“Talk to me,” she whispered. It was the old Tosh and he started to speak, talking about the things she loved: their family, the turn of world events, the common things that made life predictable, and personalities that moved on their stage, all the rich and mundane matters that played out in the White House.
“Courtland?” she asked. The single word was so weak he barely heard it. But he knew her mind was there, the vibrancy that had enchanted him so long ago. Now it was coming to an end.
“We got them out.” He felt her hand move. She was still with him. “but it was another Mosquito run. We won—and lost.”
Her fingers contracted, softly squeezing and then relaxing.
Slowly, she slipped into unconsciousness and her breath slowed. Pontowski felt the tears course down his cheeks and he clasped her still hand with both of his. And then she rallied one last time and the words came, her English accent weak but clear. “Zack,” she whispered, “we won so much.”
About the Author
A former fighter pilot, Richard Herman was a member of the United States Air Force for twenty-one years, until he retired in 1983 with the rank of Major. He is the author of The Warbirds, Force of Eagles, Firebreak, and Call to Duty—all published in paperback by Avon Books—and he currently lives and works in Fair Oaks, a suburb of Sacramento, California.
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Praise
RICHARD HERMAN, JR.
“WHAT TOM CLANCY DID FOR THE NAVY WITH THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER, RICHARD HERMAN, JR., HAS DONE FOR THE AIR FORCE…BUT HERMAN HAS DONE IT BETTER.”
Richmond News-Leader
THE WARBIRDS
“SOARS INTO THE WILD BLUE YONDER…A GRIPPING STORY WHICH COULD BE THE BASIS FOR TOMORROW’S HEADLINES”
Pittsburgh Press
FORCE OF EAGLES
“A FANTASTIC STORY…BREATHTAKINGLY REALISTIC AND TRULY EDGE-OF-THE-SEAT EXCITING”
Dale Brown
FIREBREAK
“A THRILLING MILITARY ADVENTURE STORY”
Denver Post
Other Avon Books by
Richard Herman, Jr.
FIREBREAK
FORCE OF EAGLES
THE WARBIRDS
Copyright
CALL TO DUTY. Copyright © 1993 by Richard Herman, Jr., Inc. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
Adobe Digital Edition July 2009 ISBN 978-0-06-195136-7
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