Hawke, Simon Time Wars 3 The Pimpernel Plot

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face of her assailant. He was of medium height, not as tall as
Percy, and he was dark-haired. He had the build of an athlete,
he was clean-shaven, and he was good-looking in a menacing
sort of way. He smiled and it was an amazingly charming smile.
He held up the ring.
You gave me quite a turn there, Mongoose said. It certainly
would have been ironic if I d had this thing turned against
me. However, if he gave it to you, which I doubt, he did not
The Pimpernel Plot
show you how to load it. Fortunately for me, the cartridge has
been spent. He put the ring in his pocket. You have no idea
what I m talking about, do you? I suppose it s just as well. Jean,
get over by the window there and let me know if you see anybody
coming.
The boy complied.
You needn t stare at me so malevolently, he told her. Believe
it or not, I m trying to save his life.
Three men approaching, Jean said from the other side of
the room.
It s getting awful crowded down there, isn t it? said Mongoose.
They are coming inside.
I rather thought they would. This is beginning to get interesting.
He went over to the window. I estimate that it should
take the soldiers at least another half an hour, maybe a little
less, to work their way through town. That s if they re efficient.
Marguerite was looking around to see if there was anything
that she could knock over or use to free herself when her gaze
fell upon the door. The boy had shut and bolted it before and
now something was burning its way through the wooden bolt
from the other side! Her eyes widened as she saw the tiny wisps
of smoke curling up from the bolt. It was as though someone
was using a very fine saw on it, but she could see no blade and
there was no sound whatsoever.
More people coming, Mongoose said. It s getting to be
quite a
The door swung open silently, revealing a tall man holding
a small metal tube in his right hand.
Watch out! the boy said and, in the same instant, drew a
slim knife from behind his neck and hurled it at the tall man
holding the tube. It struck him in the chest and he fell, but
whatever sound he made in striking the floor was drowned
240 Time Wars #3
out by the noise of all the customers downstairs. There were
two other men behind him, but all Marguerite saw was a thin,
brilliant shaft of light that seemed to appear and disappear all
in one second. She did not know how it happened, but suddenly
the two other men were on the floor as well, having
fallen out of her line of sight.
Mongoose closed the door quickly. He looked at Jean and
grinned. You re just full of surprises, aren t you? he said. I
didn t even know you carried a knife.
Jean bent down over the first man, the one he had killed. I
thought it was a pistol, he said. What is
Don t touch it!
The boy froze.
It s all right, said Mongoose
Marguerite saw that the man held an identical tube in his
right hand. He bent down and took the other tube from the
dead man, then removed two others from the other men.
What is it? Jean said. I have never seen a weapon like
that before. He stared at the tubes Mongoose held. How can
they kill so & so& .
Never mind, said Mongoose. Here, take your blade back.
And thanks. You saved my life.
You would have done the same for me, Jean said, gallantly.
He was obviously proud.
Yes, but what you just did is a great deal more important.
Much more important than you could possibly believe or understand.
Here, help me drag these bodies out of the way. Over
in the corner, there.
Who were these men? said Jean, dragging one of them by
the legs across the room.
You might say that they were colleagues of mine, in a way,
Mongoose said, with a chuckle. A very unusual way.
I don t understand.
It doesn t matter.
The Pimpernel Plot
They were not the same three men I saw enter the inn just
now, said Jean. They are dressed differently. Besides, they
would not have had the time to get upstairs so quickly.
You re right, said Mongoose. You don t miss a thing. These
characters were already here. My guess is that they were coming
upstairs to take up their positions and they overheard us
in here. All this means that we have very little time. No time
for any more questions. From now on, you just listen well and
keep your eyes open and your mouth shut. Whatever happens
next is going to happen very fast.
He looked at Marguerite. Lady Blakeney, you ll excuse us, [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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