the Valhalla Exchange (v5) Read Online Free
Author: Jack Higgins
later. Even you.'
'Okay - but not here. Not now. I mean, after surviving D-Day, Omaha, St-Lo, the Ardennes and a few interesting stopoffs in between, it would look kind of stupid to buy it here, playing wet-nurse to a bunch of Limeys.'
'We've been on the same side for nearly four years now,' Hoover said. 'Or hadn't you noticed?'
'How can I help it with guys going around dressed like that?' Finebaum nodded to where the commanding officer of the column, a lieutenant-colonel named Denning, was approaching, his adjutant at his side. They were Highlanders and wore rather dashing Glengarry bonnets.
'Morning, Howard,' Denning said as he got close. 'Damn cold night. Winter's hung on late up here this year.'
'I guess so, Colonel.'
'Let's have a look at the map, Miller.' The adjutant spread it against the side of the truck and the colonel ran a finger along the centre. 'Here's Innsbruck and here we are. Another five miles to the head of this valley and we hit a junction with the main road to Salzburg. We could have trouble there, wouldn't you say so?'
'Very possibly, Colonel.'
'Good. We'll move out in thirty minutes. I suggest you take the lead and send your other jeep on ahead to scout out the land.'
'As you say, sir.'
Denning and the adjutant moved away and Howard turned to Hoover and the rest of the men who had all edged in close enough to hear. 'You got that, Harry?'
'I think so, sir.'
'Good. You take Finebaum and O'Grady. Garland and Anderson stay with me. Report in over your radio every five minutes without fail. Now get moving.'
As they swung into action, Finebaum said plaintively, 'Holy Mary, Mother of God, I'm only a Jewish boy, but pray for us sinners in the hour of our need.'
On the radio, the news was good. The Russians had finally encircled Berlin and had made contact with American troops on the Elbe River seventy-five miles south of the capital, cutting Germany in half.
'The only way in and out of Berlin now is by air, sir,' Anderson said to Howard. 'They can't keep going any longer - they've got to give in. It's the only logical thing to do.'
'Oh, I don't know,' Howard said. 'I'd say that if your name was Hitler or Goebbels or Himmler and the only prospect offered was a short trial and a long rope, you might think it worth while to go down, taking as many of the other side with you as you possibly could.'
Anderson, who had the wheel, looked worried, as well he might, for unlike Garland he was married with two children, a girl of five and a boy aged six. He gripped the wheel so tightly that the knuckles on his hands turned white.
You shouldn't have joined, old buddy, Howard thought. You should have found an easier way. Plenty did.
Strange how callous he had become where the suffering of others was concerned, but that was the war. It had left him indifferent where death was concerned, even to its uglier aspects. The time when a body had an emotional effect was long since gone. He had seen too many of them. The fact of death was all that mattered.
The radio crackled into life. Hoover's voice sounded clearly. 'Sugar Nan Two to Sugar Nan One. Are you receiving me?'
'Strength nine,' Howard said. 'Where are you, Harry?'
'We've reached the road junction, sir. Not a kraut in sight. What do we do now?'
Howard checked his watch. 'Stay there. We'll be with you in twenty minutes. Over and out.'
He replaced the handmike and turned to Garland. 'Strange - I would have expected something from them up there. A good place to put up a fight. Still...'
There was a sudden roaring in his ears and a great wind seemed to pick him up and carry him away. The world moved in and out and then somehow he was lying in a ditch, Garland beside him, minus his helmet and most of the top of his skull. The jeep, or what was left of it, was on its side. The Cromwell tank behind was blazing furiously, its ammunition exploding like a firework display. One of the crew scrambled out of the turret, his uniform on fire, and fell to the
'Okay - but not here. Not now. I mean, after surviving D-Day, Omaha, St-Lo, the Ardennes and a few interesting stopoffs in between, it would look kind of stupid to buy it here, playing wet-nurse to a bunch of Limeys.'
'We've been on the same side for nearly four years now,' Hoover said. 'Or hadn't you noticed?'
'How can I help it with guys going around dressed like that?' Finebaum nodded to where the commanding officer of the column, a lieutenant-colonel named Denning, was approaching, his adjutant at his side. They were Highlanders and wore rather dashing Glengarry bonnets.
'Morning, Howard,' Denning said as he got close. 'Damn cold night. Winter's hung on late up here this year.'
'I guess so, Colonel.'
'Let's have a look at the map, Miller.' The adjutant spread it against the side of the truck and the colonel ran a finger along the centre. 'Here's Innsbruck and here we are. Another five miles to the head of this valley and we hit a junction with the main road to Salzburg. We could have trouble there, wouldn't you say so?'
'Very possibly, Colonel.'
'Good. We'll move out in thirty minutes. I suggest you take the lead and send your other jeep on ahead to scout out the land.'
'As you say, sir.'
Denning and the adjutant moved away and Howard turned to Hoover and the rest of the men who had all edged in close enough to hear. 'You got that, Harry?'
'I think so, sir.'
'Good. You take Finebaum and O'Grady. Garland and Anderson stay with me. Report in over your radio every five minutes without fail. Now get moving.'
As they swung into action, Finebaum said plaintively, 'Holy Mary, Mother of God, I'm only a Jewish boy, but pray for us sinners in the hour of our need.'
On the radio, the news was good. The Russians had finally encircled Berlin and had made contact with American troops on the Elbe River seventy-five miles south of the capital, cutting Germany in half.
'The only way in and out of Berlin now is by air, sir,' Anderson said to Howard. 'They can't keep going any longer - they've got to give in. It's the only logical thing to do.'
'Oh, I don't know,' Howard said. 'I'd say that if your name was Hitler or Goebbels or Himmler and the only prospect offered was a short trial and a long rope, you might think it worth while to go down, taking as many of the other side with you as you possibly could.'
Anderson, who had the wheel, looked worried, as well he might, for unlike Garland he was married with two children, a girl of five and a boy aged six. He gripped the wheel so tightly that the knuckles on his hands turned white.
You shouldn't have joined, old buddy, Howard thought. You should have found an easier way. Plenty did.
Strange how callous he had become where the suffering of others was concerned, but that was the war. It had left him indifferent where death was concerned, even to its uglier aspects. The time when a body had an emotional effect was long since gone. He had seen too many of them. The fact of death was all that mattered.
The radio crackled into life. Hoover's voice sounded clearly. 'Sugar Nan Two to Sugar Nan One. Are you receiving me?'
'Strength nine,' Howard said. 'Where are you, Harry?'
'We've reached the road junction, sir. Not a kraut in sight. What do we do now?'
Howard checked his watch. 'Stay there. We'll be with you in twenty minutes. Over and out.'
He replaced the handmike and turned to Garland. 'Strange - I would have expected something from them up there. A good place to put up a fight. Still...'
There was a sudden roaring in his ears and a great wind seemed to pick him up and carry him away. The world moved in and out and then somehow he was lying in a ditch, Garland beside him, minus his helmet and most of the top of his skull. The jeep, or what was left of it, was on its side. The Cromwell tank behind was blazing furiously, its ammunition exploding like a firework display. One of the crew scrambled out of the turret, his uniform on fire, and fell to the
Readers choose
Shana Norris
Eliza Tilton
Damon Peters
Ryan Knighton
Joe R. Lansdale
Tess Gerritsen
S Gonzalez
Richard Levesque
John Grisham