by Dale Brown
“When you get a real airplane, Patrick, then I’ll fly with you,” Darrow quipped. “Anyway, the U.S. attorney has dropped all the charges, and they said they’d talk with the FAA about those sensor things you put on the airplanes. It looks like Civil Air Patrol is interested in installing them on all their planes.”
“Excellent,” Patrick said. “That’d be a nice little piece of business for Sky Masters.”
They were silent for a few moments; then: “Are you sure about all this, Patrick?” she asked. “You’re giving up the appointment to be the vice president’s space policy adviser?”
“Yes,” Patrick said. “I’ve been to Washington and the White House already, and didn’t really care for it.”
“But . . . I’m in Washington,” she said. “You and Brad could come and stay with me, and we could . . . take it from there?” He said nothing, which was all the answer she needed. “So what are you going to do?” she asked. “Go to Sacramento? Arizona? Las Vegas?”
“No—I’m going to stay right here,” Patrick said.
“Here? And do what? The base is closed. With the base closed, Battle Mountain will practically be a ghost town!”
“I’ve accepted a job,” Patrick said. “I’m going to be vice president of Sky Masters, Inc., taking over Jon’s position. And my first order of business will be to move the company to Battle Mountain.”
“What?”
“I’ve always said that this place has a lot going for it—wide-open space, good people, isolated but central to a lot of big-city talent, fresh air, and low costs,” Patrick said. “All this place needed was a commitment. I tried it with the air base—now I’m going to try it with Sky Masters. I’m going to hire the best young minds in the country and build the next generation of bombers, space systems, weapons, satellites, or whatever the newest technology will be, right here in the ‘Armpit of the World.’ In ten years, this will be the space and technology capital of the world.”
“Unbelievable,” Darrow said. She gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Well, if anyone can pull it off, you can. Good-bye, Patrick. Call if you need me.” And she drove off without looking back.
Patrick drove the Wrangler to his rented trailer about a mile away, down a long dirt road and up a short rise. In the fading light of sunset, he looked at the excavation for the foundation of his new home. It would have a great view of the growing city and the soon-to-be bustling airport, and plenty of room for visiting sisters and their families, dogs, maybe horses—and grandkids, of course. He couldn’t wait to get started.
Patrick went inside and poured himself a Balvenie on the rocks. It was when he sat down and activated his intraocular monitor that he noticed he had an e-mail message . . . from Gia. It read: I heard you were going to Washington and would be in the White House. I can’t go to that place. I’ll get better and try to build a life here out west, and when you are ready to settle down, please call me. Love, Gia.
Patrick immediately hit reply and began to compose a message, telling her that he wasn’t going to Washington, that he loved her and wanted her back with him and was going to stay right here . . . but he erased the message. Gia needs to get better, and I’m not quite ready to help her do that, he thought. When we’re both ready, maybe. He answered e-mails—including irate ones from President Phoenix and Vice President Page—finished the drink, and went to bed early.
Later that night, a four-door crossover SUV drove up the dirt road toward the trailer, then backed up the rise so the car was pointed back down the road. All of its lights were extinguished. Two men silently got out of the vehicle and dashed for the trailer, guns drawn, wearing night-vision goggles and bulletproof vests; two more men stayed in the car, on guard. With expert ease the two assassins broke into Patrick’s trailer, made their way to the bedrooms, and began firing at the beds. They turned and dashed back out the front door, getting ready to arm an incendiary grenade to burn down the trailer . . .
. . . and ran headlong into a lone, dark figure standing at the base of the stairs.
“Hello, kiddies,” Wayne Macomber said, dressed in the Tin Man armor. “Fancy meeting you here.” When the assassins raised their weapons to fire, Whack reached out, grabbed their gun hands, and squeezed. The assassins screamed and dropped to the ground, clutching masses of bone, blood, and tissue mixed with crushed metal.
When they heard the screams, the two assassins in the car shoved the vehicle in gear and hit the gas . . .
. . . and ran headlong into a twelve-foot-high robot that had appeared out of nowhere right in front of them!
“Hello, kiddies,” Brad McLanahan said. “Fancy meeting you here.” On the robot’s radio, he asked, “How was that, Uncle Wayne?”
“Come up with your own taglines, kid,” Whack said.
“Okay. How about . . . I’ve got a crush on you guys.” Brad reached across the width of the SUV, putting a hand on the doors on either side, then brought his hands together. The SUV’s sides crushed together like a paper cup, pinning the screaming assassins inside.
“C’mon, you guys—now the cops have to clean all his stuff up,” CIA operative Timothy Dobson complained. “You guys were just showing off.”
“No, I like it,” Patrick said, emerging from his hiding place with another glass of Balvenie on the rocks in his hand. “Good job, boys—good job.”
Acknowledgments
Thank you to Jan and David Bellville, Rob and Shari Spara, and Janet and John de Carteret for your generosity.
Thanks to my fellow members of the Douglas County Composite Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol, Minden, Nevada, for their help and encouragement, especially to former squadron commander and my instructor pilot Arden Heffernan; instructor pilot and deputy commander of cadets Russ Smith; Mike Allgaier, a tireless and dedicated CAP member who taught me a lot about mission-scanner and mission-observer procedures; and Brad Spires, squadron commander and my mentor in guiding me through the process of getting mission-pilot qualified.
Author’s Note
Your comments are welcome at [email protected]! I read all e-mails and reply to as many as I can.
Although I am a member of and mission pilot in the Civil Air Patrol, this novel has not been endorsed or approved by the U.S. Department of Defense, the Air Force, or the Civil Air Patrol.
The C-182 Skylane, C-172 Skyhawk, and P210 Centurion are products of the Cessna Aircraft Company, Wichita, Kansas. The G36 Bonanza is a product of the Hawker Beechcraft Corp., Wichita, Kansas. The MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper are products of General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, San Diego, California.
About the Author
DALE BROWN is the author of numerous New York Times bestsellers, starting with Flight of the Old Dog in 1987. A former U.S. Air Force captain and a current mission pilot in the Civil Air Patrol, he often flies his own plane in the skies over the United States.
www.megafortress.com
Visit www.AuthorTracker.com for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins authors.
Also by Dale Brown
Executive Intent
Rogue Forces
Shadow Command
Strike Force
Edge of Battle
Act of War
Plan of Attack
Air Battle Force
Wings of Fire
Warrior Class
Battle Born
The Tin Man
Fatal Terrain
Shadow of Steel
Storming Heaven
Chains of Command
Night of the Hawk
Sky Masters
Hammerheads
Day of the Cheetah
Silver Tower
Flight of the Old Dog
Credits
Cover design by Richard Aquan
Cover photograph montage © by Getty Images
Copyright
This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as
real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
A TIME FOR PATRIOTS. Copyright © 2011 by Air Battle Force, Inc. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data has been applied for.
Hardcover ISBN 978-0-06-198999-5
EPub Edition © May 2011 ISBN: 9780062090652
11 12 13 14 15 OV/QGF 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
About the Publisher
Australia
HarperCollins Publishers (Australia) Pty. Ltd.
25 Ryde Road (P.O. Box 321)
Pymble, NSW 2073, Australia
www.harpercollins.com.au/ebooks
Canada
HarperCollins Canada
2 Bloor Street East - 20th Floor
Toronto, ON, M4W, 1A8, Canada
http://www.harpercollins.ca
New Zealand
HarperCollins Publishers (New Zealand) Limited
P.O. Box 1
Auckland, New Zealand
http://www.harpercollins.co.nz
United Kingdom
HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.
77-85 Fulham Palace Road
London, W6 8JB, UK
http://www.harpercollins.co.uk
United States
HarperCollins Publishers Inc.
10 East 53rd Street
New York, NY 10022
http://www.harpercollins.com
Table of Contents
Cover
Title Page
Dedication
Contents
Cast of Characters
Weapons and Acronyms
Real-World News Excerpts
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
Author's Note
About the Author
Also by Dale Brown
Credits
Copyright
About the Publisher