[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
do anything when the old witch started in on me this morning'?'
The figure sighed and turned regretfully from the mirror to face her. Its body
was hard, but the face was curiously soft, almost childlike. Beautiful and
soft. The expression it wore was amiable and best described as intensely
vacuous.
'I could have said something. Teleen, dear, but what would it have
accomplished? Besides making her even more suspicious of us. She had it in for
you anyway, and nothing I could have said would likely have turned her off.
Besides, she was right, you know. You did foul up that ...'
'I'm not interested. I had enough of that from her this morning. Surely she
can't reasonably expect me to be responsible for the ineptitude of men her
people hired m the first place?'
Rory Mallap van Cleef sighed again and began pulling on a gold dressing-gown.
'I suppose not, dear. But then when has she ever been reasonable a out
anything? I really don't understand
file:///F|/rah/Alan%20Dean%20Foster/Foster,%20...ean%20-%20Flinx%202%20-%20Tar
-Aiym%20Krang.txt (37 of 79) [1/16/03 6:44:31 PM]
file:///F|/rah/Alan%20Dean%20Foster/Foster,%20Alan%20Dean%20-%20Flinx%202%20-%
20Tar-Aiym%20Krang.txt the intricacies of such dealings. She was awfully
bitchy, wasn't she?'
Teleen slid out of the bed and moved to sit next to him. She put her arms
possessively around the massive shoulders, resting her head against one
bulging dorsal.
'Look, Rory, I've told you before. The only way we're ever going to have any
happiness is to eliminate the old bag once and for all.'
Rory grinned. He was not without a sense of humour, even if it did tend more
than a bit to the primitive.
'Now is that any way to talk about your beloved aunt?'
'No, it's the only way to talk about her! And at that I'm flattering her.
Every time we discuss her elimination my charitable instincts get the better
of me. But to be specific...
'Please, darling. I'm not in the mood now.'
'Rory,' she said, sitting back, 'are you in love with me... or with her?'
'Don't be obscene, dear! You have no idea, no idea, what a task it is
constantly to have to feign interest in that sack of surgical miracles.
Especially,' and be drew her on to his lap and kissed her, 'after you.'
'Mmmmm, That's the way I like to hear you talk!' He had her purring again.
'You'll go along with me, then?'
'As I've said before, if you come up with a reasonably sensible plan. Love or
not. I'm not going to take a chance on spending the rest of my life on some
prison moon because some scheme is only half worked out. I'm no genius, but
I'm smart enough to know it. So you manage the brains for both of us. I'll
supply any needed muscle. Of which,' he added, flexing a tricep lovingly, I
have more than sufficient.'
She slipped out of his grasp and stamped angrily on the deep fur floor, is did
interesting things to the rest of her body. 'Stop admiring yourself for a
minute and try to be serious. Murder is not a funny business!'
'It is when it involves your aunt,'
Page 51
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
'Oh, you're impossible! All right; look, you know how food she is of bathing
in that pool, the little one with all those lovely fish and snails and
things?' Her eyes were slitted. 'How she never misses a daily swim?'
'Yes, T know the place. So?'
'Would it be a simple matter to wire the tiling, do you think?' He shook his
head, doubtfully. 'Her people would notice that sort of thing. You know how
careful she is.'
'Not if we disguised it as one of those censored frogs, or something r She
glowed. 'Yes, a frog. I'm sure such a device could be made. Waterproof, small,
but still capable of delivering a lethal charge, yes. And you could, urn, put
the guard "to sleep" for the minute necessary to slip the thing into the
water.'
'That does sound good, darling. Yes, Teleen, I do think so too!' He lifted her
off the floor and kissed her gently. 'One thing, though. Why haven't you
thought of something like this before?'
Her mouth twisted in a feral smile that, had she known it, was almost a carbon
copy of her aunt's. 'Oh, I have, I have, sort of. But until this morning, I
really hadn't been sufficiently inspired I Today I was finally convinced she
is quite mad. It will be only a kindness to gift her with a long sleep.'
Rashalleila Nuaman switched off the spy-screen and smiled kittenishly to
herself. Her niece's generosity and concern was ... well, appalling. So she
had finally dug up enough courage to actually plan the thing! About time, yes.
But to trust that 'side of beet" van Cleef with such knowledge! Tsk. Poor
judgement, poor. How anyone could actually fall in love with an automaton, an
utter nonentity, like that! Oh sure, he was great between the sheets. But
beyond that he was a nothing, a void, a null factor. Well-meaning and'
affectionate, to be sure. Like a large puppy-
dog. Ah, well. Let them enjoy their private games. It would be good practice
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]