Ambush in the Ashes Read Online Free PDF Page B

that was something he had no plans to do at the present time.
    The Israelis had stabilized the mideast region for which Ben would be forever grateful.
    But the Israelis were very anxious to join Ben when he reached the northernmost lines of the territory claimed by Bruno Bottger and his Nazis. Ben smiled at that thought. It would probably have taken World War IV to keep them out of it. Mention Nazi to a Jew, and he was ready to fight.
    However, that campaign lay months in the future; no point in thinking about it now.
    Ben’s growling stomach told him he had missed lunch, and he waved to his team. “Let’s go get something to eat, gang. We’re just in the way down here.”
     

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    Ben stood by the side of the highway and watched as the battalions rolled out, heading east. Ike’s 2 Batt was spearheading the drive, followed by Dan’s 3 Batt, West and his 4 Batt, and Georgi and his 5 Batt. Ike had nearly two thousand miles to travel before he could turn and begin the push south.
    The column was miles long and moving slowly over very bad roads; roads that had not been maintained for years.
    When the last vehicle had passed Ben’s location and disappeared into the dust, Ben rode back into the city and up to Dr. Chase’s headquarters and into his office.
    Lamar looked up from a mass of paperwork he was wading through, bitching all the time. He threw a pencil down on the paper-littered desk and stood up. “Glad to you see, Ben. I’m about to go nuts with all this paperwork. Let’s take a walk and get some air.”
    Chase disliked paperwork almost as much as Ben did.
    Outside, Chase said, “We’ve got a handle on things here, Ben. We’re gradually beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel.”
    “The overall condition of the city’s residents?”
    “Poor. Very poor. But there isn’t much more we can do. When we pull out, they’ll go right back to near starvation.”
    “We can’t support the world, Lamar.”
    “I know that, Ben. All we can do is prop them up and move on. How long before Ike reaches the eastern borders?”
    “Two/three weeks. That enough time for you?”
    “Plenty, for what we can do. Still no word from that Nazi bastard down south?”
    “Not a peep.”
    “Do you find that strange?”
    “Not really, Lamar. He’d be a fool to launch any sort
     
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    of ground attack against us here, while we’re thousands strong. Besides, he knows our satellite passes would pick up any massive ground movement. He wants us close to his home territory, where he’ll have the advantage of knowing the terrain and keeping his people supplied. The man is an arrogant bastard, but not stupid.”
    “Supplies will be a problem for us, won’t they, Ben?”
    Ben shook his head. “Not really. There will be times when fuel might get dicey, but that’s about it. The advance teams we sent over pinpointed dozens of underground fuel depots that had never been touched. Once we get down to Bruno’s northern lines, we’ll set up positions and slug it out for a time, feeling each other out.”
    “Of course, that’s several thousand miles away,” the doctor pointed out.
    “Several thousand very difficult miles, old friend.”
    Lamar glanced at his watch. “Well, I’d best be getting back to this damnable paperwork.”
    “Tell me when your people have done all they can do with what they have, Lamar.”
    Lamar nodded. “Tell the truth, we’ve just about reached that point now. We’ve already shut down and packed up several MASH units on the outskirts of town. Planes will be coming in tomorrow with medical supplies for the push south. We’ll be ready when you are.”
    Back in his CP, Ben opened a map of Africa and looked at the outline of the continent, as he had done at least twenty times a day for weeks. He smiled, thinking: Nothing on the map has changed.
    “And not much will have changed once we’ve gone,” he muttered. “At least not for any length of time.” He closed the map and