Tom Clancy - The Bear and the Dragon

Boyle saluted. “Well, I’m your driver, gentlemen. The objective is seven hundred sixteen miles away. We can just about make it with the fuel we’re carrying, but we’re going to have to tank up on the way back. We’re doing that right here”-he pointed to a spot on the navigation chart-“hilltop west of this little town named Chicheng. We got lucky. Two C-130s are going to do bladder drops for us. There will be a fighter escort for top cover, F-15s, plus some F-16s to go after any radars along the way, and when we get to about here, eight F-117s are going to trash this fighter base at Anshan. That should take care of any Chinese fighter interference. Now, this missile base has an associated security force, supposed to be battalion strength, in barracks located here”-this time it was a satellite photo-“and five of my Apaches are going to take that place down with rockets. The others will be flying direct support. The only other question is, how close do you want us to put you on these missile silos?”

“Land right on top of the bastards,” Clark told him, looking over at Kirillin.

“I agree, the closer the better.”

Boyle nodded. “Fair enough. The helicopters all have numbers on them indicating the silo they’re flying for. I’m flying lead, and I’m going right to this one here.”

“That means I go with you,” Clark told him.

“How many?”

“Ten plus me.”

“Okay, your chem gear’s in the aircraft. Suit up, and we go. Latrine’s that way,” Boyle pointed. It would be better for every man to take a piss before the flight began. “Fifteen minutes.”

Clark went that way, and so did Kirillin. Both old soldiers knew what they needed to do in most respects, and this one was as vital as loading a weapon.

“Have you been to China before, John?”

“Nope. Taiwan once, long ago, to get screwed, blued, and tattooed.”

“No chance for that on this trip. We are both too old for this, you know.”

“I know,” Clark said, zipping himself up. “But you’re not going to sit back here, are you?”

“A leader must be with his men, Ivan Timofeyevich.”

“That is true, Yuriy. Good luck.”

“They will not launch a nuclear attack on my country, or on yours,” Kirillin promised. “Not while I live.”

“You know, Yuriy, you might have been a good guy to have in 3rd SOG.”

“And what is that, John?”

“When we get back and have a few drinks, I will tell you.”

The troops suited up outside their designated helicopters. The U.S. Army chemical gear was bulky, but not grossly so. Like many American-issue items, it was an evolutionary development of a British idea, with charcoal inside the lining to absorb and neutralize toxic gas, and a hood that-

“We can’t use our radios with this,” Mike Pierce noted. “Screws up the antenna.”

“Try this,” Homer Johnston suggested, disconnecting the antenna and tucking it into the helmet cover.

“Good one, Homer,” Eddie Price said, watching what he did and trying it himself. The American-pattern Kevlar helmet fit nicely into the hoods, which they left off in any case as too uncomfortable until they really needed it. That done, they loaded into their helicopters, and the flight crews spooled up the General Electric turboshaft engines. The Blackhawks lifted off. The special-operations troops were set in what were-for military aircraft-comfortable seats, held in place with four-point safety belts. Clark took the jump seat, aft and between the two pilots, and tied into the intercom.

“Who, exactly, are you?” Boyle asked.

“Well, I have to kill you after I tell you, but I’m CIA. Before that, Navy.”

“SEAL?” Boyle asked.

“Budweiser badge and all. Couple years ago we set up this group, called RAINBOW, special operations, counterterror, that sort of thing.”

“The amusement park job?”

“That’s us.”

“You had a -60 supporting you for that. Who’s the driver?”

“Dan Malloy. Goes by ‘BEAR’ when he’s driving. Know him?”

“Marine, right?”

“Yep.” Clark nodded.

“Never met him, heard about him a little. I think he’s in D.C. now.”

“Yeah, when he left us he took over VMH-1.”

“Flies the President?”

“Correct.”

“Bummer,” Boyle observed.

“How long you been doing this?”

“Flying choppers? Oh, eighteen years. Four thousand hours. I was born in the Huey, and grew up into these. Qualified in the Apache, too.”

“What do you think of the mission?” John asked.

“Long” was the reply, and Clark hoped that was the only cause for concern. A sore ass you could recover from quickly enough.

Iwish there was another way to do this one, Robby,” Ryan said over lunch. It seemed utterly horrid to be sitting here in the White House Mess, eating a cheeseburger with his best friend, while others-including two people he knew well-Jack had learned, were heading into harm’s way. It was enough to kill his appetite as dead as the low-cholesterol beef in the bun. He set it down and sipped at his Coke.

“Well, there is-if you want to wait the two days it’s going to take Lockheed-Martin to assemble the bombs, then a day to fly them to Siberia, and another twelve hours to fly the mission. Maybe longer. The Black Jet only flies at night, remember?” the Vice President pointed out.

“You’re handling it better than I am.”

“Jack, I don’t like it any more than you do, okay? But after twenty years of flying off carriers, you learn to handle the stress of having friends in tight corners. If you don’t, might as well turn in your wings. Eat, man, you need your strength. How’s Andrea doing?”

That generated an ironic smile. “Puked her guts out this morning. Had her use my own crapper. It’s killing her, she was embarrassed as a guy caught naked in Times Square.”

“Well, she’s in a man’s job, and she doesn’t want to be seen as a wimp,” Robby explained. “Hard to be one of the boys when you don’t have a dick, but she tries real hard. I’ll give her that.”

“Cathy says it passes, but it isn’t passing fast enough for her.” He looked over to see Andrea standing in the doorway, always the watchful protector of her President.

“She’s a good troop,” Jackson agreed.

“How’s your dad doing?”

“Not too bad. Some TV ministry agency wants him and Gerry Patterson to do some more salt-and-pepper shows on Sunday mornings. He’s thinking about it. The money could dress up the church some.”

“They were impressive together.”

“Yeah, Gerry didn’t do bad for a white boy-and he’s actually a pretty good guy, Pap says. I’m not sure of this TV-ministry stuff, though. Too easy to go Hollywood and start playing to the audience instead of being a shepherd to your flock.”

“Your father’s a pretty impressive gent, Robby.”

Jackson looked up. “I’m glad you think so. He raised us pretty good, and it was pretty tough on him after Mom died. But he can be a real sundowner. Gets all pissy when he sees me drink a beer. But, what the hell, it’s his job to yell at people, I suppose.”

“Tell him that Jesus played bartender once. It was his first public miracle.”

“I’ve pointed that out, and then he says, if Jesus wants to do it, that’s okay for Jesus, boy, but you ain’t Jesus.” The Vice President had a good chuckle. “Eat, Jack.”

“Yes, Mom.”

This food isn’t half bad,” Al Gregory said, two miles away in the wardroom of USS Gettysburg.

“Well, no women and no booze on a ship of war,” Captain Blandy pointed out. “Not this one yet, anyway. You have to have some diversion. So, how are the missiles?”