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

convoluted, often contradictory. A mission sponsored by the Kremlin might be
scuttled without explanation - or redirected into other channels, seeking
other goals. If an agent failed to note the change, adapt with alacrity, he
would be sacrificed without a second thought.
Mitchell Carter was marked for sacrifice.
Minh suppressed a smile. It was possible, he thought, for enemies to
reach agreement on the minor points.
Without a doubt, the counselor was expendable.
Minh could take him now, of course. A word to Tommy Booth would do the
trick. One word, and Carter would be gone without a trace.
When the time was right, as soon as Minh found out what he was up
against, he planned to give that word. In the meantime, Carter was useful.
There were ways he could help the Devotees.
When his usefulness expired, Minh would do a grudging favor for the
Soviets and complete their sacrifice.
In fact, he was rather looking forward to it.

* * *

"I have every confidence she will join us soon.''
Crouching in the darkness, Bolan stiffened as he heard those words.
Alarms were ringing in the back of his mind, alerting him to danger.
From what he knew of Minh, the Asian wasn't one for idle talk or empty
threats. If he had a line on Amy, a crew would be on its way to pick her up.
There was no time to wonder how she was discovered. Minh spoke of a
friend. If the girl was rash enough to call someone, if she ignored his
warning....
In the space of a heartbeat his decision was made. Bolan scrubbed his
strike in favor of a rescue mission, knowing it might already be too late.
He couldn't leave the lady to fate, even if by leaving he gave the
enemy a chance to reinforce the hard-site - or slip away to parts unknown.
The gesture might be a futile one, but it was unavoidable. Bolan didn't
have it in him to abandon Amy.
It was a trait, sure, that made the man.
In Vietnam, Bolan had earned the label The Executioner with
ninety-seven registered kills. As the point man for Penetration Team Able,
he was known from the delta to the DMZ as a specialist in sudden, violent
death. His targets were the savages - infiltrators, NVA regulars, Vietcong
terrorists - and Able Team spread the fear of hellfire among them. In a war
without boundaries, Bolan and his men deprived the cannibals of cherished
sanctuaries and made them vulnerable.
An army psychologist described Bolan as the perfect sniper - a man
capable of killing "methodically, unemotionally, and personally ," without
losing his humanity along the way. A committed man, equal to the task he
selected for himself.
That was half the man, but at the same time Bolan showed another side
and built another reputation. Time and again the warrior risked his life,
jeopardized his mission to relieve a suffering soul. Hostages and
casualties, civilian or military, Bolan drew no lines, recognized no
distinctions. He crept or fought his way through hostile lines on more than