Destroyer 86 - Arabian Nightmare by Warren Murphy & Richard Sapir

Author:Warren Murphy & Richard Sapir
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 21

Harold W. Smith happened to be home when the surprise telecast was satellited out of Abominadad. He was watching a National Geographic special on peep-toad migration in Rhode Island. It was so dull that his wife, Maude, had gone to bed ten minutes into the program. After the beaming features of Maddas Hinsein resolved on the screen, Smith was grateful for that minor blessing.

A mordant voice-over said, "This is Television Abominadad, broadcasting the glorious news that our Precious Leader Maddas Hinsein the First has reclaimed primacy over the ancient capital, soon to be the capital of Greater Arabia."

"My God," gasped Smith. "Chiun was correct."

The camera pulled back, showing Maddas Hinsein, one arm raised in a characteristic messianic gesture, standing on a balcony of the Palace of Sorrows. Below, a clapping crowd surged.

Maddas wore a white burnoose and flowing ghurta. He looked like a fat glowworm with a caramel-coated face.

"These pictures were taken early today, showing our precious leader bestowing his blessings on the people of Abominadad, who had just survived a cruel gas attack by criminal U.S. forces," the mordant voice went on in English as thick as blood pudding.

Smith started. "Gas attack? Impossible!"

"in a twist of kismet, the gas killed few Arabs but completely extinguished the lives of two foreign agents allied with the American imperialists," ran the mordant voice-over.

Another voice-Smith recognized it as belonging to BCN network anchorwoman Cheeta Ching-broke in to explain, "This transmission is coming to you live from Abominadad, Irait. Due to the importance of the Gulf crisis, BCN has elected to break programming at this time. A full wrap-up will follow, along with a late update on my heroic struggle to become impregnated."

The picture switched, showing two bodies in the rubble. One was of a young blond woman lying facedown. The fact that she had an extra set of arms was not obvious, but neither was it entirely hidden to viewers. Her skin was as black as coal tar-a certain symptom of nerve-gas poisoning. The camera panned over to another body, and Harold Smith saw a familiar face, one that had been beamed out of Irait once before.

The face of America's secret weapon, Remo Williams.

Remo lay on his back, attired in a torn profusion of purple and scarlet silks. His eyes were open, his mouth twisted. He neither moved nor seemed to see.

The panic that seized Smith's vitals at this latest exposure of CURE's enforcement arm subsided when he realized that Remo was clearly dead. His head lay at a crazy angle, indicating a broken neck. His throat was a livid purplish blue, like a great bruise. His skin, too, was the color of slate.

The picture went dark. Then the screen framed a podium on which the Revolting Command Council sat, attired in frog-green military uniforms. Smith frowned. They wore their military attire only when they were about to threaten some one.

Baroque martial music blared.

Abruptly the council members jumped to their feet and burst into applause. The light illuminated their mustaches. They looked odd and flat, as if painted on.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.