璇玑之心刃·冷血悍将-第159章

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a　fighter　squadron；　then　a　carrier　air　wing；　then　a　carrier；　then　a　group；　and　then　been　mander；　Air　Forces；　US　Pacific　Fleet；　before　assuming　his　current　job。　With　luck　a　fleet　mand　lay　in　his　future；　and　that　was　as　far　as　he‘d　ever　been　able　to　see。　Maxwell‘s　office　was　in　keeping　with　his　station　and　experience。　On　the　wall　to　the　left　of　his　large　mahogany　desk　was　the　side　plate　from　the　F6F　Hellcat　he‘d　flown　at　Philippine　Sea　and　off　the　coast　of　Japan。　Fifteen　rising…sun　flags　were　painted　on　the　deep　blue　background　lest　anyone　forget　that　the　Navy‘s　elder　statesman　of　aviators　had　really　done　it　once；　and　done　it　better　than　most。　His　old　mug　from　the　old　Enterprise　sat　on　his　desk　as　well；　no　longer　used　for　something　so　trivial　as　drinking　coffee；　and　certainly　not　for　pencils。
This　near…culmination　of　his　career　should　have　been　a　matter　of　the　utmost　satisfaction　to　Maxwell；　but　instead　his　eyes　fell　upon　the　daily　loss　report　from　Yankee　Station。　Two　A…7A　Corsair　light…attack　bombers　had　been　lost；　and　the　notation　said　they　were　from　the　same　ship　and　the　same　squadron。
‘What‘s　the　story　on　this？‘　Maxwell　asked　Rear　Admiral　Podulski。
‘I　checked；‘　Casimir　replied。　‘Probably　a　midair。　Anders　was　the　element　leader；　his　wingman；　Robertson；　was　a　new　kid。　Something　went　wrong　but　nobody　saw　what　it　was。　No　SAM　call；　and　they　were　too　high　for　flak。‘
‘Chutes？‘
‘No。‘　Podulski　shook　his　head。　‘The　division　leader　saw　the　fireball。　Just　bits　and　pieces　came　out。‘
‘What　were　they　in　after？‘
Gas‘s　face　said　it　all。　‘A　suspected　truck　park。　The　rest　of　the　strike　went　in；　hit　the　target；　good　bomb　patterns；　but　no　secondaries。‘
‘So　the　whole　thing　was　a　waste　of　time。‘　Maxwell　closed　his　eyes；　wondering　what　had　gone　wrong　with　the　two　aircraft；　with　the　mission　assignment；　with　his　career；　with　his　Navy；　with　his　whole　country。
‘Not　at　all；　Dutch。　Somebody　thought　it　was　an　important　target。‘
‘Cas；　it‘s　too　early　in　the　morning　for　that；　okay？‘
‘Yes；　sir。　The　CAG　is　investigating　the　incident　and　will　probably　take　some　token　action。　If　you　want　an　explanation；　it‘s　probably　that　Robertson　was　a　new　kid；　and　he　was　nervous　…　second　bat　mission　…　and　probably　he　thought　he　saw　something；　and　probably　he　jinked　too　hard；　but　they　were　the　trail　element　and　nobody　saw　it。　Hell；　Dutch；　we　saw　that　sort　of　thing　happen；　too。‘
Maxwell　nodded。　‘What　else？‘
‘An　A…6　got　shredded　north　of　Haiphong　…　SAM　…　but　they　got　it　back　to　the　boat　all　right。　Pilot　and　B/N　both　get　DFCs　for　that；‘　Podulski　reported。　‘Otherwise　a　quiet　day　in　the　South　China　Sea。　Nothing　much　in　the　Atlantic。　Eastern　Med；　picking　up　some　signs　the　Syrians　are　getting　frisky　with　their　new　MiGs；　but　that‘s　not　our　problem　yet。　We　have　that　meeting　with　Grumman　tomorrow；　and　then　it‘s　off　to　The　Hill　to　talk　with　our　worthy　public　servants　about　the　F…14　program。‘
‘How　do　you　like　the　numbers　on　the　new　fighter？‘
‘Part　of　me　wishes　we　were　young　enough　to　qualify；　Dutch。‘　Cas　managed　a　smile。　‘But；　Jesus；　we　used　to　build　carriers　for　what　one　of　these　things　is　going　to　cost。‘
‘Progress；　Cas。‘
‘Yeah；　we　have　so　much　of　that。‘　Podulski　grunted。　‘One　other　thing。　Got　a　call　from　Pax　River。　Your　friend　may　be　back　home。　His　boat‘s　at　the　dock；　anyway。‘
‘You　made　me　wait　this　long　for　it？‘
‘No　sense　rushing　it。　He‘s　a　civilian；　right？　Probably　sleeps　till　nine　or　ten。‘
Maxwell　grunted。　‘That　must　be　nice。　I‘ll　have　to　try　it　sometime。‘
C11
　　　　CHAPTER　11
Fabrication
Five　miles　can　be　a　long　walk。　It　is　always　a　long　swim。　It　is　a　particularly　long　swim　alone。　It　was　an　especially　long　swim　alone　and　for　the　first　time　in　weeks。　That　fact　became　clear　to　Kelly　before　the　halfway　point；　but　even　though　the　water　east　of　his　island　was　shallow　enough　that　he　could　stand　in　many　places；　he　didn‘t　stop；　didn‘t　allow　himself　to　slacken　off。　He　altered　his　stroke　to　punish　his　left　side　all　the　more；　weling　the　pain　as　the　messenger　of　progress。　The　water　temperature　was　just　about　right；　he　told　himself；　cool　enough　that　be　didn‘t　overheat；　and　warm　enough　that　it　didn‘t　drain　the　energy　from　his　body。　Half　a　mile　out　from　the　island　his　pace　began　to　slow；　but　he　summoned　the　inner　reservoir　of　whatever　it　was　that　a　man　drew　on　and　gutted　it　out；　building　the　pace　up　again　until；　when　he　touched　the　mud　that　marked　the　eastern　side　of　Battery　Island；　he　could　barely　move。　Instantly　his　muscles　began　to　tighten　up；　and　Kelly　had　to　force　himself　to　stand　and　walk。　It　was　then　that　he　saw　the　helicopter。　He‘d　heard　one　twice　during　his　swim；　but　made　no　note　of　it。　He　had　long　experience　with　helicopters；　and　hearing　them　was　as　natural　as　the　buzz　of　an　insect。　But　having　one　land　on　his　sandbar　was　not　all　that　mon；　and　he　walked　over　towards　it　until　a　voice　called　him　back　towards　the　bunkers。　
‘Over　here；　Chief‘
Kelly　turned。　The　voice　was　familiar；　and　on　rubbing　his　eyes　he　saw　the　undress　whites　of　a　very　senior　naval　officer　…　that　fact　made　clear　by　the　golden　shoulder　boards　that　sparkled　in　the　late…morning　sun。
‘Admiral　Maxwell！‘　Kelly　was　glad　for　the　pany；　especially　this　man；　but　his　lower　legs　were　covered　in　mud　from　the　walk　out　of　the　water。　‘I　wish　you‘d　called　ahead；　sir。‘
‘I　tried；　Kelly。‘　Maxwell　came　up　to　him　and　took　his　hand。　‘We‘ve　been　calling　here　for　a　couple　of　days。　Where　the　hell　were　you？　Out　on　a　job？‘　The　Admiral　was　surprised　at　the　instant　change　in　the　boy‘s　face。
‘Not　exactly。‘
‘Why　don‘t　you　go　get　washed　off？　I‘ll　go　looking　for　a　soda。‘　It　was　then　that　Maxwell　saw　the　recent　scars　on　Kelly‘s　back　and　neck。　Jesus！
Their　first　meeting　had　been　aboard　USS　Kitty　Hawk；　three　years　earlier；　he　as　AirPac；　Kelly　as　a　very　sick　Bosun‘s　Mate　First　Class。　It　wasn‘t　the　sort　of　thing　a　man　in　Maxwell‘s　position　could　forget。　Kelly　had　gone　in　to　rescue　the　flight　crew　of　Nova　One　One；　whose　pilot　had　been　Lieutenant；　junior　grade；　Winslow　Holland　Maxwell　III；　USN。　Two　days　of　crawling　about　in　an　area　that　was　just　too　hot　for　a　rescue　helicopter　to　go　trolling；　and　he‘d　e　out　with　Dutch　3rd；　injured　but　alive；　but　Kelly　had　caught　a　vicious　infection　from　the　putrid　water。　And　how；　Maxwell　still　asked　himself；　how　did　you　thank　a　man　for　saving　your　only　son？　So　young　he‘d　looked　in　the　hospital　bed；　so　much　like　his　son；　the　same　sort　of　defiant　pride　and　shy　intelligence。　In　a　just　world　Kelly　would　have　received　the　Medal　of　Honor　for　his　solo　mission　up　that　brown　river；　but　Maxwell　hadn‘t　even　wasted　the　paper。　Sorry；　Dutch；　CINCPAC　would　have　said；　I‘d　like　to　go　to　bat　for　you　on　this；　but　it‘s　a　waste　of　effort；　just　would　look　too；　well；　suspicious。　And　so　he‘d　done　what　he　could。
‘Tell　me　about　yourself。‘
‘Kelly；　sir；　John　Т。；　bosun‘s　mate　first　…‘
‘No。‘　Maxwell　had　interrupted　him　with　a　shake　of　the　head。　‘No；　I　think　you　look　more　like　a　Chief　Bosun‘s　Mate　to　me。‘
Maxwell　had　stayed　on　Kitty　Hawk　for　three　more　days；　ostensibly　to　conduct　a　personal　inspection　of　flight　operations；　but　really　to　keep　an　eye　on　his　wounded　son　and　the　young　SEAL　who‘d　rescued　him。　He‘d　been　with　Kelly　for　the　telegram　announcing　the　death　of　his　father；　a　firefighter　who‘d　had　a　heart　attack　on　the　job。　And　now；　he　realized；　he‘d　arrived　just　after　something　else。
Kelly　returned　from　his　shower　in　a　T…shirt　and　shorts；　dragging　a　little　physically；　but　with　something　tough　and　strong　in　his　eyes。
‘How　far　was　that　swim；　John？‘
‘Just　under　five　miles；　sir。‘
‘Good　workout；‘　Maxwell　observed；　handing　over　a　Coca…Cola　for　his　host。　‘You　better　cool　down　some。‘
‘Thank　you；　sir。‘
‘What　happened　to　you？　That　mess　on　your　shoulder　is　new。‘　Kelly　told　his　story　briefly；　in　the　way　of　one　warrior　to　another；　for　despite　the　difference　in　age　and　station　they　were　of　a　kind；　and　for　the　second　time　Dutch　Maxwell　sat　and　listened　like　the　surrogate　father　he　had　bee。
‘That‘s　a　hard　hit；　John；‘　the　Admiral　observed　quietly。
‘Yes；　sir。‘　Kelly　didn‘t　know　what　else　he　was　supposed　to　say；　and　looked　down　for　a　moment。　‘I　never　thanked　you　for　the　card　。。。　when　Tish　died。　That　was　good　of　you；