Gordo sighed with contentment. Good supply sergeants were such a sheer treasure. 'Sergeant Warren, I wish you all the luck in the world with the girl this evening.'
'The real bitch is going to be getting enough of the armored cars up the river for the boys to train with,' Warren said.
'Not a problem, actually,' Gordo said. 'The basic chassis will come in kinda openly, minus turrets or arms, as ‘all terrain exploration support vehicles.' The turrets we'll fly in..'
'They'll fit a Pilatus Porter?'
Gordo howled with laughter on that one. When he'd recovered sufficiently, he said, 'Sure, with both doors open and the main gun sticking out the floor hatch and tied to the fuselage. Nah. No way. But the local ‘air force' operates five light cargo aircraft, Short Skyvans. I'm taking the senior pilot of that crew out for drinks and a girl this evening. I imagine he can be bribed to make a couple of extraneous training flights. Of course, that presupposes Victor can come up with enough of the armored cars.'
D-109, Menachem Begin Road, Tel Aviv, Israel
Traffic passing down the centrally located major thoroughfare made it all but impossible for anyone not seated at the same table to hear what the Israeli had to say to the Russian. The table was flush against the railing around the outdoor cafe portion of the establishment.
'You need what?' asked the Israeli who went by the name of Dov. Both the men spoke Russian, though both also shared English. While Dov looked essentially western in feature and dress, Victor was done up like a Hassid, curls and all.
'Nine Panhard AML-90s, or the Eland clone,' Victor answered, 'best possible upgrades. Plus three AML-60s and twenty-four M-3 armored personnel carriers. Of those, I need one in three available for movement by sea soonest. And of the M-3s, I need -'
Dov held up one hand. 'Stop right there, Victor. The current government is actually trying to stay within the law for arms sales. Knowing you, and I do, there is not the slightest chance you are within anybody's law. Moreover, M-3s just aren't possible. We have none in stock that aren't already committed.'
'They've never been that common, I suppose,' Victor said. 'Not like the 90 and 60 versions.'
'No, they haven't,' Dov said. 'But for that matter, it would be perfectly possible to take a 60 or 90 version and remove the main turret. That would leave enough space inside for maybe five or six infantrymen, plus a two man crew. Extending them is also possible, but harder.'
'Maybe,' Victor said, while wondering, Will my rescuers be willing to go with those instead of the real thing? They just haven't told me enough.
'Never mind, in any case, Victor. I can't sell you any. No, not even for a really big bribe.'
'That's okay,' Inning said, his head nodding which made his fake curls swish back and forth. He found that extremely annoying. 'I predicted this. I don't want you to sell me any. I want you to rebuild the ones I need from some I will get. And I need them rebuilt overseas or aboard a ship. Maybe both. Now does your government have a really big problem with that? You don't need a legitimate end user certificate for mere services rendered and some dual use parts provided, or if you do, you can fudge it. You don't need an end user certificate for giving me the name of the contact there that, I have no doubt, provides you with derelicts in remarkably good shape to rebuild. Because we both know South Africa doesn't use a lot of anti-armor ammunition to train with.'
Dov chewed at the inside of his cheek for a while, his head occasionally rocking from side to side. 'End user certificate? Mmm…maybe not. Done at sea, you say? Or right in South Africa? Or both. And just how big a bribe are you offering? And how much for the name of my contact?'
'That's all negotiable,' Victor said. 'It will be large enough. Now tell me what is possible in upgrades.'
Dov shrugged. 'It's a pretty extensive rebuild: New steering-hydraulic, new disc brake system for all four wheels, new diesel engine-a Toyota, and new wiring. We can put in air conditioning . . . day-night fire control . . . laser range finder . . . armor upgrade for standoff protection from HEAT warheads. Non-explosive reactive is also possible. There's also an option to upgrade the gun to the new high velocity 60mm, basically the same thing we did for the Chilean Shermans. Nice gun, by the way, but we have to modify the turret hugely.'
A slender, delicate hand with painted but chipped nails grasped one of the unoccupied chairs and pulled it from the table. Into the chair sat an extraordinarily attractive, slender, wave-haired, and olive-skinned woman. She was dressed in mechanic's coveralls that completely succeeded in failing to hide her figure.
'Hello, Lana,' Dov said, with a frown. 'Victor, let me introduce . . .' Dove stopped speaking for a moment when he realized Victor was simply paying him no mind at all.
'They say of many women,' Victor said, as if from very far away, 'that her hair ‘cascades.' I think you are the first one I have ever seen of which the compliment is true. I-'
Victor stopped speaking when he realized than a group of Hassidim had begun to pass, except for one of them who was standing by the railing looking directly at him and chiding him with a waving finger. Victor hunched his head down as if in shame until the finger stopped wagging and the genuine Hassid had walked on with his group.
'Forget it, Victor,' Dov advised. 'Lana's a dyke.'
'Not at all,' the woman said, adding, matter of factly, 'Tried it; didn't much like it. I've just met very few men I thought worth the trouble and Dov here is bitter that he wasn't one of them. Lana Mendes,' she announced, offering her hand.
'You're very beautiful, Lana Mendes,' Victor said.
'Don't tell her that,' Dov advised. 'Tell her she's a great armored vehicle optics mechanic. Tell her she's a first class tank gunner. Tell her she's a fine officer. But never, never, never tell Ms. Mendes she's beautiful.'
Lana sighed with exasperation. 'As a matter of fact, I used to teach tank gunnery, and now I work as an optics mechanic. And I am a first class reserve officer. But try and prove that in a place like this.' She looked around in such a way as to indicate the entire country, not just the local environment. 'Dov's right, by the way, you should take the upgrade to 60mm high velocity.'
'I don't know about the gun,' Victor replied. 'I just don't have the authority. I'll check, though. And everything else sounds about right. Now, how mobile and accommodating can you be?'
'We can work anywhere.' Dov said.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Certainly there is no hunting like the hunting
of man and those who have hunted armed men long
