Day of the Cheetah

by Dale Brown

  exited. He turned back to the President. "The General Secretary

  has directed that the aircraft be turned over to you immedi-

  ately.

  "So what about all that garbage about retaliatory strikes,

  bombers and -cruise missiles? " Deborah O'Day asked. "Was

  that a bluff?"

  "The same as your bluff with the attack on Puerto Cabezas ...

  "That is no bluff, Vilizherchev," the President said. "I've

  got bombers from the George Washington lined up to attack that'

  base, whether DrearnStar is there or not. When the air attack is

  completed I've ordered a company of Marines to land, occupy

  that base and take control of the area. If they don't find that

  aircraft they'll move down to Bluefields and level that base.

  After Bluefields they'll move inland all the way to Managua."

  "This is not a bluff, Mr. Ambassador," Curtis said. "Once

  those planes are airborne, we're committed."

  "The President has approval from Congress, sir," Van Keller

  said. The Speaker of the House of Representatives and the con-

  gressional Majority Leader was sweating. "The plan was pre-

  sented early this morning to the Senate and House committee

  chairmen. We stand behind the President."

  "All right," Vilizherchev said. "The bombers, the cruise

  missiles, the attacks against Honduras I invented them. I

  had to find a way to regain at least some of my bargaining po-

  sition-"

  "This is not the time for diplomatic face-saving, Mr. Ambas-

  sador," the President said. "In five minutes those planes

  launch.

  "I have been ordered to negotiate a way to turn the fighter

  back to you," Vilizherchev said. "No conditions. The General

  Secretary has directed it be done immediately."

  "Is the aircraft flyable?" Curtis asked.

  "Yes. It is at Puerto Cabezas, as you already know. It was

  flown there to avoid the attack against Sebaco."

  "What about the pilot? What about James?"

  "A KGB agent, the project was run by the KGB. The General

  Secretary learned of the theft of the aircraft only afteritlanded

  in Nicaragua. The General Secretary never agreed to keep the

  aircraft in Nicaragua-he never knew of the plan to move it out

  430 DALE BROWN

  of your country. The whole affair was run by Vladimir Kalinin

  of the KGB. "

  "So why should the KGB turn the aircraft over to us now?"

  Deborah O'Day asked. "If they control the aircraft . . . "

  "The aircraft is now in the hands of the Soviet army, not the

  KGB. Colonel Maraklov has been ordered to return to Sebaco

  to await transportation to Moscow via Managua. The army has

  orders to make the aircraft ready to be flown out of Nicaragua."

  Deborah O'Day looked at the President. "Sir, it is over . . . "

  "Not yet," the President said. "I'll cancel the air strike, but

  I'm keeping the George Washington on station. I don't trust

  these people. Not any more. Wilbur, I want you in the Situation

  Room for a meeting. Postpone the air strikes for now." Curtis

  nodded, a faint hint of a smile on his face not detectable by

  anyone, and departed.

  "Then I suggest sending in a security force to guard the air-

  craft," Stuart said, "until we can figure out how we can get the

  aircraft out of there."

  "General Elliott is in the Cayman Islands in control of the air

  forces," O'Day said. "He has a man that can fly DrearnStar-

  only specially trained pilots can fly it. He can send in a security

  unit with the pilot and some technicians that can inspect the

  aircraft. He can make the decision on how to get DreamStar

  out. "

  The President nodded to O'Day, then looked at the Russian

  ambassador.

  Vilizherchev under-stood that look. "I assure you, the General

  Secretary is anxious to be done with this . . . incident. "

  "Bill, get down to the Situation Room, advise Mr. Kemp to

  hold the Second Fleet's air raid but tell them to stay on the

  alert." Stuart nodded and departed.

  "Deborah, set up a satellite call in the conference room with

  General Elliott. We will plan this thing together so the ambas-

  sador knows what we'll want from his people and the Nicara-

  guans. I'll meet you all there in a minute. " Van Keller, Danahall

  and Vilizherchev filed out of the Oval Office, led by Cesare, but

  Deborah O'Day stayed behind.

  "What is it, Debbie?"

  "Did I hear all this correctly a minute ago? Did I hear you

  say you had elements of the Second Fleet ready to invade Nic-

  aragua?

  DAY OF THE CHEETAH 431

  "You must have heard it correctly," the President said with

  the hint of a smile. "Kemp and Curtis heard it, too."

  O'Day said, "Strike aircraft with heavy bombs on board usu-

  ally have to jettison their bombs before recovering back on the

  carrier. But I'm confused. I didn't know anything about an in-

  vasion plan. Did you formulate a plan with John and-- She

  stopped, then stared at the President. "You made that up?"

  "I thought Vilizherchev might be lying to me again," the

  President said, "so I raised the stakes on him. He had nothing

  in his hand but he wanted to challenge me. The guy has balls.

  Without authorization, without anything to back himself up with,

  the guy stood in front of me and threatened us with war if we

  didn't back off."

  "So what will you do if the Russians won't turn DrearnStar

  over to us? Will you invade Nicaragua after all?"

  "Yes. He forced my hand, whether he knew it or not. Now

  we both have to live with that threat. Hell, I wish we did have

  congressional authorization for an invasion. Van Keller makes a

  good poker player, too. He played right along, just like you and

  Wilbur.

  "If the Russians don't turn over DrearnStar, I'm prepared to

  destroy Puerto Cabezas, then order the Marines to occupy it.

  We'll have -to make a decision on whether or not to go after

  those other airfields and bases after that.

  Sebaco, Nicaragua

  Sunday, 21 June 1996, 1132 CDT (1032 EDT)

  "Am I under arrest?" Andrei Maraklov said, pulling himself

  away from the KGB Border Guards that had escorted him into

  Sebaco's command post.

  General Tret'yak turned toward him, waving at the guards to

  leave him. "Arrest? No, Colonel, you are not under arrest. Why

  would you think such a thing?"

  "Because some Russian and Nicaraguan army bozos dragged

  me out of DreamStar and threw me into a helicopter to take me

  back here," Maraklov said. "What the hell is going on? I can't

  allow DreamStar to be left alone and unprotected like that. And

  I want my flight suit back. That's a delicate piece of equip-

  ment-"

  432 DALE BROWN

  "It's no longer your concern, Colonel. You don't look so

  well, Colonel Maraklov. Apparently Central America does not

  agree with you."

  Actually Maraklov did look in poor health. Most of the men

  under Tret'yak's command, because of bad water, stress and the

  spicy food had lost weight after coming
to Nicaragua, but Mar-

  aklov had only been here a week and he looked emaciated. The

  elastic belt on his flight suit was drawn in so much that the ends

  overlapped halfway around his waist, and his eyes looked almost

  ghostly in the command center's stark overhead lighting. He also

  seemed to be losing hair. Could he be on drugs? No-Maraklov

  was guarded night and day and observed through hidden cameras

  while in his room. If he was doing drugs he was being very

  crafty indeed to escape detection.

  Maraklov's anger flared. "Forget my waistline, General. What

  do you mean, DreamStar is no longer my concern?"

  "The army has been ordered to take control of the aircraft,

  effective immediately."

  "And what are they going to do with it?"

  "I don't know or care. My job is to get this base operational

  again. Your fighter, or you for that matter, are no longer my

  concern. "

  "My mission was to deliver that aircraft to Ramenskoye Test

  Center in Moscow," Maraklov said. "I have authority to de-

  mand assistance from all Soviefor allied forces. That includes

  you-"

  "Nyet. My last order concerning you was to see to it that you

  board an Aeroflot plane in Managua for Moscow when you are

  told to do so, which will be in the next two or three days. Mean-

  while you are not to return to Puerto Cabezas or go anywhere

  near the DrearnStar aircraft. You will not be placed under arrest

  but I trust you will do as you are told."

  "This is nuts. Why is the KGB; abandoning the project now?

  We can still get DreamStar to Russia-why are they giving up

  like this?

  "I don't know," Tret'yak said. "The KGB troops under my

  command have not been used to secure the fighter-they Eire

  using only Red Army troops. Who knows, perhaps they have

  made a bargain with the Americans for the return of the fight-

  er . He paused, staring at Maraklov. "Perhaps they do not

  trust you any longer."

  DAY OF THE CHEETAH 433

  "What do you mean by that?"

  "I mean, Colonel Maraklov, where were you when Sebaco

  was under attack? You had four missiles and extra fuel on board

  your fighter, and yet you stayed in Puerto Cabezas and hid in

  your concrete bunker while my airbase was being blown to hell

  by an American B-52 bomber. You--

  "A B-52 bomber? You mean one B-52 bomber?"

  "Yes, one B-52," Tret'yak said, "armed with air-to-air and

  air-to-ground weapons. Certainly your amazing fighter plane

  could have shot it down with ease-if you had bothered to join

  in the fight. "

  "Well how the hell was I supposed to know it was only one

  plane? We were expecting a major assault-I got into the bunker

  and shut down before they could track me. Besides, I was never

  informed-"

  "It was never your intention to help defend the base,"

  Tret'yak said. "One plane or a hundred-you were not going to

  come to our aid." He rubbed his eyes irritably, then held up a

  hand before Maraklov could speak. "Your special metallic flight

  suit has been impounded-you will have no use for it. It will be

  sent with you when you leave for Moscow. Lieutenant Zaykov

  has asked to remain your aide until you leave, and her request

  has been granted. You are dismissed."

  "I want to contact Moscow for clarification of instructions."

  Tret'yak waved toward his office. "Do what you want. KGB

  headquarters wanted to speak with you when you arrived from

  Puerto Cabezas anyway. The channel has already been set up.

  But until I receive orders to the contrary, Lieutenant Zaykov is

  to escort you to Managua first thing in the morning and to see

  that you are on your way to Moscow. Good-bye, Colonel Mar-

  aklov.

  Maraklov hurried into Tret'yak's office and ordered the call

  be put through to KGB headquarters in Moscow. Things had

  gone to hell real fast, he thought. Tret'yak was naive if he

  thought Moscow would risk using DreamStar to defend his little

  jungle base. Hell, Sebaco, Puerto Cabezas, Bluefields, even Ma-

  nagua were going to be sacrificed-anything to get DrearnStar

  off safely. Somebody changed their minds in Moscow. The

  B-52 must've really shaken them up. Kalinin must have screwed

  up. The responsibility of getting DreamStar out of Nicaragua

  was obviously his, and he slipped up-this was the first time

  434 DALE BROWN

  anybody but KGB troops had had anything to do with Drearn-

  Star. Obviously there had been some sort of shakeup in Moscow

  and someone else was in charge now ...

  So the question was-what could he do to get around this?

  How could he turn disaster to his advantage?

  The satellite transmission went through after several at-

  tempts-the American bomber attack had done extensive damage

  to the power transformers and underground communications ca-

  bles, and they had only a patchwork setup still running. Mar-

  aklov shook his head as he thought of a single B-52 bomber

  attacking Sebaco. It had to be another of Elliott's toys, he

  thought-another Megafortress Plus, or maybe the resurrection

  of the one he had shot down? Would he never be rid of Drearn-

  land's ghosts?

  "Tovarisch Polkovnik, dobriy vyechyer, " the voice on the

  other end of the line greeted him. "Ehtah General-Major Kali-

  nin. Kahk dyela . . . ?

  "You have to speak English, Sir," Maraklov said. "My Rus-

  Sian is still very poor. Vi gavaretye angleyski?"

  "Of course, yes, I speak English," the man replied. "I am

  Director Kalinin."

  Damn . . . it was the KGB director himself on the line.

  "I assume you have received your orders from General

  Tret'yak, vyehma?

  "Yes, Sir.

  "What is your . . . kak gavaretye . . . how do you say,

  thoughts?

  "My opinion? Of my orders, Sir?"

  "Yes, your opinion."

  What the hell was going on? The director of the KGB was

  asking him if he agreed with his orders? He was screwed either

  way he answered. Well, no use dodging this "I do not

  agree with them, Sir. We must not give the aircraft to the

  Americans. We have already paid a very dear price for it-it

  is ours now .

  To his surprise he heard Kalinin say he agreed with him.

  There was a long pause on the channel. What was going on?

  Was Kalinin going to disobey his own orders and bring

  DreamStar back to Russia? Were they trying to set him up, use

  what he said against him in a trial once he returned to the Soviet

  Union?

  DAY OF THE CHEETAH 435

  "Colonel, I will transmit message to you, in confidence, soon.

  It will be in English. The message for you only. Not Tret'yak.

  Vi pahnyemahyo?

  "No, I don't understand, Sir."

  "I will give you orders. New orders. Carry them out if you

  can. Etah srochnah. It is urgent - Da svedahneya. " And the line

  went dead.

  Brooks Medical Center, Brooks A", San Antonio,

  Texas

  Sunday, 21 June 1996, 1305 CDT (1405 EDT)
<
br />   "O God of heavenly powers, who, by the might of thy com-

  mand, drivest away from men's bodies all sickness and all infin-

  ity; be present in thy goodness with this thy servant, that her

  weakness may be banished and her strength recalled; that her

  health being thereupon restored, she may bless thy holy Name;

  through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

  Patrick and , who had come back with him, then would

  return as needed, stood apart from the small circle of Wendy's

  parents and relatives around her bed in the intensive care unit as

  the doctor checked Wendy's eyes and skin. They had had no

  time to change out of their flight suits. After securing the still

  heavily armed Cheetah in a guarded hangar they had gone right

  from the aircraft parking ramp to a waiting Air Force sedan and

  on to the hospital. McLanahan had knelt beside his wife only

  briefly, then backed away when he noticed the number of rela-

  tives present and their faces. Now, with the minister and rela-

  tives crowded around her, he felt more excluded, more isolated

  than ever.

  A minister had been there for the last twelve hours. When he

  first arrived the prayers were full of uplifting, optimistic words.

  Now the prayers had taken a sudden shift toward the irremedi-

  able.

  The doctor finished his examination, took notes on the mon-

  itor readouts, changed an intravenous fluid bag, then moved

  away. McLanahan saw the minister touch the doctor's arm, and

  they spoke briefly. Did he see the doctor shake his head? He

  drove murderous thoughts out of his mind and got the doctor's

  attention.

  436 DALE BROWN

  "What's the story, doctor? "

  "The right lung sounds clear. I think we stopped the edema.

  But she's very weak. I'm sorry, but we have to expect respira-

  tory failure-

  "No.

  "The damage was massive. She's a strong woman, Colonel.

  But for every step she takes forward, her body takes two back-

  wards. She's fought back bravely, but . . ."

  McLanahan could not stand to look at the doctor any more.

  He sought his wife's face from the foot of her bed. They had

  removed the larger tubes from her throat, leaving only the nasal