"Ahern, Jerry - Survivalist 003 - The Quest" - читать интересную книгу автора (Ahern Jerry)

"So's finding my wife and children, Reed," Rourke responded.

"I know that, but this is for the good of all of us."

"I don't really give a damn about the good of all of us. Organized government screwed things up the first time, it'll screw things up again. I'm finding my wife and children, and then I'll figure what kind of game I'm playing." Rourke started to ease up on his bike. Reed reached out and put his hand on Rourke's left arm. Rourke glared at him in the gathering shadow. "Don't!"

"Wait, maybe I can help you if you help me."

"I'm listening," Rourke told him.

"All right. Let me explain what we're doing."

"I don't care what you're doing, Reed. No offense, but I don't give a damn."

"Yeah, but I can help you find your woman and kids."

"How?" Rourke asked.

"We've got an intelligence network getting together, all sorts of places, use couriers, low-frequency radio, lots of ways of keeping in touch. If I put out the word that's dozens more pairs of eyes looking for them. How fast is one man going to find them? Huh?"

"What do you want?" Rourke almost whispered.

"Some cooperation, maybe an extra hand with a gun if it comes to that. You in?"

"Just how good," Rourke rasped, "is that organization of yours, Reed, good enough, big enough to find Sarah?"

"We won't know unless we try. This'll maybe cost you a few days, maybe save you weeks or months, maybe make the difference for you in finding them or not."

"I'll find them," Rourke stated. "Tell me what you're here for."

"All right," Reed said, stomping out his cigarette butt on the ground.

"That's got a filter," Rourke said. "They take years to disintegrate; some kinds can take decades. Dead giveaway someone's been here, too."

Reed looked at Rourke, then bent over, and picked up the cigarette butt, stripped away the paper and tobacco and pocketed the filter in the breast pocket of his camouflaged fatigue blouse. "Satisfied?" Reed snapped.

Rourke nodded.

"Okay, then," Reed began again. "We're here for two reasons; We want a low down on the Soviet posture in Georgia, Karamatsov just got transferred in here on assignment, you should be interested in that."

"Natalia," Rourke murmured.

"What?"

"Nothing," Rourke said, trying to mean it.

"All right, but the main reason we're here, and probably Karamatsov too, is we're looking for a guy, you might even know him, he has a place somewhere around here, vacation home. Name is Jim Colfax. He's an ex-astronaut, big shot in NASA public relations before the war."

"Why would anyone want him?"