tc.redstormrising-第139节

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the　west。
〃Right；　he's　a　smart　soldier；〃　Nichols　announced。　〃He's　sending　out　a　patrol　to　make　certain　the　area's　secure。〃
〃What　do　we　do　about　it？〃　Edwards　asked。
〃What　do　you　think；　Leftenant？〃
〃Our　orders　are　to　sit　tight。　So　we　sit　tight　and　hope　they　don't　see　us。〃
〃Not　likely　they　will；　you　know。　I　shouldn't　think　they'd　climb　down…must　be　eight　hundred　feet…then　cross　that　rock　yard；　then　climb　up　here　just　to　see　if　any　Yanks　are　about。　Remember；　the　only　reason　we　know　they're　there　is　that　we　saw　their　helicopter。〃
Otherwise　we　might　have　walked　right　into　them；　and　that　would　have　been　that；　Edwards　reminded　himself。　I　won't　be　safe　until　I'm　back　home　in　Maine。　〃Is　that　more　of　them？〃
〃Must　be　at　least　a　platoon　over　there。　That　is　rather　clever　of　our　friends；　isn't　it？〃
Edwards　got　on　the　radio　to　report　this　development　to　Doghouse　while　the　Marines　kept　track　of　the　Russians。
〃A　platoon？〃
〃That's　Sergeant　Nichols's　estimate。　Kinda　hard　to　count　heads　from　three　miles　away；　fella。〃
〃Okay；　we'll　pass　that　one　along。　Any　air　activity。？〃
〃Haven't　seen　any　aircraft　at　all　since　yesterday。〃
〃How　about　Stykkisholmur？〃
〃Too　far　to　make　anything　out。　We　still　can　see　those　four…by…fours　sitting　in　the　street；　but　no　armored　vehicles。　I'd　say　they　had　a　small　garrison　force　there　to　keep　an　eye　on　the　port。　The　fishing　boats　aren't　going　anywhere。〃
〃Very　well。　Good　report；　Beagle。　Hang　in　there。〃　The　major　switched　off　and　turned　to　his　neighbor　at　the　munications　console。　〃It's　a　shame　to　keep　them　in　the　dark　like　this；　isn't　it？〃
The　SOE　man　sipped　at　his　tea。　〃It　would　be　a　greater　shame　to　blow　the　operation。〃
Edwards　didn't　take　the　radio　apart；　but　left　it　leaning　against　a　rock。　Vigdis　was　still　asleep　on　a　flat　ledge　twenty　feet　below　the　top。　Sleep　was　about　the　most　attractive　thing　Edwards　could　think　of　at　the　moment。
〃They're　heading　in　this　direction；〃　Garcia　said。　He　handed　the　glasses　to　Edwards。　Smith　and　Nichols　were　conferring　a　few　yards　away。
Mike　trained　the　binoculars　on　the　Russians。　He　told　himself　that　to　have　them　e　right　to　his　position　was　a　very　low　order　of　probability。　Keep　telling　yourself　that。　He　shifted　his　glasses　to　the　Russian　observation　post。
〃There　it　is　again；〃　the　sergeant　told　his　lieutenant。
〃What's　that？〃
〃I　saw　a　flash　from　that　hilltop；　sun　reflected　off　something。〃
〃A　shiny　rock；〃　the　lieutenant　snorted；　not　taking　the　time　to　look。　〃rade　Lieutenant！〃　The　officer　turned　at　the　sharp　tone　to　see　a　rock　flying　through　the　air　at　his　face。　He　caught　it；　and　was　too　surprised　to　be　angry。　〃How　shiny　does　that　rock　look？〃
〃An　old　can；　then！　We've　found　enough　trash　here　from　tourists　and　mountain　climbers；　haven't　we？〃
〃Then　why　does　it　e　and　go　and　e　back？〃
The　lieutenant　got　visibly　angry　at　last。　〃Sergeant；　I　know　you　have　a　year's　bat　experience　in　Afghanistan。　I　know　I　am　a　new　officer。　But　I　am　a　Goddamned　officer　and　you　are　a　Goddamned　sergeant！〃
The　wonders　of　our　classless　society；　the　sergeant　thought；　continuing　to　look　at　his　officer。　Few　officers　could　bear　his　look。
〃Very　well；　Sergeant。　You　tell　them。〃　The　lieutenant　pointed　at　the　radio。
〃Markhovskiy；　before　you　e　back；　check　out　the　hilltop　to　your　right。〃
〃But　it's　two　hundred　meters　high！〃　the　squad　leader　shot　back。
〃Correct。　It　shouldn't　take　long　at　all；〃　the　platoon　sergeant　said　fortingly。

USS　INDEPENDENCE
Toland　switched　viewgraphs；　in　the　projector。　〃Okay；　these　satellite　shots　are　less　than　three　hours　old。　Ivan　has　three　mobile　radars；　here；　here；　and　here。　He　moves　them　about　daily…meaning　that　one's　probably　been　moved　already…and　usually　has　two　operating　around　the　clock。　At　Keflavik　we　have　five　SA…11　launch　vehicles；　four　birds　per　vehicle。　This　SAM　is　very　bad　news。　You've　all　been　briefed　on　its　known　capabilities；　and　you'd　better　figure　on　a　few　hundred　hand…held　SAMs；　too。　The　photo　shows　six　mobile　antiaircraft　guns。　We　don't　see　any　fixed　ones。　They're　there；　gentlemen；　they're　just　camouflaged。　At　least　five；　perhaps　as　many　as　ten　MiG…29　fighter　interceptors。　This　used　to　be　a　regiment　until　the　guys　from　Nimitz　cut　them　down　to　size。　Remember　that　the　ones　who're　left　are　the　ones　who　survived　two　squadrons　of　Tomcats。　That　is　the　opposition　at　Keflavik。〃
Toland　stepped　aside　while　the　wing　operations　officer　went　over　the　mission　profile。　It　sounded　impressive　to　Toland。　He　hoped　it　would　be　so　for　the　Russians。
The　curtain　went　up　fifty　minutes　later。　The　first　aircraft　launched　for　the　strike　were　the　E…2C　Hawkeyes。　Acpanied　by　fighters；　they　flew　to　within　eighty　miles　of　the　Icelandic　coast　and　radiated　their　own　radar　coverage　all　over　the　formation。　More　Hawkeyes　reached　farther　out　to　cover　the　formation　from　possible　air…and　submarine…launched　missile　attack。

KEFLAVIK；　ICELAND
Ground…based　Soviet　radar　detected　the　Hawkeyes　even　before　their　powerful　systems　went　active。　They　could　see　two　of　the　slow　propeller…driven　aircraft　hovering　beyond　SAM　range；　each　acpanied　by　two　other　aircraft　whose　extended　figure…eight…course　tracks　denoted　them　as　Tomcat　interceptors　guarding　the　Hawkeyes。　The　alarm　was　sounded。　Fighter　pilots　boarded　their　aircraft　while　missile　and　gun　crews　raced　to　their　stations。
The　fighter…force　mander　was　a　major　with　three　kills　to　his　credit…but　who　had　learned　the　virtue　of　caution　the　hard　way。　He'd　been　shot　down　once　already。　The　Americans　had　sprung　one　trap　on　his　regiment　and　he　had　no　wish　to　participate　in　a　second。　If　this　was　an　attack　and　not　a　feint　to　draw　out　what　fighters　remained　on　Iceland…how　would　he　know？　He　reached　his　decision。　On　the　major's　mand；　the　fighters　lifted　off；　climbed　to　twenty　thousand　feet；　and　orbited　over　the　peninsula；　conserving　their　fuel　and　remaining　over　land；　where　they　could　be　supported　by　friendly　SAMs。　They　had　exercised　carefully　the　previous　few　days　with　these　tactics；　and　were　as　confident　as　they　could　be　that　the　missile　crews　could　distinguish　between　friendly　and　unfriendly　aircraft。　When　they　got　to　altitude；　their　radar　threat　receivers　told　them　of　more　American　Hawkeyes　to　the　east　and　west。　The　information　was　relayed　home　with　a　request　for　a　strike　by　the　Backfires。　What　they　got　back　was　a　request　to　identify　the　American　fleet's　location　and　position。　The　air…base　mander　didn't　bother　forwarding　that。　The　Soviet　fighter　mander　swore　under　his　breath。　The　American　radar　aircraft　were　prime　targets；　and　tantalizingly　within　reach。　With　a　full　regiment；　he'd　streak　after　them　and　risk　losses　from　their　fighter　escorts；　but　he　was　sure　that　that　was　precisely　what　the　Americans　were　hoping　he'd　do。
The　Intruders　went　in　first；　skimming　above　the　wavetops　from　the　south　at　five　hundred　knots；　Standard…ARM　missiles　hanging　from　their　wings。　More　Tomcat　fighters　were　behind　them　at　high　altitude。　When　the　fighters；　passed　the　radar　aircraft；　they　illuminated　the　circling　MiGs　with　their　radars　and　began　to　fire　off　Phoenix　missiles。
The　MiGs　couldn't　ignore　them。　The　Soviet　fighters　separated　into　two…plane　elements　and　scattered；　coached　from　their　ground…based　radar　controllers。
The　Intruders　popped　up　at　a　range　of　thirty　miles；　just　outside　range　of　the　SAMs；　and　loosed　four　Standard…ARM　missiles　each；　which　homed　in　on　the　Russian　search　radars。　The　Russian　radar　operators　faced　a　cruel　choice。　They　could　leave　their　search　radars　on　and　almost　certainly　have　them　destroyed　or　turn　them　off　and　lessen　the　chance…and　pletely　lose　track　of　the　overhead　air　battle。　They　chose　a　middle　ground。　The　Soviet　SAM　mander　ordered　his　men　to　flip　their　systems　on　and　off　at　random　intervals；　hoping　to　confuse　the　ining　missiles　while　keeping　tenuous　coverage　of　the　ining　strike。　The　missile　flight　time　was　just　over　a　minute；　and　most　of　the　radar　crews　took　the　time　to　switch　their　systems　off　and　leave　them　off…each　misunderstanding　the　order　in　the　most　advantageous　manner。
The　Phoenixes　arrived　first。　The　MiG　pilots　suddenly　lost　their　ground…control　guidance；　but　kept　maneuvering。　One　aircraft　had　four　missiles　targeted；　and　evaded　two　missiles　only　to　blunder　into　another　one。　The　major　in　mand　swore　at　his　inability　to　hit　back　as　he　tried　to　think　of　something　that　would　work。
Next　came　the　Standard…ARMs。　The　Russians　had　three　air…search　radars　and　three　more　for　missile…acquisition。　All　had　been　turned　on　when　the　first　alarm　sounded；　then　all　had　gone　black　after　the　missiles　had　been　detected　in　the　air。　The　Standards　were　only　partially　confused。　Their　guidance　systems　had　been　designed　to　record　the　position　of　a　radar　in　case　it　did　go　off　the　air；　and　they　homed　in　on　those　positions　now。　The　missiles　killed　two　transmitters　entirely　and　damaged　two　others。
The　American　mission　mander　was　annoyed。　The　Russian　fighters　were　not　cooperating。　They　hadn't　e　out　even　when　the　Intruders　had　popped　up…he'd　had　more　fighters　waiting　low　for　that　eventuality。　But　the　Soviet　radars　were　down。　He　gave　the　next　order。　Three　squadrons　of　F/A…18　Hornets　streaked　in　low　from　the　north。
The　Russian　air…defense　mander　ordered　his　radars　back　on；　saw　that　no　more　missiles　were　in　the　air；　and　soon　picked　up　the　low…flying　Hornets。　The　MiG　mander　saw　the　America