[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
(at least in public); to judge by the serene smile firmly plastered to Mongoose s face, the
situation was the worst it could possibly be.
He found the chief of station, Captain Marandil, in his office.
Hail, Captain! I m Lieutenant Mongoose, here s my badge. I am carrying out a top-secret
assignment here in Umbar. Regretfully, I m having some problems&
Marandil did not even stop gazing at his nails; it was obvious that some invisible shred of
skin on his left pinkie was of much more interest to him than some visitor s problems. Just
then the door banged open, and a burly guy almost seven feet tall pushed the lieutenant aside
most unceremoniously:
Time to start, boss! The girl s first class!
You guys must ve gotten yours dipped already, the captain grumbled good-naturedly.
No way, sir! The boss gets first dibs, we regular folks follow& but the lady s already
undressed and waiting impatiently.
Let s go, then, before she gets a chill!
The big man guffawed; the captain started getting out from behind the table, but caught
Mongoose s look. Something in that look suddenly made him feel that he had to explain:
She s from last night s catch, a Mordorian agent! The bitch ll wind up in the canal
anyway&
Mongoose was already dispassionately studying the kitschy ornaments on the ceiling (rather
tasteless stuff, really); he was genuinely concerned that the overwhelming fury he felt was
about to spill out through his eyes. Sure, spying is a cruel business; sure, a third-degree
interrogation is, well, an interrogation in the third degree; sure, the girl should have
understood the risks before she got into these games, that s all fair and by the book& What
was not by the book was how these two colleagues of his behaved like they were not in
His Majesty s service, but rather& Actually, to hell with them all so far, at least,
straightening out the resident spies was not within Task Force Féanor s ambit. The
lieutenant addressed Marandil again in such a gently persuasive tone that any competent
person would have immediately guessed how serious he was:
My apologies, Captain, but my business brooks no delay, believe me. I m sure that your
subordinates can handle this job adequately without you.
The big guy positively bent over with laughter, and then drawled, encouraged by his boss s
sneer: Forget it, Lieutenant! You know how they say: three out of four problems solve
themselves, and the fourth is unsolvable. Better come with us to the basement the cutie ll
service you first, you being a guest and all. She ll lick you or you can lick her&
154
The Last Ring-bearer
Marandil surreptitiously enjoyed this put-down of the visitor from the capital. Of course,
he ll have to assist, but first let the man understand that here, in Umbar, he s nobody, and his
name is nothing &
How are you standing in front of a superior officer? Mongoose inquired in a flat voice,
looking Marandil s henchman up and down, lingering on the tips of his boots a bit.
What s wrong with how I m standing? I m not falling over, right?
That s an idea, the lieutenant said thoughtfully and moved forward in a light dancelike
move. He was a foot shorter and half as wide as his opponent, so the big man struck
carefully to avoid accidentally killing him with his melon of a fist. He struck and froze in
amazement: Mongoose did not even dodge the blow or move back he simply disappeared
into thin air. The man stood gaping until someone tapped his shoulder from behind and he
actually turned around, the fool&
Mongoose stepped over the prostrated body fastidiously, as if it was a pile of manure
stopped in front of Marandil, who involuntarily retreated behind the table, panic clearly
visible in his eyes, and said drily:
Your subordinates can barely keep their feet. Are you starving them or something?
Hey, you re cool, Lieutenant! the other managed to say. Don t be offended; I just wanted
to see you in action&
I figured as much. Have you seen enough?
Are you maybe one of those, what s their name nin yokve?
That s a different technique, albeit based on the same principle. Back to business.
Regarding fun in the basement I m afraid you ll have to wait, perhaps even skip it. Tell
your people to start without you. Oh, and let them remove this impudent youth.
Mongoose turned down both wine and coffee and got straight to business.
Yesterday your people tried apprehending Baron Tangorn at the Seahorse Tavern. What
does this mean? Have you forgotten that Ithilien is a vassal of the Crown of Gondor?
We had no idea it was Tangorn! He gave Mordorian recognition signals, so my boys
thought he was their courier.
Aha! Mongoose closed his eyes for a second. This changes things. So he is undoubtedly
tied to Mordor. Well, he s useless to them now, too.
Don t worry, we ll get him before nightfall. It s not just us looking, we ve activated the
Umbar police. They ve already found one of his lairs, he d left it literally half an hour
before they showed up&
155
The Last Ring-bearer
That s why I m here. You must immediately stop looking for Tangorn. Tell the police that
this was an accident, a miscommunication between two friendly secret services& especially
since this does resemble reality.
I don t understand how you&
You don t have to understand anything, Captain. Are you familiar with the letter G?
Marandil took one look at the square of silk in the lieutenant s hand and visibly blanched. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl ocenkijessi.opx.pl
(at least in public); to judge by the serene smile firmly plastered to Mongoose s face, the
situation was the worst it could possibly be.
He found the chief of station, Captain Marandil, in his office.
Hail, Captain! I m Lieutenant Mongoose, here s my badge. I am carrying out a top-secret
assignment here in Umbar. Regretfully, I m having some problems&
Marandil did not even stop gazing at his nails; it was obvious that some invisible shred of
skin on his left pinkie was of much more interest to him than some visitor s problems. Just
then the door banged open, and a burly guy almost seven feet tall pushed the lieutenant aside
most unceremoniously:
Time to start, boss! The girl s first class!
You guys must ve gotten yours dipped already, the captain grumbled good-naturedly.
No way, sir! The boss gets first dibs, we regular folks follow& but the lady s already
undressed and waiting impatiently.
Let s go, then, before she gets a chill!
The big man guffawed; the captain started getting out from behind the table, but caught
Mongoose s look. Something in that look suddenly made him feel that he had to explain:
She s from last night s catch, a Mordorian agent! The bitch ll wind up in the canal
anyway&
Mongoose was already dispassionately studying the kitschy ornaments on the ceiling (rather
tasteless stuff, really); he was genuinely concerned that the overwhelming fury he felt was
about to spill out through his eyes. Sure, spying is a cruel business; sure, a third-degree
interrogation is, well, an interrogation in the third degree; sure, the girl should have
understood the risks before she got into these games, that s all fair and by the book& What
was not by the book was how these two colleagues of his behaved like they were not in
His Majesty s service, but rather& Actually, to hell with them all so far, at least,
straightening out the resident spies was not within Task Force Féanor s ambit. The
lieutenant addressed Marandil again in such a gently persuasive tone that any competent
person would have immediately guessed how serious he was:
My apologies, Captain, but my business brooks no delay, believe me. I m sure that your
subordinates can handle this job adequately without you.
The big guy positively bent over with laughter, and then drawled, encouraged by his boss s
sneer: Forget it, Lieutenant! You know how they say: three out of four problems solve
themselves, and the fourth is unsolvable. Better come with us to the basement the cutie ll
service you first, you being a guest and all. She ll lick you or you can lick her&
154
The Last Ring-bearer
Marandil surreptitiously enjoyed this put-down of the visitor from the capital. Of course,
he ll have to assist, but first let the man understand that here, in Umbar, he s nobody, and his
name is nothing &
How are you standing in front of a superior officer? Mongoose inquired in a flat voice,
looking Marandil s henchman up and down, lingering on the tips of his boots a bit.
What s wrong with how I m standing? I m not falling over, right?
That s an idea, the lieutenant said thoughtfully and moved forward in a light dancelike
move. He was a foot shorter and half as wide as his opponent, so the big man struck
carefully to avoid accidentally killing him with his melon of a fist. He struck and froze in
amazement: Mongoose did not even dodge the blow or move back he simply disappeared
into thin air. The man stood gaping until someone tapped his shoulder from behind and he
actually turned around, the fool&
Mongoose stepped over the prostrated body fastidiously, as if it was a pile of manure
stopped in front of Marandil, who involuntarily retreated behind the table, panic clearly
visible in his eyes, and said drily:
Your subordinates can barely keep their feet. Are you starving them or something?
Hey, you re cool, Lieutenant! the other managed to say. Don t be offended; I just wanted
to see you in action&
I figured as much. Have you seen enough?
Are you maybe one of those, what s their name nin yokve?
That s a different technique, albeit based on the same principle. Back to business.
Regarding fun in the basement I m afraid you ll have to wait, perhaps even skip it. Tell
your people to start without you. Oh, and let them remove this impudent youth.
Mongoose turned down both wine and coffee and got straight to business.
Yesterday your people tried apprehending Baron Tangorn at the Seahorse Tavern. What
does this mean? Have you forgotten that Ithilien is a vassal of the Crown of Gondor?
We had no idea it was Tangorn! He gave Mordorian recognition signals, so my boys
thought he was their courier.
Aha! Mongoose closed his eyes for a second. This changes things. So he is undoubtedly
tied to Mordor. Well, he s useless to them now, too.
Don t worry, we ll get him before nightfall. It s not just us looking, we ve activated the
Umbar police. They ve already found one of his lairs, he d left it literally half an hour
before they showed up&
155
The Last Ring-bearer
That s why I m here. You must immediately stop looking for Tangorn. Tell the police that
this was an accident, a miscommunication between two friendly secret services& especially
since this does resemble reality.
I don t understand how you&
You don t have to understand anything, Captain. Are you familiar with the letter G?
Marandil took one look at the square of silk in the lieutenant s hand and visibly blanched. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]