Текст книги "Ghost recon : Combat ops"

Автор книги: David Michaels

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Текущая страница: 15 (всего у книги 15 страниц)

If the plane seat could have swallowed me, I would’ve

allowed it. All I could do was throw my head back and

think about how badly they were going to burn me. And

when my mind wasn’t fixated on that, I’d see Shilmani

crying . . . and think about Hila being thrown in a rank

cell . . . and see some yellow-toothed scumbag count

cash handed to him by Bronco.

I reached down under my seat, dug into my carry-on

bag, and produced a letter that had been part of a care

package sent to me by the volunteers of Operation Shoe-

box, a remarkable organization that sent personal care

items, snacks, books, and dozens of other items we all

needed so desperately. The folks even included toys we

could hand out to children during our missions. I’d

CO MB AT O P S

333

never met a soldier who wasn’t smiling as he opened up

one of those packages.

The handwritten letter I’d received was from a

thirteen-year-old boy from Huntsville, Alabama.

Dear Soldier:

My name is James McNurty, Jr., and I want to thank

you very much for serving our country. I know it must be

hard out there for you, but if you take good care of your-

self and eat good, you will have a good day of fighting.

I want to tell you about my dad, who was also a sol-

dier. He died in Iraq while trying to protect us. He was

a very great man and he told me that whenever I see a

soldier I should thank him or her. So while I cannot see

you, I still want to thank you for helping us and for

believing in our country. My dad always said that no

matter what happens, he loved us and the United States

of America. My dad said being a soldier is a great

honor, so maybe I will be one someday, too. I hope you

can stay happy. I know it is hard.

Thanks very much.

Your friend, James McNurty, Jr.

“See this?” I tell Blaisdell, pulling the letter from my

breast pocket. “This is the only thing keeping me sane

right now. Some kid in Huntsville actually believes in

what we’re doing.”

She sighs. “That’s nice. But they’re going to argue

334 GH OS T RE CON

that you should have answered your phone, that you

ignored incoming communication and killed Zahed, an

unarmed man.”

“My mission was to kill him. I carried out my orders.

The abort came too late. I was the commander on the

ground, I saw the opportunity, I made the decision, and

I completed the mission. That’s what you’re going to

argue. If higher can’t make up their minds about what

to do, then it’s my job to make that decision.”

“They’re not going to see it like that. You’re asking

them to take responsibility for their broken system, and as

you’ve implied, even General Keating can’t save you now.”

I snort. “Is there anything else you need? Did you get

it all? Because I’m going to be very busy for the rest of

the day, trying to get drunk.”

She rises and pushes her glasses farther up her nose.

“Off the record, Captain, I’m very sorry about what’s

happened to you. In some respects you’re a victim of the

system, but you had a choice. You could have at least

tried to take Zahed into custody. And they’re going to

argue that, too. You simply shot him. They’ll argue that

you wanted to kill him.”

“You’re damned right I did.”

She starts to say something, thinks better of it. “I’m

going to review all of this with my colleagues, and I’ll

contact you tomorrow.”

I shrug and lead her to the door. She looks back at

me, a deep sadness filling her eyes, as though she’s

glimpsing a man at the gallows.

Then she just leaves. I get another drink, plop into

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335

the recliner, and turn on ESPN, where I learn that even

the Reds lost their game, 9–4, damn it.

I must’ve dozed off and the knocking at my door con-

tinues for a while until I suddenly rush up and answer it.

“Holy shit.” The curse escapes my mouth before I

can censor it.

It’s General Keating himself, out of uniform, wearing

a golf shirt and Dockers. He pushes past me, slams shut

the door, then lifts his voice. “What the hell are you

doing here? Feeling sorry for yourself?”

“I’m confined to quarters.”

He goes over to my window and snaps open the

blinds, letting in the late-afternoon sun. “I flew in this

morning. Then I spent the whole day in a videoconfer-

ence with those assholes in Langley.”

“Well, I’m sorry I upset your day.”

“Don’t flatter yourself, son. Some of your tactics might

give me heartburn, but you ain’t got enough horsepower

to put a dent in my day. I think you underestimated Har-

ruck. That boy went to bat for you big-time.”

“What do you mean?”

“He used his friend, the humanitarian worker, to do

some digging. Turns out that little girl you saved wit-

nessed Bronco and Mike on the scene of Warris’s tor-

ture, and they failed to report any of it.”

I frown. “Then Warris can burn them, maybe get

me off?”

He shakes his head. “We called in Warris. He made a

336 GH OS T RE CON

deal with the CIA to keep his mouth shut, so long as

they helped him burn you.”

“He admitted that?”

“No, Bronco and Mike did. I can’t get to those two,

but I’m kicking Warris out of the Army for conduct

unbecoming.”

“So Warris wanted to bring me down with the CIA’s

help. His plan backfires, and he gets burned himself.”

“Enough justice for today.”

“Ramirez might disagree. Doesn’t he count?”

“An Article 118 murder charge is out of the question.

However, integrity’s what you do when nobody’s look-

ing. You won’t find thatin the UCMJ. That’s why War-

ris is history.”

“What about me? Am I free?”

“You’re going on temporary duty to Walter Reed for

evaluation.”

“What? You think I’m crazy?”

“Nah. I might if you’d answered that phone. Scott,

you bivouacked a long time in that fucking valley of

woe. Let’s placate them for now, okay?”

I sigh deeply.

“Look, son, this has been tough for all of us.”

“Tough? A hangover is tough. This has been a god-

damned nightmare, and yeah, maybe I should sit my ass

in a psych ward so I can decide whether I want to do this

anymore . . .”

“Are you kidding me? When you get out of the hospi-

tal, I’m promoting you to major. You’ll be general by the

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337

time I get through with you. I told you the Army’s

changing, and we old-school boys need to adapt.”

I couldn’t hide my twisted grin. “One minute I’m

going to Leavenworth, the next I’m being promoted.

I’m crazy. The system’s crazy . . .”

Keating crosses to the kitchen, lifts my empty scotch

bottle. “You’re crazy drinking this crap. We only drink

Glenfiddich single malt. Didn’t I teach you that?”

“You did, sir.”

“All right, then, pack your bags, soldier.”

“I will. But first I want you to read something.”

I hand him the note written by James McNurty, Jr.

He reads it, then looks up, a sheen now in his eyes.

“Being a soldier is a great honor,” I remind him. “But

are we honoring the profession? Or maybe, just maybe,

they’re asking too much of us. Just a little too much.”

He takes a deep breath, returns the letter, then says,

“Hurry up and pack. Then we’ll get some real scotch.”

Novels by Tom Clancy

THE HUNT FOR R ED OCTOBER

R ED STOR M R ISING

PATR IOT GAMES

THE CAR DINAL OF THE K R EMLIN

CLEAR AND PR ESENT DANGER

THE SUM OF ALL FEARS

WITHOUT R EMORSE

DEBT OF HONOR

EXECUTIVE OR DERS

R AINBOW SIX

THE BEAR AND THE DR AGON

R ED R ABBIT

THE TEETH OF THE TIGER

DEAD OR ALIVE

(written with Grant Blackwood)

SSN: STR ATEGIES OF SUBMAR INE WAR FAR E

Nonfiction

SUBMAR INE: A GUIDED TOUR INSIDE A NUCLEAR WARSHIP

AR MOR ED CAV: A GUIDED TOUR OF AN AR MOR ED CAVALRY R EGIMENT

FIGHTER WING: A GUIDED TOUR OF AN AIR FORCE COMBAT WING

MAR INE: A GUIDED TOUR OF A MAR INE EXPEDITIONARY UNIT

AIR BOR NE: A GUIDED TOUR OF AN AIR BOR NE TASK FORCE

CAR R IER: A GUIDED TOUR OF AN AIRCR AFT CAR R IER

SPECIAL FORCES: A GUIDED TOUR OF U.S. AR MY SPECIAL FORCES

INTO THE STOR M: A STUDY IN COMMAND

(written with General Fred Franks, Jr., Ret., and Tony Koltz)

EVERY MAN A TIGER

(written with General Chuck Horner, Ret., and Tony Koltz)

SHADOW WAR R IORS: INSIDE THE SPECIAL FORCES

(written with General Carl Stiner, Ret., and Tony Koltz)

BATTLE R EADY

(written with General Tony Zinni, Ret., and Tony Koltz)

TOM CLANCY’S HAWX

TOM CLANCY’S GHOST R ECON

GHOST R ECON

COMBAT OPS

TOM CLANCY’S ENDWAR

ENDWAR

THE HUNTED

TOM CLANCY’S SPLINTER CELL

SPLINTER CELL

FALLOUT

OPER ATION BAR R ACUDA

CONVICTION

CHECK MATE

ENDGAME

Created by Tom Clancy and Steve Pieczenik

TOM CLANCY’S OP-CENTER

TOM CLANCY’S NET FORCE

OP-CENTER

NET FORCE

MIR ROR IMAGE

HIDDEN AGENDAS

GAMES OF STATE

NIGHT MOVES

ACTS OF WAR

BR EAK ING POINT

BALANCE OF POWER

POINT OF IMPACT

STATE OF SIEGE

CYBER NATION

DIVIDE AND CONQUER

STATE OF WAR

LINE OF CONTROL

CHANGING OF THE GUAR D

MISSION OF HONOR

SPR INGBOAR D

SEA OF FIR E

THE ARCHIMEDES EFFECT

CALL TO TR EASON

WAR OF EAGLES

Created by Tom Clancy and Martin Greenberg

TOM CLANCY’S POWER PLAYS

POLITIK A

COLD WAR

RUTHLESS.COM

CUTTING EDGE

SHADOW WATCH

ZERO HOUR

BIO-STRIKE

WILD CARD

Document Outline

Cover_Page

Praise

Other_Books_by_Tom_Clancy

Title_Page

Copyright_Page

Acknowledgments

Epigraph_Page

Prologue

Chapter_One

Chapter_Two

Chapter_Three

Chapter_Four

Chapter_Five

Chapter_Six

Chapter_Seven

Chapter_Eight

Chapter_Nine

Chapter_Ten

Chapter_Eleven

Chapter_Twelve

Chapter_Thirteen

Chapter_Fourteen

Chapter_Fifteen

Chapter_Sixteen

Chapter_Seventeen

Chapter_Eighteen

Chapter_Nineteen

Chapter_Twenty

Chapter_Twenty-one

Chapter_Twenty-two

Chapter_Twenty-three

Chapter_Twenty-four

Chapter_Twenty-five

Chapter_Twenty-six

Chapter_Twenty-seven

Chapter_Twenty-eight

Chapter_Twenty-nine

Chapter_Thirty

Epilogue