tc.thebearandthedragon-第204部分

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　bombs　to　take　them　out　reliably。　That　means　a　special…ops　force；　down　and　dirty。　It's　a　strategic　mission；　Dick。　Can　you　do　it？〃
　Colonel　Boyle　looked　at　the　map；　measuring　distance　in　his　mind　。　。　。　〃Yeah；　we'll　have　to　mount　the　outrigger　wings　on　the　Black…hawks　and　load　up　to　the　max　on　gas；　but；　yeah；　we　got　the　range　to　get　there。　Have　to　refuel　on　the　way　back；　though。〃
　〃Okay；　can　you　use　your　other　birds　to　ferry　the　fuel　out？〃
　Boyle　nodded。　〃Barely。〃
　〃If　necessary；　the　Russians　can　land　a　Spetsnaz　force　anywhere　through　here　with　additional　fuel；　so　they　tell　me。　This　part　of　China　is　essentially　unoccupied；　according　to　the　maps。〃
　〃What　about　opposition　on　the　ground？〃
　〃There　is　a　security　force　in　the　area。　We　figure　maybe　a　hundred　people　on　duty；　total；　say　a　squad　at　each　silo。　Can　you　get　some　Apaches　out　there　to　run　interference？〃
　〃Yeah；　they　can　get　that　far；　if　they　travel　light。〃　Just　cannon　rounds　and　2。75…inch　rockets；　he　thought。
　〃Then　get　me　your　mission　requirements；〃　General　Diggs　said。　It　wasn't　quite　an　order。　If　he　said　it　was　impossible；　then　Diggs　couldn't　make　him　do　it。　But　Boyle　couldn't　let　his　people　go　out　and　do　something　like　this　without　being　there　to　mand　them。
　
　The　MI…24s　finished　things　off。　The　Russian　doctrine　for　their　attack　helicopters　wasn't　too　different　from　how　they　used　their　tanks。　Indeed；　the　MI…24…called　the　Hind　by　NATO；　but　strangely　unnamed　by　the　Russians　themselves…was　referred　to　as　a　flying　tank。　Using　AT…6　Spiral　missiles；　they　finished　off　a　Chinese　tank　battalion　in　twenty　minutes　of　jump　and　shoot；　sustaining　only　two　losses　in　the　process。　The　sun　was　setting　now；　and　what　had　been　Thirty…fourth　Shock　Army　was　wreckage。　What　few　vehicles　had　survived　the　day　were　pulling　back；　usually　with　wounded　men　clinging　to　their　decks。
　In　his　mand　post；　General　Sinyavskiy　was　all　smiles。　Vodka　was　snorted　by　all。　His　265th　Motor　Rifle　Division　had　halted　and　thrown　back　a　force　more　than　double　its　size；　suffering　fewer　than　three　hundred　dead　in　the　process。　The　TV　news　crews　were　finally　allowed　out　to　where　the　soldiers　were；　and　he　delivered　the　briefing；　paying　frequent　pliments　to　his　theater　mander；　Gennady　Iosefovich　Bondarenko；　for　his　cool　head　and　faith　in　his　subordinates。　〃He　never　lost　his　nerve；〃　Sinyavskiy　said　soberly。　〃And　he　allowed　us　to　keep　ours　for　when　the　time　came。　He　is　a　Hero　of　Russia；〃　the　division　mander　concluded。　〃And　so　are　many　of　my　men！〃
　
　Thank　you　for　that；　Yuriy　Andreyevich；　and；　yes；　for　that　you　will　get　your　next　star；〃　the　theater　mander　told　the　television　screen。　Then　he　turned　to　his　staff。　〃Andrey　Petrovich；　what　do　we　do　tomorrow？〃
　〃I　think　we　will　let　Two…Six…Five　start　moving　south。　We　will　be　the　hammer；　and　Diggs　will　be　the　anvil。　They　still　have　a　Type…A　Group　army　largely　intact　to　the　south；　the　Forty…third。　We　will　smash　it　starting　day　after　tomorrow；　but　first　we　will　maneuver　it　into　a　place　of　our　choosing。〃
　Bondarenko　nodded。　〃Show　me　a　plan；　but　first；　I　am　going　to　sleep　for　a　few　hours。〃
　〃Yes；　rade　General。〃
　
　
　
　
　CHAPTER　6　0
　Skyrockets　in　Flight
　
　It　was　the　same　Spetsnaz　people　they'd　trained　for　the　past　month　or　so。　Nearly　everyone　on　the　transport　aircraft　was　a　missioned　officer；　doing　sergeants'　work；　which　had　its　good　points　and　its　bad　ones。　The　really　good　thing　was　that　they　all　spoke　passable　English。　Of　the　RAINBOW　troopers；　only　Ding　Chavez　and　John　Clark　spoke　conversational　Russian。
　The　maps　and　photos　came　from　SRV　and　CIA；　the　latter　transmitted　to　the　American　Embassy　in　Moscow　and　messengered　to　the　military　airfield　out　of　which　they'd　flown。　They　were　in　an　Aeroflot　airliner；　fairly　full　with　over　a　hundred　passengers；　all　of　them　soldiers。
　〃I　propose　that　we　divide　by　nationalities；〃　Kirillin　said。　〃Vanya；　you　and　your　RAINBOW　men　take　this　one　here。　My　men　and　I　will　divide　the　rest　among　us；　using　our　existing　squad　structures。〃
　〃Looks　okay；　Yuriy。　One　target's　pretty　much　as　good　as　another。　When　will　we　be　going　in？〃
　〃Just　before　dawn。　Your　helicopters　must　have　good　range　to　take　us　all　the　way　down；　then　back　with　only　one　refueling。〃
　〃Well；　that'll　be　the　safe　part　of　the　mission。〃
　〃Except　this　fighter　base　at　Anshan；〃　Kirillin　said。　〃We　pass　within　twenty　kilometers　of　it。〃
　〃Air　Force　is　going　to　hit　that；　they　tell　me；　Stealth　fighters　with　smart　bombs；　they're　gonna　post…hole　the　runways　before　we　drive　past。〃
　〃Ah；　that　is　a　fine　idea；〃　Kirillin　said。
　〃Kinda　like　that　myself；〃　Chavez　said。　〃Well；　Mr。　C；　looks　like　I　get　to　be　a　soldier　again。　It's　been　a　while。〃
　〃What　fun；〃　Clark　observed。　Oh；　yeah；　sitting　in　the　hack　of　a　helicopter；　going　deep　into　Indian　Country；　where　there　were　sure　to　be　people　with　guns。　Well；　could　be　worse。　Going　in　at　dawn；　at　least　the　gomers　on　duty　would　be　partly　asleep；　unless　their　boss　was　a　real　prick。　How　tough　was　discipline　in　the　People's　Liberation　Army？　John　wondered。　Probably　pretty　tough。　munist　governments　didn't　encourage　back　talk。
　〃How；　exactly；　are　we　supposed　to　disable　the　missiles？〃　Ding　asked。
　〃They're　fueled　by　a　ten…centimeter　pipe…two　of　them；　actually…　from　underground　fueling　tanks　adjacent　to　the　launch　silo。　First；　we　destroy　the　pipes；〃　Kirillin　said。　〃Then　we　look　for　some　way　to　access　the　missile　silo　itself。　A　simple　hand　grenade　will　suffice。　These　are　delicate　objects。　They　will　not　sustain　much　damage；〃　the　general　said　confidently。
　〃What　if　the　warhead　goes　off？〃　Ding　asked。
　Kirillin　actually　laughed　at　that。　〃They　will　not；　Domingo　Stepanovich。　These　items　are　very　secure　in　their　arming　procedures；　for　all　the　obvious　reasons。　And　the　sites　themselves　will　not　be　designed　to　protect　against　a　direct　assault。　They　are　designed　to　protect　against　nuclear　blast；　not　a　squad　of　engineer…soldiers。　You　can　be　sure　of　that。〃
　Hope　you're　right　on　that　one；　fella；　Chavez　didn't　say　aloud。
　〃You　seem　knowledgeable　on　this　subject；　Yuriy。〃
　〃Vanya；　this　mission　is　one　Spetsnaz　has　practiced　more　than　once。　We　Russians　have　thought　from　time　to　time　about　taking　these　missiles…how　you　say？　Take　them　out　of　play；　yes？〃
　〃Not　a　bad　idea　at　all；　Yuriy。　Not　my　kind　of　weapons；〃　Clark　said。　He　really　did　prefer　to　do　his　killing　close　enough　to　see　the　bastard's　face。　Old　habits　died　hard；　and　a　telescopic　sight　was　just　as　good　as　a　knife　in　that　respect。　Much　better。　A　rifle　bullet　didn't　make　people　flop　around　and　make　noise　the　way　a　knife　across　the　throat　did。　But　death　was　supposed　to　be　administered　one　at　a　time；　not　whole　cities　at　once。　It　just　wasn't　tidy　or　selective　enough。
　Chavez　looked　at　his　Team…2　troopers。　They　didn't　look　overtly　tense；　but　good　soldiers　did　their　best　to　hide　such　feelings。　Of　their　number；　only　Ettore　Falcone　wasn't　a　career　soldier；　but　instead　a　cop　from　the　Italian　Carabinieri；　which　was　about　halfway　between　military　and　police。　Chavez　went　over　to　see　him。
　〃How　you　doing；　BIG　BIRD？〃　Ding　asked。
　〃It　is　tense；　this　mission；　no？〃　Falcone　replied。
　〃It　might　be。　You　never　really　know　until　you　get　there。〃
　The　Italian　shrugged。　〃As　with　raids　on　mafiosi；　sometimes　you　kick　the　door　and　there　is　nothing　but　men　drinking　wine　and　playing　cards。　Sometimes　they　have　machinapistoli；　but　you　must　kick　the　door　to　find　out。〃
　〃You　do　a　lot　of　those？〃
　〃Eight；〃　Falcone　replied。　〃I　am　usually　the　first　one　through　the　door　because　I　am　usually　the　best　shot。　But　we　have　good　men　on　the　team　there；　and　we　have　good　men　on　the　team　here。　It　should　go　well；　Domingo。　I　am　tense；　yes；　but　I　will　be　all　right。　You　will　see；〃　BIG　BIRD　ended。　Chavez　clapped　him　on　the　shoulder　and　went　off　to　see　Sergeant…Major　Price。
　〃Hey；　Eddie。〃
　〃Do　we　have　a　better　idea　for　the　mission　yet？〃
　〃Getting　there。　Looks　like　mainly　a　job　for　Paddy；　blowing　things　up。〃
　〃Connolly's　the　best　explosives　man　I've　ever　seen；〃　Price　observed。　〃But　don't　tell　him　that。　His　head's　swollen　enough　already。〃
　〃What　about　Falcone？〃
　〃Ettore？〃　Price　shook　his　head。　〃I　will　be　very　surprised　if　he　puts　a　foot　wrong。　He's　a　very　good　man；　Ding；　bloody　machine…a　robot　with　a　pistol。　That　sort　of　confidence　rarely　goes　bad。　Things　are　too　automatic　for　him。〃
　〃Okay；　well；　we've　picked　our　target。　It　the　north…　and　east…most　silo。　Looks　like　it's　on　fairly　flat　ground；　two　four…inch　pipes　running　to　it。　Paddy'll　blow　those；　and　then　try　to　find　a　way　to　pop　the　cover　off　the　silo　or　otherwise　find　an　access　door…there's　one　on　the　overhead。　Then　get　inside；　toss　a　grenade　to　break　the　missile；　and　we　get　the　hell　out　of　Dodge　City。〃
　〃Usual　division　of　the　squad？〃　Price　asked。　It　had　to　be；　but　there　was　no　harm　in　making　sure。
　Chavez　nodded。　〃You　take　Paddy；　Louis；　Hank；　and　Dieter；　and　your　team　handles　the　actual　destruction　of　the　missile。　I　take　the　rest　to　do　security　and　overwatch。〃　Price　nodded　as　Paddy　Connolly　came　over。
　〃Are　we　getting　chemical　gear？〃
　〃What？〃　Chavez　asked。
　〃Ding；　if　we're　going　to　be　playing　with　bloody　liquid…fueled　missiles；　we　need　chemical…warfare　gear。　The　fuels　for　these　things…　you　don't　want　to　breathe　the　vapor；　trust　me。　Red…fuming　nitric　acid；　nitrogen　tetroxide；　hydrazine；　that　sort　of　thing。　Those　are　bloody　corrosive　chemicals　they　use　to　power　rockets；　not　like　a　pint　of　bitter　at　the　Green　Dragon；　I　promise　you。　And　if　the　missiles　are　fueled　and　we　blow　them；　well；　you　don't　want　to　be　close；　and　you　definitely　don't　want　to　be　downwind。　The　gas　cloud　will　be　bloody　lethal；　like　what　you　chaps　use　in　America　to　execute　murderers；　but　rather　less　pleasant。〃
　〃I'll　talk　to　John　about　that。〃　Chavez　made　his　way　back　forward。
　
　〃Oh；　shit；〃　Ed　Foley　observed　when　he　took　the　call。　〃Okay；　John；　I'll　get　hold　of　the　Army　on　that　one。　How　long　'til　you're　there？〃
　〃Hour　and　a　half　to　the　airfield。〃
　〃You　okay？〃
　〃Yeah；　sure；　Ed；　never　been　better。〃
　Foley　was　struck　by　the　tone。　Clark　had　been　CIA's　official　iceman　for　close　to　twenty　years。　He'd　gone　out　on　all　manner　of　field　operations　without　so　much　as　a　blink。　But　being　over　fifty…had　it　changed　him；　or　did　he　just　have　a　better　appreciation　of　his　own　mortality　now？　The　DCI　f