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

dozen M-16 rounds in the chest. His eyes were frozen open in death. Ben
knelt down and went through his pockets and found a clear plastic bag
containing a white powder.

"Cocaine," Buddy said, walking up. "Almost every one of the enemy we've
killed had cocaine on him. Those we've interrogated say it's a big
business on the islands."

Ben tossed the bag on the man's bloody chest and stood up. "I never
understood why people use drugs. I'm from a different era, I suppose."
He looked over at Thermopolis. "Of course, I never understood why people
wanted to wear their hair down to their shoulders, either. Seems like a
lot of fuss and bother to me."

Therm smiled. "We're making a statement."

"Horseshit," Ben said, and walked off.

Thermopolis laughed and yelled, "You'd look cute in a pony tail, Ben."

"Not as cute as you'd look in a crew cut, Therm," Ben said over his
shoulder. Ben smiled as he returned to his CP. He had never given a damn
how people wore their hair. He always felt it wasn't any of his
business. "Gather up the crew, Jersey," he said to his little bodyguard.
"We're moving to the airport."

By midmorning of the next day, once Ben was sure the airport and the
area around were clear of punks, attack helicopters began hammering in
from the ships still at sea, and from the port where they were
off-loaded from the ships by crane. There were many airplanes parked
around the tarmac-all of them
32 with flat tires-and Rebel mechanics got busy getting as many of them
as possible airworthy again.

Tina and Therm had left for Lanai during the night, making the short run
in small powerboats. They had reported only light resistance so far, but
they were not advancing very far until the bulk of the two battalions
were ashore and geared up. Tina had reported that the civilians living
on the island- those they had encountered thus far-were in appalling
physical condition, many of them near death due to repeated beatings at
the hands of their captors. They were forced to work long hours in the
fields, under all sorts of adverse conditions, and were poorly fed.

"Send them over here on the returning boats," Ben told her. "Chase has
his MASH units up and will receive."

"Ten-four, Eagle. Civilians on the way."

Striganov joined Ben on the tarmac, a clipboard in one big hand.
"Intelligence reports that the military on the islands destroyed most of