"Энди Макнаб. Последний свет (engl) " - читать интересную книгу автора

shaking hands with, knowing that I couldn't afford to miss the target ID,
and at the same time not too sure if the Yes Man was up to the job.
I'd assumed they were all South Americans, but as one of their number
turned I saw, in profile, that he was Chinese. He was talk-show-host neat,
in his fifties, taller than the Yes Man, and with more hair. Why he was part
of a South American delegation was a mystery to me, but I wasn't going to
lose any sleep over it. I concentrated on how he was greeted. It was a
non-event, just a normal handshake. The Chinaman, who obviously spoke
English, then introduced a smaller guy to his right, who had his back to me.
The Yes Man moved towards him, and then, as they shook, he placed his left
hand on the small guy's shoulder.
I hated to admit it, but he was doing an excellent job. He even started
to swing the target round so he faced the river, pointing out the London Eye
and the bridges either side of Parliament.
The target was also part Chinese and I had to double-take because he
couldn't have been more than sixteen or seventeen years old. He was wearing
a smart blazer with a white shirt and blue tie, the sort of boy any parent
would want their daughter to date. He looked happy, exuberant even, grinning
at everyone and joining in the conversation as he turned back into the
circle with the Yes Man.
I got a feeling that I was in worse trouble than I'd thought.


FOUR

I forced myself to cut away. Fuck it, I'd worry about all that on the
flight to the States.
The conversation on the terrace carried on as the Yes Man said his
goodbyes to the group, waved at another, and moved out of my field of view.
He wouldn't be leaving yet that would be suspicious he just didn't want to
be near the boy when we dropped him.
Seconds later, I had three bulbs burning below me. The snipers were
waiting for those three command tones to buzz gently in their ear.
It didn't feel right but reflexes took over. I flicked the shaving
cream top from the box and positioned my thumbs over the two press els
I was about to press when all three lights went out within a split
second of each other.
I got back on to the binos, just with my right eye, thumbs ready over
the press els The group was moving en masse from left to right. I should
have been concentrating on the bulbs but I wanted to see. The Chinaman's arm
was around the boy's shoulders it must have been his son as they approached
a smaller group of Latinos who were attacking a table laden with food.
A bulb lit up: Sniper Three was confident of taking the shot,
aiming slightly ahead of his point of aim so that when he fired the boy
would walk into the path of the round.
The bulb stayed lit as they stopped at the table with the other group
of Latinos, getting stuck into the vol-au-vents. The boy was at the rear of
the group and I could just ping glimpses of his navy blazer through the
crowd.
Bulb three died.