璇玑之心刃·冷血悍将-第103部分

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mander　was　just　too　good　with　his　radar；　knowing　when　to　switch　it　on　and　when　to　switch　it　off。　Whoever　the　little　bastard　was；　he‘d　killed　two　Weasels　under　Robin‘s　mand　in　the　previous　week；　and　so　the　colonel　had　drawn　the　mission　for　himself　as　soon　as　the　frag　order　had　gone　up　to　hit　this　area　again。　It　was　his　specialty：　diagnosing；　perating；　and　destroying　air　defenses　…　a　vast；　rapid；　three…dimensional　game　in　which　the　prize　of　winning　was　survival。
He　was　roaring　low；　never　higher　than　five　hundred　feet；　his　fingers　controlling　the　stick　semiautomatically　while　Zacharias‘s　eyes　watched　the　karsk　hilltops　and　his　ears　listened　to　the　talk　from　the　back　seat。
‘He‘s　at　our　nine；　Robin；‘　Jack　told　him。　‘Still　sweeping；　but　he　doesn‘t　have　us。　Spiraling　in　nicely。‘
We‘re　not　going　to　give　him　a　Shrike；　Zacharias　thought。　They　tried　that　the　last　time　and　he　spoofed　it　somehow。　That　error　had　cost　him　a　major；　a　captain；　and　an　aircraft。。。　a　fellow　native　of　Salt　Lake　City；　Al　Wallace　。。。　friends　for　years　。。。　damn　it！　he　shook　the　thought　off；　not　even　reproving　himself　for　the　lower…case　profanity。
‘Giving　him　another　taste；‘　Zacharias　said；　pulling　back　on　the　stick。　The　Thud　leaped　upwards　into　the　radar　coverage　of　the　site；　hovering　there；　waiting。　This　site　mander　was　probably　Russian…trained。　They　weren‘t　sure　how　many　aircraft　the　man　had　killed　…　only　that　it　had　been　more　than　enough　…　but　he　had　to　be　a　proud　one　because　of　it；　and　pride　was　deadly　in　this　business。
‘Launch　。。。　two；　two　valid　launches；　Robin；‘　Tait　warned　from　the　back。
‘Only　two？‘　the　pilot　asked。
‘Maybe　he　has　to　pay　for　them；‘　Tait　suggested　coolly。　‘I　have　them　at　nine。　Time　to　do　some　pilot　magic；　Rob。‘
‘Like　this？‘　Zacharias　rolled　left　to　keep　them　in　view；　pulling　into　them；　and　split…S…ing　back　down。　He‘d　planned　it　well；　ducking　behind　a　ridge。　He　pulled　out　at　a　dangerous　low　altitude；　but　the　SA…2　Guideline　missiles　went　wild　and　dumb　four　thousand　feet　over　his　head。
‘I　think　it‘s　time；‘　Tait　said。
‘I　think　you‘re　right。‘　Zacharias　turned　hard　left；　arming　his　cluster　munitions。　The　F…105　skimmed　over　the　ridge；　dropping　back　down　again　while　his　eyes　checked　the　next　ridge；　six　miles　and　fifty　seconds　away。
‘His　radar　is　still　up；‘　Tait　reported。　‘He　knows　we‘re　ing。‘
‘But　he‘s　only　got　one　left。‘　Unless　his　reload　crews　are　really　hot　today。　Well；　you　can‘t　allow　for　everything。
‘Some　light　flak　at　ten　o‘clock。‘　It　was　too　far　to　be　a　matter　of　concern；　though　it　did　tell　him　which　way　out　not　to　take。　‘There‘s　the　plateau。‘
Maybe　they　could　see　him；　maybe　not。　Possibly　he　was　just　one　moving　blip　amid　a　screen　full　of　clutter　that　some　radar　operator　was　striving　to　understand。　The　Thud　moved　faster　at　low　level　than　anything　ever　made；　and　the　camouflage　motif　on　the　upper　surfaces　was　effective。　They　were　probably　looking　up。　There　was　a　wall　of　jamming　there　now；　part　of　the　plan　he‘d　laid　out　for　the　other　Weasel　bird；　and　normal　American　tactics　were　for　a　medium…altitude　approach　and　steep　dive。　But　they‘d　done　that　twice　and　failed；　and　so　Zacharias　decided　to　change　the　technique。　Low　level；　he‘d　Rockeye　the　place；　then　the　other　Weasel　would　finish　things　off。　His　job　was　killing　the　mand　van　and　the　mander　within。　He　jinked　the　Thud　left　and　right；　up　and　down；　to　deny　a　good　shooting　track　to　anybody　on　the　ground。　You　still　had　to　worry　about　guns；　too。
‘Got　the　star！‘　Robin　said。　The　SA…6　manual；　written　in　Russian；　called　for　six　launchers　around　a　central　control　point。　With　all　the　connective　paths；　the　typical　Guideline　site　looked　just　like　a　Star　of　David；　which　seemed　rather　blasphemous　to　the　Colonel；　but　the　thought　only　hovered　at　the　edge　of　his　mind　as　he　centered　the　mand　van　on　his　bombsight　pipper。
‘Selecting　Rockeye；‘　he　said　aloud；　confirming　the　action　to　himself。　For　the　last　ten　seconds；　he　held　the　aircraft　rock　steady。　‘Looking　good　。。。　release　。。。　now！‘
Four　of　the　decidedly　un…aerodynamic　canisters　fell　free　of　the　fighter‘s　ejector　racks；　splitting　open　in　midair；　scattering　thousands　of　submunitions　over　the　area。　He　was　well　beyond　the　site　before　the　bomblets　landed。　He　didn‘t　see　people　running　for　slit　trenches；　but　he　stayed　low；　reefing　the　Thud　into　a　tight　left　turn；　looking　up　to　make　sure　he‘d　gotten　the　place　once　and　for　all。　From　three　miles　out　his　eyes　caught　an　immense　cloud　of　smoke　in　the　center　of　the　Star。
That‘s　for　Al；　he　allowed　himself　to　think。　No　victory　roll；　just　a　thought；　as　he　leveled　out　and　picked　a　likely　spot　to　egress　the　area。　The　strike　force　could　e　in　now；　and　that　SAM　battery　was　out　of　business。　Okay。　He　selected　a　notch　in　the　ridge；　racing　for　it　just　under　Mach…1；　straight　and　level　now　that　the　threat　was　behind　him。　Home　for　Christmas。
The　red　tracers　that　erupted　from　the　small　pass　startled　him。　That　wasn‘t　supposed　to　be　there。　No　deflection　on　them；　just　ing　right　in。　He　jinked　up；　as　the　gunner　had　thought　he　would；　and　the　body　of　the　aircraft　passed　right　through　the　stream　of　fire。　It　shook　violently　and　in　the　passage　of　a　second　good　changed　to　evil。
‘Robin！‘　a　voice　gasped　over　the　inter；　but　the　main　noise　was　from　wailing　alarms；　and　Zacharias　knew　in　a　fatal　instant　that　his　aircraft　was　doomed。　It　got　worse　almost　before　he　could　react。　The　engine　died　in　flames；　and　then　the　Thud　started　a　roll…yaw　that　told　him　the　controls　were　gone。　His　reaction　was　automatic；　a　shout　for　ejection；　but　another　gasp　from　the　back　made　him　turn　just　as　he　yanked　the　handles　even　though　he　knew　the　gesture　was　useless。　His　last　sight　of　Jack　Tait　was　blood　that　hung　below　the　seat　like　a　vapor　trail；　but　by　then　his　own　back　was　wrenched　with　more　pain　than　he‘d　ever　known。
‘Okay；‘　Kelly　said　and　fired　off　a　flare。　Another　boat　started　tossing　small　explosive　charges　into　the　water　to　drive　the　fish　away　from　the　area。　He　watched　and　waited　for　five　minutes；　then　looked　at　the　safety　man。
‘Area‘s　clear。‘
‘Fire　in　the　hole；‘　Kelly　said；　repeating　the　mantra　three　times　more。　Then　he　twisted　the　handle　on　the　detonator。　The　results　were　gratifying。　The　water　around　the　legs　turned　to　foam　as　the　rig‘s　legs　were　chopped　off　bottom　and　top。　The　fall　was　surprisingly　slow。　The　entire　structure　slid　off　in　one　direction。　There　was　an　immense　splash　as　the　platform　hit；　and　for　one　incongruous　moment　it　appeared　as　though　steel　might　float。　But　it　couldn‘t。　The　see…through　collection　of　light　I…beams　sank　below　sight；　to　rest　right　on　the　bottom；　and　another　job　was　done。　‘
Kelly　disconnected　the　wires　from　the　generator　and　tossed　them　over　the　side。
‘Two　weeks　early。　I　guess　you　really　wanted　that　bonus；‘　the　executive　said。　A　former　Navy　fighter　pilot；　he　admired　a　job　well　and　quickly　done。　The　oil　wasn‘t　going　anywhere；　after　all。　‘Dutch　was　right　about　you。‘
"；The　Admiral　is　a　good　guy。　He‘s　done　a　lot　for　Tish　and　me。‘
‘Well；　we　flew　together　for　two　years。　Bad…ass　fighter　jock。　Good　to　know　those　nice　things　he　said　were　true。‘　The　executive　liked　working　with　people　who‘d　had　experiences　like　his　own。　He‘d　forgotten　the　terror　of　bat　somehow。　‘What‘s　with　that？　I‘ve　been　meaning　to　ask。‘　He　pointed　to　the　tattoo　on　Kelly‘s　arm；　a　red　seal；　sitting　up　on　his　hind　flippers　and　grinning　impudently。
‘Something　we　all　did　in　my　unit；‘　Kelly　explained　as　offhandedly　as　he　could。
‘What　unit　was　that？‘
‘Can‘t　say。‘　Kelly　added　a　grin　to　mute　the　refusal。
‘I　bet　it‘s　something　to　do　with　how　Sonny　got　out　…　but　okay。‘　A　former　naval　officer　had　to　respect　the　rules。　‘Well；　the　check‘ll　be　in　your　account　by　the　end　of　the　business　day；　Mr　Kelly。　I‘ll　radio　in　so　your　wife　can　pick　you　up。‘
Tish　Kelly　was　glowing　her　me…too　look　at　the　women　in　The　Stork　Shop。　Not　even　three　months　yet；　she　could　wear　anything　she　wanted　…　well；　almost。　Too　soon　to　shop　for　anything　special；　but　she　had　the　free　time　and　wanted　to　see　what　the　options　were。　She　thanked　the　clerk；　deciding　that　she‘d　bring　John　here　in　the　evening　and　help　him　pick　something　out　for　her　because　he　liked　doing　that。　Now　it　was　time　to　pick　him　up。　The　Plymouth　wagon　they‘d　driven　down　from　Maryland　was　parked　right　outside；　and　she‘d　learned　to　navigate　the　streets　of　the　coastal　town。　It　was　a　nice　break　from　the　cold　autumn　rain　of　their　home；　to　be　here　on　the　Gulf　Coast　where　the　summer　was　never　really　gone　for　more　than　a　few　days。　She　brought　the　wagon　onto　the　street；　heading　south　for　the　oil　pany‘s　huge　support　yard。　Even　the　traffic　lights　were　in　her　favor。　One　changed　to　green　in　such　a　timely　fashion　that　her　foot　didn‘t　even　have　to　touch　the　brakes。
The　truck　driver　frowned　as　the　light　changed　to　amber。　He　was　late；　and　running　a　little　too　fast；　but　the　end　of　his　six…hundred…mile　run　from　Oklahoma　was　in　sight。　He　stepped　on　the　clutch　and　brake　pedals　with　a　sigh　that　abruptly　changed　to　a　gasp　of　surprise　as　both　pedals　went　all　the　way　to　the　floor　at　the　same　speed。　The　road　ahead　was　clear；　and　he　kept　going　straight；　downshifting　to　cut　speed；　and　frantically　blowing　his　diesel　hom。　Oh　God；　oh　God；　please　don‘t　…
She　never　saw　it