"Andre Norton - Time Traders 6 - Echoes In Time" - читать интересную книгу автора (Norton Andre)

cabbage and potato meals and unwashed wool. Heard the creak of a chair.

"So you are awake, young man." That voice belonged to Colonel
Vasilyeva. Misha turned his head, saw her sitting by a narrow window set
into the thick stone wall. Through the window he glimpsed hayricks, and
the long white Russian sky. He knew this place; it was the fallback position
for their team, in case of disaster. His hand lifted to his ribs, encountered
a taped bandage there.

He said, finding his throat dry, "The mission is safe."

"No thanks to you."

The Colonel's face was calm, her gaze unwavering. Like others who had
spent childhood under the shadow of Stalin, she seemed to have no
emotions whatsoever.

Misha knew that was wrong.

He said, "The ship?"

"It is safe enough. Now." Her voice was as immovable as granite. When
she was angry, her demeanor carried all the force of a rockslide. "But that
will not be the case if any of your victims die, and the government turns its
attention back on us."

Misha fought against blinding anger, and winced as he moved restlessly
on the bed.
 "If," she stated in a low, soft voice, "I give orders for that alien ship to
be destroyed, it will be done."

Misha gritted his teeth and forced himself to sit up against the wall.

The Colonel went on, "They were just a bunch of opportunists, there to
take over the energy plant, and use it for some easy piracy by price
gouging. They had no idea that we are time agents, and that we have an
alien ship. And of course they are going to come back, in bigger numbers.
We have to make certain that what they find will be a hydroelectric plant.
Nothing more. Nothing less. Nothing," she said in a slow, cold voice, "to
raise questions."

"I'm sorry," Misha said at last, though it cost him more effort than
sitting up had.

The Colonel sat back, one blunt hand working at her temples as if she
had a headache. If one were to interpret that gesture as weakness, that
would be equally wrong.

"The Americans have a ship," she said. "We are now allied with them.
The Germans have a ship. The French have a ship, as do the Norwegians,