Don Pendleton
Tiger War
"Unbounded courage and compassion joined,
Tempering each other in the victor's mind,
Alternately proclaim him good and great,
And make the hero and the man complete."
"You've got a weird combination there,
Sarge — tough guts and warm heart.
Most cats don't know how to carry both."
"There is nothing so practical and real as
survival except love. Jungle law, like love,
is no philosophy — it is reality."
Dedicated to our peacekeepers killed by the suicide bombers.
In the words of the President, "We must be more determined than ever that thugs cannot take over a strategic area of the earth or, for that matter, any other part of the earth."
Chapter 1
A trap! The word exploded in Mack Bolan's head. He brought up his weapon and went into a crouch, eyes scanning the terrain. The valley shone peacefully in the moonlight, the rhythmic rasping of cicadas the only sound.
Was his subconscious warning system alerting him to a real danger, or was his mind playing tricks on him?
By the light of the moon he could see all the way to the tree line. The ground was flat, covered in elephant grass dotted with clusters of bamboo.
Bent double, his parachute still slung over his shoulder, Bolan ran for the nearest cluster. He crouched in its shadow and listened, mouth open to hear better.
From the jungle forest came the screech of parakeets. An owl hooted. A bullfrog croaked nearby. The cicadas went on with their concert.
A typical night in Thailand.
Perhaps it was only his imagination, he thought. After all, the ground recognition signal had been the right one.