"E. E. Doc Smith - D' Alembert 4 - Getaway world" - читать интересную книгу автора (Smith E. E. Doc)

the most loyal, most talented agents in the Galaxy.


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Lady A saw his confusion and, for the first time since he'd known her, she smiled. It was
a smile that offered no warmth or comfort. "That fact is not generally known," she added,
"and it would not be wise to spread it beyond these walls."

"SOTE." Garst's mind raced as he considered the possibilities. "That means she's here
to investigate us." "The lightning swiftness of your mind never fails to astonish me."

He ignored Lady A's irony as he hurriedly punched out an order on his desk computer.
Within seconds, a printout of the Hazel Whiting file issued from the tiny slot at the side of
his desk. He gave it a careful perusal while his companion eyed him with patient curiosity.

"According to our records, `Hazel Whiting' first applied to us on the planet Kiesel in
Sector Five. She approached one of our agents, claiming to be a jewel thief and
swindler. Her reason for asking to come to Sanctuary was that her partner was killed
during their last job, and that there were enough clues pointing to her involvement in
some seventy capers that she was sure SOTE would be on her trail as well as the
regular police. She claims to have attended some of Sector Five's better schools, and
she's obviously several levels above the usual rank of people we get here." Garst
scrutinized the record a little more carefully. "I don't see much corroboration of her story
here-my man seems to have taken a great deal of it on faith. Or perhaps he took a great
deal of it on credit. In any event, I shall have him replaced immediately."

Garst stood up and began to pace around slowly behind his desk. He was quite
conscious now of Lady A's eyes focused on him. She was observing him like a specimen
under a microscope, and he had the feeling that his future employment would hinge
largely on how he chose to cope with this latest development.

"Putting aside for the moment the question of how she got here," he said carefully, "we
still face the problem of what to do with her now that she's here."

"Indeed." Lady A's brusque comment implied that she wanted to see how he would react
to the threat. Garst suddenly found himself perspiring heavily, even though his office was
comfortably cool.

He decided to enumerate the possibilities. "We could kill her, we could take her in and
give her a shot of nitrobarb to see what she knows, or we could let her wander around,
keeping her under close observation to see what she does and whom she contacts.

"I'm opposed to the first alternative for aesthetic reasons. Killing is a last resort, because
all the information she has would be lost. It's a move of panic and desperation; so far,
the threat she poses is not that serious. Killing her is the safest thing we could do, but
not necessarily the smartest.