"Gordon Eklund - Falling Toward Forever" - читать интересную книгу автора (Eklund Gordon)

force went to protect its exposed rear, these men would scale the
front wall.

The squad Waller led was one of those assigned to the front.
He knew it would be tough here, though maybe not so tough as
at the rear. Waller and his men crawled forward. The landscape
failed to provide the most meager protection. They crawled on
their bellies till the front wall of the village was less than a
hundred yards away. Waller could see men moving up on the
wall. He took two of his men, the most proficient marksmen, and
told them to train their rifles on the wall. "As soon as we move, I
want you to start shooting. Don't let them stand up if you can
help it. If they do, we may be gone."

It seemed like a half-hour, but was probably much less, when
the sound of a single rifle shot reached his ears. It came from the
back of the village. He signaled his marksmen to be ready. He
assumed a crouching position himself. Another shot
soundedтАФthen anotherтАФthen a massive burst. Waller waved at
his men. The other squad leaders were doing the same. In a
mass, the men rushed the hopefully vulnerable wall.

Gunfire greeted them the moment they showed themselves,
but it was sporadic and not well aimed. Waller lost only one of
the men behind him. He ran cautiously, not eager to be the first
to reach the wall. The man, when he did arrive, died swiftly. So
did the two men following. But the next went up and over the
wall. Waller jumped, too. He had his rifle strapped to his
shoulder and both hands free. He gripped the top of the wall and
pulled. The soft rock crumbled beneath his grasping fingers. He
kicked, leaped, rolled. A narrow walkway caught him on the
opposite side of the wall. Below in a courtyard lay a half-dozen
dead men. Only one was an insurgent. Cheered by this, Waller
drew his rifle and began firing. By this time, more than a dozen
insurgents had scaled the wall. With Waller, they crouched upon
the walkway, firing below. The noise of answering gunfire was
fierce but Waller noticed few bullets striking near. He guessed
that much of the apparent clamor was actually emanating from
the rear of the village. He could see high, black puffs of smoke
rising from there. He thought it was time to move.

Jumping down from the walkway, he urged the remainder of
his squad to follow. They crossed the open courtyard quickly and
then began edging carefully forward through a host of scattered
wooden huts. His assigned task was to reach the store of
weapons and guard them from deliberate sabotage until the
fortress could be secured. The weapons were kept in a stone hut
near the middle of the village. The closer he brought his men to
this point, the more sniper fire they met. He lost a second man
and a third. Many of the huts seemed occupied now. He tried to