“We have an urgent request — the palace is under attack,” said the controller.
“The palace?”
“Police units are responding.”
“Get a forward-air-controller over there on the double,” McKenna told him, changing course. “Have him contact me directly and tell me what’s going on”
Chapter 39
Dog stood in the center of the command room, waiting for the feed to come through from the White House situation room. Finally, the screen blinked, and Jed Barclay’s pimple-studded face appeared.
“Colonel Bastian?”
“Hi, Jed.”
“President wants to speak to you, sir.”
The screen blinked, and Kevin Martindale appeared at the front of the room.
“Tecumseh, thanks for cutting short your weekend,” said Martindale.
“Yes, sir.”
“We’ve just had a National Security meeting discussing the situation in Brunei. Terrorists have launched a concerted attack against the entire country. There are rumors, which no one has been able to prove yet, that Malaysia may be involved as well. ASEAN is having an emergency session this evening, our time, to discuss the matter. In the meantime, it may be necessary to evacuate American nationals. The nearest carrier group was up north watching ‘ China and it’s going to be some time before they can get there in force, but they’re en route. Because your people are somewhat familiar with the sultan, I’d like you to stand by to offer assistance if necessary.”
“Yes, sir,” said Dog.
“I want someone I can trust to talk to the sultan,” said Martindale.
“Yes, sir.”
“We promised them two Megafortresses. Can they be delivered?”
“We do have two aircraft, but they’re not ready for them to take possession,” said Dog. “They still have Flighthawk apparatus.”
“What if we get them into the area, then prepare on the ground once they’re in place?”
“My crews would have to operate them in the meantime,” said Dog.
“How soon can they get there?” asked the president.
“They can take off tonight, along with transports to assist any evacuation, if needed. And security.”
“Do it.”
“Sir, I’ve received an informal request from their air force defense minister for weapons,” Dog added.
“What sort?”
Dog hesitated for a moment. Mack had spoken to Danny earlier, asking for “anything and everything.” It was a highly unorthodox request; even if Dreamland had been a “normal” air force command, U.S. units weren’t in the habit of loaning out missiles.
“They’re looking for air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles,” said Dog. “The Megafortress that we provided to them under the first phase of the demonstration project was equipped with Stinger airmines only.”
Someone stepped close to the president, and Dog saw an aide giving him advice.
“We’ll have to look into the request,” said the president finally. “There are treaty implications. But in the meantime, any Dreamland assets that are in the area must be equipped to defend themselves. Is that understood?”
“Amply, sir.”
“This is a Whiplash order,” added the president, making the deployment official. “You get with Jed if you need anything else.”
“Yes, sir,” said Dog as the screen went blank.
He looked over at the lieutenant on the communications desk.
“Tell Danny Freah it’s official. We’re deploying tonight. Get Zen as well. Is Breanna still on Brunei?”
“I believe she may be en route back home”
“See if you can locate her. You better call Major Catsman as well.”
“She’s on her way, sir. Chief Gibbs also called a little while ago to alert you that he would be in.”
“Ax called you?”
“Yes, sir.”
Dog thought of something else. He picked up the base phone and called over to Jennifer’s apartment.
“Hey,” he said when she answered.
“Well, hey yourself. Are we having dinner?”
“Maybe,” he said, glancing at his watch. “If you come over to my office with it.”
She hesitated a second but then said, “All right.”
“Where’s Ray Rubeo about now, do you think?” Dog asked.
“Uh, well, this being Saturday night..
“You’re not going to tell me something I don’t want to know, are you?”
“Well, that depends on you, doesn’t it?”
Ray Rubeo put his lips against the silver pipe, hesitating for just a moment. He felt the muscles in his neck tense slightly as he pursed his lips; he tried to relax them, took a breath, then began to blow.
The beeper on his belt buzzed just as the first notes came out from the flute.
“It figures,” said the scientist.
His flute teacher looked up at him through her thick glasses.
“I’m sorry,” he told her. “I’m afraid I’m going to have to cut my session short.”
“Go ahead, young man,” she told him. “Your family is more important.”
Rubeo, bound by his agreements with the government not to divulge anything about his activities to outsiders, growled to himself but did not correct her.
The man in charge of the kitchen at Dreamland’s Red Room — officially an all-ranks mess but closer in practice to a civilian-style grill — was an air force staff-sergeant who not only looked younger than Jennifer but was twice as skinny. How Sergeant Jorge Boca stayed thin was undoubtedly a classified military secret, but one bite of his food cleared up any doubt how he had achieved his rank at such a young age: he had surely been promoted on merit.
Sergeant Boca could prepare anything from killer barbecue to grilled tuna with chipotle chili sauce. Dreamland might be the only military base in the country where seafood crepes were a regular feature on the lunch menu. And his blue-cheese burgers were worth marching twenty miles through the desert for.
It was his potato salad that Jennifer sought now. The wizard himself was on duty, dicing carrots as he oversaw his staff.
“Ms. Gleason of the wonderful long hair,” he said as she snuck in the back.
“Not any more,” said Jennifer.
“Have to come up with a new name,” said Boca, sliding his carrots aside. “What can we do you for?”
“A little picnic dinner?”
Sergeant Boca waved his knife in the air as if it were a baton. “For tomorrow?”
“For ten minutes ago.”
“Jennifer, Jennifer, Jennifer.”
“Cold chicken?”
“Tuna niçoise salad,” he answered, veering toward the refrigerator.
“I have no doubt about the sensor coverage,” said Rubeo, frowning at the map of Borneo Dog had spread over his conference room table a half hour later. “Deploying the blimps is another matter entirely. They have to be launched from the ground.”
“My guys can handle it in an afternoon,” said Danny Freah. “We just helicopter in to these six spots and we’re set. Once they’re in, we can add the others as we go”
“You’re assuming the Bruneians are going to remain in control of things there,” said Rubeo.
“You don’t think they will?” Dog asked.
The scientist merely frowned.
The alternative involved launching the blimps from the rear of a cargo plane at twenty-two thousand feet. It had been done twice during trials at Dreamland, using Dreamland’s MC-17D/W, a special version of the C-17 cargo aircraft. The results had been mixed.
“I think worse case scenario, we can still set them up,” said Danny. “We bring them into an area via helicopter, inflate them, and launch.”