Jack Ryan 5 - The Cardinal of the Kremlin Read Online Free PDF Page B

invulnerable to such normal human concern It wasn't true, but Ortiz understood how the force that drove him could suppress his humanity.
    The two men were dressed almost identically. Ortiz considered the Archer's clothing and wondered at the ironic similarity with the Apache Indians of America and
    
    
     Mexico
    
    
    . On of his ancestors had been an officer under Terrazas when the Mexican Army had finally crushed Victorio in the
    
    
    
     Tres
    
    
    
    
    
    
     Castillos
    
    
    
    
    
     Mountains
    
    
    . The Afghans, too, wore rough trousers under their loincloths. They, too, tended to be small, agile fighters; And they, too, treated captives as noisy amusements for the knives. He looked at the Archer's knife and wondered how it was used. Ortiz decided he didn't want to know.           
    “Do you wish something to eat?” he asked.
    “It can wait,” the Archer replied, reaching for his pack He and Abdul had brought out two loaded camels, but left the important material, only his backpack would do. “I fire eight rockets. I hit six aircraft, but one had two engines and managed to escape. Of the five I destroyed, two were helicopters, and three were bombing-fighters. The first helicopter we killed was the new kind of twenty-four you told us about. You were correct. It did have some new equipment. Here some of it.”
    It was ironic, Ortiz thought, that the most sensitive equipment in military aircraft would survive treatment guaranteed to kill its crew. As he watched, the Archer revealed six green circuit boards for the laser-designator that was now standard equipment on the Mi-24. The U.S. Army Captain who'd stayed in the shadows and kept his mouth shut to this point now came forward to examine them. His hands fairly trembled as tie reached for the items.
    “You have the laser, too?” the Captain asked in accented Pashtu.
    “It was badly damaged, but, yes.” The Archer turned. Abdul was snoring. He nearly smiled until he remembered that he had a son also.
    For his part, Ortiz was saddened. To have a partisan with the Archer's education under his control was rare enough. He'd probably been a skilled teacher but he could never teach again. He could never go back to what he'd been. War had changed the Archer's life as fully and certainly as death. Such a goddamned waste.
    “The new rockets?” the Archer asked.
    “I can give you ten. A slightly improved model, with an additional five-hundred-meter range. And some more smoke rockets, too.”
    The Archer nodded gravely, and the corners of his mouth moved in what, in different times, might have been the beginnings of a smile.
    “Perhaps now I can go after their transports. The smoke rockets work very well, my friend. Every time, they push the invaders close to me. They have not yet learned about that tactic.”
    Not a trick, Ortiz noted. He called it a tactic. He wants to go after transports now, he wants to kill a hundred Russians it a time. Jesus, what have we made of this man? The CIA officer shook his head. That wasn't his concern.
    “You are weary, my friend. Rest. We can eat later. Please honor my house by sleeping here.”
    “It is true,” the Archer acknowledged. He was asleep within two minutes.
    Ortiz and the Captain sorted through the equipment brought to them. Included was the maintenance manual for the Mi-M's laser equipment, and radio code sheets, in addition to other things they'd seen before. By
    
     noon
    
     he had it all fully catalogued and began making arrangements to ship it all to the embassy; from there it would be flown immediately to
    
    
     California
    
    
     for a complete evaluation.
     
    The Air Force VC-137 lifted off right on time. It was a customized version of the venerable Boeing 707. The “V” prefix on its designation denoted that it was designed to carry VIP passengers, and the aircraft's interior reflected this. Jack lay back on the couch and abandoned himself to the fatigue that enveloped him. Ten minutes later a