"Kristine Kathryn Rusch - Chimera" - читать интересную книгу автора (Rusch Kristine Kathryn)

Anna called her back, reporting that the lab wouldn't talk to her, but one of
the scientists who had worked with Cedric would.

The arranged meeting was like something out of a turn-of-the-century spy
movie. Anna insisted that Gen meet her first at a restaurant that Anna
frequented. Once there, Anna gave Gen handwritten instructions on how to find
the scientist.

The directions took her to a concrete parking garage that was almost a hundred
years old and had been condemned by the city. A closed coffee shop on the
sidewalk level matched the number on the slip of paper. Gen gingerly tried the
door, and was surprised to find it open. She slipped inside.

"Lock it," a woman's voice said.

Gen turned the deadbolt.

"Come on back."

Gen walked around the empty tables, past the steel counters and empty mugs,
ancient espresso and cappuccino machines which still smelled faintly of
coffee. A light burned in a back office, not visible from the street. Gen went
inside.

The woman waiting for her was slight and trim, but she wore a thick protection
vest and pants. On the desk in front of her was a laser pistol. Her hand
rested on its butt.

Gen turned cold, but it was too late to back out now. "Hi," she said, hearing
how inane the word sounded in this empty place. "Anna sent me. From the
Chimera Mission. I'm—"

"I know," the woman said. "I have season tickets to the Portland Ballet. Have
for years."

She moved her hand off the gun. "Sorry for the protection. We never know what
types we're going to run into."

The stories of PETA and the conservative Christians came back to Gen. Were
their assaults so severe that the lab workers had to take these kinds of
precautions?
"I'm Moya," the woman said.

Gen took the only available chair. "Call me Gen."

"Gen." Moya tried it as she would a new dress.

"Anna tells me you worked with Cedric?"

"Look," Moya said. "I heard about you. I'm sorry for what happened to you, but