Warriors

should be more concerned with retrieving more of our pilots from Arabia.'

'Ezer, nobody in this room disagrees with you.' The colonel's tone was calm and reassuring. 'We're doing absolutely everything we can. But remember, our helicopters must fly over Arab-occupied Jordan into Saudi airspace to reach those sites. We have already lost three helos and their crews.' He looked around the room, making his point with his eyes. 'From now on we need to conserve our planes and pilots for the most effective use. That message is going to Tel Aviv this very night. I don't think there will be a repeat of this folly.'

With that, he walked out the door.

Watching him go, the Mirage pilot said, 'From now on, I wonder if we can hold what we have.'

Ha’il, 2152 Hours

Ed Lawrence wandered into the debriefing room, drawn by the noise and chatter. Despite the hour, he noted with pleasure that morale remained at a peak. Thirteen of the Tiger Force pilots who had been shot down were recovered. Those returned to Ha'il were greeted with a combination of hearty hugs and good-natured ribbing.

In the comer, several Black Squadron pilots were singing the organization's theme song.

He set up in the front quarter
At a fairly respectable range.
Hit the disappear switch, rolled out at Deep Six
And the Fox Fifteen went down in flames.

Lawrence walked over to join them in the hoarse shouting which passed for singing.

DAY 10

Near Jericho, 1220 Hours

The mirage from — the midday heat shimmered in the distance as the binoculars focused on the West Bank. General Hassan Gamail rotated the knob and set the mil scale along the Israeli-held front. His Zeiss binoculars were a prized possession. He had carried them since 1984 when the Iraqi chief of staff had presented them to the new regimental commander. Gamail had proven himself an accomplished soldier at every command level, and despite his country's military stalemate with Iran, his career had flourished. He had outlived many of his contemporaries.

The Iraqi corps commander carefully tucked away the valuable German glasses and edged back from the sandbagged emplacement.

Motioning to his driver, he scrambled into his command car and gave directions to the nearby divisional headquarters.

With two infantry divisions and a reinforced motor rifle division under his command, the veteran soldier believed he could make an option work for him. He needed to arrange supporting arms on short notice-artillery and air. But if he was correct, the opening he saw developing could turn this war around. It was Day Ten, and if Gamail's plan worked there would not be a Day Twenty. But first he had to talk to the combined headquarters in Damascus. This would require coordination on three fronts.

Ha’il, 1455 Hours

John Bennett tapped the map with his pencil. 'You know, Bear, this war should be winding down pretty soon. The Arabs have control of most of Jordan again and the Israelis only hold this part of the West Bank anymore.' He pointed to the slight bulge eastward toward the River Jordan.

'What still surprises me is that the Arabs stuck to their plan so well.' The ex-Marine rubbed his neck; he had gotten sunburned two days before. 'Once the Israelis began to pull back to shorten their lines, I figured the Syrians and that bunch might try to press right through to Tel Aviv.'

Bennett glanced around. He did not want to be overheard.

'There have been rumors to that effect all along, but since the Egyptians and Saudis have declined to back that move, the campaign seems to be living up to its press. The Arabs are playing this one smart for a change. By defining their mission and stating it to the world, they gained a hell of a lot of support. It'd be contrary to their interests to invade Israeli territory.'

Bear flashed a huge smile. 'Bring the boys home by Christmas? Seems I've heard that one before.'

'Don't be so goddam cheerful,' Bennett said with mock earnestness. 'The day this shooting match ends, you and I are out of a job. '

The big flier said, 'Yeah, I know. But somehow being unemployed doesn't bother me much anymore. I guess the main thing we have to worry about is the State Department. They know we're here. Probably know what we're doing.'

'Well, don't sweat it, Bear. If necessary, we can dig up a sea lawyer to muddy the waters. After all, we're not in the same boat as the contract maintenance folks, or even the military attaches. We're working directly for the king of Saudi Arabia. State isn't going to rock the boat after that. If anything, the diplomats will be falling all over themselves to return to business as usual in Riyadh. If things do get tight, I think we can count on Safad to smooth things over.'

Bennett turned from the wall map and picked up a clipboard with operations reports. 'I see the Saudis approved your rotation plan for the northern bases. Are the two Jordanian outfits flying from Green and Blue Bases now?'

'Affirmative. And Black is supposed to rotate back here with Orange in a couple days. Now that it's about over, I guess Devil and Rajid and the guys will look forward to some Rand R in Bahrain or Riyadh.'

'Some of them will, but I don't know about Ed. He's having a real good time. He bagged another one a couple days ago and he won't be satisfied unless he gets the last kill with the last missile in this war.' Bennett flipped the chart cover shut. 'Besides, there's no kind of Rand R Devil would enjoy in any Muslim country.'

'I guess you're right. But what about the young tigers? I'd imagine Rajid is anxious to see his boy again. The kid must be… what, almost two years old?'

'Not quite two.' For the first time in days, Bennett thought of his own son, and of his granddaughter. God, I'm ready to go home. We've proved our point. ''Things still quiet along the border?'

Barnes leaned back on the table, one leg dangling. 'Pretty much. Some of the boys are saying the Israelis are afraid to come back in force after the big shootout, and I lit into a couple of them. I was polite, you understand, but firm. I guess we've both seen that kind of overconfidence backfire on a pilot.'

'Damn right, Bear. These kids need to understand the Israelis haven't been back because there's no reason for it. Hell, from their viewpoint there was no good military reason in the first place. The fact that the politicians panicked and ordered their air force south just means our plan goaded them into our hands.' He thought for a moment. 'There must be some mighty upset Israeli drivers up around Tel Aviv this week. I wouldn't blame 'em for dumping napalm on the Knesset.'

Bear consulted his notes. 'Tiger Force is deploying standing patrols along the Jordanian-Saudi border, alternating with F-5s. I figure since the radar signature is identical for each type, the Israelis will have to assume all patrols are F-20s. At least, as long as the guys keep zip-lip.'

'Remind me to hire you as an ops officer sometime, Barnes. You show real promise. Now, I'm going to log some ACM with a couple of the guys. Is 001 ready?'

'Right where you parked her last time, boss.'

Balhama Air Base 1458 Hours

Colonel Solomon Yatanahu checked the communications from Heyl Ha'Avir headquarters again. He had informed the air staff that he wanted to consolidate his remaining Eagles into two squadrons instead of the usual three. Attrition had made the ordinary administrative division unwieldy. Now the base commander wanted to pool all his aircraft and assign them to pilots from the same squadrons in order to maintain maximum possible coordination in the air. He proposed putting up four-plane flights from two squadrons at a time, keeping the pilots of his third squadron on rotation.

Yatanahu was reading the availability reports when his adjutant, Lieutenant Yoni Ben-Nun, entered the office. 'Excuse me, Colonel. We've just had a bit of good news.'

The fighter ace turned around. 'I could stand some good news, Yoni. What is it?'