"Tony Ruggiero - Team of Darkness 1 - Operation Immortal Servitude" - читать интересную книгу автора (Ruggiero Tony)

Block was tired of the bloodshed and ethnic division. With only two months left to
his tour, he looked forward to going home. His stint in the Army would be over and
he was ready to work at his uncle's car dealership. He was soft-spoken, with facial
features that made a guy either a minister or a car salesman; his fellow soldiers told
him that he had the kind of disposition that would ensure him success in the car
business.
Block firmly believed in Murphy's Law: If anything could go wrong with the short
time left to his tour, it would. His time and experience in the military had proven he
was not a professional soldier, nor did he have any desire to become one.
Tonight had been quiet, thankfully. With all assignments completed, he had busied
himself by catching up on some reading and even managed to write a letter to his
mom and dad back home in Seattle. As he licked the envelope's flap, he noticed his
burly infantry sergeant, Sergeant Estefan, come into the central command area. He
was not hard to miss. A big man, about six feet in height and 225 pounds, he always
had a five o'clock shadow at about one o'clock in the afternoon. His face appeared
to be made of solid graniteтАФalong with his muscles. Although ominous in
appearance, Estefan was a calm person and rarely got upset.
Block noticed Estefan was not alone. An obviously agitated civilian accompanied the
sergeant, demanding his attention. The civilian babbled wildly in a native Slavic
tongue, making wild gestures with his arms. His body shook as if he was being
shocked with electricity. Block had seen many like this man come into the
compound, usually to report a murder or rape by one of the native forces; it was
almost a daily occurrence. But for some reason, Block found this man interesting
enough to watch him closely.
Observing the agitated man, Block saw that the man's clothing was worn but clean.
He was probably a farmer, like the majority of the people in the area, he thought
absently. They took pride in their clothing that was sewn by hand to endure years of
service. The man's face was weathered from spending time in the cold and hot
temperatures; the wrinkled lines held permanent locations on his face and made him
appear older than he probably was. But his eyes were brilliant and strong, and
reflected strength, energy and determination.
Block watched as Estefan sat the civilian in a chair, and then motioned for him to
stay there. Apparently the civilian didn't speak or understand English. The sergeant
spoke to a corporal then pointed to the civilian. When Estefan moved away, the
corporal remained, watching the civilian. Estefan headed toward the duty officer's
office, stopped at the door and knocked. Block waved him in.
"Sir, we might have a problem,тАЭ Estefan said.
"So I see,тАЭ Block said, indicating the civilian. тАЬWhat's going on?"
"All I know right now is that he's terrified about something. He ran up to the evening
patrol, throwing himself in front of their vehicle, yelling and screaming at them to
make them stop. The only thing we could understand was the town's name,
Kacianik. He kept repeating it over and over again. I have an interpreter on the way
to find out what he's going on about."
"All right. Let's take a look at him. Bring him in here."
The sergeant stepped out of the room and motioned for the corporal to bring the
civilian into the captain's office. Block reminded himself that part of the
responsibility of the peacekeeping forces was to maintain order such as a police
force would do. Any incident was investigated if the situation warranted it.
Unfortunately for him tonight, that was his job as duty officer. Either way, it would
be recorded into the desk log and forwarded to the Base Commander for review, as