"Robert Doherty - Area 51 - The Reply" - читать интересную книгу автора (Doherty Robert)

47


guess it's not important right now. I'll be safe. I'll make sure I duck if I
have to."
"Try to do better than that," Duncan warned.
Turcotte paused. They stared at each other in the narrow metal stairwell for a
few seconds. "Well," Turcotte finally said, "I've got to go."
"I'll see you on the ground," Duncan said.
Turcotte turned and climbed the stairs that led to the massive flight deck of
the Washington. There was a warm breeze blowing in from the seaward side.
Looking across the flight deck, Turcotte could see SAS troopers rigging
equipment. Some were doing a last-minute cleaning of their weapons, others
honing knives or smearing camouflage paint onto their faces. Pilots from both
the Army and Navy were walking around their aircraft, using red-lens flashlights
to do a final visual inspection.
A figure loomed up in the dark and a rich British accent rolled across the
flight deck. "You Turcotte?"
"Yes."
"I'm Ridley. Commander, HAHO detachment, Twenty-first SAS. I understand you're
coming with us?"
"That's right."
"Well, I'll assume you know what you're doing. You jump last and don't get in
anybody's way or you're bloody well likely to get shot, and you won't catch me
crying in my tea over that. Clear?" Ridley was already walking toward their
aircraft.
"Clear."
"Turcotte," Ridley said. "Sounds fucking French."

48


"I'm Canuck," Turcotte said. They came up to a C-2 cargo plane.
 Ridley handed him a parachute. "Packed it myself. What the bloody hell is a
Canuck?"
"French-Indian," Turcotte said. "I'm from Maine. There's a lot of us in the
backwoods there." He put the chute on his back.
Ridley was behind him, reaching between his legs with a strap. "Left leg," he
announced.
"Left leg," Turcotte repeated, snapping it into the proper receiver. He felt
comfortable around Ridley's gruff manner. He'd met many men like that in his
years working special operations. Turcotte had even worked with the SAS before
in Europe, when he'd done counterterrorism work. He knew the Special Air Service
to be top-notch professionals who got the job done.
Quickly Turcotte rigged and climbed into the plane. The C-2 was the largest
aircraft the Washington had in its inventory. It normally moved personnel and
equipment from the vessel to shore and back. Right now the small cargo bay held
sixteen heavily armed SAS troopers in tight proximity to each other.
Turcotte smelled the familiar pungent odor of engine exhaust and JP-4 jet