Pokrewne

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CONAN 01 Conan Robert E. Howard
Bourne Trilogy 2 The Bourne S Ludlum Robert
CONAN 30 Conan niszczyciel Robert E. Howard
CONAN 27 Conan z Czerwonego B Robert E. Howard
CONAN 52 Conan nieposkromiony Robert E. Howard
CONAN 23 Conan obronca Robert E. Howard
CONAN 20 Conan z Aquilonii Robert E. Howard
CONAN 33 Conan wielki Robert E. Howard
CONAN 67 Conan i noce Szadiza Robert E. Howard
Conversation in the Cathedral Mario Vargas Llosa

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.Too tough an assignment, Officer?”“I can handle it.” Peabody rolled her eyes behind Eve’s back.“Sir.”“Fine.And don’t roll your eyes at me.If things are a bit skewed, as you put it, it’s because I’ve had a busy year.As we’re in the last quarter of this one and I’m training you, it falls to me to dump this on you.” Eve turned and smiled thinly.“With the hope, Peabody, that you will one day have an underling to dump shit assignments on.”“Your faith in me is touching, Dallas.Chokes me up.” She hissed at the computer.“Or maybe it’s the fact that you’ve got yellow sheets in here from five years ago that’s choking me.These should have been downloaded to the main and cleared out of your unit after twenty-four months.”“So download and clear now.” Eve’s smile widened as the machine hacked, then droned out a warning of system failure.“And good luck.”“Technology can be our friend.And like any friendship, it requires regular maintenance and understanding.”“I understand it fine.” Eve stepped over, pounded her fist twice on the drive.The unit hiccupped back into running mode.“See?”“You have a real smooth touch, Lieutenant.That’s why the guys in Maintenance shoot air darts at your picture.”“Still? Christ, they hold a grudge.” With a shrug, Eve sat on the corner of the desk.“What do you know about witchcraft?”“If you want to cast a spell on your machine here, Dallas, it’s a little out of my field.” Teeth clenched, she juggled and compressed files.“You’re a Free-Ager.”“Lapsed.Come on, come on, you can do it,” she muttered at the computer.“Besides,” she added.“Free-Agers aren’t Wiccans.They’re both earth religions, and both are based on natural orders, but…son of a bitch, where’d it go?”“What? Where did what go?”“Nothing.” Shoulders hunched, Peabody guarded the monitor.“Nothing.Don’t worry, I’m on it.You probably didn’t need those files, anyway.”“Is that a joke, Peabody?”“You bet.Ha ha.” A line of sweat dribbled down her back as she attacked the keys.“There.There it is.No problem, no problem at all.And off it goes into the main.Neat and tidy.” She let out an enormous sigh.“Could I maybe have some coffee? Just to keep alert.”Eve shifted her gaze to the screen, saw nothing that looked ominous.Saying nothing, she rose and ordered coffee from the AutoChef.“Why do you want to know about Wicca? You thinking of converting?” At Eve’s bland look, Peabody tried a smile.“Another joke.”“You’re full of them today.Just curious.”“Well, there’s some overlap on basic tenets between Wiccans and Free-Agers.A search for balance and harmony, the celebration of the seasons that goes back to ancient times, the strict code of nonviolence.”“Nonviolence?” Eve narrowed her eyes.“What about curses, casting spells, and sacrifices? Naked virgins on the altar and black roosters getting their heads chopped off?”“Fiction depicts witches that way.You know, ‘Double, double, toil and trouble.’ Shakespeare.Macbeth.”Eve snorted.“‘I’ll get you, my pretty, and your little dog, too.’” The Wicked Witch of the West.Classic vid channel.“Good one,” Peabody admitted.“But both examples feed into the most basic of misconceptions.Witches aren’t ugly, evil crones mixing up cauldrons of goop or hunting down young girls and their friendly, talking scarecrows.Wiccans like to be naked, but they don’t hurt anything or anyone.Strictly white magic.”“As opposed to?”“Black magic.”Eve studied her aide.“You don’t believe in that stuff? Magic and spells?”“Nope.” Revived with coffee, Peabody turned back to the computer.“I know some of the basics because I have a cousin who shifted to Wicca.He’s into it big time.Joined a coven in Cincinnati.”“You’ve got a cousin in a coven in Cincinnati.” Laughing, Eve set her own coffee aside.“Peabody, you never cease to amaze me.”“One day I’ll tell you about my granny and her five lovers.”“Five lovers isn’t abnormal for a woman’s lifetime.”“Not in her lifetime; last month.All at the same time.” Peabody glanced up, deadpan.“She’s ninety-eight.I hope to take after her.”Eve swallowed her next chuckle as her tele-link beeped.“Dallas.” She watched Commander Whitney’s face swim on-screen.“Yes, Commander.”“I’d like to speak with you, Lieutenant, in my office.As soon as possible.”“Yes, sir.Five minutes.” Eve disengaged, shot a hopeful glance at Peabody.“Maybe we’ve got something going.Keep working on those files.I’ll contact you if we’re heading out.”She started out, stuck her head back in.“Don’t eat my candy bar.”“Damn,” Peabody said under her breath.“She never misses.”Whitney had spent most of his life behind a badge and a large part of his professional life in command.He made it his business to know his cops, to judge their strengths and weaknesses.And he knew how to utilize both.He was a big man with workingman hands and dark, keen eyes that some considered cold.His temperament, on the surface, was almost terrifyingly even.And like most smooth surfaces, it coated something dangerous brewing beneath.Eve respected him, occasionally liked him, and always admired him [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]