experienced and uncompromising Prime Minister who could be counted on to
support America’s interests. Though it would take time to organize the new
British government, military forces were already preparing to join in the
effort to support Free Norway.
And there was an American Task Force on the way as well. Now that
Lindstrom’s hold on Bergen had been shored up for a while longer, America had
a focal point for arms, men, and other assistance to pour into the embattled
country. Jefferson still faced the Russian threat by herself for now, but
soon she would not be alone any more.
Yes, the cost had been high. Gridley and Bangor lost … Powers and
Bannon and Trapper Martin and the other pilots who had died fighting in
Jefferson’s private, remote little war. And Stramaglia. But they had all
died making sure that the Russians would not turn Norway into another occupied
Kuwait. Now all that remained was to turn the respite they had won into final
victory.
He turned back toward the desk and noticed the mug with Stramaglia’s
cigars there. Magruder picked it up, but stopped before putting it into the
box. Stramaglia’s cigars had been the stuff of legend at Top Gun and
afterward. Like the man himself, somehow bigger than life.
Back at Miramar Magruder had once made the mistake of protesting that the
mock fights weren’t fair. Even though Top Gun used aggressor aircraft that
matched their Soviet counterparts, the teachers didn’t fly using Russian
tactics or doctrine. It had been bad enough questioning Top Gun policy, but
on top of that Magruder had made the mistake of voicing his opinion in front
of Stramaglia, who had promptly scheduled an extra exercise for the day in
which the instructors did adhere to Soviet fighter tactics … and still beat
the students handily. “Doctrine’s only as bad as the pilots who are following
it,” Stramaglia had said afterward, stabbing at Tombstone’s chest with the
inevitable unlit cigar. “If you get yourself beat playing by the rules, how
do you expect to do when the enemy decides not to play fair?”
After the desperate fighting off of the Norwegian coast, Magruder thought
he finally understood just what his old teacher had been driving at. Smiling,
he put the mug and the cigars back on the desk. They could be a reminder to
everyone who saw them to always expect the unexpected … and to never play by
the rules.