Чужой
VI
’Whatdoyouproposetodo?Itwon’tpulloff.’
’We’llhavetotrycuttingitoff.Thesoonerweremoveit,thebetterit’slikelytobeforKane.’
Ashappearedreadytoarguefurther,thenapparentlychangedhismind.’Idon’tlikeit,butIseeyourpoint.You’lltaketheresponsibility’Thisisasciencedecisionandyou’retakingitoutofmyhands.’
’Yeah,I’lltaketheresponsibility.’
Hewasalreadypullingonapairofdisposablesurgicalgloves.Aquickcheckindicatedthattheautodocwasn’tattachedinanywaytothebody,wasn’tdoinganythingtoitthatcouldresultinharmifitwastemporarilyremoved.AtouchofabuttonandKaneslidbackoutofthemachine.
Acursoryinspectionwasenoughtoshowthatthecreaturestillhadn’tmovedorreleaseditsgrasponKane’sface.
’Thecutter?’AshindicatedthelaserdeviceDallashadusedtoremoveKane’shelmet.
’No.I’mgoingtoproceedasslowlyaspossible.Seeifyoucanfindmeamanualblade.’
Ashmovedtoaninstrumentcase,searchedthroughitbriefly.HereturnedwithathinnerversionofthecutterandhandeditcarefullytoDallas.
Heinspectedthetinydevice,shifteditinhishanduntilhehadafirm,comfortablegripontheslimpencil.Thenheswitchediton.Aminiatureversionofthebeamtheheavy-dutycutterhadgeneratedappearedshiningcoherentlyatthefarendofthesurgicalknife.
DallasmovedtostandoppositeKane’shead.Workingwithasmuchcontrolashecouldmuster,hemovedthelight-bladetowardthecreature.
