"Tim LaHaye & Jerry Jenkins - Left Behind Series 2 - Tribulation Force" - читать интересную книгу автора (LaHaye Tim)

Now, as Rayford read the bizarre story in the paper, he noticed Nick switching from
autopilot to manual. “Initial descent,” Nick said. “You want to bring her in?”
“Of course,” Rayford said. Nick could have landed the plane, but Rayford felt
responsible. He was the captain. He would answer for these people. And even
though the plane could land itself, he had not lost the thrill of handling it. Few
things reminded him of life as it had been just weeks before, but landing a 747 was
one of them.


Buck Williams had spent the day buying a car—something he hadn't needed in
Manhattan—and hunting for an apartment. He found a beautiful condo, at a place
that advertised already-installed phones, midway between the Global Weekly
Chicago bureau office and New Hope Village Church in Mount Prospect. He tried
to convince himself it was the church that would keep drawing him west of the city,
not Rayford Steele's daughter, Chloe. She was ten years his junior, and whatever
attraction he might feel for her, he was certain she saw him as some sort of a
wizened mentor.
Buck had put off going to the office. He wasn't expected there until the following
Monday anyway, and he didn't relish facing Verna Zee. When it had been his
assignment to find a replacement for veteran Lucinda Washington, the Chicago
bureau chief who had disappeared, he had told the militant Verna she had jumped
the gun by moving into her former boss's office. Now Buck had been demoted and
Verna elevated. Suddenly, she was his boss.
But he didn't want to spend all weekend dreading the meeting, and neither did he
want to appear too eager to see Chloe Steele again right away, so Buck drove to the
office just before closing. Would Verna make him pay for his years of celebrity as
an award-winning cover-story writer? Or would she make it even worse by killing
him with kindness?
Buck felt the stares and smiles of the underlings as he moved through the outer
office. By now, of course, everyone knew what had happened. They felt sorry for
him, were stunned by his lapse of judgment. How could Buck Williams miss a
meeting that would certainly be one of the most momentous in news history, even if
it hadn't resulted in the double death? But they were also aware of Buck's
credentials. Many, no doubt, would still consider it a privilege to work with him.
No surprise, Verna had already moved back into the big office. Buck winked at
Alice, Verna's spike-haired young secretary, and peered in. It looked as if Verna had
been there for years. She had already rearranged the furniture and hung her own
pictures and plaques. Clearly, she was ensconced and loving every minute of it.
A pile of papers littered Verna's desk, and her computer screen was lit, but she
seemed to be idly gazing out the window. Buck poked his head in and cleared his
throat. He noticed a flash of recognition and then a quick recomposing. “Cameron,”
she said flatly, still seated. “I didn't expect you till Monday.”
“Just checking in,” he said. “You can call me Buck.”
“I'll call you Cameron, if you don't mind, and—”
“I do mind. Please call—”
“Then I'll call you Cameron even if you do mind. Did you let anyone know you
were coming?”
“I'm sorry?”
“Do you have an appointment?”
“An appointment?”