Read Online Assignment Madeleine by Edward S. Aarons - Free Book Online Page A

get out of the plane and stumble away. Two, then
another. He couldn’t be sure about it, because the distance was too great.
Felix began to swear in a mixture of French and Arabic. Jane made a small
moaning sound.
    There came another explosion, and the plane in front of the
hangar burst into red and yellow flames.
     
    Chapter Eight
    DURELL felt the blast of heat from the exploding plane like
the slap of a giant hand. The thought flickered through his mind that the
man who had thrown it had Waite just a minute too long. The pilot and Madeleine
    had already descended, and he had just followed them. There
had been no other passengers.
    A sheet of flame burst from the tanks, and he fell,
grabbing at Madeleine to shield her from the heat, and then they picked
themselves up and ran into the darkness at the edge of the strip. The light
from the burning plane expanded, following them. The pilot was all right. There
were sirens, and a racing jeep that swung toward them. Durell watched the plane
burn from the edge of the field. He kept a firm grip on Madeleine’s
arm. The girl was shaken, but nobody was hurt. He heard the sudden rattle of an
automatic rifle at the edge of the field, and the spotlight caught
the running figure of a man in ragged khaki. The man screamed and twisted
and fell as the rifle chattered again. Half-a-dozen French paratroopers in
green berets, their weapons slung from shoulder straps, ran toward the
guerrilla. The jeep swung their way, raising dust and sand in the eerie shafts
of light moving over the landing strip.
    “You don’t have to hold me,” Madeleine said. “I’m all right.
And I won’t run away.”
    Durell let her go and they walked toward the jeep. It
stopped in front of them. A man in the uniform of the regular French Army
jumped out and waved his driver to stay behind the wheel.
    “Monsieur Durell? Mademoiselle Sardelle? Captain DeGrasse.
    Durell shook hands with the Frenchman. DeGrasse was over
forty, blond and hard and slender, wearing sweat-stained khaki with a string of
grenades slung from one shoulder, a carbine from another. On his shirt were red
captain’s insignia, and among the ribbons on his breast was the black and green
of the Cross of the Liberation with a number of palms, the Legion of Honor, and
several from the Indo-Chinese campaign that had ended so tragically at Dien-bien-phu . There was a thin streak of blood across his
jaw. He smiled ruefully. His voice was calm, deep, assured.
    “My apologies. You landed in the middle of a boiling kettle,
eh? The rebels surprised us again. Our plans will have to be changed, I am
afraid. However, your prisoner is quite safe. How you will get him out of here
is a matter we must consider with care tomorrow.”
    “By tomorrow I want to be back in France,” Durell said.
    DeGrasse shook his head. “Quite impossible, monsieur. But we
can discuss the situation at ease at Felix’ hotel. I am sure you will wish to
rest the remainder of the night. Mademoiselle, will you please sit up front
with the driver?”
    Madeleine said, “How is L'Heureux, captain? Is he all
right?”
    “You mean is he well, in good health? Yes, the beast lives.
I wish I had shot him out of hand two days ago. I have a feeling that tonight’s
disturbance was an effort on the part of the rebels to take our prize from us.”
DeGrasse took Madeleine’s arm and helped her into the jeep. “We will go to the
hotel first It is quite safe now. The rebels will not attack again
tonight. You can see how the situation is here, very uncertain, quite dangerous
for visitors.” DeGrasse smiled briefly. He had a boyish face enhanced by
his rakish black beret and bright tawny eyes. “We managed to kill a round dozen
of the devils tonight, at any rate.”
    “I would like to see L’Heureux as soon as possible,” Durell
said. “And I would like to talk to you in private about Orrin Boston, if I
may.”
    “Of course. My orders are to give you every assistance.
    Both you and your