"Lawrence Watt - Evans - One of the Boys" - читать интересную книгу автора (Watt-Evans Lawrence)

Immediately, he caught himself; he should have said something like, “I’m flattered.”

It was too late, though. The woman cocked her head to one side, still smiling, and said, “Because you’re
a mystery—you’re big and strong and brave, so you should have a face like a god, but nobody’s ever
seen your face.”

“It’s just a face,” he said. “Same as anybody else’s.”

“Oh, I’m sure it isn’t like anybody else’s,” she protested. “I’ll bet it’s a wonderful face. Can’t you raise
that visor and let me have a peek?”

“No, I’m afraid not.”

“How do we know you’re really Captain Cosmos at all, then?”

That stumped him for a moment.

“You don’t,” he said at last. “And showing you my face wouldn’t help any, since nobody’s seen it
before.”

“I bet I could tell.”

He didn’t bother to answer that.

“You’re from outer space, aren’t you? That’s how you can do all those amazing things?”

“I don’t really know myself,” the Captain admitted. “Wherever I’m from originally, I came here as a
baby, and I grew up right here in the U.S.A.”

“An all-American boy, huh? I knew it. Some people say you wear that visor because you’re really a
robot, or a monster, or something,” she persisted. “But I’m sure you’re not.”

“I’m not,” he said shortly. It hadn’t occurred to him that anyone might think he was hiding his face
because there was something wrong with it. He didn’t like the idea. Bad enough to be an alien without
looking alien.

“Now, that’s what I said,” the woman purred. “I told them I thought you were a real man. I’m sure
there’s a human face under there, and I’d love to see it. I bet you have the bluest eyes.”

“I’m sorry,” the Captain told her, “but I couldn’t possibly raise my visor in public.”

“It doesn’t have to be public,” she murmured. “I’d be glad to go someplace private with you.” Her
fingers were stroking the rim of her glass.

Behind his visor, the Captain frowned. This woman’s curiosity seemed entirely unreasonable. Why was
she interested in seeing his face, and being so persistent about it? Was she a spy for some underworld
organization, perhaps, trying to learn his identity so that they could track him down when he was off duty
and off his guard?