[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
having an eye for the ladies, Ben had certainly taken note of Cassie,
thinking her a very lovely lady. But he had originally pegged her as
just another liberal reporter. Could be, he thought, / was wrong. This
just might get interesting. Ben handed his Thompson to Cooper.
Dick pointed a finger at Cassie. "That laugh was derisive, Cassie, and I
resent it. If you were a man, I'd whip your ass."
"Talk about politically incorrect," Nils said with a laugh, trying to
lighten the moment.
"Shut up, Nils!" Dick popped. "And stay out of this."
"Never slanted a story?" Cassie said. "You have to be kidding, Dick. How
about that series you did on L.A. gangs after the riots? That was the
worst piece of pandering shit I ever heard. You invented more excuses
for that pack of savages than a stray dog has fleas."
"You damn snooty bitch!" Dick yelled. "What the
258
hell do you know about being poor and of color. You come from old money.
You never wanted for anything in your rich, spoiled life. You goddamn dyke."
Ben arched an eyebrow at that last remark. "I don't think so," he muttered.
"If she's queer," Beth whispered, "I'm Attila the Hun."
Cassie laughed at Dick and shook her head. "Dick, as usual, you're
wrong. Can't you get anything right?"
Dick took two steps and slapped the woman, the openhanded pop knocking
her to the ground and stunning those who witnessed the slap.
Ben stepped from behind the truck and flattened the reporter with a hard
right fist. "I didn't like you before the Great War, Bogarde, and I
don't like you now. Now get up, you son of a bitch!"
259 Seven
Dick was a good ten years younger than Ben and felt he was capable of
taking care of himself in any situation. After all, he had been on his
college wrestling team. Besides, he'd been a member of the most
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prestigious frat house on campus, and that alone automatically made him
far superior to anyone else.
Dick bounced to his feet and took a swing at Ben. Ben slipped the punch
and gave the man two hard shots to the belly, a left and right. Dick
grunted in pain and stepped back. Ben pressed and popped him on the
mouth with a straight right, the blow bringing blood. Dick came in like
a windmill, both fists flailing the air. Ben sidestepped and clubbed
Dick on the kidney, bringing a cry of pain. Dick put both hands to his
aching lower back and Ben started his punch down around his ankles and
knocked the shit out of him.
Ben stepped back and waited for Dick to climb out of the churned-up mud.
The cameras were rolling, recording it all.
Cassie was sitting on the ground, the left side of her
260
William W. Johnstone
face swelling, and a thin trickle of blood leaking out of one side of
her mouth. Dick Bogarde was not a small man, and the blow had hurt.
She looked up just in time to hear Ben's punch impact against Dick's
mouth and see Dick's butt hit the mud, his mouth scarlet with fresh
blood. "There is justice in the world after all," she muttered.
Cassie felt hands on her arms and looked up into the faces of Beth and
Corrie, pulling her to her feet. Jersey was standing with her M-16 at
the ready, in case anyone tried to interfere on the side of Dick,
against Ben. One of the men present would later report that just one
look at Little Jersey would have been enough to scare away Vlad the Impaler.
"Enough." Dick pushed the words past loosened teeth and bloody lips.
"It better be," Ben warned. "For the next time I witness you slapping
someone for speaking the truth, I'll kill you."
Dick thought plenty but wisely said nothing.
Ben turned to a couple of medics who walked up. He pointed to Dick. "One
of you see to that son of a bitch," he ordered. "The other check out
Miss Phillips."
Ben pulled off his gloves and walked over to where Cassie was standing
with Ben's team. She looked at him; there was a frankness in her gaze
that Ben liked.
"A tooth cut the inside of your mouth, miss," the medic said. He dipped
a cotton-tipped swab in a bottle of solution. This will stop the
bleeding. You'll be all right."
261
261
"Thank you," Cassie told him, then winced as the tip touched the small cut.
The medic looked at Ben. "You all right, sir?"
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"I'm fine."
The medic smiled. "Good fight. I just hope Doctor Chase doesn't hear of it."
"Oh, he will," Ben said.
The medic laughed and walked over to where the other medic was working
on a moaning and bleeding Dick.
Ben turned to look at the reporter. Cassie was staring at him through
incredibly pale-gray eyes. Ben suddenly realized that while some men
might not consider her attractive, he did. Very attractive.
"I would say that you are not the first woman he's struck," Ben told
her. "However, that's just a guess on my part."
"A pretty good guess, General," Cassie said. "There have been rumors
circulating about Dick for years. Even before the Great War."
"Ben, Miss Phillips. Call me Ben."
She smiled, and she was lovely. "In that case, I'm Cassie."
The two gravely shook hands, surrounded by the cold winds of January and
hundreds of heavily armed Rebels and thousands of tons of the machinery
of war.
Beth and Come and Cooper and Jersey looked at each other and smiled as
Ben and Cassie stared into each other's eyes like a couple of junior
high students suddenly struck for the first time with love-tipped arrows
from Cupid's quiver.
"Nice to meet you, Cassie," Ben said.
262
"Very nice to meet you, Ben," Cassie said.
"Oh, my God!" The voice of Doctor Lamar Chase came from just behind
Ben's team. "Has that middle-aged lothario been smitten again?"
"Looks that way," Beth said. "How long have you been here, Doctor?"
"I landed at the airstrip about half an hour ago to inspect the MASH
unit attached to 1 Batt. Heard about Ben's fight a couple of minutes
ago. That is a handsome woman. Who is she?"
"Cassie Phillips," Jersey said.
"The reporter?"
"Yes, sir."
"I'll be damned. Did Ben get hit during the fight?"
"No, sir," Cooper said. "That clown didn't land a single punch."
Lamar shifted his gaze over to where the medics were working on Dick
Bogarde. The man's face was a mess from Ben's blows. He would carry the
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cuts and bruises from Ben's fists for quite some time.
The mood of the moment was broken by a shrill voice coming from some
distance away.
Chase took one look and said, "I'm out of here, boys and girls. See you
later."
The lines of Rebels began parting like the Red Sea under Moses' command.
"General, my General!" the voice called. "I have come to your assistance."
"Oh, my God!" Ben said.
"Who is that little man?" Cassie asked.
Emil Hite came rushing up to the recent scene of conflict, and his boots
hit the churned up and muddy
263
263
ground. "Whoa!" he hollered, flailing his arms as he slipped and slid
across the area, looking very much like a crazed ballet dancer
attempting to dance the tush-push to the mental strains of the 1812
Overture.
"Get out of the way!" Ben yelled, two seconds before Emil impacted
against him, and both of them went to the ground in a sprawl of arms and
legs.
Sitting on top of Ben, his helmet drooped over one side of his face,
Emil cried, "Are you hurt, General Raines?"
"Only my composure, Emil. Now get off of me!"
Emil climbed off Ben, only managing to step on him about five times in [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl karpacz24.htw.pl
having an eye for the ladies, Ben had certainly taken note of Cassie,
thinking her a very lovely lady. But he had originally pegged her as
just another liberal reporter. Could be, he thought, / was wrong. This
just might get interesting. Ben handed his Thompson to Cooper.
Dick pointed a finger at Cassie. "That laugh was derisive, Cassie, and I
resent it. If you were a man, I'd whip your ass."
"Talk about politically incorrect," Nils said with a laugh, trying to
lighten the moment.
"Shut up, Nils!" Dick popped. "And stay out of this."
"Never slanted a story?" Cassie said. "You have to be kidding, Dick. How
about that series you did on L.A. gangs after the riots? That was the
worst piece of pandering shit I ever heard. You invented more excuses
for that pack of savages than a stray dog has fleas."
"You damn snooty bitch!" Dick yelled. "What the
258
hell do you know about being poor and of color. You come from old money.
You never wanted for anything in your rich, spoiled life. You goddamn dyke."
Ben arched an eyebrow at that last remark. "I don't think so," he muttered.
"If she's queer," Beth whispered, "I'm Attila the Hun."
Cassie laughed at Dick and shook her head. "Dick, as usual, you're
wrong. Can't you get anything right?"
Dick took two steps and slapped the woman, the openhanded pop knocking
her to the ground and stunning those who witnessed the slap.
Ben stepped from behind the truck and flattened the reporter with a hard
right fist. "I didn't like you before the Great War, Bogarde, and I
don't like you now. Now get up, you son of a bitch!"
259 Seven
Dick was a good ten years younger than Ben and felt he was capable of
taking care of himself in any situation. After all, he had been on his
college wrestling team. Besides, he'd been a member of the most
Page 137
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
prestigious frat house on campus, and that alone automatically made him
far superior to anyone else.
Dick bounced to his feet and took a swing at Ben. Ben slipped the punch
and gave the man two hard shots to the belly, a left and right. Dick
grunted in pain and stepped back. Ben pressed and popped him on the
mouth with a straight right, the blow bringing blood. Dick came in like
a windmill, both fists flailing the air. Ben sidestepped and clubbed
Dick on the kidney, bringing a cry of pain. Dick put both hands to his
aching lower back and Ben started his punch down around his ankles and
knocked the shit out of him.
Ben stepped back and waited for Dick to climb out of the churned-up mud.
The cameras were rolling, recording it all.
Cassie was sitting on the ground, the left side of her
260
William W. Johnstone
face swelling, and a thin trickle of blood leaking out of one side of
her mouth. Dick Bogarde was not a small man, and the blow had hurt.
She looked up just in time to hear Ben's punch impact against Dick's
mouth and see Dick's butt hit the mud, his mouth scarlet with fresh
blood. "There is justice in the world after all," she muttered.
Cassie felt hands on her arms and looked up into the faces of Beth and
Corrie, pulling her to her feet. Jersey was standing with her M-16 at
the ready, in case anyone tried to interfere on the side of Dick,
against Ben. One of the men present would later report that just one
look at Little Jersey would have been enough to scare away Vlad the Impaler.
"Enough." Dick pushed the words past loosened teeth and bloody lips.
"It better be," Ben warned. "For the next time I witness you slapping
someone for speaking the truth, I'll kill you."
Dick thought plenty but wisely said nothing.
Ben turned to a couple of medics who walked up. He pointed to Dick. "One
of you see to that son of a bitch," he ordered. "The other check out
Miss Phillips."
Ben pulled off his gloves and walked over to where Cassie was standing
with Ben's team. She looked at him; there was a frankness in her gaze
that Ben liked.
"A tooth cut the inside of your mouth, miss," the medic said. He dipped
a cotton-tipped swab in a bottle of solution. This will stop the
bleeding. You'll be all right."
261
261
"Thank you," Cassie told him, then winced as the tip touched the small cut.
The medic looked at Ben. "You all right, sir?"
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"I'm fine."
The medic smiled. "Good fight. I just hope Doctor Chase doesn't hear of it."
"Oh, he will," Ben said.
The medic laughed and walked over to where the other medic was working
on a moaning and bleeding Dick.
Ben turned to look at the reporter. Cassie was staring at him through
incredibly pale-gray eyes. Ben suddenly realized that while some men
might not consider her attractive, he did. Very attractive.
"I would say that you are not the first woman he's struck," Ben told
her. "However, that's just a guess on my part."
"A pretty good guess, General," Cassie said. "There have been rumors
circulating about Dick for years. Even before the Great War."
"Ben, Miss Phillips. Call me Ben."
She smiled, and she was lovely. "In that case, I'm Cassie."
The two gravely shook hands, surrounded by the cold winds of January and
hundreds of heavily armed Rebels and thousands of tons of the machinery
of war.
Beth and Come and Cooper and Jersey looked at each other and smiled as
Ben and Cassie stared into each other's eyes like a couple of junior
high students suddenly struck for the first time with love-tipped arrows
from Cupid's quiver.
"Nice to meet you, Cassie," Ben said.
262
"Very nice to meet you, Ben," Cassie said.
"Oh, my God!" The voice of Doctor Lamar Chase came from just behind
Ben's team. "Has that middle-aged lothario been smitten again?"
"Looks that way," Beth said. "How long have you been here, Doctor?"
"I landed at the airstrip about half an hour ago to inspect the MASH
unit attached to 1 Batt. Heard about Ben's fight a couple of minutes
ago. That is a handsome woman. Who is she?"
"Cassie Phillips," Jersey said.
"The reporter?"
"Yes, sir."
"I'll be damned. Did Ben get hit during the fight?"
"No, sir," Cooper said. "That clown didn't land a single punch."
Lamar shifted his gaze over to where the medics were working on Dick
Bogarde. The man's face was a mess from Ben's blows. He would carry the
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cuts and bruises from Ben's fists for quite some time.
The mood of the moment was broken by a shrill voice coming from some
distance away.
Chase took one look and said, "I'm out of here, boys and girls. See you
later."
The lines of Rebels began parting like the Red Sea under Moses' command.
"General, my General!" the voice called. "I have come to your assistance."
"Oh, my God!" Ben said.
"Who is that little man?" Cassie asked.
Emil Hite came rushing up to the recent scene of conflict, and his boots
hit the churned up and muddy
263
263
ground. "Whoa!" he hollered, flailing his arms as he slipped and slid
across the area, looking very much like a crazed ballet dancer
attempting to dance the tush-push to the mental strains of the 1812
Overture.
"Get out of the way!" Ben yelled, two seconds before Emil impacted
against him, and both of them went to the ground in a sprawl of arms and
legs.
Sitting on top of Ben, his helmet drooped over one side of his face,
Emil cried, "Are you hurt, General Raines?"
"Only my composure, Emil. Now get off of me!"
Emil climbed off Ben, only managing to step on him about five times in [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]