Tiger's Claw: A Novel

TIGER’S CLAW

DALE BROWN

DEDICATION

This novel is dedicated to my younger brother Ken, who passed away on July 31, 2011, after a long illness (you might remember the antagonist Kenneth Francis James in my third novel, Day of the Cheetah, who was named for Ken, my other brother, Jim, and my dad). Ken was my aircraft mechanic for seven years, a fellow soccer referee, a fellow volunteer for Angel Flight West, and my frequent copilot. He was a rather white-knuckle flier, especially in the bumps and clouds, but he never failed to do an Angel Flight West mission with me and was aboard every postmaintenance flight to make sure everything on the ship was okay after he was done working on it.

His short life only highlights the importance of family—not just the families we’re born into but the families we accrue throughout our lives. We all make lousy decisions and catch some bad breaks. But if we celebrate with and support our families when times are good, and aren’t afraid or ashamed to ask for help from our families when situations turn bad, we will never be alone.

Keep an eye on the family, bro, and fly safe on your new journeys.

To remind everyone: Angel Fight West is a real organization based in Santa Monica, California, that pairs needy medical patients and volunteer pilots together to provide no-charge air transportation for treatment or other necessary activities. Missions are flown by volunteer pilots and crewmembers who donate their time and the cost of their aircraft and fuel. Learn more about this worthwhile organization at www.AngelFlightWest.org.

CAST OF CHARACTERS

AMERICANS

KENNETH PHOENIX, president of the United States

ANN PAGE, vice president

WILLIAM GLENBROOK, president’s national security adviser

HERBERT KEVICH, secretary of state

FREDRICK HAYES, secretary of defense

THOMAS TORREY, CIA director

GERALD MURTH, undersecretary of defense for acquisitions

JOSEPH COLLINGSWORTH, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives

DIANE M. JAMIESON, majority leader of the U.S. Senate

U.S. AIR FORCE GENERAL TIMOTHY SPELLINGS, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

ADMIRAL EDWARD FOWLER, chief of naval operations

GENERAL JASON CONAWAY, chief of staff, U.S. Air Force

DR. HELEN KADDIRI, president and chairman of the board, Sky Masters Inc.

LIEUTENANT GENERAL PATRICK MCLANAHAN, USAF (ret.), vice president and COO, Sky Masters Inc.

DR. LINUS OGLETHORPE, chief engineer and scientist, Sky Masters Inc.

ED GLEASON, XB-1 chief instructor pilot, Sky Masters Inc.

SAM JACOBS, XB-1 aircraft commander, Sky Masters Inc.

LISA MANN, XB-1 Excalibur copilot, Sky Masters Inc.

KAREN WELLS, XB-1F Excalibur ground defensive systems officer, Sky Masters Inc.

GEORGE WICKHAM, XB-1 ground offensive systems officer, Sky Masters Inc.

U.S. NAVY CAPTAIN EDWARD TAVERNA, commander, guided-missile cruiser USS Chosin

U.S. NAVY CAPTAIN RICHARD AVERY, commanding officer, Naval Air Station (NAS) Fallon

U.S. NAVY LIEUTENANT COMMANDER CHRIS “NOOSE” KAHN, commander, VF-13 Fighting Saints, NAS Fallon

COMMANDER DOUGLAS SHERIDAN, commanding officer, Coast Guard cutter Mohawk

LIEUTENANT COMMANDER EDWARD FELLS, tactical officer, Coast Guard cutter Mohawk

LIEUTENANT ED COFFEY, HH-60 Jayhawk pilot, Coast Guard cutter Mohawk

LIEUTENANT LUCY CROSS, HH-60 Jayhawk copilot, Coast Guard cutter Mohawk

U.S. NAVY ADMIRAL ROBERT LUCE, commander, U.S. Pacific Command (PACOM)

U.S. AIR FORCE GENERAL GEORGE HOOD, commander, U.S. Air Force Pacific Air Forces (PACAF)

U.S. AIR FORCE COLONEL WARNER “CUTLASS” CUTHBERT, commander, First Expeditionary Bomb Wing (First EBW), Andersen Air Force Base, Guam

U.S. AIR FORCE LIEUTENANT COLONEL NASH HARTZELL, deputy wing commander, First EBW

LIEUTENANT COLONEL BRIDGET “XENA” DUTCHMAN, commander, Twentieth Expeditionary Bomb Squadron (B-52H Stratofortress)

LIEUTENANT COLONEL FRANKLIN “WISHBONE” MCBRIDE, commander, 393rd Expeditionary Bomb Squadron (B-2A Spirit)

LIEUTENANT COLONEL JUAN “PICANTE” OROZ, commander, Ninth Expeditionary Bomb Squadron (B-1B Lancer)

LIEUTENANT COLONEL JIMMY “JUJU” MAILI, commander, 199th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron, Hawaii Air National Guard, Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam (F-22A Raptor)

MAJOR ROBERT “BREWSKI” CARLING, F-22A Raptor pilot

U.S. AIR FORCE CAPTAIN ALICIA SPENCER, intelligence officer, First EBW

U.S. ARMY CAPTAIN Jason HARRIS, Patriot antiaircraft missile battery commander, Guam

THOMAS HOFFMAN, president, Warbirds Forever Inc.

SONDRA EDDINGTON, chief pilot, Warbirds Forever Inc.

BRADLEY J. MCLANAHAN, instructor pilot, Warbirds Forever Inc.

PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA

ZHOU QIANG, president of the People’s Republic of China

GAO XUDONG, vice president of China

TANG JI, foreign minister

CAO JU, defense minister

LI PEIYAN, Chinese ambassador to the United States

JIN YONGKANG, finance minister

SHANG JIANG (COLONEL GENERAL) ZU KAI, chief of the general staff, People’s Liberation Army

SHAO JIANG (MAJOR GENERAL) HUA ZHILUN, commander, Eleventh Tactical Rocket Division, People’s Liberation Army

SHAO JIANG (MAJOR GENERAL) SUN JI, deputy chief of the general staff, People’s