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

brutality involving all races.

"Everything we fought for, destroyed," Ben whispered. "The nation in ruins."

Again.

Back to the ashes.
Ben looked at his reflection in the window. His hair was streaked with
gray. He was middle-aged and, for a man his age, in superb physical
condition-but now, for the moment, he felt old.

As the plane slowly descended, Ben allowed himself to wallow, briefly,
in self-pity, something he almost never did. His personal team, Jersey,
Corrie, Beth, Cooper, and the teenage girl he had adopted while in
Europe, Anna, sat away from him. They knew that when Ben was in a lousy
mood-as he was now and had been ever since receiving the communique from
Cecil-it was best to leave him alone.

Ben's plane was the first one down, a dozen other huge transports coming
in right behind his. Ben stood up and stretched the kinks out of his
muscles and joints and deplaned. He spotted Cecil Jefferys standing on
the edge of the tarmac and walked over to him. The men stood in silence
for a moment, content to look at each other, as good and old friends
will do. Ben had to struggle to hide his shock at Cecil's appearance.
The black man's hair was now completely white, his face deeply lined.

Cecil put out his big hands and gripped Ben's shoulders in an unusual
display of affection. "God, but it's good to see you, Ben."

"Same here, Cec."

17

17

"I've got a fresh pot of coffee, some food. We'll talk while we eat.
Come on."

In a private room off the main terminal building in what had once been a
major American airport, the men sat and talked and ate.

"What happened, Cec?"

"The whole damned countryjustfell apart, Ben. With practically no warning."

"President Blanton?"

Cec shook his head. "We don't know where he is. We don't know if he's
alive or dead or hurt or what. We do know that most of his staff, his
inner circle, are dead. We think he and his wife might have made it out.