Survivalist - 23 - Call To Battle by Jerry Ahern Read Free Book Online Page B

intelligent-watched him back. The air in the Russian vessel’s salon smelled stale and slightly sour, as if food had been left too long and allowed to spoil. From the cuisine they’d experienced since joining the freighter at Port Reno, that seemed indeed like the logical explanation. The group consisted of ten men besides himself and only one woman, Marie Dreissling.
    “Gunther, stand at the door.”
    “Yes, Willy.”
    Gunther-tall, blond, muscular and possessed of a ready smile-drew his pistol from beneath his sweater and went to stand beside the already closed door between the salon and the main companionway.
    Wilhelm Doring looked at the others. They were so young to risk their lives; but their names would be immortal. “A review before we get started, hmm? So. Our purpose must be foremost in our minds! While the other units infiltrate Hawaii for open military action against the Americans, our purpose is at once more subtle and more important. Remember, in order for our work to achieve its necessary effect, the nature of our group cannot be discovered.”
    “Willy?” Reinhardt Kleist was possessed of a voice that was high for a man, and the fellow was painfully aware of it. So he spoke in a whisper, and was sometimes hard to hear because of that.
    “Yes, Reinhardt?”
    “Willy, I was wondering. Has the, the device been tried?”
    Wilhelm Doring smiled. “I have been waiting for someone to ask that question since we began training for this mission. And, I will assure you, the answer is yes. Suitable subjects were fitted with the identical device and death was instantaneous.” The “suitable subjects” were Icelandic sailors found shipwrecked ^off the coast of Eden, then flown inland to the training site. “So there is nothing to worry over in that regard.”
    Reinhardt’s face lit in a smile of relief.
    “Any other questions, then?” Doring asked, expecting none. And, there were none. “Good! Then we rendezvous as arranged for the equipment check.” He looked toward the doorway. “Gunther!”
    “Yes, Willy,” Gunther nodded, making his pistol disappear beneath his sweater as he opened the door.
    Wilhelm Doring looked at his wristwatch. In less than an hour, if these Russian pirates had any suspicions, it would no longer matter …
    He sat at the far end of the couch, his legs crossed, a cigarette burning between his fingers. Emma Shaw carried his drink in her right hand, her own in her left. She was wearing the shawl now and she threw out the line as she handed John Rourke his drink. “I was a little cold.”
    “Live in a home centered around a natural granite cavern like we did and you become used to a little chill in the air,” he smiled.
    Emma set her drink on the coffee table, then dropped to her knees beside it, a few feet away from him. She arranged her clothes, drawing the shawl closer around her shoulders. She tried again. “My mother taught me how to crochet.”
    “My daughter sews and things, a lot. Crocheting’s like sewing, I guess.”
    “I don’t sew; I mean, I do buttons and hems and things, but I don’t make clothing.” She fired her best shot. “I enjoyed making this shawl, though.” Folding the shawl closer around her, she lowered her eyes.
    “It’s pretty.”
    “Ohh! Well, it’s pretty basic really,” Emma said, tugging at a length of fringe.
    “You know, I have to tell you something, Emma.”
    Still on her knees, practically at his feet, she leaned forward. “Yes, John?”
    John smiled, inhaled on his cigarette. As he began to speak, he exhaled smoke through his nostrils. They flared a little when he did that and it looked wonderfully sexy. “Well, the old mountain men had all that fringe on their buckskins and a lot of people thought it was for decoration. But, it really wasn’t. Know what it was for?”
    Emma Shaw sat back on her heels. “No, John. What was it for?”
    He laughed. “Well, when something needed repairing-like a ditty bag or a piece of