"Williamson,.Michael.Z.-.Freehold" - читать интересную книгу автора (Williamson Michael Z)

"That's a pretty cold-blooded trick," Kendra commented.

"Yes," Jelsie nodded. "We could have done what the UN agents
do and tied you to a chair, beaten you senseless, injected you with
drugs and left you in a flophouse afterwards."

Kendra winced as she thought about Janie and Tom.

"Sorry," Jelsie said, sounding very sincere.


Chapter 2

"All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy;
for what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves; we must die
to one life before we can enter another."

—Anatole France



Kendra was in the embassy ten days, slowly going insane. She
played interface games until disoriented from the feedback, found
herself unable to concentrate on vid or books and got angry at the
tedium of doing nothing. After three days, she spent some money
she couldn't spare to have one of the Freehold technicians hook
up a phone patch with a shift for her voice. He assured her it was
untraceable and she decided it must be; the embassy didn't need
the complications it would bring if her presence were discovered.

Her parents' lines had to be monitored, so there was no way to call
them. She tried Janie's personal number first. No answer. Her own
duty number was answered by Lieutenant Moy. Kendra
disconnected without a sound. She called Tom's personal line.

"Hello?" she heard a harsh, unkind voice ask. It was not Tom's
voice. She mumbled and disconnected. She realized now that she
had, in fact, burned all her bridges.



On the seventh day, Kendra was taken to see Ambassador
Maartens again. This time, Jelsie acted more like an escort than a
guard. She left Kendra at the door and departed with a smile and
nod. Inside the ambassador's office she was invited to sit down
and Maartens said, "If you are still serious, we can have you out of
here in three days."

"I am," Kendra said. Everything suddenly took on an icy clarity. She
realized she wouldn't see Earth again for a long time, if ever.