Free Ambush in the Ashes by William W. Johnstone

happened, they had maintained order and their dignity and pride. That had helped pull them through the years of bad times.
    In every space available, someone was growing a garden. On the outskirts of the city, chickens were being raised in huge numbers. The people of Marrakech were not going to be defeated; they were going to pull out of the ashes of war and prosper.
    The airport stayed busy around the clock, huge cargo planes bringing in supplies for the once-beleaguered city. The railroad leading to the city was useless, for vandals had destroyed miles of track, rendering it inoperable.
    “How about Essaouira?” Ben asked the colonel. “I’ve not yet sent my Scouts over there.”
    “Forget it,” the colonel was blunt. “It’s been looted and sacked so many times it’s only a hulk of what it used to be. Pirates used it for a time, but even they finally abandoned it and moved on, some of them moving on down the coast to Agadir. South from there …” He shook his head. “…1 don’t know. We lost radio contact with the Canary Islands a long time ago. I don’t know what is happening there. Probably pirates have taken over the islands. That would be my guess. But… who knows for sure. Allah, alone.”
    “Then I guess Agadir is next on our list of scenic places to visit,” Ben said with a smile.
    “You’ll have a fight on your hands there, General.”
    “It helps to break the monotony, Colonel.”
    The Rebels took a secondary road from Marrakech over to Agadir and were met by Scouts miles from the city.
     
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    “We’ve got a fight coming, General. Pirates occupy the city, and I have never seen a scummier bunch anywhere.”
    “How are they armed?”
    “Light weapons, mostly. We didn’t see any heavy stuff.”
    “Civilians?”
    “Women, mostly. Only a few kids. The women are, well, where I was raised we used to call them road whores.”
    Ben smiled. “I get the picture. Well, I suppose we’d better get busy. We came here to take out the garbage, so let’s do it.”
    “Take out the garbage,” Paula repeated, walking up with Dr. Chase. “What an insensitive phrase to use when one is about to wage war against another human be-ing.”
    Jersey, who had been eating a candy bar, looked at the woman, wrapped up her candy bar and stuck it in her pocket, belched, and walked off.
    Ben turned his head to hide his quick grin. Jersey did not much care for Paula Preston. She was fond of referring to her as “That whiny liberal bitch.”
    “That young lady does not like me,” Paula said. “And I cannot imagine why.”
    “You’re a politically correct liberal,” Ben informed her. “That’s why.”
    “I certainly am,” she replied indignantly. “And there is something the matter with that?”
    “Paula, this is neither the time nor the place to discuss it. I am about to start an assault on that town.”
    “Aren’t you going to ask them to surrender?”
    Ben sighed. “No, Paula. I was not planning on asking them to surrender.”
    “Well!” she huffed up. “I think …”
    “Lamar, would you please take this woman to the rear
     
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    of the column?” Ben had lost his patience. “We are about to move in and if those pirates in the town have mortars, it’s going to get very dangerous up here.”
    “Of course, Ben.” Lamar took Paula’s arm and gendy but firmly led her away.
    “That woman is a fruitcake,” Beth muttered.
    “Yeah, boss,” Cooper said. “How come we always get stuck with the yoyos?”
    Ben smiled, his quick burst of temper fading as rapidly as it came. “I suppose the best answer to that is the one the prostitute gave when a customer asked her how she ever got in the business.” Ben chuckled. “Just lucky, I guess.”
    The pirates had no stomach for a fight against professionals. Before the Rebels could even move into position, die pirates were scrambling for their boats and attempting to head out to sea.
    They didn’t get very far.
    Rebel helicopter gunships