Shelby and Shauna Kitt and the Dimensional Holes. P. H. C. Marchesi

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СКАЧАТЬ perhaps – and felt strongly that a cluster of beige buildings could not live up to her expectations.

      The plane landed with several bumps that made Lendox cringe.

      “I take it back,” he told Shauna. “Interesting was not the right word.”

      “Ladies and gentlemen,” echoed Marina’s voice through the speaker, “please give a round of applause for your awesome pilots, and remember to give them a raise in the very near future.”

      “Sounds like her headache is gone,” observed Lendox, pleasantly.

      The plane finally came to a complete halt, and Shelby rushed out of the cockpit, followed by Marina.

      “I just learned how to land!” he cried, beaming with pride.

      “Keep it to yourself, Shelby, or I’ll never hear the end of it,” said Marina, glancing uneasily at the two soldiers. “If anyone asks you, say I just let you sit in the cockpit - that’s all.”

      “Does one need an invitation to get out of this machine?” asked Lendox.

      “No, but we do need air stairs,” said Marina, briefly glancing out the window. “It looks like we have a ground crew bringing them.”

      “What about those cars over there?” asked Shauna, seeing two black cars in the distance coming towards them.

      “That must be our welcome committee,” said Marina. “Come on, grab your things. They’ll be here in a second.”

      Shelby quickly grabbed his jacket and backpack, and went back to the window.

      “Who’s that?” he asked, as the black cars pulled up below them, and a tall man in a military suit and sunglasses stepped out of the nearest one.

      “I believe he is in charge,” Lendox said, “or wants to look like he is.”

      Marina, who had been gathering her things without paying too much attention, looked out the window.

      “Oh, great!” she muttered, angrily following the man with her eyes as he climbed up the passenger boarding stairs. “I should have known he’d be involved in something this big.”

      “You are acquainted with him?” asked Lendox, surprised.

      “Unfortunately,” said Marina, under her breath. “His name is Stephen Falconbridge. We worked together a long time ago.”

      Lendox looked eager for a longer explanation, but it was clear that Marina would say nothing else. She waited impatiently until Shauna managed to get Tippy from under the seat, and then marched towards the exit, where Stephen Falconbridge was now waiting. Up close, he seemed even taller than before, and Shelby and Shauna noticed that his uniform displayed several rows of medals. Everything about him was intimidating – even his greying blonde hair, short and thick as it was, seemed ready to stand its ground if it had to.

      “Marina!” he said, stretching out his hand and shaking Marina’s limp hand energetically. “How long has it been?”

      “Not long enough,” she said, quickly withdrawing her hand. “Why wasn’t I told you’d be in charge here?”

      “I was afraid you wouldn’t come if you knew,” he said, taking off his sunglasses to reveal a pair of small, dull blue eyes.

      It struck Shauna that there was something very harsh about Stephen Falconbridge’s eyes. Lendox seemed to have noticed this also, for he surveyed him carefully as he talked to Marina. Stephen Falconbridge, however, quickly became aware of Lendox’s gaze, and turned to face him.

      “Hi there,” he said, offering to shake Lendox’s hand. “I’m general Falconbridge. You must be the nephew.”

      Shauna and Shelby traded shocked glances. How could the general call Lendox “the nephew”? Lendox was much more than anyone’s nephew. Was the general being deliberately nasty? They concluded that he was. In fact, he seemed to be enjoying the moment as he waited to see if Lendox would shake his hand.

      “I am,” said Lendox, calmly shaking the general’s hand. “My name is Lendox.”

      “And in case you didn’t know,” added Marina, “he’s the Vice Consul of Miriax as well.”

      “Of course I knew,” said the general, looking somewhat irritated by Lendox’s unflinching gaze. “Welcome to the base.”

      Lendox nodded slightly, and the general scanned Shelby and Shauna, whom he had completely ignored until then.

      “These are the last two, I presume?” he asked.

      “Meet Shauna and Shelby Kitt,” Marina said. “I assume you’ve heard about what happened to their mother?”

      The general put his sunglasses back on and gestured them down the stairs to where the cars were waiting.

      “I’ve been informed,” he said. “It seems as if she’ll make a full recovery.”

      “Unlike your pilots,” said Marina.

      “I’ll have my people take care of it,” the general replied, brushing aside the news with a wave of his hand. “It’s an unfortunate business.”

      “All the more so because it means that someone is giving information to the klodians,” said Lendox.

      “You’re suggesting there’s a spy?”

      “I am not suggesting. I am certain.”

      The general was about to object, but something more pressing caught his eye: two men in uniform were approaching, holding a man in his twenties clutching a camera and struggling to free himself at all costs. Lendox quickly put on his sunglasses as the angry young man was brought to stand in front of them.

      “Begging your pardon, general,” one of the men in uniform said, “but this man was taking pictures. He was pretty well hidden, but we found him just the same.”

      They released the grip on the young man, and he glared at them, resting his inquisitive but unfriendly gaze on Shauna and Shelby.

      “What’s your name?” asked the general.

      “Martin Rohr,” he said, defiantly. “Reporter for channel 11 news.”

      “You should know there is nothing here to report,” general Falconbridge replied, grabbing the reporter’s digital camera and smashing it on the floor.

      “Hey! You can’t do that!” cried the reporter.

      “On the contrary,” general Falconbridge said, in a low growl. “This is my base. It’s you who’s out of order. Get him out of here, men.”

      “This isn’t the last you’ll see of me, general,” the young man shouted, as he was pulled away. “I’m going to find out why all these kids have been coming here! I know there’s something going on!”

      “Reporters – that’s all we need now,” mumbled the general. “Listen, Lendox, СКАЧАТЬ