'I'm sending it now,' the radar navigator said, typing in a new uncoded emergency message into the satellite communications terminal.
'They got us,' Canady said quietly. Silence from the crew, which felt naked, vulnerable. Nowhere to hide, nowhere to run. Their protective camouflage, their weaponry, their terrainfollowing capability, even their speed was useless.
WASHINGTON, D.C
'Priority messages from the B-1s, sir. 'Jeff Hampton rushed into the Oval Office with a long computer printout strip. At a stern glance from General Curtis, Hampton gave the message to him.
'Well, General?' the President said irritably, taking a sip of coffee.
'First message is a coded post-refueling message, sir. They completed their last refueling successfully. Next message acknowledges the first fail-safe order, authorizing them to proceed to-The President saw the color drain from Curtis' face. 'What is it?'
'Seven minutes ago… oh, goddamn… two more messages transmitted in the clear-they didn't code them. First Z message indicates the formation was spotted by a Russian Mainstay airborne warning and control aircraft one hundred three miles north-northwest of Point Barrow, Alaska.'
'Spotted by a what?'
'A Russian radar plane. 'Curtis walked over to a map of the Northern Hemisphere. 'Here-just a few miles away from the first orbit point.
That Mainstay is a copy of our E-3A AWACS surveillance plane. It can scan hundreds of miles around itself, track planes at high or low altitude, vector fighters-' 'Did the Russians actually see the B-1s?'
'They… yes, visual sighting was made. 'Curtis began to read the last message, then reached out his hand and held onto the back of a chair.
'I don't believe it,' the President asked. 'General, you told me there wouldn't be any Russian planes within two thousand miles of that orbit point.'
'Mr. President…'
'What? There's more?'
'Yes, sir, the General Curtis didn't know if he could read it.the Excaliburs were intercepted by two Russian MiG-31 Foxhound fighters.'
What!' shortly after being spotted. 'Curtis' face had turned even whiter. The President dropped back into his leather seat.
'Did the fighters attack?'
'No. 'Curtis looked again at the message. 'This last report says the fighters were shadowing the bombers. The B-1s tried to outrun them but couldn't. Last reported speed was Mach one point five, still four hundred miles from the second fail-safe point. The fighters are still with them.'
The President bent over his desk. 'General, how can those fighters be so far from Asia?'
'The Mainstay is a tanker, too,' Curtis asked. 'It can sustain two fighters like that for five thousand miles. 'He paused, then turned and walked back to the President's wide cherry desk.
'Sir, there has to be a leak somewhere. First, the timing of the attack on the Fortress, then the attack on Dreamland, and now these B-1s being spotted so fast. It can't be coincidence-' 'Yes, I agree, but that's not the problem now. We've got two bombers up there headed for Russia, and two fighters alongside them ready to blow them out of the sky.
'Sir, I've got an-' 'We have to recall the bombers. Those fighters could take them out any time-' 'Yes, sir, but if they were ordered to do so they would have done it already.
'They could be waiting for orders from Moscow.'
'That's possible, but Canady and Kamanski, the commanders; aboard those Excaliburs, are the best in the business. They just won't let the fighters take them out. The Excaliburs have the new Scorpion air-to-air missiles, advanced jammers, and better camouflage, plus they're just as fast as a Foxhound at high altitude and faster at low altitude.'
'Curtis,' the President said, shaking his head in disbelief, you're not suggesting that the Excaliburs fight off those MiGs and continue.' 'No, sir, but… they shouldn't be recalled, either.'
'For God's sake, why?'
'Sir, the objective is still the neutralization of that laser site-' 'Without starting a war, may I remind you.'
'Yes, sir. Like we agreed, limited resources, precision bombing, little or no collateral damage. The B-1s are now essentially neutralized. They probably could escape the Foxhounds, but they wouldn't have the fuel reserves to continue their mission. Plus the Russian air defenses are alerted. All the Russians need to do is draw a straight line from the bombers' present position to Kavaznya and look along that line to find two B-1s.'so?
'Sir,' Curtis said, leaning toward the President, 'there is only one aircraft in our inventory more heavily armed, more capable, and more prepared to accomplish this mission than even those two Excaliburs-the Old Dog.'
'The Old… you mean that B-52 test airplane?The one that almost got blown up in Nevada?'
'The Old Dog has more defensive weapons, more power, better range and better countermeasures than the B-1s. That plane is manned by the experts that designed all the gear aboard the Excaliburs. And they have the best bombardier in the Strategic Air Command aboard.
'Curtis, that's out of the damned question. 'The President began to pace the office, then abruptly stopped and faced Curtis.
'How the hell could a B-52 get in when two B-1s got caught?'
Curtis took a deep breath to hide his excitement. He didn't want to blow this. 'The Old Dog wouldn't go in the same way' He walked over to the large map, found the President had come along with him. 'The Russian air defenses will be swarming over the north area, waiting for more attackersthey'll probably be expecting a mass of bombers. General Elliott could pick his way in from the south-' 'How would he know what route to take to avoid being spotted?'
'Sir, General Elliott, who's now in command of the Old Dog, has spent months studying the defenses of the Kavaznya area and the Kamchatka peninsula. He knows them much better than I do. I'm betting he can find a gap in the radar coverage and get in without giving away his position. And once he gets in the mountainous terrain of the Kamchatka peninsula, a whole air wing of fighters couldn't find him.'
The President shook his head, turned his back to Curtis.
'Sir, the Old Dog is already airborne,' Curtis reminded him. 'It doesn't have a flight plan-it's a non-mission. The Russians may even believe it was destroyed in the attack-we can leak that it was destroyed. It can be diverted easily.
'What about the damage, the injuries?'
'I'll check on its operational status,' Curtis asked. 'Get a report from General Elliott, have him make a decision whether or not he can accept this assignment.'
'Would Elliott say no?I know him. He's gung-ho as they come-' 'But he wouldn't risk the lives of his crew unless he knew there was a chance of success. That I know.'
To Curtis' surprise, and relief, the President said: 'Get Elliott's decision.'
'Yes, sir. 'Curtis turned to leave the room, then hesitated a moment.
'The Old Dog is vulnerable to the same security leak that has compromised us all along. Under the circumstances it would be wise to take certain steps-' 'Such as?'
'Well, sir, such as keeping knowledge of the Old Dog's involvement between just the two of us.'
'No way,' the President asked. 'I rely on the support of my advisers, and I've no doubt about their integrity. We'll restrict knowledge of this to the Cabinet, but the Cabinet must be involved.'
'Very well, but I would like to suggest one more thing. If the Old Dog is to get through this, it will have to play it by ear.
A set of recall options can't be reliably built into the mission plan without compromising it. And there's
