CARRIER 9: ARCTIC FIRE By: Keith Douglass

Batman shook his head, wondering. With the very latest ESM equipment,

radars, and other highly classified sensor systems on board the carrier, in

the end, the first detection had been made the way it had been for

centuries: by a man on the ground.

Tombstone hung up the receiver thoughtfully. Was it possible, he

wondered, that the same man would still be in place after all these years?

He shook his head, deciding that it didn’t matter. Barring the outside

chance that this was a deception operation in some way, he was inclined to

trust the radio report. Though Batman had been doubtful, he’d agreed to

send the SEAL team in to investigate. And now it looked like that had been

the right move.

“Admiral,” Captain Craig said, poking his head around the corner into

Tombstone’s cabin. “Problem, sir.”

“How did you hear-?” Tombstone broke off suddenly. The chief of

staff hadn’t been present while Tombstone was talking to Batman. He

couldn’t know about the debris the SEALs had found blowing in the wind. It

must be something else. “What is it?” he asked, motioning the man to come

into the room. “Dinner reservations screwed up again?”

“I wish it were that simple,” the chief of staff said. “No, Admiral,

it’s an air distress signal. We’re getting seven-seven-seven-seven

blasting all over the place on IFF. Evidently it’s a civilian helicopter

experiencing mechanical problems about two miles from us.”

“How serious?”

“Serious enough that they don’t think that they can make it back to

land. And there’s no question of them ditching in these waters, of course.

They’re requesting permission to land on the ship.”

“A civilian?” Tombstone frowned. What in hell’s name would a civilian

helicopter be doing in this area?

The chief of staff shook his head. “According to the transponder,

it’s a commercial craft. The pilot said they were out trying to do some

spotting for a fishing boat when they started having problems. They’re

headed this way out of Juneau, they said.” Captain Craig shot him a

doubtful look. “The radar track doesn’t jive with that, though. The only

way it makes sense is if they’re coming out of Adak.”

“Adak? What the-” Tombstone cut the thought off abruptly. As soon

as the chief of staff had announced the discrepancy in the flight’s track,

the conviction that Pamela Drake was behind this had hit him. It had to

be–there was no other explanation.

Over the years, he’d watched Pamela’s determination to get in the

middle of every fast-breaking story, marveling sometimes at the lengths to

which she would go to ferret out the smallest bit of information. As a

more junior officer, he’d rarely been on the receiving end of her drive to

be the best reporter on any network, bar none. However, since he’d added

stars to his collar, the issue of their relationship and Pamela’s

profession had become increasingly problematic. Where does one draw the

line? he wondered. While he might not be entirely certain of the answer

himself, there was one thing he was sure of–with an ACN helicopter

inbound, it was somewhere different than from where Pamela did.

“Admiral?” the chief of staff said, snapping him back to reality.

“I take it the pilot’s declared an emergency, then?” Tombstone asked.

“Yes, sir–about five minutes ago.” The chief of staff sucked in his

breath as he saw the cold fire settle over Tombstone’s face. He’d expected

some reaction from his boss, but not this one.

“Let them land,” Tombstone said coldly. “As soon as they’re on deck,

I want to see them all in my cabin. Immediately.”

The chief of staff turned to execute the orders, feeling a fleeting

pity for the civilians in the helicopter. They had no idea of what they

were in for. “And COS? One other thing.” The chief of staff turned back

to his boss. “Sir?”

“Get the senior JAG officer on board up here ASAP. Let those civilian

idiots cool their heels in the conference room while I talk to him. And

tell him to bring up his Dictaphone and any other recording equipment he

might need. If this is what I think it is, I’m going to want criminal

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