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into place, and they would start shelling as soon as the bombing and
strafing runs were through.
To avoid detection, the planes carrying Ben and Dan's battalions had to
fly north and then cut east, and the planes carrying West's battalion
had to fly far south and then cut east and north.
"How are we going to get out once we get the president?" Cassie shouted
to Ben over the rush of wind and the roar of the engines.
He looked at her and hid his smile. "I haven't the vaguest idea." ;
"Oh . . . shit!" Cassie said.
Ben did know, of course. His intelligence people had learned that
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Bottger had no troops located between Bulle and Chamonix, and only a
small contingent guarding the tunnel at Col du Grd St. Bernard. Ben
planned on grabbing the president and beating a hasty exit southwest to
Monthey, then down to Martigny, then through the tunnel to safety. He
hoped. But Ben knew that war could change plans abruptly . . . often
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for the worst. He was fully prepared for the eventuality that the Rebels
just might have to play this one by ear.
A crew member motioned to Ben and held up three fingers. Ben stood up
and waddled back to the rear of the plane. The huge door opened
ponderously and the plane filled with cold air. Then it was time to
stand up and hook up and check equipment. Ben was not acting as
jumpmaster this time-he was going to be the first one out. His team was
right behind him on the left stick, Cassie among them. Lieutenant
Bonelli was on the other side of the plane, leading his stick out. The
green light popped on and Ben was out. The sky blossomed with chutes.
Below, Ben could see flashes from the muzzles of guns. The attack was
on. Then several miles to the north and west came a tremendous flash of
fire and light. Ben had no idea what had happened, only that a plane had
exploded in midair. But he knew it was not one of his. Then another
flash of light fired the sky, almost in the same location as the first.
"What the hell?" Ben said aloud.
Then there was no more time for wondering about the strange explosions,
for the ground was coming up fast. Ben hit, rolled, and came to his
boots quickly. As he had during the previous jump, he had left his
Thompson and now carried a .223 CAR.
"Buddy reports some strange doings at the castle," Corrie panted in his
ear. "There was a firefight going on when he got there. Then when his
people stormed the place, the people who were fighting each other both
turned on him."
"Let's go find out what's going on," Ben said, ripping open an equipment
pack. "This is looking more
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and more like a total screwup. Anybody hurt landing?"
"No, sir. Nothing serious. They're getting Nils Wilson out of a tree
now. He's scared but not hurt."
"Lots of headlights coming up the road," Beth called.
"I hope they're being driver^ by Buddy's people and not Bottger's," Ben
said grimly, looking at the line of vehicles heading their way. i
It was Buddy and his special ops people driving the cars and trucks.
Buddy hopped out of the lead truck and shook hands with his dad.
"The castle and town are ours, Father," he reported. "And President
Blanton is safe. Bottger and his staff left earlier for Berlin, and the
castle was only lightly manned. But some of Bottgerls men were dressed
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in uniforms similar to ours, and both sides had blanks in their weapons.
Taking the castle was a piece of cake."
Ben was stunned at the report. He could not make any sense out of
Buddy's news. He shook his head and said, "Where's Blanton?"
"In the middle of the column. What were those flashes in the sky a few
minutes ago?"
"I don't know. How many vehicles did you find?"
"Not nearly enough for three battalions, Father. I've sent people to
check out those explosions. Do we occupy the town or head for the border?"
"Let's hold what we've got until full light and your people come back
with some news about those flashes we saw. I've got to try and make some
sense out of what happened here tonight."
"Good luck," Buddy said dryly.
"How many prisoners did you take?"
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"Nearly all of them, Father. They didn't have anything to fight with
except blanks."
Muttering under his breath, Ben walked over to greet President Blanton.
"I can truthfully say that I am very glad to see you, Ben," Homer said
with a smile, shaking hands with Ben.
"Are you all right, Homer?"
"I'm fine. Can you tell me what is going on?"
"I have no idea. But I'll tell you what I'm going to do. Corrie, order
all battalions to attack with everything they've got. Tell Ike to start
his push through to Martigny and we'll link up with him there."
"Right, sir."
"Does this operation have a name, Ben?" President Blanton asked.
"Yeah," Ben replied. "Operation Fuck-Up!"
Bottger stepped off the plane outside Berlin and was handed a message by
a frightened young soldier. The messenger backed up a few feet.
Bottger read the communique concerning the attack on the castle, wadded
it up, hurled it to the tarmac, and started jumping up and down on the
paper. "God-damnit!" he shouted.
Another messenger came rushing up. "General! The Rebels have launched a
full-scale attack all along our lines."
"Lines!" Bruno screamed. "I've got lines north, south, east, and west.
What goddamn lines are under attack?"
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The young messenger was so badly frightened at his supreme commander's
fury, he began stuttering. Bott-ger grabbed him by the shoulders and
started shaking him. "What lines?"
"I don't know, sir," he finally managed to say.
"Good God!" Bottger shouted, shoving the soldier away from him. "Find me
somebody who knows what the hell is going on!" Bruno roared.
Troops of Bruno's MEF had expected an attack right after the abduction
of the president. When none came, they began to relax. A lot of them
would now be relaxed forever. Right on the heels of the fighter attack,
artillery began pouring in rounds, then tanks roared in, followed by
ground troops. Raines's Rebels, aided by resistance fighters, broke
through at dozens of locations. The MEF were confronted, quite briefly
at most points, by Rebels who were fighting with a fury that Bottger's
troops had never before encountered.
Bottger's troops were spread out over hundreds of miles of lines, many
of them far away in the east in what used to be called Poland.
The Rebels cut through Bottger's western lines like a heated knife
through butter.
Ben and President Blanton were suddenly confronted by several dozen
reporters who had survived the crash of the second plane in the early
morning hours. The reporters were banged up and bruised, but none
appeared seriously injured. The press, about half of whom were American,
were startled to see the president among Ben's troops.
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"What the hell are you doing here?" Blanton asked. "What happened to you
people?"
"The Rebels shot down our planes!" one reporter shouted. "Our pilot
managed to land in a field. These Rebels plan to kill you, Mr.
President, and then take over the remainder of the United States."
"Don't be ridiculous!" Blanton snapped at them. "Ben and his people
jumped in about an hour ago to rescue me."
"I don't even want the rest of the United States," Ben said. "It's
filled with malcontents, ne'er-do-wells, liberals, and assholes like you
people." [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]