What's the int?'
McLanahan looked at Wendy-that scenario had never occurred to her.
He cleared his throat and said quickly, 'Nah. Down low level the aircraft shakes around a bit. Things tend to roll around. You don't want to have to unstrap to look for your water. 'It was a lame excuse, but Angelina, noticing Wendy's thin-lipped expression, nodded and turned again to her equipment.
Wendy was staring blankly at her threat receiver display. 'I wonder if we're kidding ourselves about what we're doing 'The thought has crossed my mind,' McLanahan asked. 'It's impossible to be certain about that.
I think that… well.
you have to listen to your gut I keep seeing Hal Briggs trying to open that fence for us back at Dreamland, I wonder it' he's okay General Elliott came over the interphone. 'Patrick, get strapped in. Time, Dave?'
'Two minutes to horizon passage,' Luger reported.
McLanahan gave Wendy what he hoped was a reassuring squeeze on the arm, then turned and climbed downstairs back to his seat.
'Horizon passage,' Luger announced, marking a fixpoint on the high-altitude airways chart he was using. 'Two hundred J!and seventy miles to Kavaznya.'
'Scope's clear,' Wendy reported quietly, still thinking about what McLanahan had said. Her voice recovered its strength, though, as she brought her attention back to business. 'We're still at extreme detection range. With our fibersteel body and anti-radar enhancements they might not get a radar return from us until we're about one hundred miles out. If then.'
'Will you be able to tell if they can see us?' Elliott asked.
'I'll be able to see their transmission signal when it comes up,' she replied. 'I've got an idea from Seattle Center's radar and from the Shemya tanker and the fighters Colonel Sands chased us with what signal strength it takes to get a solid skin on us, so I can tell you when we're getting close to that. I can also see if they search or try to lock onto us with any height-finding or missile-guidance radars.
'And nothing so far?'
'Nothing. Not even search radar. But being so close to the horizon does strange things to electronic transmissions. They could've spotted us even before we crossed the plane of their horizon without my knowing, or they might not see us until we're well above the horizon.
It's hard to predict-radar bounces off the ionosphere in weird ways.
Like I said, they may already have detected us.
Elliott checked the I.F.F controls to make sure they were all off.
'Crew, double-check around your stations to be sure you're not transmitting on anything. Radars, radios, jammers, anything. Switch your wafer switches to INTERPHONE to keep from accidentally talking over the radios.'
McLanahan double checked his interphone switches, also checked to make sure the circuit controlling the bomb bay walkway lights were off-if they had to open the bomb doors the walkway lights could easily give the bomber away at night.
'Offensive checks,' McLanahan reported.
'How far are we from-' 'Search radar at two o'clock,' Wendy suddenly called out.
The announcement shook up McLanahan and Luger in the lower offensive crew compartment.
'Here we go,' Luger said. He was bundled up with his jacket zipped up to his chin, collars pulled up. He had long ago cleared off his retractable work desk. Only the high-altitude chart remained.
'It feels so weird,' McLanahan asked. 'They can see us now. It feels a lot different.'
'Yeah,' Luger said, 'Kind of a joy ride-until now.'
'Two o'clock?' Elliott asked. 'What's at two o'clock?Korf Airfield?
Anadyr?It can't be Ossora or Kavaznya-unless we're off course-they should be at twelve o'clock.'
Wendy studied her frequency video. 'It's a different frequency than a ground-based radar, and it's stronger than the radar should be so far away.'
'Could it be the laser's tracking radar?'
No, this one has a very low frequency-an old system. I think this is an airborne search radar.'
'Airborne?' Ormack said in surprise. 'Maritime reconnaissance or some sort of patrol-' 'Or a chance encounter,' Elliott asked. 'Let's wait to sec what-' He's got us,' Wendy announced, studying the frequency shift and listening to the radar's real audio. 'Change from a slow scan to lock-on. No height-finder or uplink-just a faster scan.'
'Like station-keeping?' McLanahan asked. 'Like a mapping radar switched to narrow sector?'
'That would explain it,' Wendy asked. 'He's transmitting on UHE 'Can you get a frequency?' Elliott asked her.
'Only a wide frequency range. High UHE I can't tell if he's getting a response.'
Let me try to get him on attack radar,' McLanahan said.
'At least confirm if he's airborne.''Go ahead,' Elliott asked. 'No more than a few seconds, though.
McLanahan adjusted the antenna controls to point his large attack radar at two o'clock, set the range for a hundred miles, then greased the TRANSMIT button. After three full sweeps he turned the radar back to STANDBY 'Looks like he's airborne, all right. Two o'clock, sixty miles. With my antenna tilt two degrees below level I'd estimate his altitude at thirty-three thousand feet-' And then came the challenge: 'Unknown aircraft, two hundred and forty kilometers northeast of Ostrov Kornmandorskiye, respond. 'Followed by another message, which sounded like the same request, this time in Russian.
'That's us,' Luger confirmed. 'About a hundred and thirty miles northeast of Beringa.'
'Sounded like he was on GUARD channel,' Ormack said.
monitoring the emergency U.H.F channel. 'Do we answer him?'
'You're sure he's tracking us, Wendy?' Elliott asked.
'He can see us, all right, but I don't think he's tracking us.
Just following us with his radar. There's no guidance-type tracking signal.'
'How far are we from the Alaska-Japan airway?' Luger checked his chart against the computer's present- position readout. 'Just a few minutes ahead-' 'Unknown aircraft, please respond. Pazhaloosta.'
'Please?' General Elliott smiled. 'Sounds like a kid. A polite kid.'
Orinack looked at his pilot with surprise. 'I didn't know you understood Russian.'
'I learned just enough to get my head blown off,' Elliott said. He thought for a moment. 'If we tried to duck down to low-level now-' 'He might lose us if we pushed it over hard enough,' Orinack asked. 'We might make it.'
'I don't think he could follow us with his radar,' Wendy added. 'It doesn't seem to be a sophisticated system, but he'd report losing us.
He's also in contact with someone out there. It might be Ossora Or it might be a wingman,' McLanahan put in. 'Maybe am escort.
'Can you jam his transmissions, Wendy?' Elliott asked.
'Yes, but that would be a dead giveaway.'
'All right. Let's get on the airway and see what this guy does. 'He turned the wheel, and the bomber banked steeply to the left. 'If he intercepts us, we'll have to-try to down him.
No other choice. Copy, Angelina?'
'I'm ready, General,' she said, checking her weapon-status indications.
'We'll be just outside radar range of Beringa on this heading,' Luger reported as the Old Dog completed its steep turn.
'Permission to use the tail radar to pick him up, General,' Angelina called.
'Not yet. 'Elliott took a deep breath, pulled the microphone closer to his lips, then switched his radio switch to GUARD.
'Calling unknown aircraft, this is Lantern four-five Fox on GUARD.Say your call sign. Over.'
'Lantern four-five Fox, this is Besarina two-two-one on GUARD.I read you loud and clear. 'The Soviet pilot then said something in Russian.
'Besarina two-two-one, I read you, but I don't understand Russian.'
Elliott paused, then said, 'Ya in gavaryoo na vashim yizikye kharasho.
