"002 The Third Power" - читать интересную книгу автора (Perry Rhodan)

"Just keep on flying and turn off the radio," the representative of the
government ordered the pilot. "Don’t pay any attention to the order from the
flight centre."
"But I have to receive the weather forecasts, and I must announce my position
every five minutes."
Perkins caught a glance from the government’s representative. He nodded
imperceptibly and put his hand in his pocket.
"Turn the radio off completely," the government man repeated. "I urgently advise
you to follow my instructions to the letter from now on; otherwise, you will
have to suffer the consequences. I represent the government, just remember that.
Land at the Koshun salt lake. How long before we land?"
The pilot hesitated, then looked for a moment at his instruments. "Ten minutes."
"I’ll be up front in eight minutes, and I’ll supervise the landing operations.
Until then, no change of course. Do you follow me?"
"You will be responsible for this," said the pilot, and disappeared.
Engineer Lan-Yu had followed the conversation without comment. His smile had
faltered, and his narrow eyes had become narrower still. He noticed that
Perkins, alias Alfons Hochheimer, was still keeping his hand in his pocket.
"Why do you not follow the instructions of our government?" Lan-Yu asked slowly.
"I would not like for us to run into any difficulty. I am certain that this has
to do with the foreign spaceship."
"You can bet your bottom dollar on it," he was assured by the government
official. "But rest assured I know exactly what I’m doing."
"I couldn’t care less," admitted Lan-Yu, "as long as we find the uranium." His
glance hovered over the impressive metal box that lay on the free seat next to
Perkins. This metal box had been able to convince even the president of his firm
when he had seen it. "I really hope we find the location."
Five minutes later the pilot announced, "An air force jet is ahead of us. They
are urging us to turn around."
"How can you know that if you have no radio contacts?"
"Warning shots," the pilot replied. Apparently he knew no fear.
Thirty miles.
"Switch on the radio. I’m coming up front."
The government representative turned to Perkins with a meaningful gesture, then
disappeared into the narrow pilot’s cabin and closed the door behind him.
Perkins pulled an automatic out of his pocket and pointed it at Lan-Yun "Do you
happen to have any weapons on you?"
The engineer was so startled that he gasped. His eyes became as round as buttons
as he stared into the black muzzle of the gun and shook his head.
"What do you want from me?" he stammered.
"Just keep still and keep your mouth shut. If you pretend you don’t exist, you
might come out of this adventure safe and sound. But if not"
An impressive silence made the alternative all too obvious.
"But you can’t all by yourself."
"I am not alone. And now, don’t say anything more. We’re going to land now."
The jet began its descent. In the meantime the military escort had turned
around. Unhindered, the jet passed the air barriers of the Asiatic Federation,
swept low above several tank units, and suddenly sighted, farther off by the
river Morin-Gol, the Stardust.
The lunar rocket was standing forlorn and deserted. No life was evident in its