璇玑之心刃·冷血悍将-第104部分

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；　where　all　the　POWs　were　supposed　to　have　been　congregated。　Beyond　that　he　knew　virtually　nothing；　and　the　unknown　can　be　the　most　frightening　thing　of　all；　especially　to　a　man　accustomed　over　a　period　of　twenty　years　to　being　absolute　master　of　his　fate。　His　only　consolation；　he　thought；　was　that　things　were　as　bad　as　they　could　be。　On　that；　he　was　wrong。
‘Good　morning。　Colonel　Zacharias；‘　a　voice　called　across　the　pound。　He　looked　up　to　see　a　man　taller　than　himself；　Caucasian；　and　wearing　a　uniform　very　different　from　that　of　his　guards。　He　strode　towards　the　prisoner　with　a　smile。　‘Very　different　from　Omaha；　isn‘t　it？‘
That　was　when　he　heard　a　noise；　a　thin　screeching　whine；　approaching　from　the　southwest。　He　turned　on　instinct　…　an　aviator　must　always　look　to　see　an　aircraft；　no　matter　where　he　might　be。　It　appeared　in　an　instant；　before　the　guards　had　a　chance　to　react。
Buffalo　Hunter；　Zacharias　thought；　standing　erect；　turning；　to　watch　it　pass；　staring　at　it；　holding　his　head　up；　seeing　the　black　rectangle　of　the　camera　window；　whispering　a　prayer　that　the　device　was　operating。　When　the　guards　realized　what　he　was　doing；　a　gun　butt　in　the　kidneys　dropped　the　colonel　to　the　ground。　Suppressing　a　curse；　he　tried　to　deal　with　the　pain　as　a　pair　of　boots　came　into　his　restricted　field　of　vision。
‘Do　not　get　overly　excited；‘　the　other　man　said。　‘It‘s　heading　to　Haiphong　to　count　the　ships。　Now；　my　friend；　we　need　to　bee　acquainted。‘
Cody…193　continued　northeast；　holding　a　nearly　constant　speed　and　altitude　as　it　entered　the　dense　air…defense　belt　surrounding　North　Vietnam‘s　only　major　port。　The　cameras　in　the　Buffalo　Hunter　recorded　several　triple…A　batteries；　observation　points；　and　more　than　a　few　people　with　AK…47s；　all　of　whom　made　at　least　a　token　shot　at　the　drone。　The　only　thing　…193　had　going　for　it　was　its　small　size。　Otherwise　it　flew　on　a　straight　and　level　course　while　its　cameras　snapped　away；　recording　the　images　on　2。25…inch　film。　About　the　only　thing　not　shot　at　it　were　surface…to…air　missiles：　…193　was　too　low　for　that。
‘Go；　baby；　go！‘　the　Major　said；　two　hundred　miles　away。　Outside；　the　four　piston　engines　of　the　Warning　Star　were　straining　to　maintain　the　altitude　necessary　for　him　to　watch　the　drone‘s　progress。　His　eyes　were　locked　on　the　flat　glass　screen；　following　the　binking　blip　of　the　radar　transponder。　Other　controllers　monitored　the　location　of　other　American　aircraft　also　visiting　the　enemy　country；　in　constant　munication　with　RED　CROWN；　the　Navy　ship　that　managed　air　operations　from　the　seaward　side。　‘Turn　east；　baby　…　now！‘
Right　on　schedule；　Cody…193　banked　hard　to　the　right；　ing　a　touch　lower　and　screaming　over　the　Haiphong　docks　at　500　knots；　a　hundred　tracer　rounds　in　its　wake。　Longshoremen　and　sailors　from　various　ships　looked　up　in　curiosity　and　irritation；　and　not　a　little　fear　for　all　the　steel　flying　in　the　sky　over　their　heads。
‘Yes！‘　the　Major　shouted；　loudly　enough　that　the　sergeant…controller　to　his　left　looked　up　in　irritation。　You　were　supposed　to　keep　things　quiet　here。　He　keyed　his　mike　to　speak　to　RED　CROWN。　‘Cody…one…niner…three　is　bingo。‘
‘Roger；　copy　bingo　on　one…niner…three；‘　the　acknowledgment　came　back。　It　was　a　false　use　of　the　‘bingo‘　code　word；　which　ordinarily　meant　an　aircraft　with　a　low　fuel　state；　but　it　was　a　term　so　monly　used　that　it　made　a　more　than　adequate　disguise。　The　Navy　enlisted　man　on　the　other　end　of　the　circuit　then　told　an　orbiting　helicopter　crew　to　wake　up。
The　drone　cleared　the　coast　right　on　schedule；　keeping　low　for　a　few　more　miles　before　going　into　its　final　climb；　down　to　its　last　hundred　pounds　of　fuel　as　it　reached　its　pre…programmed　point　thirty　miles　offshore　and　began　circling。　Now　another　transponder　came　on；　one　tuned　to　the　search　radars　of　US　Navy　picket　ships。　One　of　these；　the　destroyer　Henry　B。　Wilson；　took　note　of　the　expected　target　at　the　expected　time　and　place。　Her　missile　technicians　used　the　opportunity　to　run　a　practice　intercept　problem；　but　had　to　switch　off　their　illumination　radars　after　a　few　seconds。　It　made　the　airedales　nervous。
Circling　at　five　thousand　feet；　Cody…193　finally　ran　out　of　fuel　and　became　a　glider。　When　the　airspeed　fell　to　the　right　number；　explosive　bolts　blew　a　hatch　cover　off　the　top；　deploying　a　parachute。　The　Navy　helicopter　was　already　on　station；　and　the　white　‘chute　made　for　a　fine　target。　The　drone‘s　weight　was　a　scant　fifteen　hundred　pounds　now；　barely　that　of　eight　men。　Wind　and　visibility　cooperated　this　day。　The　‘chute　was　snagged　on　their　first　attempt；　and　the　helicopter　turned　at　once；　heading　for　the　carrier　USS　Constellation；　where　the　drone　was　carefully　lowered　into　a　cradle；　ending　its　sixty…second　bat　mission。　Before　the　helicopter　could　find　its　own　spot　on　the　flight　deck；　a　technician　was　already　unfastening　the　cover　plate　on　the　photo　partment　and　yanking　the　heavy　film　cassette　from　its　slot。　He　took　it　below　at　once；　and　handed　it　over　to　another　technician　in　the　ship‘s　elaborate　photo　lab。　Processing　required　a　brief　six　minutes；　and　the　still…damp　film　was　wiped　clean　and　handed　over　yet　again　to　an　intelligence　officer。　It　was　better　than　good。　The　film　was　run　from　one　spool　to　another　over　a　flat　glass　plate　under　which　was　a　pair　of　fluorescent　lights。
‘Well；　Lieutenant？‘　a　captain　asked　tensely。
‘Okay；　sir；　wait　one　。。。‘　Turning　the　spool；　he　pointed　to　the　third　image。　"；There‘s　our　first　reference　point。。。　there‘s　number　two；　she　was　right　on　course　。。。　okay；　here‘s　the　IP　。。。　down　the　valley；　over　the　hill　…　there；　sir！　We　have　two；　three　frames！　Good　ones；　the　sun　was　just　right；　clear　day　…　you　know　why　they　call　these　babies　Buffalo　Hunters？　It‘s　…‘
‘Let　me　see！‘　The　Captain　nearly　shoved　the　junior　officer　out　of　the　way。　There　was　a　man　there；　an　American；　with　two　guards；　and　a　fourth　man　…　but　it　was　the　American　he　wanted　to　see。
‘Here；　sir。‘　The　Lieutenant　handed　over　a　magnifying　glass。　‘We　might　get　a　good　face　off　of　this；　and　we　can　play　with　the　negative　some　more　if　you　give　us　a　little　time。　Like　I　said；　the　cameras　can　tell　the　difference　between　a　male　and　a　female　…‘
‘Mmmmm。‘　The　face　was　black；　meaning　a　white　man　on　the　negative。　But　…　‘Damn；　I　can‘t　tell。‘
‘Cap‘n；　that‘s　our　job；　okay？‘　He　was　an　intelligence　officer。　The　Captain　was　not。　‘Let　us　do　our　job；　sir。‘
‘He‘s　one　of　ours！‘
‘Sure　as　hell；　sir；　and　this　guy　isn‘t。　Let　me　take　these　back　to　the　lab　for　positive　prints　and　blowups。　The　air　wing　will　want　a　look　at　the　port　shots；　too。‘
‘They　can　wait。‘
‘No；　sir；　they　can‘t；‘　the　Lieutenant　pointed　out。　But　he　took　a　pair　of　scissors　and　removed　the　relevant　shots。　The　remainder　of　the　roll　was　handed　to　a　chief　petty　officer；　while　the　Lieutenant　and　the　Captain　went　back　to　the　photo　lab。　Fully　two　months　of　work　had　gone　into　the　flight　of　Cody…193；　and　the　Captain　lusted　for　the　information　he　knew　to　be　on　those　three　two…and…a…quarter…inch　frames。
An　hour　later　he　had　it。　An　hour　after　that；　he　boarded　a　flight　to　Danang。　Another　hour　and　he　was　on　a　flight　to　Cubi　Point　Naval　Air　Station　in　the　Philippines；　followed　by　a　puddle…jumper　to　Clark　Air　Force　Base；　and　а　КС…135　that　would　fly　directly　to　California。　Despite　the　time　and　rigors　of　the　next　twenty　hours　of　flying；　the　Captain　slept　briefly　and　fitfully；　having　solved　a　mystery　whose　answer　just　might　change　the　policy　of　his　government。
C4
　　　　CHAPTER　4
First　Light
Kelly　slept　nearly　eight　hours；　again　arising　at　the　sound　of　the　gulls　to　find　that　Pam　wasn‘t　there。　He　went　outside　and　saw　her　standing　on　the　quay；　looking　out　over　the　water；　still　weary；　still　robbed　of　the　ability　to　get　the　rest　she　needed。　The　Bay　had　its　usual　morning　calm；　the　glassy　surface　punctuated　by　the　circular　ripples　of　bluefish　chasing　after　insects。　Conditions　like　this　seemed　so　fitting　to　the　start　of　a　day；　a　gentle　westerly　breeze　in　his　face；　and　the　odd　silence　that　allowed　one　to　hear　the　rumble　of　a　boat‘s　motor　from　so　far　away　that　the　boat　could　not　be　seen。　It　was　the　sort　of　time　that　allowed　you　to　be　alone　with　nature；　but　he　knew　that　Pam　merely　felt　alone。　Kelly　walked　out　to　her　as　quietly　as　he　could　and　touched　her　waist　with　both　his　hands。
‘Good　morning。‘　She　didn‘t　answer　for　a　long　time；　and　Kelly　stood　still；　holding　her　lightly；　just　enough　that　she　could　feel　his　touch。　She　was　wearing　one　of　his　shirts；　and　he　didn‘t　want　his　touch　to　be　sexual；　only　protective。　He　was　afraid　to　press　himself　on　a　woman　who‘d　suffered　that　kind　of　abuse；　and　could　not　predict　where　the　invisible　line　might　be。
‘So　now　you　know；‘　she　said；　just　loudly　enough　to　be　heard　over　the　silence；　unable　to　turn　and　face　him。
‘Yes；‘　Kelly　answered；　equally　quiet。
‘What　do　you　think？‘　Her　voice　was　a　painful　whisper。
‘I‘m　not　sure　what　you　mean；　Pam。‘　Kelly　felt　the　trembling　start；　and　he　had　to　resist　the　urge　to　hold　her　tighter。
‘About　me。‘
‘About　you？‘　He　allowed　himself　to　get　a　little　closer；　altering　his　hold　until　his　arms　wrapped　around　her　waist；　but　not　tightly。　‘I　think　you‘re　beautiful。　I　think　I‘m　real　glad　we　met。‘
‘I　do　drugs。‘
‘The　docs　say　you‘re　trying　to　quit。　That‘s　good　enough　for　me。‘
‘It‘s　worse　than　that。　I‘ve　done　things　…‘　Kelly　cut　her　off。
‘I　don‘t　care　about　that；　Pam。　I‘ve　done　things；　too。　And　one　thing　you　did　for　me　was　very　nice。　You　gave　me　something　to　care　about；　and　I　didn‘t　ever　expect　that　to　happen。‘　Kelly　pulled　her　tighter。　‘The　things　you　did　before　we　met　don‘t　matter。　You‘re　not　alone；　Pam。　I‘m　here　to　help　if　you　want　me　to。‘
‘When　you　find　out。。。‘　she　warned。
‘I‘ll　take　my　chances。　I　think　I　know　the　important　parts　already。　I　love　you；　Pam。‘　Kelly　surprised　himself　with　those　words。　He‘d　been　too　afraid　to　voice　the　thought　even　to　himself。　It　was　too　irrational；　but　again　emotion　won　out　over　reason；　and　reason；　for　once；　found　itself　approving。
‘How　can　you　say　that？‘　Pam　asked。　Kelly　gently　turned　her　around　and　smiled。
‘Damned　if　I　know！　Maybe　it‘s　your　tangled　hair　…　or　your　runny　nose。‘　He　touched　her　chest　through　the　shirt。　‘No；　I　think　it‘s　your　heart。　No　matter　what‘s　b