"Maloney, Mack - Wingman 07 - Skyfire" - читать интересную книгу автора (Maloney Mack)

She could also still hear the fighting in the background and armed creatures-all them with the same kind of grostesque head as the one carrying her-seemed to be everywhere. She was also vaguely aware of what looked like hundreds of airships streaking overhead, filling the sky with cannon fire and missiles.

Finally, the giant insect man lifted her into a small cabin of some kind . . . No, it was the cockpit of an airplane. Her head was starting to clear now. She blinked back the dirt and tears and gas, and begged her eyes to focus properly. When they did, she suddenly realized that the grotesque head on the person who had carried out of the castle and put her into the airplane really was just a gas mask. And now the man was removing it.

36

With a sudden rush of unbearable joy an instant later, Dominique found herself staring into the face of Hawk Hunter.

"Hi, honey." he said to her, almost sheepishly. "Are you OK?"

37

Chapter Six

Washington, DC

Hunter poured a glass of beer for himself and one for the man across the table from him, General Dave Jones, Commander in Chief of the United American Armed Forces.

The two old friends were sitting in a bar located in the Washington, DC, suburb of Georgetown, not too far from Jones's headquarters. It was three days after the titanic battle at the Alberta fortress.

The general spoke first.

"Well, Hawk, what's on your mind?"

Hunter took a swallow of beer and then passed a hefty-sized document to Jones. "First of all, sir, these are the follow-up battle assessments from the operation . . ."

Jones lit a cigar, and took a swig of beer between the opening puffs. He perused the first few pages of the document and said: "I suppose I'll have to read all this eventually. But can you give me the bottom line?"

Hunter refilled both their beer glasses. He could have recited the seventy seven-page battle assessment report word for word if Jones had wanted him to. It was all in there: the sound defeat of the castle security forces at the hands of the United Americans and their Free Canadian allies; the capture of hundreds of various criminals and terrorists including the unbalanced Nazi leader, Duke Deviliian.

Also included were Deviilian's subsequent confessions,

38

as well as the locations of the last of his fascist organization weapons caches-undefended supply dumps and storage facilities that were being hit by United American fighter bombers at that very moment. The report ended by detailing the astonishingly low casualty figures for the friendly forces.

"Officially, the operation was a success," Hunter said.

"And unofficially?"

Hunter frowned slightly and took another sip of beer.

"Unofficially, I'd have to rate it about sixty to sixty-five percent successful. . ." he replied.

Jones relit his cigar, and waved his way through the resulting cloud of smoke.

"But why?" the senior officer asked. "We wiped out most of the forces holding that castle. We captured Deviliian and we've been launching air strikes on the last of his empire ever since . . ."

Jones paused for a puff on his stogie and a swig of beer.