"William W Johnstone - Ashes 22 - Chaos in the Ashes (txt)" - читать интересную книгу автора (Johnstone William W)

millions and millions of people here in the SUSA. But instead we've got
thousands and thousands. We know our system works. How come so many
others can't see it?"

"Don't get me started on that, Gene."

Gene smiled. "Yeah, I seem to recall you could get real worked up on
that subject Well, there's about twenty-five or so trucks 'bout an hour
behind this one, General. Filled with old soldiers like me and what's
left of their families. We've all agreed to go back into uniform for
this fight. We're about company-sized, I reckon. Soon as we get patched
up and plugged up, we'll wander on over to the quartermaster and draw

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some gear. You might say the Over-The-Hill-Gang is ridin' again."

"Glad to have you with us, Sergeant. We'll damn sure find a place for you."

"I figured you wouldn't kick up much of a fuss. This is gonna be a fight
to the finish. And it damn sure isn't gonna be over in any hurry." He
threw Ben a salute and limped off.

"One of the toughest and meanest guerrilla units back in my country was
made up of older men," Anna said, watching Gene limp away. "They
couldn't run as fast as we could, or march for as long, but the punks
and thugs and creepers soon learned they could fight like hell."

"What happened to them?" Jersey asked.

"Last I heard they were still up in the mountains, fighting." She looked
at Ben. "Where are you going to assign those old men, General Ben?"

"Wherever they wish, Anna."

' 'Pilots report our old Base Camp One area is crawling with crud,"
Corrie called to Ben. "Heatseekers show several thousand people."

"Our underground facilities?"

"They appear to be safe and secure to this point."

Certain areas in and around the old Base Camp One were honey-combed with
underground chambers, the tunnels and bunkers filled with thousands of
tons of supplies and equipment. Other areas contained carefully
constructed and concealed underground storage tanks, where hundreds of
thousands of gallons of fuel were stored (the Rebels had thousands of
tons of equipment secretly cached all over the lower forty-eight).