charges filed against every person on that helicopter.”
As the chief of staff left the compartment, someone tapped softly on
the door between his conference room and his cabin. “Come in,” he said
roughly, struggling to get his temper back under control.
The door opened quickly, and Tomboy’s red-topped head peeked around
the corner. “Good afternoon, Admiral,” she said formally. “I was in TFCC,
and I heard about the helo.” She let the unspoken question hang in the
air.
Inwardly, Tombstone groaned. The last thing he needed on top of the
tactical situation and Pamela Drake’s surreptitious arrival on his ship was
Tomboy’s questioning.
“You have a problem with that, Commander Flynn?” he asked coldly,
immediately regretting the words. He saw Tomboy’s face settle into an icy
mask, not unlike the one he saw every morning in the mirror when shaving.
She drew herself up, seeming to add a few inches to her height. “None
at all, Admiral,” she responded in the same tone. “I just wanted to make
sure you were properly briefed. With your permission-” she finished,
drawing back as though ready to leave.
“Tomboy! Get in here,” Tombstone said roughly. She stopped in
mid-stride. “Yes, Admiral?” she said.
“We have communications with this helicopter, right? Did you hear
what they said?”
She regarded him gravely, a bland, professional look in her eyes.
“Yes, Admiral, I did in fact hear the entire transmission. Would the
admiral care for me to repeat it to him?”
Something in the back of Tombstone’s mind started insisting that this
was a very, very, very bad idea. “Yes,” Tombstone said, ignoring it.
“What is the nature of their problem?”
“Icing, Admiral. And there are specific requests for your
assistance,” she added thoughtfully, staring at a spot somewhere behind his
head. “In fact, the actual request was, ‘Ask Stoney if I can put this bird
down on his precious boat,'” Tomboy said, her voice level. “The speaker
identified herself as Miss Pamela Drake.”
1714 Local
Aflu
“Aircraft,” Sikes snapped into the radio. “Everybody freeze.” The
phrase struck him as oddly absurd in this environment, but it was a fact
that movement would draw the aircraft’s attention faster than anything
else. As long as they stood still, clad in their white arctic gear against
a solid white background, there was a good chance they wouldn’t be
observed.
The lookout and the other patrol team rogered up, and Sikes watched
the man in front of him hunker down on the ice. Sikes elected to remain
standing, one hand reflexively going to the trigger of his weapon.
The deep-throated growl of a large aircraft was now clearly audible.
Sikes schooled himself to keep his face down, not daring to risk exposing
his tanned face to any observer overhead. He heard a change in the doppler
effect, indicating the aircraft was turning, and waited. If the aircraft
decided to orbit overhead, he was going to have to think of something fast.
Under these conditions, remaining still could be deadly.
Three minutes later, he heard the sound of the engine shift downward,
indicating that the aircraft had turned away from them. He let out a gasp
of air, unaware that he’d been holding his breath. He gave it thirty
seconds, then risked an upward glance.
The ass end of the Soviet transport aircraft disappeared over the line
of the mountains. But far more worrisome was what it left in its wake. A
cluster of parachutes was already visible in the overcast, and more were
streaming out of the aircraft. He made the mental calculations swiftly.
The nearest one would be only fifty yards away from them. Remaining where
they were had become completely unacceptable. He raised the radio to his
lips. “Move out.”
Rogov wedged one heavily gloved hand into a crack in the ice and
leaned forward against the belaying line. Perched near the top of a cliff,
hidden from below by the jagged spikes, his position was somewhat
precarious. The wind gusted harder at this altitude, and the surface of
the ice was smooth, offering few footholds. Without the rappelling team,
they could not have made it up to this site.
Yet, for all the difficulty in reaching it, it was perfect. He had a