"Дон Пендлтон. Doomsday Disciples ("Палач" #49) " - читать интересную книгу автора

And we're checking indicators that he may be a North Vietnamese, possibly
involved in sabotage and spying."
"What indicators?" Bolan asked.
"For one thing, he's a man without a past," Hal answered. "Records out
of Nam don't mention him, in Saigon or anywhere else. Military personnel and
refugees have never heard of him. For all anybody knows, Minh popped out of
thin air sometime in 1978."
Bolan was unsatisfied with that. It was easy for a man to lose himself,
his past - especially in Vietnam. A recent extension of his own New War had
taken Bolan back to the embattled nation where it all began; there he
discovered proof of Americans forgotten and abandoned in the final days of
war. And if the records could officially "misplace" two thousand
Occidentals...
Hal read the silent question in the warrior's eyes.
"One more thing," he said, and another face succeeded Minh's on the
viewing screen.
This time the subject was Caucasian, a man in his late thirties, sandy
hair receding in the front. The eyes were alert behind steel-rimmed
spectacles.
"Meet Mitchell Carter." Hal said. "Corporate attorney on retainer with
the Universal Devotees. He was born Mihail Karpeiyan, the son of Soviet
defectors after World War II. Had his name changed legally the year he
entered college in New York."
"A mole?" April asked.
"Justice has a strong suspicion. Nothing we can hang indictments on so
far."
Bolan saw the pieces falling into place.
"Minh's control," he said softly.
Hal shrugged.
"Fifty-fifty there," he said. "Could be the other way around. We don't
have time to check it out through channels."
A final slide flashed on the screen, this one a family snapshot of some
kind. The subject was a young woman, red hair cut in a short, boyish style.
She was dressed for the beach in a revealing swimsuit, and there was nothing
masculine about her figure.
"Amy Culp," Hal introduced her in absentia. "One of Minh's recruits,
last reported in residence at his estate north of San Francisco."
"What makes her special?" April asked.
Bolan made the connection before Brognola had a chance to answer.
"Related to a certain senator?" he asked.
"Only child," Hal confirmed. "And the senator's convinced she's being
held against her will. Incidentally, his friend in the Oval Office shares a
similar belief."
Bolan understood the sudden urgency.
"Damage estimate?"
Hal shook his head.
"Unknown. Possible extortion, some kind of incident designed to
embarrass the administration. For now, call the girl a handle."
Bolan focused on the smiling, freckled face. A handle, yeah, and the
only one they had. One that turned both ways.