[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
people?"
"This is from the top floor, Consuela."
A pause. "I understand."
Chang grimaced as he listened to the recording of Akbar trying to convince the
Page 43
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
fliers that he had asked for injections to help calm them. Both began
scuffling and shouting, and Chang could tell they were held down and given the
shots. And now they were gone.
Anyone who had seen either of them land in New Babylon and make
their way from the hangar to the palace and to Akbar's office would never
admit it or mention it. They had been shot down by the enemy, and that was
that.
Chang checked on the planes again. Already their serial numbers had been
changed. And the original numbers were marked as lost in action. Somehow the
total number of operative GC fighter-bombers in New Babylon did not change.
The story that had scrolled across Chang's screen would broadcast around the
world that night. No doubt Carpathia himself would express abject personal
sorrow over the losses.
Chang checked the records in. Greece and found that Nelson
Stefanich had forwarded location coordinates to "Howie Johnson's"
team. It was a couple of hours yet till nightfall, when Mac planned to pay the
visit. Chang had time to confirm Mac's instructions to the crew at the
Ptolemas airport to refuel the
Rooster Tail and entered into the computer that Senior Commander
Johnson had been cleared at the highest levels to fly it to New
Babylon.
That done, Chang found Stefanich's cell phone number and called it in to Mac.
"Got everything else you need?" Chang said.
"Well, I'd still like to know the disposition of the
"Oh, I will. Hey, Chang?"
"Sir?"
"Who's better than you?"
"Thank you, sir."
Finally, Chang was able to check his other recordings from throughout the day.
He located the one emanating from Carpathia's office and backed up to several
minutes before Nicolae, his secretary Krystall, Leon Fortunato, Suhail Akbar,
and Viv Ivins sat watching the feed from the cockpit of the initial fighter-
bomber. Suhail had just told the potentate he had arranged for him to watch
live, and Carpathia had expressed excited anticipation. Chang sped through
several minutes of setup and of
Nicolae welcoming the various ones into the room.
Then, pay dirt. Akbar informed Carpathia that the fighter-bombers were set for
takeoff from Amman, and that he could bring that up on the monitor, "if you wi
sh. "
"If I wish? Please!"
"Palace to Amman Command," Suhail said.
"Amman. Go ahead, Palace."
Page 44
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
"Initiate visual coverage of takeoff."
"Roger that."
Several seconds of silence. Then Carpathia. "Suhail, these are
fighter-bombers? Is it an optical illusion? They look huge. "
"Oh, they are, Eminence. They have been in service only a few weeks. Notice
how high they sit off the ground. The gear is the
tallest of any fighter ever. It has
"That is the bomb, underneath?"
"Yes, sir."
"Talk about huge. It looks massive!"
"Way too big to be carried internally, sir. It's four and a half feet in
diameter and eleven feet long. The thing weighs fifteen thousand pounds."
"You do not say!"
"Oh, yes, sir. It's carried on what we call an underbelly centerline station."
"And what is it, Suhail? What are we serving the enemy today?"
"The Americans used to call these Big Blue s. They are concussion bombs.
Eighty percent of their weight is made up of a gel consisting of polystyrene,
ammonium nitrate, and powdered aluminum."
"Is it as powerful as it is large?"
"Excellency," Suhail said, "nothing but a nuclear weapon would be more so.
These are designed to detonate just a few feet off the ground and generate a
thousand pounds of pressure per square inch. It should kill everything even
the little creatures below the ground in an area as large as two thousand
acres. The mushroom cloud alone will rise more than a mile. And we're dropping
two."
"Plus a missile."
"Yes, sir."
"Fire? "
"Oh, Your Highness, that's the best part. Each concussion bomb creates a
fireball six thousand feet in
Chang recoiled at a loud hiss, and he imagined a nearly overcome
Carpathia inhaling deeply through his nose and exhaling through clenched
teeth.
Later, when the pilots let loose their payloads, Nicolae said, "Suhail! How
quickly can we get this on television?"
Page 45
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
"I'm sure it's just a matter of a few switches, Excel "
"Do it! Do it now!"
Someone left the room.
The recording was interrupted only with occasional outbursts from
Carpathia. "Ahh! Look! Ohh! Perfect! On target! Both of them. The best revenge [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl fopke.keep.pl
people?"
"This is from the top floor, Consuela."
A pause. "I understand."
Chang grimaced as he listened to the recording of Akbar trying to convince the
Page 43
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
fliers that he had asked for injections to help calm them. Both began
scuffling and shouting, and Chang could tell they were held down and given the
shots. And now they were gone.
Anyone who had seen either of them land in New Babylon and make
their way from the hangar to the palace and to Akbar's office would never
admit it or mention it. They had been shot down by the enemy, and that was
that.
Chang checked on the planes again. Already their serial numbers had been
changed. And the original numbers were marked as lost in action. Somehow the
total number of operative GC fighter-bombers in New Babylon did not change.
The story that had scrolled across Chang's screen would broadcast around the
world that night. No doubt Carpathia himself would express abject personal
sorrow over the losses.
Chang checked the records in. Greece and found that Nelson
Stefanich had forwarded location coordinates to "Howie Johnson's"
team. It was a couple of hours yet till nightfall, when Mac planned to pay the
visit. Chang had time to confirm Mac's instructions to the crew at the
Ptolemas airport to refuel the
Rooster Tail and entered into the computer that Senior Commander
Johnson had been cleared at the highest levels to fly it to New
Babylon.
That done, Chang found Stefanich's cell phone number and called it in to Mac.
"Got everything else you need?" Chang said.
"Well, I'd still like to know the disposition of the
"Oh, I will. Hey, Chang?"
"Sir?"
"Who's better than you?"
"Thank you, sir."
Finally, Chang was able to check his other recordings from throughout the day.
He located the one emanating from Carpathia's office and backed up to several
minutes before Nicolae, his secretary Krystall, Leon Fortunato, Suhail Akbar,
and Viv Ivins sat watching the feed from the cockpit of the initial fighter-
bomber. Suhail had just told the potentate he had arranged for him to watch
live, and Carpathia had expressed excited anticipation. Chang sped through
several minutes of setup and of
Nicolae welcoming the various ones into the room.
Then, pay dirt. Akbar informed Carpathia that the fighter-bombers were set for
takeoff from Amman, and that he could bring that up on the monitor, "if you wi
sh. "
"If I wish? Please!"
"Palace to Amman Command," Suhail said.
"Amman. Go ahead, Palace."
Page 44
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
"Initiate visual coverage of takeoff."
"Roger that."
Several seconds of silence. Then Carpathia. "Suhail, these are
fighter-bombers? Is it an optical illusion? They look huge. "
"Oh, they are, Eminence. They have been in service only a few weeks. Notice
how high they sit off the ground. The gear is the
tallest of any fighter ever. It has
"That is the bomb, underneath?"
"Yes, sir."
"Talk about huge. It looks massive!"
"Way too big to be carried internally, sir. It's four and a half feet in
diameter and eleven feet long. The thing weighs fifteen thousand pounds."
"You do not say!"
"Oh, yes, sir. It's carried on what we call an underbelly centerline station."
"And what is it, Suhail? What are we serving the enemy today?"
"The Americans used to call these Big Blue s. They are concussion bombs.
Eighty percent of their weight is made up of a gel consisting of polystyrene,
ammonium nitrate, and powdered aluminum."
"Is it as powerful as it is large?"
"Excellency," Suhail said, "nothing but a nuclear weapon would be more so.
These are designed to detonate just a few feet off the ground and generate a
thousand pounds of pressure per square inch. It should kill everything even
the little creatures below the ground in an area as large as two thousand
acres. The mushroom cloud alone will rise more than a mile. And we're dropping
two."
"Plus a missile."
"Yes, sir."
"Fire? "
"Oh, Your Highness, that's the best part. Each concussion bomb creates a
fireball six thousand feet in
Chang recoiled at a loud hiss, and he imagined a nearly overcome
Carpathia inhaling deeply through his nose and exhaling through clenched
teeth.
Later, when the pilots let loose their payloads, Nicolae said, "Suhail! How
quickly can we get this on television?"
Page 45
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
"I'm sure it's just a matter of a few switches, Excel "
"Do it! Do it now!"
Someone left the room.
The recording was interrupted only with occasional outbursts from
Carpathia. "Ahh! Look! Ohh! Perfect! On target! Both of them. The best revenge [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]