"Michael Stackpole "The Bacta War"" - читать интересную книгу автора

you want. They say no one can make me a better deal. Fascinating, no?"
Corran heard a bellow from the other room. Huff shoved
the other door open to reveal a huge, powerful man freeing himself from the
clutches of a spindly chair. The man, whose hair was a short bristle of white
and gray, dwarfed Gavin and even made Huff look small. Where his left eye had
been, burned a red replacement, though his right eye was a normal brown. "Come
to deal, have you?"
Corran gave him a hard stare. "Listen pal, you can leave right now because your
dealing days are over." Thinking back to the cantina, he let a smile slowly
spread across his face and jerked a thumb over his shoulder back at Mirax.
"That's Mirax Terrik, Booster Terrik's daughter. If you know what's good for
you, you'll go."
The large man stopped, his jaw hanging open, then he reared his head back and
laughed.
Corran turned and looked at Mirax. "How come that scared people at the bar, and
this guy laughs?"
"It worked on the people at the bar because they're afraid of my father." Mirax
smiled sheepishly at him.
"And what's wrong with this clown?"
"Well, Corran," she winced, "he is my father."
7
"Oh," said Corran, without missing a beat, "I guess you take after your mother."
Though he saw mirth and astonishment mix on Mirax's face, and saw a smile begin
to blossom on Gavin's face, Cor-ran wished for nothing so much as a chance to
inhale and suck those words out of everyone's ears. Could there have been a more
stupid remark you could have made? A dozen different candidates flashed through
his mind, including sev-eral that could have reminded Booster of his stint on
Kessel. Okay, it could have been worse, but not by much.
Booster Terrik's laughter died. "Mirax, who is he, and why shouldn't I show him
why others fear me?"
A smile fitted itself on her face, but her eyes tightened. "This is Corran
Horn."
"Horn?" Booster's voice descended into bass tones. "This is Hal Horn's boy?"
Corran turned to face Mirax's father. "I am."
Booster's hand's balled into fists the size of Corran's head. "So, then, there's
no reason I shouldn't give him the beating I owed his father. If you don't mind,
Huff."
The rotund Darklighter shook his head. "I'd prefer it to happen outside,
otherwise, beat away."
Mirax stepped up beside Corran. "There is a reason, Fa-ther."
Booster's face slackened for a moment, then he frowned. "I've heard that tone of
voice before. You don't want me to take a round out of him. You even want me to
like him, but there's no reason in the galaxy why I'd like him."
"Yes, there is."
"Why am I going to like the son of the man who sent me to Kessel?"
"Because I do."
"What?!"
Mirax slipped her hand into Corran's. "You heard me. Corran's saved my life,
I've saved his, and we like each other. A lot." She gave his hand a squeeze.
"You can jump in any time, Corran."