didn’t even scratch ’em.”
Bannon pushed the throttles ahead and swooped down, ready to start his
attack.
0023 hours Zulu (0023 hours Zone)
Tomcat 203, Odin Flight
Over the Norwegian Sea
“Range?” Coyote demanded.
“One hundred fifty miles,” John-Boy replied. “Still closing …
one-thirty now.”
Coyote flipped the selector switch to the Phoenix setting. “All right,
Vipers, let’s get some value for the taxpayers’ dollars. Make every one
count.”
“Don’t I always?” Batman interjected. Somebody else, probably Malibu,
was chuckling.
“Minds on the job, boys,” Coyote admonished. “Batman, you’ll just have
to pretend.”
“One hundred ten miles,” John-Boy announced. That was the maximum range
of a Phoenix, but Coyote didn’t want any slipups.
There were just four of them left, Coyote and Batman, and Sheridan and
Lieutenant Joe Travers, running name “Shorty.” The other Tomcat had gone down
during the brief struggle with the Sukhois, about the same time as Powers.
Seven Phoenixes–all the reduced squadron had left–wouldn’t account for all
of the defenders by any means, but they would surely disrupt the Russians.
And the Vipers still had a few Sidewinders and Sparrows ready for when they
closed the range.
“Ninety-five miles, Coyote. I’ve got one in my sights.”
He held his fire a few seconds longer, then hit the stud. “Fox three!
Fox three!” The Phoenix dropped from its hard-point and ignited, driving
across the darkening twilit sky.
The others joined the cry in chorus. “Fox three!”
0024 hours Zulu (0024 hours Zone)
Intruder 507, Loki Flight
Over the Norwegian Sea
Bannon squinted into the dim sky, picking out the shape of the lead
Intruder up ahead. Hacker Hackenberg was flying her, having traded his LSO
job for the pilot’s seat tonight. The thought brought an unpleasant reminder
of things best forgotten. The last time he’d spoken directly to Hacker, it
had been over the radio, ending in shouts of “Wave off!”
Now Hackenberg’s voice was tightly controlled. “Firing now,” he said.
One of the two Harpoons slung under his wings ignited and sped into the
distance. A moment later a flash lit up the sky. “No good,” Hacker said.
“They’re knocking everything down when we fire from out here. I’m getting
closer … if I have to ram it right down their throats.”
“Don’t be an idiot, Lieutenant,” Quinn broke in. “You won’t have a
chance dodging that crap. It’s like the night sky over Baghdad in there!”
“We didn’t lose that much over Baghdad!” Hacker said. His Intruder
surged forward, jinking back and forth to dodge missile and cannon fire
erupting from the decks of an Udaloy-class DDG.
Bannon let the range open. Hackenberg was right, they would never get a
missile in past all those defenses unless they could close the range and let
go at the last possible moment. But it took guts to drive in past all that
SAM and Triple-A fire. He wasn’t sure he was up to that.
“Ready … ready … Not yet …” a voice chanted. Bannon thought it
must be Hacker’s Bombardier/Navigator, but he wasn’t sure.
“She’s coming up!” Hackenberg shouted. “Coming up fast! This is it-”
Another flash, farther off this time, lit the sky like a flare. It was
right on the line Hackenberg had taken. “I’m hit!” Hacker said, as if to
confirm his thoughts. “I’m hit. Can’t hold her …” Then came the brightest
explosion of all.
0025 hours Zulu (0025 hours Zone)
Air Ops, Soviet Aircraft Carrier Soyuz
In the Norwegian Sea
The impact made Glushko stagger. “We’ve been hit!” someone shouted.
Smoke was billowing from a bank of radar screens, acrid, tangy. Glushko bent
over, coughing.
“Fucking Yankee rammed us,” someone said, hacking on the smoke. “Crashed
right on the flight deck.”
The Air Operations center was buried deep in the shelter of the island,
but even here they weren’t safe from collateral damage from the fiery impact.
The ventilator fans whirred, but they weren’t adequate for the job.
Eyes tearing, Glushko pushed open the watertight hatch and staggered into
the corridor outside. He was still coughing, and his lungs felt like they
were on fire. Fresh air … he had to get some fresh air.
A tiny voice of conscience protested that he should stay at his post,