MacK Bolan No. 62: Day of Mourning Read Online Free PDF Page A

be on their way here soon, Katz."
    "Like the European end of the deal?" asked Katz. "Able Team is working that angle right now. They could have something on it already. And there could be something more than a bomb aboard that sunken freighter. Rafael has them going over the captain's quarters, Striker. The safe, that kind of thing. If there's anything salvageable down there that we can use from an intel standpoint, we'll bring it home with us."
    "See you at Stony Man, then. Good luck," said Bolan.
    He activated the winch.
    It began lowering Katz toward the U.S. spy ship below.
    "Mack, find out what the hell went wrong on that communications blackout."
    "I intend to," said the big blitzer grimly. "That's a promise."
    When the Phoenix Force team boss was aboard the deck of the U.S. trawler, Bolan slammed shut the door and shouted to Grimaldi above the constant, high-pitched whine of the chopper.
    "Home, Jack."
    "You know it, bossman," said the flyboy, grinning.
    The pilot eased them away from the site with a gentle increase of power. The bobbing trawlers became specks on the choppy Atlantic. The Huey lifted off into the gray sky in a northwesterly course for home.
    America.
    The U.S. of A.
    A place Mack Bolan was seeing less and less of these days.
    What would he find waiting for him at Stony Man?
    The mission was successful. There were no casualties for the Stony Man soldiers and the hell-bomb device, whether it survived the ship's sinking intact or not, was on its way to the proper authorities.
    Any other time, Bolan's pulse would have slowed down by now from the adrenaline rush of that underwater action. Now he thought of home and those good people who shared the burden of these terrorist wars every step of the way: Hal, Kurtzman, Konzaki. And of course his lady, April, who made the wheels turn and was always there for Bolan with a candle in the window.
    Stony Man.
    Right.
    Everything this big warrior held near and dear.
    His thoughts were on these people now, sure. But it was not the warmth of a reunion to be anticipated. It was the nagging concern he had felt since they had first lost connection with Stony Man prior to the undersea hit.
    Bolan's adrenaline was still pumping.
    The spy trawler's computers had their own satellite linkup. An operator aboard ship had worked on the problem while Bolan was in decompression. When a connection with Stony Man Farm was finally achieved it was via a communications patch into an unscrambled phone line at the Stony Man command center.
    Bolan spoke briefly with Hal Brognola. The head Fed did not mince words or tip anything that would breach security.
    Hal spoke seven words over the staticky connection, saying nothing to ease Bolan's concern or slow the adrenaline down.
    "Come home, Striker. ASAP. There's big trouble. "

5
    Andrzej Konzaki was in a coma.
    The Stony Man armorer lay struggling for life in the emergency sick bay of Stony Man Farm. Mack Bolan and April Rose stood next to an armed man in uniform on the other side of an observation window in the hospital facility.
    Konzaki was enshrouded in an oxygen tent. Tubes ran to him from two bottles.
    A nurse beside the bed monitored a cardiograph machine that registered a very weak pulse.
    The tough-looking man in uniform who stood next to Bolan was Captain Wade. He was in charge of the security force that patrolled the perimeter of Stony Man Farm.
    "He was reported missing at 1400 hours, sir," Wade reported. "We instituted a search immediately."
    All Farm personnel made voice contact with one of Kurtzman's central computers every two hours. A security precaution.
    "Was he missing before or after the explosion?" asked Bolan.
    "Before, sir."
    April spoke up.
    "Why do you think Konzaki wasn't killed, Mack?"
    "Being in a wheelchair probably saved Konzaki's life," growled Bolan. "At least, so far."
    Wade picked up the thought.
    "The angle of the blow. Sure. Whoever slugged him wasn't used to chopping down at that angle. The blow that meant