璇玑之心刃·冷血悍将-第149部分

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‘I‘ll　never　understand　why　Tim　had　to　die。‘
It　really　came　down　to　that；　Kelly　thought。　It　wasn‘t　about　great　political　or　social　issues。　Everyone　had　a　life；　which　was　supposed　to　have　a　natural　end　after　an　amount　of　time　determined　by　God　or　Fate　or　something　men　weren‘t　supposed　to　control。　He‘d　seen　young　men　die；　and　caused　his　share　of　deaths；　each　life　something　of　value　to　its　owner　and　others；　and　how　did　you　explain　to　the　others　what　it　was　all　about？　For　that　matter；　how　did　you　explain　it　to　yourself？　But　that　was　from　the　outside。　From　the　inside　it　was　something　else。　Maybe　that　was　the　answer。
‘You　do　some　pretty　hard　work；　right？‘
‘Yes；‘　Sandy　said；　nodding　a　little。
‘Why　not　do　something　easier？　I　mean；　work　a　department　where　it‘s　different；　I　don‘t　know　…　the　nursery；　maybe？　That‘s　a　happy　place；　right？‘
‘Pretty　much；‘　the　nurse　admitted。
‘It‘s　still　important；　too；　right？　Taking　care　of　little　babies；　it‘s　routine；　yeah；　but　it　still　has　to　be　done　the　right　way；　doesn‘t　it？‘
‘Of　course。‘
‘But　you　don‘t　do　that。　You　work　Neuro。　You　do　the　hard　stuff。‘
‘Somebody　has　to　…‘　Bingo！　Kelly　thought；　cutting　her　off。
‘It‘s　hard　…　hard　to　do　the　work；　hard　on　you　…　it　hurts　you　some；　right？‘
‘Sometimes。‘
‘But　you　do　it　anyway；‘　Kelly　pointed　out。
‘Yes；‘　Sandy　said；　not　as　an　admission；　but　something　stronger。
‘That‘s　why　Tim　did　what　he　did。‘　He　saw　the　understanding　there；　or　perhaps　the　beginnings　of　it；　just　for　a　moment　before　her　lingering　grief　pushed　the　argument　aside。
‘It　still　doesn‘t　make　sense。‘
‘Maybe　the　thing　doesn‘t　make　sense；　but　the　people　do；‘　Kelly　suggested。　That　was　about　as　far　as　his　mind　stretched。　‘Sorry；　I‘m　not　a　priest；　just　a　broken…down　Navy　chief。‘
‘Not　too　broken　down；‘　O‘Toole　said；　finishing　her　lunch。　
‘And　part　of　that　is　your　doing；　ma‘am。　Thank　you。‘　That　earned　him　another　smile。
‘Not　all　our　patients　get　better。　We‘re　kind　of　proud　of　those　who　do。‘
‘Maybe　we‘re　all　trying　to　save　the　world；　Sandy；　one　little　bit　at　a　time；‘　Kelly　said。　He　rose　and　insisted　on　walking　her　back　to　the　unit。　It　took　the　whole　five　minutes　to　say　what　he　wanted　to　say。
‘You　know；　I‘d　like　to　have　dinner　with　you；　maybe？　Not　now；　but；　well　…‘
‘I‘ll　think　about　it；‘　she　allowed；　half　dismissing　the　idea；　half　wondering　about　it；　knowing　as　Kelly　did　that　it　was　too　soon　for　both　of　them；　though　probably　not　as　much　for　her。　What　sort　of　man　was　this？　she　asked　herself。　What　were　the　dangers　of　knowing　him？
C13
　　　　CHAPTER　13
Agendas
It　was　his　first…ever　visit　to　the　Pentagon。　Kelly　felt　ill　at　ease；　wondering　if　he　should　have　worn　his　khaki　chiefs　uniform；　but　his　time　for　wearing　that　had　passed。　Instead　he　wore　a　blue　lightweight　suit；　with　a　miniature　of　the　Navy　Cross　ribbon　on　the　lapel。　Arriving　in　the　bus　and　car　tunnel；　he　walked　up　a　ramp　and　searched　for　a　map　of　the　vast　building；　which　he　quickly　scanned　and　memorized。　Five　minutes　later　he　entered　the　proper　office。
‘Yes？‘　a　petty　officer　asked。
‘John　Kelly；　I　have　an　appointment　with　Admiral　Maxwell。‘　He　was　invited　to　take　a　seat。　On　the　coffee　table　was　a　copy　of　Navy　Times；　which　he　hadn‘t　read　since　leaving　the　service。　But　Kelly　was　able　to　control　his　nostalgia。　The　bitches　and　gripes　he　read　about　hadn‘t　changed　very　much。
‘Mr　Kelly？‘　a　voice　called。　He　rose　and　walked　through　the　open　door。　After　it　closed；　a　red　do…not…disturb　light　blinked　on　to　warn　people　off。
‘How　are　you　feeling；　John？‘　Maxwell　asked　first　of　all。
‘Fine；　sir；　thank　you。‘　Civilian　now　or　not；　Kelly　could　not　help　feeling　uneasy　in　the　presence　of　a　flag　officer。　That　got　worse　at　once　when　another　door　opened　to　admit　two　more　men；　one　in　civilian　clothes；　the　other　a　rear　admiral　…　another　aviator；　Kelly　saw；　with　the　medal　of　honor；　which　was　even　more　intimidating。　Maxwell　did　the　introductions。
‘I‘ve　heard　a　lot　about　you；‘　Podulski　said；　shaking　the　younger　man‘s　hand。
‘Thank　you；　sir。‘　Kelly　didn‘t　know　what　else　to　say。
‘Cas　and　I　go　back　a　ways；‘　Maxwell　observed；　handling　the　introductions。　‘I　got　fifteen‘　…　he　pointed　to　the　aircraft　panel　hanging　on　the　wall　…　‘Cas　got　eighteen。‘
‘All　on　film；　too；‘　Podulski　assured　him。
‘I　didn‘t　get　any；‘　Greer　said；　‘but　I　didn‘t　let　the　oxygen　rot　my　brain　either。‘　In　addition　to　wearing　soft　clothes；　this　admiral　had　the　map　case。　He　took　one　out；　the　same　panel　he　had　back　at　his　home；　but　more　marked　up。　Then　came　the　photographs；　and　Kelly　got　another　look　at　the　face　of　Colonel　Zacharias；　this　time　enhanced　somehow　or　other；　and　recognizably　similar　to　the　ID　photo　Greer　put　next　to　it。
‘I　was　within　three　miles　of　the　place；‘　Kelly　noted。　‘Nobody　ever　told　me　about　…‘
‘It　wasn‘t　there　yet。　This　place　is　new；　less　than　two　years　old；‘　Greer　explained。
‘Any　more　pictures；　James？‘　Maxwell　asked。
‘Just　some　SR…71　overheads；　high…obliques；　nothing　new　in　them。　I　have　a　guy　checking　every　frame　of　this　place；　a　good　guy；　ex…Air　Force。　He　reports　to　me　only。‘
‘You‘re　going　to　be　a　good　spy；‘　Podulski　noted　with　a　chuckle。
‘They　need　me　there；‘　Greer　replied　in　a　lighthearted　voice　bordered　with　serious　meaning。　Kelly　just　looked　at　the　other　three。　The　banter　wasn‘t　unlike　that　in　a　chief‘s　mess；　but　the　language　was　cleaner。　He　looked。　over　at　Kelly　again。　‘Tell　me　about　the　valley。‘
‘A　good　place　to　stay　away　from。‘
‘First；　tell　me　how　you　got　little　Dutch　back。　Every　step　of　the　way；‘　Greer　ordered。
Kelly　needed　fifteen　minutes　for　that；　from　the　time　he　left　USS　Skate　to　the　moment　the　helicopter　had　lifted　him　and　Lieutenant　Maxwell　from　the　river‘s　estuary　for　the　flight　to　Kitty　Hawk。　It　was　an　easy　story　to　tell。　What　surprised　him　were　the　looks　the　admirals　passed　back　and　forth。
Kelly　wasn‘t　equipped　to　understand　the　looks　yet。　He　didn‘t　really　think　of　the　admirals　as　old　or　even　as　totally　human。　They　were　admirals；　godlike；　ageless　beings　who　made　important　decisions　and　looked　as　they　should　look；　even　the　one　out　of　uniform。　Nor　did　Kelly　think　of　himself　as　young。　He‘d　seen　bat；　after　which　every　man　is　forever　changed。　But　their　perspective　was　different。　To　Maxwell；　Podulski；　and　Greer；　this　young　man　was　not　terribly　unlike　what　they　had　been　thirty　years　earlier。　It　was　instantly　clear　that　Kelly　was　a　warrior；　and　in　seeing　him　they　saw　themselves。　The　furtive　looks　they　traded　were　not　unlike　those　of　a　grandfather　watching　his　grandson　take　his　first　tentative　step　on　the　living…room　rug。　But　these　were　larger　and　more　serious　steps。
‘That　was　some　job；‘　Greer　said　when　Kelly　finished。　‘So　this　area　is　densely　populated？‘
‘Yes　and　no；　sir。　I　mean；　it‘s　not　a　city　or　like　that；　but　some　farms　and　stuff。　I　heard　and　saw　traffic　on　this　road。　Only　a　few　trucks；　but　lots　of　bicycles；　oxcarts；　that　sort　of　thing。‘
‘Not　much　military　traffic？‘　Podulski　asked。
‘Admiral；　that　stuff　would　be　on　this　road　here。‘　Kelly　tapped　the　map。　He　saw　the　notations　for　the　NVA　units。　‘How　are　you　planning　to　get　in　here？‘
‘There‘s　nothing　easy；　John。　We‘ve　looked　at　a　helicopter　insertion；　maybe　even　trying　an　amphibious　assault　and　racing　up　this　road。‘
Kelly　shook　his　head。　‘Too　far。　That　road　is　too　easy　to　defend。　Gentlemen；　you　have　to　understand；　Vietnam　is　a　real　nation　in　arms；　okay？　Practically　everybody　there　has　been　in　uniform；　and　giving　people　guns　makes　them　feel　like　part　of　the　team。　There　are　enough　people　with　guns　there　to　give　you　a　real　pain　ing　up　this　way。　You‘d　never　make　it。‘
‘The　people　really　support　the　munist　government？‘　Podulski　asked。　It　was　just　too　much　for　him　to　believe。　But　not　for　Kelly；
‘Jesus；　Admiral；　why　do　you　think　we‘ve　been　fighting　there　so　long？　Why　do　you　think　nobody　helps　pilots　who　get　shot　down？　They‘re　not　like　us　over　there。　That‘s　something　we‘ve　never　understood。　Anyway；　if　you　put　Marines　on　the　beach；　nobody‘s　going　to　wele　them。　Forget　racing　up　this　road；　sir。　I‘ve　been　there。　It　ain‘t　much　of　a　road；　not　even　as　good　as　it　looks　on　these　pictures。　Drop　a　few　trees　and　it‘s　closed。‘　Kelly　looked　up。　‘Has　to　be　choppers。‘
He　could　see　the　news　was　not　wele；　and　it　wasn‘t　hard　to　understand　why。　This　part　of　the　country　was　dotted　with　antiaircraft　batteries。　Getting　a　strike　force　in　wasn‘t　going　to　be　easy。　At　least　two　of　these　men　were　pilots；　and　if　a　ground　assault　had　looked　promising　to　them；　then　the　triple…A　problem　must　have　been　worse　than　Kelly　appreciated。
‘We　can　suppress　the　flak；‘　Maxwell　thought。
‘You‘re　not　talking　about　…52s　again；　are　you？‘　Greer　asked。
‘Newport　News　goes　back　on　the　gunline　in　a　few　weeks。　John；　ever　see　her　shoot？‘
Kelly　nodded。　‘Sure　did。　She　supported　us　twice　when　we　were　working　close　to　the　coast。　It‘s　impressive　what　those　eight…inchers　can　do。　Sir；　the　problem　is；　how　many　things　do　you　need　to　go　right　for　the　mission　to　succeed？　The　more　plicated　things　get；　the　easier　it　is　for　things　to　go　wrong；　and　even　one　thing　can　be　real　plicated。‘　Kelly　leaned　back　on　the　couch；　and　reminded　himself　that　what　he　had　just　said　wasn‘t　only　for　the　admirals　to　consider。
‘Dutch；　we