The Sudden Star Read Online Free PDF Page A

He found himself noticing her feet for the first time. They were big, ugly feet, with stubby toes and flat arches. She lifted one leg for a moment and he saw the calluses on her heel.
    He said, "Could you get me a glass of water?"
    She filled a glass and handed it to him wordlessly. Abruptly, she crossed the small room and picked up the clothes draped on the chair.
    "Where are you going?"
    She pulled her blue sweater over her head. "I want to go back to my apartment." She stepped into her underpants, balancing unsteadily first on one leg, then the other. "I don't have a change of clothes for tomorrow." She reached for her skirt, not looking at him.
    "Are you upset about something?"
    "What could I be upset about?"
    He looked at his watch on the night table and saw that it was two o'clock. She probably wanted him to persuade her to stay. He was suddenly bored with her, irritated by her big feet and vulnerable eyes. "I'll call you a cab. There's probably a copter headed your way with some passengers. You might have to wait a bit."
    "That's quite all right." Her voice was high.
    The phone buzzed again. He pushed the black-out button and picked it up.
    "Julio 204, Karenga," the deep voice said. Simon switched on the screen and the broad, dark face of Sam Karenga appeared.
    "I'm busy now, Sam. Why don't you take some time off, relax a bit." He needed time to decide what to do about Sam.
    "This time it's René," Karenga said. "And he wants you now, at his place. I'll bring my bag. I think you'd better get dressed. See you in an hour." The receiver clicked in Simon's ear as Karenga's face faded from the screen.
    "A patient?" Yola asked.
    He did not reply.
    "You're treating people illegally, aren't you?"
    His head jerked up. "Don't be foolish."
    "I don't care, Simon, really. I get so angry about the list sometimes. It keeps us from helping and from learning. Already we know less than doctors did years ago."
    "Sure," he muttered, trying to stay calm. "Ever seen a diabetic?"
    "No, it's pretty rare."
    "It's not rare. You just don't see the ones that have it." He paused; "Why don't you come with me to see my patient? He's an interesting fellow, a businessman of sorts." Yola would be an accomplice then, he thought, and if René's people thought she might be unreliable, they would take care of her for him. It would be out of his hands.
    Yola said nothing.
    "Not afraid, are you? I thought you were the noble creature who wanted to set up a practice with the people."
    "I'll go," she said. "Call the cab." She clenched her hands and waited for him to pick up the phone.
     
    The helicab transported them to the rooftop of an office building. They got out, paid the driver, waved goodbye to the drunken partygoers with whom they had shared the cab, and walked over the debris-covered roof to the entrance. They went in, took an elevator to the second floor, and got out.
    "A friend of Sam's works here," Simon said to Yola as they walked down the hallway. He removed a key from his pocket, opened a door, and they walked through a cluttered office to one of the windows. He opened the window and looked out. "They don't patrol these fire escapes too closely at night," he whispered.
    From the window, the noise in the street was almost deafening. "Why didn't we just go over the roofs the rest of the way?" Yola asked.
    "Because we can't get there over the roof. It isn't that kind of place. You've been sheltered." He climbed out, helped Yola onto the ledge, and closed the window. They climbed down into an alley and ran quickly toward the street. Simon heard gunfire. He grabbed her arm and peered around the side of the building.
    The patrolmen in front of the building were practicing with their guns, using three dogs in the street as targets. A group of young people stood across the street from the patrolmen, cheering them on. "Kill the motherfuckers!" a small boy yelled, dancing lightly on his toes. The dogs raced back and forth, yipping; one fell, and the others