"Chelsea Quinn Yarbro - Crown of Empire" - читать интересную книгу автора (Yarbro Chelsea Quinn)

tering to himself all the way. It took Tira several
steps to realize he was talking to his AID. Almost
all military had those personal communicating
devices. No doubt he was relaying information to
his superior- At the door, he leaned through cau-
tiously, then pulled her along by the wrist. She
jerked her hand away from him and he turned to
glare at her.


She stared back. He might have just saved her
life but she was still the High Secretary's daugh-
ter. He nodded, took his hand off her and led the
way between two shattered pier mirrors into a
space that seemed much wider than it ought to
be. 'What— ?"


"Emergency hologram. It makes the exit look
about three inches wide, doesn't it?" He chuck-
led. "Come on. There's ..." He paused and
stepped back between die mirrors.


Even though the secret exit was only a few
steps from her suite Tira had had no idea it
existed. It was that kind of palace. Through the
hologram distortion, Tira could see what the
lieutenant was doing: he had reached back to the
nearest fallen Treasury soldier and was prying
the dead hand from around the pistol. As he
ducked back into the exit, he handed it to her.
"Here, this is a Samtoepoe A7mark923, capable
ofsemi or fully automatic fire with a dip capacity
of 150 rounds. Don't use it unless you have to.
Sometimes the A7mark923s jam. They cycle too
fast."


"You took it—"


He did not permit her to finish. "I took it from
someone who was prepared to use it on you.
Remember that, if you start getting sentimental
about the Treasury soldiers. They invaded. They
don't deserve your concern." He waved her
toward a protected dropshaft. "Military-only," he
informed her, indicating the masking. "They're
going to shut these down pretty quickly."