Читать книгу Ten Days - John Sheppard - Страница 11

Back in his townhouse, Stephen was reviewing the maps Billy had given him, alongside various forms of intelligence information. While there were faster methods to come to an initial assessment, he preferred to take it all in visually.

The term “encircled” had been used to explain the current situation concerning the capital city, but it wasn’t totally true. The capital had been cut off on three sides: south, east, and west. Based upon the reports, the Enemy was within 15-25 miles of the outskirts of the city on the eastern side. The west-northwestern side of the city was about 10-20 miles from the start of the national forest, and the intelligence reports from there had been spotty. To the south, they could be closer, since they controlled the airport area 20 miles away.

To the north, the capital was safe for about 40 miles. The flat plains were mostly farmland, from the capital to Stonecrest. Stephen fully expected that a major assault would come there soon. It was not only a major military facility, but also home of the national military academy. The loss of Stonecrest would leave the capital wide open. There was still a significant force in the port city, but they were bottled up and could not get to the capital in time to make a difference. Even if they could break through, there weren’t enough men to defend both the capital and the port city.

It appeared that the military situation on every level was grim, but Stephen thought he saw a glimmer of hope. It wouldn’t necessarily save the capital, but might help at least some escape. He would know better after visiting the outposts.