"William W. Johnstone - Ashes 13 - Fury In The Ashes" - читать интересную книгу автора (Johnstone William W)

outside,
and he dropped one hand to the butt of his .45
autoloader, which was carried cocked and locked.
"Permission to enter?" Dan Gray's question was softly
offered.
"Come on in, Dan."
Colonel Dan Gray, a former British SAS
officer and now in charge of Gray's Scouts, opened
the door and stepped inside. He carried his own
morning wake-up, a cup of tea. "My people are in
place, General," he said, sitting down. "Early
estimates are
that
about seven hundred outlaws inhabit the city. This
should be no more than a walk-through."
"L.a. won't be," Ben said, pouring a
mug of coffee and sitting down across from Dan at the
battered old kitchen table.
"I'm afraid you're right. L.a. is going to be
slow going, block by burning block. Even though it
is a sprawling place, I think we can still use
artillery to lessen our casualties."
Ben opened a worn map of California. Maps were
getting harder and harder to find, and each one was used
until it was falling apart. And due to the ever-changing
conditions of highways -- bridges out, overpasses
collapsing, sinkholes in the roadbeds -- maps were
constantly having to be updated.
Ben studied the map, then opened a booklet, read
for a moment, and tossed the booklet aside. "That thing
says that Redding has numerous motels, fine
restaurants, friendly people, and is a pleasant
stopover. Shit! What about county roads that would
enable us to block off escape to the south, east, and
west?"
Dan laughed at Ben's expression in the light from
the portable lantern. "My people have found a way to
link up with Highway 273; that will block west and
south escape routes. East is up for grabs.
There are all sorts of little roads leading in that
direction."
"All right, Dan. Move the rest of your people out as
soon as they've eaten. There is no way we can come
up quietly. They'll be waiting for us. And we
don't have the foggiest notion of how heavily they're
armed."
"Or the number of children that might be in there," Dan
added.
"Yes. I've been doing a lot of thinking about that.
According to what I've learned, the Redding outlaws have