tc.thebearandthedragon-第183部分

按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页，按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页，按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部！
————未阅读完？加入书签已便下次继续阅读！


a　friendly；　constant　green。　The　Identification　Friend　or　Foe　was　supposed　to　tell　American　radars　and　missiles　that　he　was　on　their　side；　but　Winters　didn't　entirely　trust　puter　chips　with　his　life；　and　so　he　squinted　his　eyes　to　look　for　smoke　trails　that　weren't　going　sideways。　His　radar　could　see　the　AWACS　now；　and　it　was　moving　west；　taking　the　first　part　of　evasive　action；　but　its　radar　was　still　transmitting；　even　with　Chinese　fighters　within　。　。　。　twenty　miles？　Shit！　But　then　two　more　blips　disappeared；　and　the　remaining　ones　all　had　friendly　IFF　markers。
　Winters　checked　his　weapons　display。　No　missiles　left。　How　had　all　that　happened？　He　was　the　United　States　Air　Force　champ　for　situational　awareness；　but　he'd　just　lost　track　of　a　bat　action。　He　couldn't　remember　firing　all　his　missiles。
　〃EAGLE　Two；　this　is　Boar　Lead。　I'm　Winchester。　Do　you　need　any　help？〃　〃Winchester〃　meant　out　of　weapons。　That　wasn't　entirely　true。　He　still　had　a　full　magazine　of　20…mm　cannon　shells；　but　suddenly　all　the　gees　and　all　the　excitement　were　pulling　on　him。　His　arms　felt　leaden　as　he　eased　his　EAGLE　back　to　level　flight。
　〃Boar　Lead；　EAGLE。　Looks　like　we're　okay　now；　but　that　was　kinda　exciting；　fella。〃
　〃Roger　that；　EAGLE。　Same　here。　Anything　left？〃
　〃Negative；　Boar。　Rodeo　Lead　got　the　last　two。　I　think　we　owe　that　major　a　couple　of　beers。〃
　〃I'll　hold　you　to　that；　EAGLE；〃　Rodeo　Lead　observed。
　〃Ducky；　where　are　you？〃　Winters　called　next。
　〃Kinda　busy；　Bronco；〃　a　strained　voice　replied。　〃I　got　a　hole　in　my　arm；　too。〃
　〃Bronco；　Ghost　Man。　Ducky's　got　some　holes　in　the　airframe。　I'm　going　to　shepherd　him　back　to　Suntan　Thirty　minutes；　about。〃
　〃Skippy；　where　you　be？〃
　〃Right　behind　you；　Leader。　I　think　I　got　four；　maybe　five；　in　that　furball。〃
　〃Any　weapons　left？〃
　〃Slammer　and　'winder；　one　each。　I'll　look　after　you；　Colonel；〃　Lieutenant　Acosta　promised。　〃How'd　you　make　out？〃
　〃Two；　maybe　more；　not　sure；〃　the　squadron　mander　answered。　The　final　tally　would　e　from　the　AWACS；　plus　a　check　of　his　own　videotape。　Mainly　he　wanted　to　get　out　of　the　aircraft　and　take　a　good　stretch；　and　he　now　had　time　to　worry　about　Major　Don　Boyd…　Ducky…and　his　aircraft。
　So；　we　want　to　mess　with　their　heads；　Mickey？〃　Admiral　Dave　Seaton　asked。
　〃That's　the　idea；〃　the　Chairman　of　the　Joint　Chiefs　told　the　chief　of　naval　operations。
　〃Makes　sense。　Where　are　their　heads　at？〃
　〃According　to　what　CIA　says；　they　think　we're　limiting　the　scope　of　operations　for　political　reasons…to　protect　their　sensibilities；　like。〃
　〃No　foolin'？〃　Seaton　asked　with　no　small　degree　of　incredulity。
　Moore　nodded。　〃Yep。〃
　〃Well；　then　it's　like　a　guy　holding　aces　and　eights；　isn't　it？〃　the　CNO　thought　aloud；　referring　to　the　last　poker　hand　held　by　James　Butler…〃Wild　Bill〃…Hickok　in　Deadwood；　South　Dakota。　〃We　just　pick　the　mission　that's　sure　to　flip　them　out。〃
　〃What　are　you　thinking？〃　Moore　asked。
　〃We　can　slam　their　navy　pretty　hard。　Bart　Mancuso's　a　pretty　good　operator。　What　are　they　most　afraid　of。。。？〃　Seaton　leaned　back　in　his　swivel　chair。　〃First　thing　Bart　wants　to　do　is　take　out　their　missile　submarine。　It's　at　sea　now　with　Tucson　in　trail；　about　twenty　thousand　yards　back。〃
　〃That　far？〃
　〃It's　plenty　close　enough。　It's　got　an　SSN　in　close　proximity　to　protect　it。　So；　Tucson　takes　'em　both　out…zap。〃　Moore　didn't　get　the　terminology；　but　Seaton　was　referring　to　the　Chinese　ships　as　〃it；〃　meaning　an　enemy；　a　target　worthy　only　of　destruction。　〃Beijing　might　not　know　it's　happened　right　away；　unless　they've　got　an　'I'm　Dead'　buoy　on　the　sail。　Their　surface　navy's　a　lot　easier。　That'll　be　mainly　aircraft　targets；　some　missiles　to　keep　the　surface　munity　happy。〃
　〃Submarine…launched　missiles？〃
　〃Mickey；　you　don't　sink　ships　by　making　holes　that　let　air　in。　You　sink　ships　by　making　holes　that　let　water　in；〃　Seaton　explained。　〃Okay；　if　this　is　supposed　to　be　for　psychological　effect；　we　hit　everything　simultaneously。　That'll　mean　staging　a　lot　of　assets；　and　it　runs　the　risk　of　being　overly　plicated；　having　the　other　guy　catch　a　sniff　of　what's　happening　before　we　do　anything。　It's　a　risk。　Do　we　really　want　to　run　it？〃
　〃Ryan's　thinking　'big　picture。'　Robby's　helping　him。〃
　〃Robby's　a　fighter　pilot；〃　Seaton　agreed。　〃He　likes　to　think　in　terms　of　movie　stuff。　Hell；　Tom　Cruise　is　taller　than　he　is；〃　Seaton　joked。
　〃Good　operational　thinker。　He　was　a　pretty　good　J…3；〃　Moore　reminded　the　senior　sailor。
　〃Yeah；　I　know；　it's　just　that　he　likes　to　make　dramatic　plays。　Okay；　we　can　do　it；　only　it　plicates　things。〃　Seaton　looked　out　the　window　for　a　second。　〃You　know　what　might　really　flip　them　out？〃
　〃What's　that？〃　Moore　asked。　Seaton　told　him。　〃But　it's　not　possible　for　us　to　do；　is　it？〃
　〃Maybe　not；　but　we're　not　dealing　with　professional　military　people；　are　we？　They're　politicians；　Mickey。　They're　used　to　dealing　with　images　instead　of　reality。　So；　we　give　them　an　image。〃
　〃Do　you　have　the　pieces　in　place　to　do　that？〃
　〃Let　me　find　out。〃
　〃This　is　crazy；　Dave。〃
　〃And　deploying　First　Armored　to　Russia　isn't？〃　the　CNO　demanded。
　
　Lieutenant　Colonel　Angelo　Giusti　was　now　certain　that　he'd　be　fully　content　never　to　ride　on　another　train　as　long　as　he　lived。　He　didn't　know　that　all　of　the　Russian　State　Railroad's　sleeper　cars　were　being　used　to　transport　Russian　army　forces…they'd　never　sent　any　of　the　cars　as　far　west　as　Berlin；　not　to　slight　the　Americans；　but　because　it　had　simply　never　occurred　to　anyone　to　do　so。　He　took　note　of　the　fact　that　the　train　veered　off　to　the　north；　off　the　main　track；　thumping　over　various　switches　and　interlockings　as　it　did　so；　and　then　the　train　came　to　a　halt　and　started　going　backwards　slowly。　They　seemed　to　be　in　the　yard　alone。　They'd　passed　numerous　westbound　trains　in　the　past　two　hours；　all　with　engines　dragging　empty　flatcars；　and　the　conductor　who　appeared　and　disappeared　regularly　had　told　them　that　this　was　the　approximate　arrival　time　scheduled；　but　he　hadn't　really　believed　it；　on　the　premise　that　a　railroad　with　such　unfortable　seats　probably　didn't　adhere　to　decent　schedules　either。　But　here　they　were；　and　the　offloading　ramps　were　obvious　for　what　they　were。
　〃People；　I　think　we're　here；〃　the　mander　of　the　Quarter　Horse　told　his　staff。
　〃Praise　Jesus；〃　one　of　them　observed。　A　few　seconds　later；　the　train　jolted　to　a　stop；　and　they　were　able　to　walk　out　onto　the　concrete　platform；　which；　they　saw；　stretched　a　good　thousand　meters　to　the　east。　Inside　of　five　minutes；　the　soldiers　of　Headquarters　Troop　were　out　and　walking　to　their　vehicles；　stretching　and　grousing　along　the　way。
　〃Hey；　Angie；〃　called　a　familiar　voice。
　Giusti　looked　to　see　Colonel　Welch　and　walked　up　to　him　with　a　salute。
　〃What's　happening？〃　Giusti　asked。
　〃It's　a　mess　out　east　of　here；　but　there　is　good　news。〃
　〃What　might　that　be？〃
　〃There's　plenty　of　fuel　stashed　for　us。　I've　been　flying　security　detachments　out；　and　Ivan　says　he's　got　fuel　depots　that're　the　size　of　fuckin'　supertankers。　So；　we're　not　going　to　run　out　of　gas。〃
　〃That's　good　to　know。　What　about　my　choppers？〃　Welch　just　pointed。　There　was　an　OH…58D　Kiowa　Warrior　sitting　not　three　hundred　yards　away。　〃Thank　God　for　that。　What's　the　bad　news？〃
　〃The　PLA　has　four　plete　Group…A　armies　in　Siberia　and　heading　north。　There　hasn't　been　any　heavy　contact　yet　because　Ivan's　refusing　bat　at　the　moment；　until　they　can　get　something　big　enough　to　meet　them　with。　They　have　one　motor…rifle　division　in　theater　and　four　more　heading　up　there。　The　last　of　'em　just　cleared　this　railyard　an　hour　and　a　half　ago。〃
　〃That's；　what？　Sixteen　heavy　divisions　in　the　invasion　force？〃
　Welch　nodded。　〃Thereabouts。〃
　〃What's　my　mission？〃
　〃Assemble　your　squadron　and　head　southeast。　The　idea　is　First　Armored　will　cut　off　the　bottom　of　the　break…in　and　interrupt　their　supply　line。　Russian　blocking　force　will　then　try　to　stop　them　about　two　hundred　miles　northeast　of　here。〃
　〃Can　they　do　it？〃　Four　Russian　divisions　against　sixteen　Chinese　didn't　seem　especially　favorable　odds。
　〃Not　sure；〃　Welch　admitted。　〃Your　job　is　to　get　out　and　establish　lead　security　for　the　division。　Advance　to　and　secure　the　first　big　fuel　depot。　We'll　play　it　from　there。〃
　〃Support？〃
　〃At　the　moment；　the　Air　Force　is　mainly　doing　fighter　work。　No　deep　strikes　yet　because　they　don't　have　enough　bombs　to　sustain　any　kind　of　campaign。〃
　〃What　about　resupply？〃
　〃We　have　two　basic　loads　for　all　the　tracks。　That'll　have　to　do　for　a　while。　At　least　we　have　four　units　of　fire　for　the　artillery。〃　That　meant　four　days'　worth　of　shells…based　on　what　the　Army　puted　that　a　day　of　bat　required。　The　supply　weenies　who　did　those　calculations　weren't　stingy　on　shells　to　shoot　at　the　other　guy。　And　in　the　entire　Persian　Gulf　war；　not　a　single　tank　had　pletely　shot　out　its　first　basic　load　of　shells；　they　both　knew。　But　that　was　a　different　war。　No　two　were　ever　the　same；　and　they　only　got　worse。
　Giusti　turned　when　he　heard　the　first　engine　start　up。　It　was　an　M3A2　Bradley　Scout　track；　and　the　sergeant　in　the　mander's　hatch　looked　happy　to　be　moving。　A　Russian　officer　took　over　as　traffic　cop；　waving　the　Brad　forward；　then　right　toward　the　assembly　area。　The　next　train　backed　up　to　the　next　ramp　over。　That　would　be　〃A〃　or　Avenger　Troop；　with　the　first　of　Quarter　Horse's　really　heavy　equipment；　nine　of　the　M1A2　main　battle　tanks。
　〃How　long　before　everything's　here？〃　Giusti　asked。
　〃Ninety　minutes；　they　told　me；〃　Welch　answered。
　〃We'll　see。〃
　
　〃What's　this？〃　a　captain　asked　the　screen　in　front　of　him。　The　E…3B　Sentry　designated　EAGLE　Two　was　back　on　the　ground　at　Zhigansk。　Its　crew　was　more　than　a　little　shaken。　Being　approached　by　real　fighters　with　real　blood　in　their　eyes　was　qualitatively　different　from　exercises　and　postmission　analysis　back　stateside。　The　tapes　of　the　engagement　had　been　handed　off　to　the　wing　intelligence　staff；　who　viewed　the　battle　with　some　detachment；　but　they　could　see　that　the　PLAAF　had　thrown　a　full　regiment　of　first…line　fighters　at　the　AWACS；　and　more　than　that；　done　it　on　a　one…way　mission。　They'd　e　in　on　burner；　and　that　would　have　denied　them　a　trip　back　to　their　base。　So；　they'd　been　willing　to　trade　over　thirty　fighters　for　a　si