璇玑之心刃·冷血悍将-第121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！


‘Who　helps　them？‘
The　nurse　pushed　the　elevator　button。　‘Nobody。　They‘re　starting　up　programs　for　dealing　with　the　drug　habits；　but　the　real　problems；　the　abusive　backgrounds　and　what　es　from　it　…　there‘s　a　new　term　now；　"；behavioral　disorder。"；　If　you‘re　a　thief；　there　are　programs。　If　you　abuse　kids；　there‘s　a　program；　but　girls　like　that　are　outcasts。　Nobody　does　much　of　anything。　The　only　people　who　deal　with　that　are　church　groups。　If　somebody　said　it　was　a　disease；　maybe　people　would　pay　attention。‘
‘Is　it　a　disease？‘
‘John；　I‘m　not　a　doctor；　just　a　nurse…practitioner；　and　it‘s　outside　my　field　anyway。　I　do　post…op　care　for　surgical　patients。　Okay；　we　talk　over　lunch；　and　I　know　a　little。　It‘s　surprising　how　many　of　them　show　up　dead。　Drug　overdoses；　accidental　or　deliberate；　who　can　say？　Or　they　meet　the　wrong　person　or　their　pimp　gets　a　little　too　rough；　and　they　show　up　here；　and　their　underlying　medical　problems　don‘t　help　very　much；　and　a　lot　of　them　just　don‘t　make　it。　Hepatitis　from　bad　needles；　pneumonia；　add　that　to　a　major　injury　and　it‘s　a　deadly　bination。　But　is　anybody　going　to　do　anything　about　it？‘　O‘Toole　looked　down　as　the　elevator　arrived。　‘Young　people　aren‘t　supposed　to　die　that　way。‘
‘Yeah。‘　Kelly　gestured　for　her　to　get　in　the　elevator　first。
‘You‘re　the　patient；‘　she　objected。
‘You‘re　the　lady；‘　he　insisted。　‘Sorry；　it‘s　the　way　I　was　raised。‘
Who　is　this　guy？　Sandy　asked　herself。　She　was　managing　the　care　of　more　than　one　patient；　of　course；　but　the　professor　had　ordered　her　…　well；　not　exactly；　she　told　herself；　but　a　‘suggestion‘　from　Dr　Rosen　carried　a　lot　of　weight；　especially　since　she　had　great　respect　for　him　as　a　friend　and　counselor　…　to　keep　a　special　eye　on　him。　It　wasn‘t　matchmaking；　as　she‘d　initially　suspected。　He　was　still　too　hurt　…　and　so　was　she；　though　she　would　not　admit　it。　Such　a　strange　man。　So　like　Tim　in　many　ways；　but　much　more　guarded。　A　strange　mixture　of　the　gentle　and　the　rough。　She　hadn‘t　forgotten　what　she　had　seen　the　previous　week；　but　it　was　gone　now；　and　never　a　hint　of　it　had　returned。　He　treated　her　with　respect　and　good　humor；　never　once　menting　on　her　figure；　as　many　patients　did　（and　to　which　she　pretended　to　object）。　He　was　so　unlucky　and　yet　so　purposeful。　His　furious　effort　in　rehab。　His　outward　toughness。　How　to　reconcile　that　with　his　incongruous　good　manners？
‘When　will　I　get　out？‘　Kelly　asked　in　a　voice　that　was　light　but　not　light　enough。
‘Another　week；‘　O‘Toole　replied；　leading　him　off　the　elevator。　‘Tomorrow　we　unwrap　your　arm。‘　
‘Really？　Sam　didn‘t　tell　me。　Then　I　can　start　using　the　arm　again？‘
‘It‘s　going　to　hurt　when　you　do；‘　the　nurse　warned。
‘Hell；　Sandy；　it　hurts　already；‘　Kelly　grinned。　‘I　might　as　well　get　some　use　out　of　the　pain。‘
‘Lay　down；‘　the　nurse　ordered。　Before　he　could　object；　she　had　a　thermometer　in　his　mouth　and　was　taking　his　pulse。　Then　she　checked　his　blood　pressure。　The　numbers　she　put　on　the　chart　were　98。4；　64；　and　105/60。　The　last　two　were　especially　surprising；　she　thought。　Whatever　else　she　might　say　about　the　patient；　he　was　rapidly　getting　himself　back　into　shape。　She　wondered　what　the　urgency　was。
One　more　week；　Kelly　thought　after　she　left。　Got　to　get　this　damned　arm　working。
‘So　what　have　you　found　out　for　us？‘　Maxwell　asked。
‘Good　news　and　bad　news；‘　Greer　replied。　‘The　good　news　is　that　the　opposition　has　very　little　in　the　way　of　regular　ground　forces　within　response　distance　of　the　objective。　We　have　ID‘s　three　battalions。　Two　are　training　to　go　south。　One　just　returned　from　Eye　Corps。　It‘s　pretty　beat…up；　in　the　process　of　reconstituting。　The　usual　TO　and　E。　Not　much　in　the　way　of　heavy　weapons。　What　mechanized　formations　they　have　are　well　away　from　here。‘　
‘And　the　bad　news？‘　Admiral　Podulski　asked。
‘Do　I　have　to　tell　you？　Enough　triple…A　along　the　coast　to　turn　the　sky　black。　SA…2　batteries　here；　here；　and　probably　here；　too。　It‘s　dangerous　there　for　fast…movers；　Cas。　For　helicopters？　One　or　two　rescue　birds；　sure；　it‘s　doable；　but　a　large　lift　will　be　real　dicey。　We　went　all　over　this　when　we　scoped　our　KINGPIN；　remember？‘　
‘It‘s　only　thirty　miles　from　the　beach。‘
‘Fifteen　or　twenty　minutes　in　a　helo；　flying　in　a　straight　line；　which　they　will　not　be　able　to　do；　Cas。　I　went　over　the　threat　maps　myself。　The　best　route　I　can　identify　…　it‘s　your　area；　Cas；　but　I　do　know　a　little；　okay？　…　is　twenty…five　minutes；　and　I　wouldn‘t　want　to　fly　it　in　daylight。‘　
‘We　can　use　…52s　to　blast　a　corridor　through；‘　Podulski　suggested。　He‘d　never　been　the　most　subtle　man　in　the　world。
‘I　thought　you　wanted　to　keep　this　small；‘　Greer　observed。　‘Look；　the　real　bad　news　is　that　there　isn‘t　much　enthusiasm　for　this　kind　of　mission　anywhere。　KINGPIN　failed…‘　
‘That　wasn‘t　our　fault！‘　Podulski　objected。
‘I　know　that；　Cas；‘　Greer　said　patiently。　Podulski　had　always　been　a　passionate　advocate。
‘It　ought　to　be　doable；‘　Cas　growled。
All　three　men　hovered　over　the　reconnaisance　photos。　It　was　a　good　collection；　two　from　satellites；　two　from　SR…71　Blackbirds；　and　three　very　recent　low…obliques　from　Buffalo　Hunter　drones。　The　camp　was　two　hundred　metres　square；　an　exact　square　in　fact；　undoubtedly　fitting　exactly　the　diagram　in　some　East　Bloc　manual　for　building　secure　facilities。　Each　corner　had　a　guard　tower；　each　of　which　was　exactly　ten　meters　in　height。　Each　tower　had　a　tin　roof　to　keep　the　rain　off　the　NVA…standard…issue　RPD　light　machine　gun；　an　obsolete　Russian　design。　Inside　the　wire　were　three　large　buildings　and　two　small　ones。　Inside　one　of　the　large　buildings　were；　they　believed；　twenty　American　officers；　all　lieutenant…colonel/mander　rank　or　higher；　for　this　was　a　special　camp。
It　was　the　Buffalo　Hunter　photos　that　had　first　e　to　Greer‘s　attention。　One　was　good　enough　to　have　identified　a　face；　Colonel　Robin　Zacharias；　USAF。　His　F…I05G　Wild　Weasel　had　been　shot　down　eight　months　earlier；　he　and　his　weapons…systems　operator　had　been　reported　killed　by　the　North　Vietnamese。　Even　a　picture　of　his　body　had　been　published。　This　camp；　whose　code　name；　SENDER　GREEN；　was　known　to　fewer　than　fifty　men　and　women；　was　separate　from　the　better…known　Hanoi　Hilton；　which　had　been　visited　by　American　citizens　and　where；　since　the　spectacular　but　unsuccessful　Operation　KINGPIN　raid　on　the　camp　at　Song　Tay；　nearly　all　American　POWs　had　been　concentrated。　Out　of　the　way；　located　in　the　most　unlikely　of　places；　not　acknowledged　in　any　way；　SENDER　GREEN　was　ominous。　However　the　war　would　turn　out；　America　wanted　her　pilots　back。　Here　was　a　place　whose　very　existence　suggested　that　some　would　never　be　returned。　A　statistical　study　of　losses　had　shown　an　ominous　irregularity：　flight　officers　of　relatively　high　rank　were　reported　killed　at　a　higher　rate　than　those　of　lower　rank。　It　was　known　that　the　enemy　had　good　intelligence　sources；　many　of　them　within　the　American　‘peace‘　movement；　that　they　had　dossiers　on　senior　American　officers；　who　they　were；　what　they　knew；　what　other　jobs　they　had　held。　It　was　possible　that　those　officers　were　being　held　in　a　special　place；　that　their　knowledge　was　being　used　by　North　Vietnam　as　a　bargaining　chip　for　dealing　with　their　Russian　sponsors。　The　prisoners‘　knowledge　in　areas　of　special　strategic　interest　was　being　traded　…　maybe　…　for　continuing　support　from　a　sponsor　nation　that　was　losing　interest　in　this　lengthy　war；　with　the　new　atmosphere　of　detente。　So　many　games　were　going　on。
‘Gutsy；‘　Maxwell　breathed。　The　three　blowups　showed　the　man‘s　face；　each　one　staring　straight　at　the　camera。　The　last　of　the　three　caught　one　of　his　guards　in　the　act　of　swinging　a　rifle　butt　into　his　back。　The　face　was　clear。　It　was　Zacharias。
‘This　guy　is　Russian；‘　Casimir　Podulski　said；　tapping　the　drone　photos。　The　uniform　was　unmistakable。
They　knew　what　Cas　was　thinking。　The　son　of　Poland‘s　one…time　ambassador　to　Washington；　by　heredity　a　count　and　scion　of　a　family　that　had　once　fought　at　the　side　of　King　John　Sobieski；　his　family　had　been　extinguished　on　one　side　of　the　demarcation　line　by　the　Nazis　along　with　the　rest　of　the　Polish　nobility　and　on　the　other　by　the　Russians　in　Katyn　Forest；　where　two　brothers　had　been　murdered　after　fighting　a　brief　and　futile　two…front　war。　In　1941；　the　day　after　graduating　Princeton　University；　Podulski　had　joined　the　US　Navy　as　an　aviator；　adopting　a　new　country　and　a　new　profession；　both　of　which　he　had　served　with　pride　and　skill。　And　rage。　That　was　now　all　the　more　intense　because　soon　he　would　be　forced　to　retire。　Greer　could　see　the　reason。　His　surprisingly　delicate　hands　were　gnarled　with　arthritis。　Try　as　he　might　to　conceal　it；　his　next　physical　would　down…check　him　for　good；　and　Cas　would　face　retirement　with　memories　of　a　dead　son　and　a　wife　on　antidepressant　medications；　after　a　career　he　would　probably　deem　a　failure　despite　his　medals　and　personal　flag。　
‘We‘ve　got　to　find　a　way；‘　Podulski　said。　‘If　we　don‘t；　we‘ll　never　see　these　men　again。　You　know　who　might　be　there；　Dutch？　Pete　Francis；　Hank　Osborne。‘
‘Pete　worked　for　me　when　I　had　Enterprise；‘　Maxwell　acknowledged。　Both　men　looked　at　Greer。
‘I　concur　in　the　nature　of　the　camp。　I　had　my　doubts。　Zacharias；　Francis；　and　Osborne　are　all　names　they‘d　be　interested　in。‘　The　Air　Force　officer　had　spent　a　tour　at　Omaha；　part　of　the　joint…targeting　staff　that　selected　the　destinations　for　strategic　weapons；　and　his　knowledge　of　America‘s　most　secret　war　plans　was　encyclopedic。　The　two　naval　officers　had　similarly　important　information；　and　while　each　might　be　brave；　and　dedicated；　and　obstinately　determined　to　deny；　conceal；　and　disguise；　they　were　merely　men；　and　men　had　limits；　and　the　enemy　had　time。　‘Look；　if　you　want；　I　can　try　to　sell　the　idea　to　some　people；　but　I‘m　not　very　hopeful。‘
‘If　we　don‘t；　we‘re　breaking　faith　with　our　people！‘　Podulski　slammed　his　fist　on　the　desk。　But　Cas　had　an　agenda；　too。　Discovery　of　this　camp；　rescue　of　its　prisoners；　would　make　it　explicitly　clear　that　North　Vietnam　had　publicly　lied。　That　might　poison　the　peace　talks　enough　to　force　Nixon　to　adopt　yet　another　optional　plan　being　drawn　up　by　a　larger　Pentagon　working　group：　the　inva