"Jerry Sohl - I, Aleppo" - читать интересную книгу автора (Sohl Jerry)

fighters turned and zoomed in for the attack. A 20 mm cannon shell
suddenly burst inside the cockpit and Gary felt the pulsing of blood from
his shoulder. The plane went into a dive because the co-pilot, who had
been instantly killed by the shell burst, was pressed against the control
column.

Gary Carmody was no longer feeling good. Instead, he was filled with
righteous anger. Now he would show the enemy what he was made of in
spite of the fact that the instruments, the panels and the plexiglass
windows were covered with blood. Someone told him through the
headphones that an engine was aflame. He did the only thing a pilot could
do in such a situation. He ordered his crew to bail out. But the
bombardier now told him they were all wounded and couldn't jump. Gary
gritted his teeth. There was only one thing left to do: make a run for
England. Quickly he punched the extinguisher button and the flaming
engine stopped burning. The gunners, he was happy to see, were now
making hash of the buzzing enemy fighters.

In no time at all Gary spied the Allied fighter base at Ludham and
informed his men he was going to pilot the Scorpion II in, even though
they were out of gas and another engine was on fire. As he came in low,
the crowd assembled on the runway sent up a cheer as Gary fought
stubbornly for control- and finally brought the Flying Fortress settling in
for a wheels-up landing. Sparks flashed from the belly as the heavy
bomber scraped the concrete of the runway and careened into the grass.
Though the propellers were neatly bent back, the plane at last skidded to a
shuddering stop. The waiting crowd ran for the plane.

Gary was surprised when a young woman with the delicate features
came right into the cockpit and kissed him full on the mouth. She wore
only a thin-printed sky-blue silk tunic and hemp sandals with black lace
ties, and her long blonde hair glinted in the sun while the fires were being
extinguished. Ambulances were rushing the other wounded to the
hospital.

When they carried him out, the girl kept to his side and told them all,
"Careful with this man now; he's something special. He's just won the
war."

They all looked at Gary with respect bordering on awe. The girl smiled.
Her teeth were white and evenly spaced. Her eyes were blue, and they
regarded Gary with such warmth that he forgot the blood running down
his arm and onto the cement.

He saw the girl wince and then draw back, her eyes narrowing. It
seemed a signal of some sort, for suddenly running toward them from the
control tower was a tall, swarthy man dressed in a black hooded robe and
carrying a gleaming, curved, gem-studded sword.

Suddenly the men carrying him on the stretcher turned and dumped