"Michael A. Stackpole - Dark Conspiracy 01 - A Gathering Evil" - читать интересную книгу автора (Stackpole Michael A)

"A meg, plus 10% of anything unusual we get."
"A meg? Are you kidding? I could get three megs
piecing him out, and still get a point on DNA applica-
tions."
Jack had sounded angry, but the Reaper called his
bluff. "If you can, do it. You'll find it is a buyer's market,
Jack, not a seller's. I could see going 1.5 megs, but you'll
drop to 7% for exotics."
"With two points on DMA aps?"
"One, and only because I've forgotten how the last two
maggot-ranches you gave me weren't fit for dog food.
Literally, we left them in the desert and the coyotes
wouldn't touch them."
"And we keep the effects?"
"Yes, Jack. We care not for his earthly possessions."
I felt a hand grasp my forehead and work my head side
to side. "Good bone structure and no cranial damage. I
think we can save the brain. This is good. Do we have a
deal?"
"Done. Always enjoy doing business with you Reap-
ers."
"You lie poorly, Jackson, but we tolerate you because
of your product." The Reaper snapped his fingers. "Gord,
Kenny, red tag this one and put him in the back. We want
to do him quickly, before he spoils any more."
The zipper closed again, shutting me away in the
stuffy world of rubber and stale flesh. I sagged into a U-
shape as two people grabbed the handles at my head and
feet. I swayed between them as they carried me along,
then I heard the rumble of a roll-away door sliding up into
the truck's ceiling.
"Which side do we put him on?" one voice asked
thickly.
"You sar him; he's vanilla."
They rocked me three times, then I flew up into the
truck and landed solidly. Something shifted below me
and I half expected to be buried beneath an avalanche of
corpses. I slid a bit sideways, but nothing crashed down
on top of me. The door slammed shut and the engine
coughed to life. Gears ground and we lumbered forward.
I heard another sound in the back of the truck above
the ticking idle of the engine. I first caught it as a cyclical
pinging and noted it remained constant. I wondered what
it was, but not for long: I felt a chill nibbling at my toes and
fingers. The logic of icing down a truck full of corpses did
not surprise me, but the reality of it sent a jolt of
adrenaline through my body.
The cold and adrenaline combined to do what all my
willpower had been unable to manage. I started to shiver.
My limbs trembled uncontrollably. I found myself no