Ashes - Standoff In The Ashes Part 35

She looked at Ben, then at the water, then she lapped it up. Ben fixed another cup and she drank that, then lay down by the Hummer. She didn't go to sleep. She never took her eyes off Ben.

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Ben fixed himself some crackers with some sort of mystery meat and had diat... he tried to get the dog to eat some of it, and even she turned up her nose at the c.r.a.p. It sure as h.e.l.l wasn't very tasty-and as a matter of fact it smelled like glue-but it filled him up while his coffee was brewing.

"I know you have a name," Ben said to the Mai. "But I don't have a clue what it is and you're not able to tell me. So if you stay with me, and I hope you do, I've got to name you somediing. I can't keep calling you Dog."

The Mai came over and lay down beside Ben. Ben put a hand on the dog's head and petted her. In a very few moments, they went to sleep together.

He had found a friend.

"The problem is, Mai," Ben said to the dog as they rode down the old blacktop, "I'm looking to hunt someone to kill him. What am I going to do with you when Berman and I meet? I don't want you to get hurt."

The dog deep-voiced back at him in the odd way that Malamutes have of 'talking.'

"Right," Ben said. "Absolutely. That was going to be my next question."

The clouds and the storm that had been threatening had moved on east, and the day had turned out bright and warm. Suddenly, far up the road, on a straightaway stretch, Ben caught a glimpse of sunlight off a winds.h.i.+eld or chrome. He quickly cut off the highway and into a pasture, then into a small stand of trees. He cut the engine and got out, taking the regulation M-16 and a rucksack of 40mm grenades.He looked at the Mai. "You stay," he told her. "Stay right here!"

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Surprisingly, the Mai jumped into the rear of the Hummer and lay down.

"Good girl. Good girl!"

Before Ben closed the door he lowered one side flap, so if the worst happened and he did not return the Mai could get out.

Ben walked to die edge of die timber and waited, binoculars in hand.

Four vehicles came into sight, driving slowly. All the vehicles had a white star on the doors. Regular Federal troops. Ben hated to see that, and would not fire on regular American troops unless diey fired on him.

The four vehicles, two Hummers and two pickup trucks, drove slowly past.

Using his long lenses, Ben watched as the men looked all around diem, missing nothing diat was visible to them. They drove on past and Ben relaxed a bit.

Ben waited for several minutes before returning to his Hummer. The Mai was right where he'd left her. "Good girl," Ben told die her, petting her. "You've had some good training, and it stayed with you."

Ben cranked up and pulled out, heading in the opposite direction from die Federal troops. He turned on his radios and let diem scan, hoping to pick up sometiiing diat would lead him to Walt Berman. For die most part, bodi Federal and Rebel frequencies were silent.

Ben followed die blacktop to die top of a hill and pulled off, driving over a meadow and into a stand of brush and timber. He took a Federal walkie-talkie and keyed die mic.

"Hey, Berman," Ben said. "You washed up son of a b.i.t.c.h! Are you listening, you b.a.s.t.a.r.d?"

Nodiing came back at him.

Ben tried again. "Anybody out there seen die self-appointed general a.s.shole named Berman?"

Nodiing.

"This Ben Raines, you traitorous mercenary p.r.i.c.ks. Somebody talk to me."

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Nothing.

"I know somebody is monitoring this," Ben said, after releasing the mic key. "Probably both Berman's people and my Rebels."

Ben waited for a moment and then tried again. "Anybody out there seen that yellow-bellied, two-bit tin soldier who calls himself Walt Berman?

If you have, give him a message from me. Tell that piece of s.h.i.+t that Ben Raines is going to first whip his stupid a.s.s, then I'm going to kill him.""What are you trying to do, Ben?" Ike's voice popped out of the radio set on Rebel frequencies.

Ben ignored the question from his old friend and second in command of all Rebels.

"Talk to me, Ben," Ike persisted. "I know you can hear me. What the h.e.l.l are you trying to prove?"

Ben smiled at the voice, but did not respond to the question. Mai stood up in the back and gave Ben a lick on the side of his face.

"Come on, Ben," Ike urged. "Talk to me."

Ben picked up the mic to the radio linked to Rebel frequencies. "It's personal, Ike. Now shut up and leave me alone, will you?"

"No way. Ben, you're the commanding general of the finest military force in the world. You can't-"

Ben reached over and turned the radio off. "Sorry, Ike. But this is something I have to do, ole' buddy." He didn't think he had stayed on long enough for Ike to have his location pinpointed. Ben picked up the small handheld unit and punched the TALK b.u.t.ton.

"Well, have you a.s.sholes managed to locate that banana republic general of yours?"

"He'll be here in a few minutes, General Raines," the voice popped out of the tiny speaker.

"Good. I'll b.u.mp you in a few minutes. When Berman 291.

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gets there, tell the two-bit p.r.i.c.k to stand by for my transmission."

"That's affirmative, General."

Ben waited for a few minutes, then tried again. This time Berman came on the horn.

"Raines, you b.a.s.t.a.r.d!"

"h.e.l.lo to you, too, you pea-bfained piece of c.r.a.p."

Berman spent the next couple of minutes cussing Ben, and the mercenary commander was pretty good at it.

When he paused for breath Ben radioed, "If you could fight half as good as you cuss, you might someday be qualified to lead a platoon, Berman.

Or maybe even a company. But that might be stretching credibility just a bit."

That set Berman off again. Ben waited until the man paused for breath.

"I know that even a dimwit such as you will have equipment to pretty well pinpoint my location, Berman, so let's cut the c.r.a.p and get down toit."

"What do you want, Raines?"

"To kill you, s.h.i.+thead."

"In your dreams."

"You man enough to meet me alone, Berman?"

"You G.o.dd.a.m.n right, I am. Just name the date and place."

"What's wrong with right now, d.i.c.khead? Or do you need more time to set up troops to help you? You d.a.m.n sure aren't man enough to do the job yourself."

Berman started cussing again.

Ben calmly rolled himself a smoke, smiling at the angry profanity pouring out of the radio. He lit up just as Berman was running out of steam. Ben punched the TALK b.u.t.ton.

"You're beginning to repeat yourself, Berman. And you're really starting to bore me. You have to be one of the most vain and certainly one of the dumbest sons of b.i.t.c.hes I have ever had the misfortune to encounter."

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"You son of a b.i.t.c.h!" Berman screamed the words so loudly they were distorted coming out of the speaker.

"Now, now, watch your blood pressure, old fellow."

"Old fellow?"

"That's what I said, Berman."

"We're the same G.o.dd.a.m.n age, you p.r.i.c.k!"

"Now how would you know that, Berman?"

That question was followed by about thirty seconds of silence. Finally Berman said, "Figured it out, did you, Raines?"

"Some of it, yes."

"You were a contract operative for the Company, just like me, Raines.

Well, almost like me. You always got the better a.s.signments."

"They didn't fully trust you, Bateman. That's it. I knew it would come to me. Al Bateman."

"How about the rest of it?"

"You'll have to fill me in."

"Remember Joan, Raines?"

"Who?""Joan. Joan Tillson."

"You have me there, Berman-Bateman. I don't recall any Joan Tillson."

"You sorry son of a b.i.t.c.h!"

"Who the h.e.l.l is Joan Tillson?"

"d.a.m.n you to h.e.l.l, Raines! You're a liar. How about operation Lion's Den?"

"I wasn't on that op."

"You're a liar. You were in Capetown just before I got there. Dawson told me you were."

"Lars Dawson?"

"Yes."

"Lars Dawson is a liar. The man hated me. I sent in the report that kept him from being named Chief of Station."

"You're the liar, Raines. You let Joan down. Failed to 293.

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back her up. Got her killed. I loved that woman, and I hate you for that."

"You're wrong, Bateman. I never heard ofjoan Tillson."

"Liar. Liar!"

"This is getting ridiculous. Your people have my location locked in?"

"Yes, they do."

"And you're going to tell me you're coming to meet me man to man, I suppose."

"You know I am. I'm going to kill you."

"You're a coward. You'll probably bring a company of troops to help you out. You're so d.a.m.ned afraid of me you're probably p.i.s.sing on yourself as we speak."

The mercenary commander launched into another round of almost wild cursing. Ben smiled and waited until the man paused for breath.

"Come on, Berman-Bateman. Or are you going to continue stalling and showing how d.a.m.n cowardly you really are by doing nothing but cursing?"

"I'm on my way, Raines."