Read Online Thunder in the East by Mack Maloney - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Mack Maloney
Tags: Suspense
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said. "Then I'll just quit. I'll tell them I don't want to be around when the shooting starts."
Just then, Ben Wa and Toomey appeared. They'd been up almost all night flying the mapping mission with Hunter and were just now getting down to their morning chow.
"How's the boy doing?" O'Malley asked them.
82
"Behaving himself?"
Both Wa and Toomey knew right away who O'Malley was talking about.
"Once again, the famous Wingman had us freezing our twinks off last night,"
Toomey said. "But he got what he wanted and even more."
"More of what?" Jones asked them.
"We got it in our written report, sir," Wa said. "But in a nutshell, we picked up a very weird image on the radar last night."
He went on to quickly explain to Jones and O'Malley about the underground storage facility containing what were apparently boxcars of some kind.
"It's down near the river," Toomey said. "Hawk" is going to try to get down there tonight to check it out."
Jones's face became creased with worry. "God, if it's ammunition, that means The Circle and their allies are stronger than -we thought."
O'Malley shook his head. "I'd be real surprised if it was an ammo dump," he said. "These guys are too nervous for someone sitting on top of all that firepower."
"Whatever it is, I hope our boy can get in there tonight," Jones said.
Wa and Toomey went on to chow. Jones and O'Malley walked back out to the RF-4.
O'Malley shook his head in admiration. "I really got to feel for Hunter," he said. "At least Elvis and the others are fairly secure underground in the catacombs. But Hawk . . ."
"He insisted that this was the way he wanted to play it," Jones said. "You know how he is. Some-83
times he works best when he's left alone. If he feels that he has to stay topside at all times to keep a constant track of the situation, then I'm not going to argue with him."
"I think he's just antsy," O'Malley said, retrieving his helmet and climbing back into his airplane's cockpit. He routinely checked the extra photo equipment which had been loaded in the now-empty rear seat of the RF-4.
"That's what happens when someone loses their rig . . ."
The pilot was referring to the fact that Hunter's beloved F-16-the only fighter of that type known to exist-had been all but destroyed in the hours following the great Suez battle. The remains of the airplane were eventually airlifted back to America and were presently at a former General Dynamics plant near Dallas in the Texas Republic. There, some GD engineers were trying to determine whether or not the famous airplane was a complete loss.
"You're probably right," Jones said. "He misses that airplane. He also misses his lady friend. He misses the way things used to be. Plus just about everyone on the continent thinks he's dead. You never think of a guy like that as being lonely or even bummed-out. But he's definitely in a funk. I think he still feels guilty for leaving us so long to go after Viktor."
"Well, I'd be surprised it was affecting his work habits," O'Malley said. "I know from experience that he can turn these things around. He works harder. .
."
"That's for sure," Jones confirmed. "Somehow he manages to keep in steady contact with us and
84
with Elvis and the others, and he's single-handedly exploring every possible escape route for when D-Day comes, plus he's doing the laser-siting work, along with a whole bunch of other things.
"As to where he is living in that city, or how he is disguising himself-who knows?"
"He's probably holed up in some cellar somewhere, living with the rats,"
O'Malley said. "You know, doing penance for taking off on his Club Med adventure."
85
CHAPTER 14
Hunter woke up to the feeling of someone massaging his back.
"The shoulders, please," he said, still groggy.
The topless woman began concentrating her efforts on the bruised area near his upper left shoulder.
"How did that happen?" she asked, whispering in his ear.
He turned over and finally opened his eyes. She was beautiful
Just then, Ben Wa and Toomey appeared. They'd been up almost all night flying the mapping mission with Hunter and were just now getting down to their morning chow.
"How's the boy doing?" O'Malley asked them.
82
"Behaving himself?"
Both Wa and Toomey knew right away who O'Malley was talking about.
"Once again, the famous Wingman had us freezing our twinks off last night,"
Toomey said. "But he got what he wanted and even more."
"More of what?" Jones asked them.
"We got it in our written report, sir," Wa said. "But in a nutshell, we picked up a very weird image on the radar last night."
He went on to quickly explain to Jones and O'Malley about the underground storage facility containing what were apparently boxcars of some kind.
"It's down near the river," Toomey said. "Hawk" is going to try to get down there tonight to check it out."
Jones's face became creased with worry. "God, if it's ammunition, that means The Circle and their allies are stronger than -we thought."
O'Malley shook his head. "I'd be real surprised if it was an ammo dump," he said. "These guys are too nervous for someone sitting on top of all that firepower."
"Whatever it is, I hope our boy can get in there tonight," Jones said.
Wa and Toomey went on to chow. Jones and O'Malley walked back out to the RF-4.
O'Malley shook his head in admiration. "I really got to feel for Hunter," he said. "At least Elvis and the others are fairly secure underground in the catacombs. But Hawk . . ."
"He insisted that this was the way he wanted to play it," Jones said. "You know how he is. Some-83
times he works best when he's left alone. If he feels that he has to stay topside at all times to keep a constant track of the situation, then I'm not going to argue with him."
"I think he's just antsy," O'Malley said, retrieving his helmet and climbing back into his airplane's cockpit. He routinely checked the extra photo equipment which had been loaded in the now-empty rear seat of the RF-4.
"That's what happens when someone loses their rig . . ."
The pilot was referring to the fact that Hunter's beloved F-16-the only fighter of that type known to exist-had been all but destroyed in the hours following the great Suez battle. The remains of the airplane were eventually airlifted back to America and were presently at a former General Dynamics plant near Dallas in the Texas Republic. There, some GD engineers were trying to determine whether or not the famous airplane was a complete loss.
"You're probably right," Jones said. "He misses that airplane. He also misses his lady friend. He misses the way things used to be. Plus just about everyone on the continent thinks he's dead. You never think of a guy like that as being lonely or even bummed-out. But he's definitely in a funk. I think he still feels guilty for leaving us so long to go after Viktor."
"Well, I'd be surprised it was affecting his work habits," O'Malley said. "I know from experience that he can turn these things around. He works harder. .
."
"That's for sure," Jones confirmed. "Somehow he manages to keep in steady contact with us and
84
with Elvis and the others, and he's single-handedly exploring every possible escape route for when D-Day comes, plus he's doing the laser-siting work, along with a whole bunch of other things.
"As to where he is living in that city, or how he is disguising himself-who knows?"
"He's probably holed up in some cellar somewhere, living with the rats,"
O'Malley said. "You know, doing penance for taking off on his Club Med adventure."
85
CHAPTER 14
Hunter woke up to the feeling of someone massaging his back.
"The shoulders, please," he said, still groggy.
The topless woman began concentrating her efforts on the bruised area near his upper left shoulder.
"How did that happen?" she asked, whispering in his ear.
He turned over and finally opened his eyes. She was beautiful
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