Part 14 (1/2)

”Take off, Colonel,” Ben said with a smile. ”G.o.dspeed.”

Lenz gripped Ben's shoulder for a moment, then saluted. ”We'll take General von Hanstein with us.”

Ben nodded. ”If he gets to be too much trouble, shoot the son of a b.i.t.c.h.”

Lenz laughed. ”It will be my pleasure to do so, General.” The German GSG 9 commander was gone at a silent run.

”And so once more, it is with regret that we leave a lovely scenic spot,” Beth said straight-faced. ”What a delightful time we've had here.”

Even though Beth was not p.r.o.ne to wisecracking, ever since she had seen an old travelogue tape she had 168.

mimicked the announcer whenever they got into a tight spot.

”Make a note in your diary to return here someday,” Ben said with a smile.

”h.e.l.l, there won't be anything left in an hour,” Beth replied.

”Or less,” Ben added.”That's it,” Corrie announced, taking off her headphones and slipping into the straps of the back-pack radio. ”We're alone. All teams have gone.”

”Bug-out time,” Ben said, looking at Cooper. He was just finis.h.i.+ng his b.o.o.by-trapping of the armored car. ”Did you leave a nice surprise for them, Coop?”

”They'll get a bang out of it.”

Jersey groaned at the old joke.

”Let's go, gang,” Ben said.

They slipped out and headed for the river. Ben's piece of a map did not give a name for the stream. It was the San something; that part of the map was creased over and not legible. Ben's team had not gone half a mile before the artillery barrage started. They paused and looked back as the old town exploded.

”Another fifteen minutes and we'd have been chopped meat,” Jersey said.

”Speaking of meat,” Cooper said.

”You're always hungry, Coop,” Ben said. ”Come on. It's hours before we can stop for that.”

”I'll die of starvation!”

”You'll get shot in the a.s.s by me if you don't move,” Jersey warned him.

Cooper took one look at Jersey and moved right out. Smartly, as the British say.

The four Scouts had left their forward positions and 169.

moved out first, under orders from Colonel Lenz. He told them to head for the river fast, like bunny rabbits, and stay there until they linked up with their General and stay with him. He didn't have to tell them he was doing that without Ben's notice. They guessed that.

A mile from town, Beth spotted the Scouts waiting for them. ”Don't fuss at them, General,” she said. ”I bet you Colonel Lenz ordered them to link up with us.”

”You're probably right.” Ben waved at the Scouts to take the lead and they set a route step that was not uncomfortably fast, but covered a lot of ground. The small group held to cover as much as possible, avoiding open fields.

Ben was the first to hear the unmistakable whapping of rotor blades.

”Down!” he called. ”Choppers.”

Corrie was listening intently to her earphones. ”Teams have been spotted,” she said, lying beside Ben. ”Hoffman knows we bugged out.”

”We're in for it now,” Ben replied. ”He'll be throwing everything he's got at us.””We're spotted!” Beth shouted, listening to the Black-s.h.i.+rt's frequency.

”He'll be coming in for a strafing run,” Ben called, watching the chopper begin a slow turn. ”Good G.o.d, look at the armament on that d.a.m.n thing.”

Then the helicopter disintegrated in the air as a Rebel Stinger, fired from a hidden Rebel team about a half a mile away impacted against it.

Metal parts and body parts were flung in all directions and the ball of fire fell out of the sky and crashed to earth.

”Let's go!” Ben shouted, jumping to his feet. ”Head for that stand of timber.”

Reaching the timber and pausing to catch their 170.

breath, the small band of Rebels listened for the sounds of more choppers. None came.

”Probably a lone wolf,” Ben said, after taking a small sip of tepid water from his canteen. ”You picking up any enemy chatter, Beth?”

”Negative.”

Corrie didn't mention that Ike and other Rebel commanders were raising h.e.l.l about Ben's disappearance and continuing silence. Ben already knew that.

”Let's cover some ground while we can.”

By nightfall, they had put the destroyed town far behind them. They ate cold rations and Ben told them to get some rest. He had some thinking to do.

Should they move on? That just might be a dandy way to get seriously dead by the guns of their own people. Before they had bugged out of the little town, pa.s.swords had been chosen: Alamo and Bowie. But with very nervous trigger fingers, there might not be time for words.

Ben slept for a few hours and then roused the others. ”We'll chance it.

Let's move out. Everybody remember the challenge? OK. Heads up.”

They had not gone a thousand yards before the point man dropped down, the others following.

The point Scout silently wriggled back to the main body. ”Blacks.h.i.+rts,”

he whispered. ”Looks like a big bunch of them.”

”Go around them,” Ben said. ”To the east. Coop, pa.s.s the word. Anybody makes a noise, we're all dead.”

It took them nearly half an hour of slow and silent moving, being very careful where they put a boot down. By the time the Rebels had worked their way clear of 171.

the Blacks.h.i.+rt encampment, the smell of nervous sweat was becoming sharpin the surprisingly cool night.