Doomsday Warrior 02 - Red America by Ryder Stacy Read Free Book Online Page B

any wreckage to look at when we went down to check damage.”
    “Wonderful, wonderful,” Rath said, rubbing his hands together and beaming as if he’d just received his longed for Christmas present.
    “The particle beams perform miracles,” Rock continued. “Even knocked out their heavy metal tanks—the Soyaks—though it took a second to melt through their thick skins. That’s one shipment of supplies that the Reds will never see again. I’d say it took us a total of ten minutes from commencement of attack to complete destruction of the fleet. It was something to see, Rath. Almost frightening. I felt as if I were seeing a new energy source being unleashed on the earth.” Rock looked down, a strange expression on his face.
    “You were, you were,” Rath piped in. “A weapon that will drive the Reds from America. Oh Rock, this is a great moment. Perhaps one of the greatest in my life.” Rath looked positively glowing. Unlike Rock he was not one to hide his feelings.
    “Destruction, Rath, so much destruction,” Rock said softly. “All my life I’ve spent fighting the Reds. Yet suddenly when I was holding that particle beam weapon in my hands and firing down I realized I had the power of God at my fingertips. The power of lightning, of earthquakes. I just wonder if man was meant to ever possess these kinds of weapons. For the first time in my life I actually felt unsure about what I was doing.”
    “But Rock, for God’s sake, man. We’re not killers. If the Reds would leave, we wouldn’t follow them back to the Kremlin. We’re not bent on world domination. This is our land for Christ’s sake, and these weapons will be used to get it back.” Rath was almost shouting.
    “And if the Reds should get their hands on these or discover the energy source? Then what?” Rock stared at the intel chief with glowing eyes, purple and aquamarine. Almost too intense to look into. “Can you imagine if the Reds had them?”
    “They won’t. You can be damn sure of that,” Rath said firmly. “That’s exactly why Dr. Shecter built in the explosive charges. The weapons can be blown up within seconds.”
    “Someday there’s got to be an end to war, Rath,” Rock said. “I’ll fight. I’ll fight until the day I die to free this land. But someday, someday,” he was whispering, with a look in his eyes that Rath had never seen before. “Someday there must be peace. We can never forget that that is what we’re fighting for. Never!” He looked sternly at the head of intelligence who shrank beneath the stare. “Anyway, the things work. That’s for damned sure.”
    The phone rang on the wall and Rath reached over, picking the cordless receiver up. “Hello? Dr. Shecter! When are we expecting them?” He smiled at Rockson who let his own features soften. Rath certainly wasn’t his enemy. Rock let a slow grin fill his face as Rath handed him the receiver.
    The other end was a nonstop series of questions asked so fast that Rock could barely understand “Yes, things went well, sir. No, no casualties. Yes, the camera we brought to film the attack functioned perfectly.” Rock waited a few seconds for the voice to stop and catch a breath. “Sir, instead of going over all this on the phone, why don’t I come up and talk to you in person . . . good.” Rockson put the phone back down on its mount. “I’ll see you later after you get a look at the Red prisoners we brought in, including a top brass.”
    “All right Rock. And listen, I know—know what you mean. We do lose track sometimes of just what we’re fighting for and why. But don’t think that means we have forgotten—we haven’t. Not a man in this city or I’ll wager any other city. That’s what defines us, Rock. Makes us different from the Reds. We fight in the name of life. They fight in the name of death.”
    “Thanks Rath,” Rock said simply and headed toward the elevators and Dr. Shecter many levels below, in the bowels of Century City, built entirely