璇玑之心刃·冷血悍将-第142章

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lder　boards　that　sparkled　in　the　late…morning　sun。
‘Admiral　Maxwell！‘　Kelly　was　glad　for　the　pany；　especially　this　man；　but　his　lower　legs　were　covered　in　mud　from　the　walk　out　of　the　water。　‘I　wish　you‘d　called　ahead；　sir。‘
‘I　tried；　Kelly。‘　Maxwell　came　up　to　him　and　took　his　hand。　‘We‘ve　been　calling　here　for　a　couple　of　days。　Where　the　hell　were　you？　Out　on　a　job？‘　The　Admiral　was　surprised　at　the　instant　change　in　the　boy‘s　face。
‘Not　exactly。‘
‘Why　don‘t　you　go　get　washed　off？　I‘ll　go　looking　for　a　soda。‘　It　was　then　that　Maxwell　saw　the　recent　scars　on　Kelly‘s　back　and　neck。　Jesus！
Their　first　meeting　had　been　aboard　USS　Kitty　Hawk；　three　years　earlier；　he　as　AirPac；　Kelly　as　a　very　sick　Bosun‘s　Mate　First　Class。　It　wasn‘t　the　sort　of　thing　a　man　in　Maxwell‘s　position　could　forget。　Kelly　had　gone　in　to　rescue　the　flight　crew　of　Nova　One　One；　whose　pilot　had　been　Lieutenant；　junior　grade；　Winslow　Holland　Maxwell　III；　USN。　Two　days　of　crawling　about　in　an　area　that　was　just　too　hot　for　a　rescue　helicopter　to　go　trolling；　and　he‘d　e　out　with　Dutch　3rd；　injured　but　alive；　but　Kelly　had　caught　a　vicious　infection　from　the　putrid　water。　And　how；　Maxwell　still　asked　himself；　how　did　you　thank　a　man　for　saving　your　only　son？　So　young　he‘d　looked　in　the　hospital　bed；　so　much　like　his　son；　the　same　sort　of　defiant　pride　and　shy　intelligence。　In　a　just　world　Kelly　would　have　received　the　Medal　of　Honor　for　his　solo　mission　up　that　brown　river；　but　Maxwell　hadn‘t　even　wasted　the　paper。　Sorry；　Dutch；　CINCPAC　would　have　said；　I‘d　like　to　go　to　bat　for　you　on　this；　but　it‘s　a　waste　of　effort；　just　would　look　too；　well；　suspicious。　And　so　he‘d　done　what　he　could。
‘Tell　me　about　yourself。‘
‘Kelly；　sir；　John　Т。；　bosun‘s　mate　first　…‘
‘No。‘　Maxwell　had　interrupted　him　with　a　shake　of　the　head。　‘No；　I　think　you　look　more　like　a　Chief　Bosun‘s　Mate　to　me。‘
Maxwell　had　stayed　on　Kitty　Hawk　for　three　more　days；　ostensibly　to　conduct　a　personal　inspection　of　flight　operations；　but　really　to　keep　an　eye　on　his　wounded　son　and　the　young　SEAL　who‘d　rescued　him。　He‘d　been　with　Kelly　for　the　telegram　announcing　the　death　of　his　father；　a　firefighter　who‘d　had　a　heart　attack　on　the　job。　And　now；　he　realized；　he‘d　arrived　just　after　something　else。
Kelly　returned　from　his　shower　in　a　T…shirt　and　shorts；　dragging　a　little　physically；　but　with　something　tough　and　strong　in　his　eyes。
‘How　far　was　that　swim；　John？‘
‘Just　under　five　miles；　sir。‘
‘Good　workout；‘　Maxwell　observed；　handing　over　a　Coca…Cola　for　his　host。　‘You　better　cool　down　some。‘
‘Thank　you；　sir。‘
‘What　happened　to　you？　That　mess　on　your　shoulder　is　new。‘　Kelly　told　his　story　briefly；　in　the　way　of　one　warrior　to　another；　for　despite　the　difference　in　age　and　station　they　were　of　a　kind；　and　for　the　second　time　Dutch　Maxwell　sat　and　listened　like　the　surrogate　father　he　had　bee。
‘That‘s　a　hard　hit；　John；‘　the　Admiral　observed　quietly。
‘Yes；　sir。‘　Kelly　didn‘t　know　what　else　he　was　supposed　to　say；　and　looked　down　for　a　moment。　‘I　never　thanked　you　for　the　card　。。。　when　Tish　died。　That　was　good　of　you；　sir。　How‘s　your　son　doing？‘
‘Flying　a　727　for　Delta。　I‘m　going　to　be　a　grandfather　any　day　now；‘　the　Admiral　said　with　satisfaction；　then　he　realized　how　cruel　the　addition　might　have　seemed　to　this　young；　lonely　man。
‘Great！‘　Kelly　managed　a　smile；　grateful　to　hear　something　good；　that　something　he‘d　done　had　e　to　a　successful　conclusion。　‘So　what　brings　you　out　here；　sir？‘
‘I　want　to　go　over　something　with　you。‘　Maxwell　opened　his　portfolio　and　unfolded　the　first　of　several　maps　on　Kelly‘s　coffee　table。
The　younger　man　grunted。　‘Oh；　yeah；　I　remember　this　place。‘　His　eyes　lingered　on　some　symbols　that　were　hand…sketched　in。　‘Classified　information　here；　sir。‘
‘Chief；　what　we‘re　going　to　talk　about　is　very　sensitive。‘
Kelly　turned　to　look　around。　Admirals　always　traveled　around　with　aides；　usually　a　shiny　young　lieutenant　who　would　carry　the　official　briefcase；　show　his　boss　where　the　head　was；　fuss　over　where　the　car　was　parked；　and　generally　do　the　things　beneath　the　dignity　of　a　hard…working　chief　petty　officer。　Suddenly　he　realized　that　although　the　helicopter　had　its　flight　crew；　now　wandering　around　outside；　Vice　Admiral　Maxwell　was　otherwise　alone；　and　that　was　most　unusual。
‘Why　me；　sir？‘
‘You‘re　the　only　person　in　the　country　who‘s　seen　this　area　from　ground　level。‘
‘And　if　we‘re　smart；　we‘ll　keep　it　that　way。‘　Kelly‘s　memories　of　the　place　were　anything　but　pleasant。　Looking　at　the　two…dimensional　map　instantly　brought　bad　three…dimensional　recollections。
‘How　far　did　you　go　up　the　river；　John？‘
‘About　to　here。‘　Kelly‘s　hand　wandered　across　the　map。　‘I　missed　your　son　on　the　first　sweep　so　I　doubled　back　and　found　him　right　about　here。‘
And　that　wasn‘t　bad；　Maxwell　thought；　tantalizingly　close　to　the　objective。　‘This　highway　bridge　is　gone。　Only　took　us　sixteen　missions；　but　it‘s　in　the　river　now。‘
‘You　know　what　that　means；　don‘t　you？　They　build　a　ford；　probably；　or　a　couple　underwater　bridges。　You　want　advice　on　taking　those　out？‘
‘Waste　of　time。　The　objective　is　here。‘　Maxwell‘s　finger　tapped　a　spot　marked　with　red　pen。
‘That‘s　a　long　way　to　swim；　sir。　What　is　it？‘
‘Chief；　when　you　retired　you　checked　the　box　for　being　in　the　Fleet　Reserve；‘　Maxwell　said　benignly。
‘Hold　on；　sir！‘
‘Relax；　son；　I‘m　not　recalling　you。‘　Yet；　Maxwell　thought。　‘You　had　a　top…secret　clearance。‘
‘Yeah；　we　all　did；　because　of　…‘
‘This　stuff　is　higher　than　TS；　John。‘　And　Maxwell　explained　why；　pulling　additional　items　from　his　portfolio。
‘Those　motherfuckers　。。。‘　Kelly　looked　up　from　the　recon　photo。　‘You　want　to　go　in　and　get　them　out；　like　Song　Tay？‘
‘What　do　you　know　about　that？‘
‘Just　what　was　in　the　open；‘　Kelly　explained。　‘We　talked　it　around　the　group。　It　sounded　like　a　pretty　slick　job。　Those　Special　Forces　guys　can　be　real　clever　when　they　work　at　it。　But　…‘
‘Yeah；　but　there　was　nobody　home。　This　guy‘…　Maxwell　tapped　the　photo　…　‘is　positively　ID‘d　as　an　Air　force　colonel。　Kelly；　you　can　never　repeat　this。‘
‘I　understand　that；　sir。　How　do　you　plan　to　do　it？‘
‘We‘re　not　sure　yet。　You　know　something　about　the　area；　and　we　want　your　information　to　help　look　at　alternatives。‘
Kelly　thought　back。　He‘d　spent　fifty　sleepless　hours　in　the　area。　‘It　would　be　real　hairy　for　a　helo　insertion。　There‘s　a　lot　of　triple…A　there。　The　nice　thing　about　Song　Tay；　it　wasn‘t　close　to　anything；　but　this　place　is　close　enough　to　Haiphong；　and　you　have　these　roads　and　stuff。　This　is　a　tough　one；　sir。‘
‘Nobody　ever　said　it　was　going　to　be　easy。‘
‘If　you　loop　around　here；　you　can　use　this　ridge…line　to　mask　your　approach；　but　you　have　to　hop　the　river　somewhere　。。。　here；　and　you　run　into　that　flak　trap　。。。　and　that　one‘s　even　worse；　‘cording　to　these　notations。‘
‘Did　SEALs　plan　air　missions　over　there；　Chief？‘　Maxwell　asked；　somewhat　amused；　only　to　be　surprised　at　the　reply。
‘Sir；　3rd　SOG　was　always　short　of　officers。　They　kept　getting　shot　up。　I　was　the　group　operations　officer　for　two　months；　and　we　all　knew　how　to　plan　insertions。　We　had　to；　that　was　the　most　dangerous　part　of　most　missions。　Don‘t　take　this　wrong；　sir；　but　even　enlisted　men　know　how　to　think。‘
Maxwell　bristled　a　little。　‘I　never　said　they　didn‘t。‘
Kelly　managed　a　grin。　‘Not　all　officers　are　as　enlightened　as　you　are；　sir。‘　He　looked　back　down　at　the　map。　‘You　plan　this　sort　of　thing　backwards。　You　start　with　what　do　you　need　on　the　objective；　then　you　backtrack　to　find　out　how　you　get　it　all　there。‘
‘Save　that　for　later。　Tell　me　about　the　river　valley；‘　Maxwell　ordered。
Fifty　hours；　Kelly　remembered；　picked　up　from　Danang　by　helo；　deposited　aboard　the　submarine　USS　Skate；　which　then　had　moved　Kelly　right　into　the　surprisingly　deep　estuary　of　that　damned　stinking　river；　fighting　his　way　up　against　the　current　behind　an　electrically　powered　sea…scooter；　which　was　still　there；　probably；　unless　some　fisherman　had　snagged　a　line　on　it；　staying　underwater　until　his　air　tanks　gave　out；　and　he　remembered　how　frightening　it　was　not　to　be　able　to　hide　under　the　rippled　surface。　When　he　couldn‘t　do　that；　when　it　had　been　too　dangerous　to　move；　hiding　under　weeds　on　the　bank；　watching　traffic　move　on　the　river　road；　hearing　the　ripping　thunder　of　the　flak　batteries　on　the　hilltops；　wondering　what　some　37mm　fire　could　do　to　him　if　some　North　Vietnamese　boy　scout　stumbled　across　him　and　let　his　father　know。　And　now　this　flag　officer　was　asking　him　how　to　risk　the　lives　of　other　men　in　the　same　place；　trusting　him；　much　as　Pam　had；　to　know　what　to　do。　That　sudden　thought　chilled　the　retired　chief　bosun‘s　mate。
‘It‘s　not　a　really　nice　place；　sir。　I　mean；　your　son　saw　a　lot　of　it；　too。‘
‘Not　from　your　perspective；‘　Maxwell　pointed　out。
And　that　was　true；　Kelly　remembered。　Little　Dutch　had　bellied　up　in　a　nice　thick　place；　using　his　radio　only　on　alternate　hours；　waiting　for　Snake　to　e　and　fetch　him　while　he　nursed　a　broken　leg　in　silent　agony；　and　listened　to　the　same　triple…A　batteries　that　had　splashed　his　A…6　hammer　the　sky　at　other　men　trying　to　take