Thy Kingdom Come: Book One in the Sam Thorpe series Read Online Free PDF

“I’ve ordered five ANPRC-46 radios and two ANPRC-47 radios.”
    Several of the men nodded.
    “For those who aren’t aware, they’re FM radios we can mount on the rear of our trucks. Or we can modify them to carry in packs on our backs. We’ll be able to communicate, line-of-sight, for about fifteen miles.”
    Hector straightened in his chair. “Will that be enough?”
    “I’m not sure yet,” Sam replied. “I don’t know what mission General Oliver will assign us. If we need more capability, we’ll get it.”
    Popeye jumped up from his chair, his round face a bright red. “It’s not up to us to question General Oliver. Our job is to prepare ourselves so we’re ready to do whatever he asks.” He slumped down and stared at Sam.
    Sam was puzzled by the remark but let it go. “Now, I’m handing out the Army FM on small unit operations. I assume you’ve all had experience with field manuals. I want you to review the first six chapters for tomorrow night. We’ll be focusing on hand and arm signals. This will be helpful to coordinate our movement, particularly at night.”
    A red-haired man who didn’t look more than twenty-five stood. “Fuck the communications and, how you say it, hand signals. When we gonna get out and do some shooting?” He spoke with a heavy Eastern European accent.
    Sam motioned for him to sit down. “Boris—is that your name?”
    Boris nodded.
    “If we’re going to be effective, we need to be able to coordinate our movements. The only way to do that is to be able to communicate with one another, especially after dark.” Sam smiled. “We need to own the night.”
    Several of the men nodded.
    “All right, any other questions?”
    Silence greeted Sam. He looked at his watch. “It’s
    1950 hours, we’ve been here since 1800 hours, and I believe we’ve gotten a good start. Let’s break for tonight. Be back tomorrow at 1800 hours, sharp.”
    Chairs scraped as the men rose and moved toward the door. It surprised Sam that the men didn’t talk to one another. He was used to the good-natured “grab ass” among the troops from his days in the military. They pulled coats off the rack in the corner—heavy, mostly down-filled jackets—slipped scarves around their necks, and placed stocking caps on their heads before they wandered outside into the frigid night air.
    About half the men grabbed rifles that had been leaning against the wall. Sam had made a note earlier to bring in gun racks. He’d seen too many accidents with firearms and needed to establish a procedure to make sure the weapons were properly secured and had no ammunition in the chambers.
    “Thorpe,” Popeye called, “in my office. He wheeled and turned toward a door off the main room. “Now!”
    Popeye stormed off.

CHAPTER SIX
     
    S idney Kramer sat at his computer surfing the NRC Web site. He glanced over at the double bed he and Elizabeth shared. He was so lucky to have found her.
    It had been almost twenty years since that cold, April evening when Sidney had spotted her sitting on a bench outside the bus station in downtown Montreal, a forlorn shadow in the darkness. She couldn’t have been more than twenty years old, huddled in a tattered green shawl, with holes in her dirty-white tennis shoes. A faded blue scarf covered her blonde hair. So little and so sad, she caught his attention.
    “My name is Sidney,” he had said. “May I sit down?”
    She didn’t reply, didn’t move, didn’t look at him. She looked like he had felt after the death of his mother. “You must be cold. May I buy you some coffee?”
    No response. He put his hand on her arm. She pulled back and turned away.
    “Look, I don’t know what’s troubling you, but if you sit out here all night you’ll freeze to death. And that won’t be good for either of us.”
    She turned and looked at him, a hint of a smile on her face.
    “I’ll buy you coffee. After you warm up, you can tell me to buzz off.”
    He took her hand. This time she let