"Jack Yeovil - Comeback Tour" - читать интересную книгу автора (Yeovil Jack)

His face dry at last, he swore to keep the Dream alive.



PART ONE:DIXIE



I

"C'mon, Jesse Garon, don't fail me now..."

Whenever he was alone, which was most of the time, the Op talked to Jesse Garon as if his brother
were there. In a sense, he was. In the backwoods, they said that when one of identical twins died, the
survivor would carry the baby's soul for the rest of his natural life.

"C'mon..."

Despite his thick leather waders, the cold of the Mississippi Delta swamp was seeping into his legs. He
had been in one place for over two hours, since before sundown, waiting for the attack to come.

On a still night, you could hear the helicopters coming from a long way away. He had enough time to
take the rocketlauncher out of its watertight case, and load up with a GenTech one-shot Ground-to-Air
missile. The weapon was heavy on his shoulder, but he stood his ground, putting up with the ache, his
right eye to the nightsight.

Around him in the swamps, the cicadas trilled. There were water moccasins weaving across the surface
of the rancid waters, and he had heard that the 'gator population was rising now they were raising the
reptiles for food. But he'd been trailing through swamps all his life, and nothing had bitten him to death
yet.

He wore a heavy black leather jacket, zipped up to his chin. Underneath, his shirt was a vivid pink. He
didn't want that flash of colour in the night, marking him out as a target for the CAF. His face and hands
were camouflage-streaked.

Finally, he heard the whup-whup-whup of the spidercopters. The CAF nightriders were flying out
ofVicksburg in precise military manoeuvers, raiding, extracting tribute, coralling a load of indenture boys
and girls, and retreating. They were connected in the state legislature, the Op knew. Indenture was a
profitable system for the corps and politicos. In boardrooms across the world, they had wet dreams
about workers you don't have to pay. The swampies had tried to get some official law in to deal with the
Confederates, but no one was interested. They had had to pool their money and hire themselves some
protection.
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When he was first mustered out of the army, back in '60, he had gone to a Western movie with his
Mama Gladys and the Original Colonel. The Magnificent Seven. In that picture, a group of poor Mexican
fanners were being terrorized by a gang of bandidos led by Eli Wallach. They put all their money together