"William W Johnstone - Ashes 16 - Vengance in the Ashes (txt)" - читать интересную книгу автора (Johnstone William W)

Books Houseman, the newly elected supreme commander of all the slime,
crap, crud, and those with unhappy childhoods that drove them to a life
of crime, read the report and tossed it on the desk. "It didn't take him
long to figure it out," he said, with grudging admiration in his tone.
"About five minutes. But it's going to take him precious days to clean
out Molokai. By that time, we'll be set up all over the place."

"But the citizens will be free," one of his men mentioned.

"It can't be helped. There is no other way to fight Ben and his Rebels.
Believe me when I say that all others have been tried. They failed."

"You really think we have a chance, Books?"

"Yes, I do. Albeit a very slim one. This type of warfare is slow and
bloody. Both sides are going to take tremendous losses. And that's where
we have the advantage. We have thousands more men than the Rebels."

"Books?"

"Yes?"

"Are you a general now?"

Books threw back his head and laughed. "That's a good one, Pete. Me, a
general. No, I think not. But for

23 a time I did make a lot of money as a lieutenant ... by selling
secrets to the Russians."

"Did you ever get any of that Russian pussy, Books?"

"Oh, yes. That was part of the arrangement. I slept with several very
lovely young Russian ladies. My last contact killed herself rather than
be taken alive. Some agents of the CIA wanted her rather badly. They
were working in the United States quite illegally, of course. The bastards."

"Ben Raines used to work for the CIA."

"Yes," Books said softly. "I know. That's why I want to take him alive.
It would be very interesting to see just how much pain he can tolerate."

Buddy held up a hand and motioned his Rat team to the ground. He smiled
and pointed straight ahead of him toward a tangled rise of land. The
local who lay beside him grinned and whispered, "There is a ravine that
runs to the east of that knoll. It curves and comes in right behind that
rise."

Buddy nodded and said, "Lead the way, Pilipo."