29 January 1998

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THE HELICOPTER GENERAL LOCUSTA COMMANDEERED TO get up to the president's mountain house had been used during the Moldovan operation. There hadn't been enough time to completely clean the interior, and spots of dried blood covered the floor. Locusta stared at the blood, brooding. The operation had been successful, though if the Americans had deigned to provide better support, he would not have lost the helicopter with Brasov aboard.

The colonel had always been a problematic officer-a fine leader, but headstrong, occasionally impulsive, and unfortunately as committed to democracy as he was to getting ahead. He would have had to watch Brasov carefully had he lived-so perhaps it was a blessing in disguise after all.

But now that he was dead, Locusta missed him, and mourned the loss of his spirit. He was the sort of man an army needed.

The kind a country needed. Like himself.

A command post had been set up at the intersection of Highway 34 and the road leading up to President Voda's property. There was a field next to the intersection; a pair of spotlights and some small signal flares marked the area for the helicopter to set down.

Locusta sprang out as soon as the pilot nodded to him. Head down against the swirling wind, he ran toward the men standing near the road.

"General, we're glad you're here," said Major Ozera. "The situation is under control."

"You've found President Voda?"

"We expect to shortly. There was a tunnel from the house to a small cave at the edge of the property. We have dogs following his scent."

"Good."

Locusta looked around. About two dozen troops were holding defensive positions near the road.

"You've given orders that anyone found is to be shot?"

"Of course," said Ozera. "As you ordered. The troops have been told that the president is dead and that we're looking for the guerrillas. The special team is with the dogs," he added. "They won't get away."

"They had best not. They have already failed once."

Ozera didn't answer. The "special team" was the handpicked group of a.s.sa.s.sins who had made the initial a.s.sault.

"Pull as many of the troops back as possible," Locusta told him. "Bring in more weapons, enough to fight a large force. But keep them a good distance away. Have only your men on the property."

"I've brought up everything we had," said the major. "Everything except the antiaircraft guns."

"Bring them. They're very useful."

The Zsu-23-4 mobile antiaircraft guns looked like tanks with four 23mm cannons mounted at the front of a flattened turret. They could be used against ground or air targets, as necessary.

"Our command post should be up at the house," Locusta added.

"Yes. Let me place these new orders, then get a driver."

While he was waiting for Ozera to return, Locusta called his headquarters.

"The Dreamland people keep calling to ask if we need help," said his chief of staff. "What should we tell them?"

"Tell them the situation is under control," said Locusta. "Tell them to remain on the ground. Tell them the situation is very confused, and we don't want them getting in the way."

"They already have at least one plane in the air, General. And we understand more are being readied."

"Tell them I'm traveling to the president's home personally and will confer with them soon," said Locusta. "But emphasize that we do not need them, and do not want them in the air."

"Yes, sir."

"Where is the plane they have in the air?"

"I can check with air defense."

"Do it. Call me back immediately."

"Yes, sir, General."

Dreamland Command trailer,

Iasi

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"IT'S TOO RUGGED TO LAND NEAR THAT PUMP HOUSE," SAID Danny, pointing to the satellite photo of the area. "But if they can come up the slope a bit, over to around here, we can lower a basket, take them out like it's a rescue. Even in the dark it shouldn't be that hard."

"Can we get in there without being seen?" asked Samson.

"The Osprey is black, so it's hard to see," answered Danny. "But it is pretty loud. I would say the people on the ground would know we're there."

"The President wanted this done without the Romanians knowing we're involved," said Samson.

"I'd like to get in and out quietly too, General," said Danny. "The less people who know we're there, the safer we are. But no aircraft is silent."

"I think we just have to do our best," said Dog. "If they see us, they see us. But we can't not grab him because we might be seen."

"I didn't say we weren't going to do it, Bastian," snapped Samson. He turned back to Danny. "What sort of team will you need?"

"If we can sneak in? I'd say a three man team-Boston, Liu, myself. We don't want too many people because we want to move as fast as possible. For air support, one Flighthawk to show us what's going on, another if things get tight to cover our exit. And whatever else you can throw at them if all h.e.l.l breaks loose."

"We could run the Flighthawks as a diversion," said Zen. "Do a low and slow approach along the road, have the Osprey come in from the north. That might solve the problem of the noise."

"If it's noise we're trying to cover," said Dog, "let's bring one of the EB-52s down close. That makes a h.e.l.l of a racket."

"Good," said Samson. "We can use one of the B-1s as well-a nice sonic boom should get their attention."

"I thought you didn't want to be seen," said Danny.

Samson looked at Dog. "I think we can interpret the order to the effect that you're not to be seen," he said. "And take it from there."

"Where do we go when we have him?" Danny asked.

"The American emba.s.sy," said the general.

"Is that where he wants to go?"

"Why wouldn't he want to go to the emba.s.sy?" asked Samson.

"If I was the president, I'd want to go to my office, rally my troops."

"We can deal with that after we have him," said Dog.

"Bastian's right. Let's just grab him." Samson leaned across the conference table, looking at the Osprey pilots. "How long before you can get in the air?"

"As soon as the aircraft is fueled, we're good to go."

"Colonel Bastian!" Sergeant Liu stuck his head out from the communications area. "The Johnson is reporting four MiGs coming hot and heavy toward the Romanian border, straight across the Black Sea."

Aboard EB-52 Johnson,

over northeastern Romania

0012.

LIEUTENANT KIRK "STARSHIP" ANDREWS TRIED TO IGNORE the pull of the Megafortress as it turned toward the north, focusing all of his attention on the control screens in front of him. His Flighthawks-Hawk Three and Hawk Four-were just pa.s.sing through 25,000 feet, climbing toward 30,000. The Johnson's radar was tracking four MiGs, flying in tight formation at roughly Mach 1.2, coming across the Black Sea.

"What's the word on the ROEs?" Starship asked the Johnson's pilot, Lieutenant Mike Englehardt, referring to their rules of engagement-the orders directing when they could and couldn't use force.

"No change. We're not to engage beyond the border."

"These guys are loaded for bear," Starship told him. "They're either coming for us or they're going to hit something in Romania. Either way, I say we take them down now."

"Our orders say no."

"Screw the orders."

"Yeah, we'd all like to, Starship," said the pilot. "But our job is to follow them. We'll get them when they cross."

"By then it may be too late. What's Dog say?"

"It's not up to him."

Starship nudged his control yoke, bringing Hawk Three on course for a direct intercept of the MiGs. He could take at least one of the planes down when they came across the border; with a little luck and help from the computer, he might get two. The Johnson could shoot down the rest with Scorpion-plus air-to-air missiles.

But by then the MiGs would be in position to launch their own attack, albeit at long range, against either the Johnson or the pipeline.

"Radar profiles indicate bandits are equipped with two AS-14 Kedge and free-falls," said the radar operator. "Possibly GPS guided. Aircraft are still proceeding on course."

Free-falls were bombs dropped almost directly over the target; they could be guided to their destination by the addition of a small guidance system that used GPS readings. More deadly were the AS-14 Molinya missiles, known to NATO as the Kedge. The air-to-ground missile could be guided by laser, thermal imaging, or television. In some respects similar to the American-made Maverick, its range was about ten kilometers-just enough to hit the gas pipeline without crossing the border.

"They'll be in range before the border, or just after it," Starship told Englehardt. "Look, they shot down the helicopter. Things have changed."

"Look, you're preaching to the converted," Englehardt replied. "I'm already on the line with them."

Dreamland Command trailer,

Iasi

0012.