture, I know," Mainyu said. "But the GC is not interested in me except in how I can benefit them. If I were to bear the mark of the one to whom I am loyal, it would have to be the number 1. What is it our Mexican friends say, Albie? `Look out for numeeo uno!' And if I was not a benefit to the GC, I would be assigned to the Plain of Jezreel like so many millions of others. What kind of business could I do there?"
"How do you benefit the GC?"
Kashmir dabbed at a tiny stream of blood on Mainyu's neck.
"I am a businessman, Albie. I look for the biggest profit for the smallest expense, and right now that is bounty money."
"You-"
"Deliver the disloyal to the Peacekeepers. Of course I do. Tell me, what is the cost of doing that kind of busi-ness? Twenty thousand Nicks a head, same price dead or alive. I find the dead more manageable. Once the victim is still, there is no danger, no escape attempt, nothing messy. With the right size plastic bag, even the car stays clean. Follow?"
"So, you are a supplier-"
"To the GC, yes, of course. If low overhead and high profit is the businessman's mantra, what better business is there than something for nothing? They are willing to pay for something I can provide."
Albie wondered how many unmarked victims of Mainyu's were Judah-ites. "My request, then," Albie said, "does it constitute a conflict of interest for you?"
"Of course not, my friend! Not if you brought the money. I am not a friend of the GC. I am merely a busi-ness associate. My interest is profit."
"I wasn't sure what such services would cost."
"Oh yes, you were. You are not out of the business that long. And surely you didn't expect me to commit to this without all the money up front, not when it has to be done almost immediately."
"You have the people, the hardware, the-?"
"You know I have everything. It will be done. Pro-vided you have the money."
"Such a job would have cost twenty thousand Nicks a few years ago," Albie said.
"So I assume you brought more, due to inflation and the urgent nature of the request."
Albie hesitated.
"Sure you did, and you will not make the mistake of holding out on me, because you know how easy it would be for me to find out how much you have with you."
"Of course. I brought thirty thousand Nicks."
"Hmm."
"Surely that's enough. Fifty percent more than before has to cover inflation and the rush."
"It's not enough," Mainyu said. "It's twenty thousand short."
Albie assumed the deal was about to go down. They were in the haggling stage, and anything other than a vigorous argument from both sides would show dis-respect. "Thirty thousand is all I brought, and all I am willing to pay."
"Uh-huh. And is it all on your person or did you leave some on your bike?"
"You know better than that, Mainyu. Who leaves cash in the alley here?"
Mainyu laughed. "Sahib!"