missiles slung from pylons under the wings, AS-7 Kerry ASMs, most likely, with one-hundred-pound warheads. Tombstone knew exactly what their targets would be.
'Tally-ho!' he yelled as he rolled out of his climb. 'Fantans! Fantans coming out of the valley!'
Time seemed to stand still for Tombstone. As he went port wing high, he could look down and see the Fantans emerging from the mouth of the valley from Majon-ni beneath him. In another few minutes, they would be across the city and out over the water, with dozens of targets to choose from. High on their list would be the distinctive, boxy shapes of the LCACs, by now well away from Blue Beach and on the way back to the fleet. A single Kerry planted in one of those hovercraft, and the odd-looking vessel would become a deathtrap, killing every rescued POW on board.
Or worse, they might try for Chosin herself, now recovering, refueling, and launching Marine helicopters at a furious rate. Though it was far larger and harder to sink than an LCAC, the flight deck of the LPH was a tangle of men, machines, fuel hoses, and ammunition. A Kerry or two into that mix could kill hundreds, could cripple or even sink the Marine carrier, together with the more than sixty wounded sailors from Chimera.
And there were other targets as well: Little Rock, Texas City, and Westmoreland County with their flocks of AAVs and Mike boats, the destroyers closing with the Korean coast, the Sea Knight helos plying back and forth between ship and shore. A target-rich environment which would almost guarantee the Fantan drivers a hit… and a major blow against the American task force.
'Nightmare! Nightmare! He's on my six!'
'Break left, Shooter! Break left!'
'See if you can-'
'I'm on him! I'm on him! Fox two!'
'I'm too close for a shot! Going' to guns!'
'Get him off me, Nightmare!'
The background radio chatter told him the rest of the Tomcats were tangling with other MiGs in a colossal dogfight which arched across the sky over all of Wonsan. He banked his Tomcat left, lining up on the Korean Fantans…
… and then the F-14 shuddered as jackhammer blows slammed into its hull. He turned to look back. One of the North Korean fighters hung there, one hundred yards off his tail.
'Shit, Stoney!' Snowball said. 'Where'd he come from?'
Flashes of light stuttered at the roots of the MiG's wings, and 23-mm tracers floated past his head, scant feet from his canopy. Two more MiGs dropped into view as he watched.
'Tombstone!' Batman yelled. 'Three blue bandits on your six!'
'I know! I know!'
'On my way!'
'Negative, Batman!' Tombstone went to full burner, climbing rapidly. The MiGs stayed with him, matching each twist and maneuver. 'The Fantans! You've got to keep those Fantans from reaching the fleet!' Cannon fire slashed into his Tomcat's right wing.
Batman looked up through his canopy, watching the four aircraft gleaming in the sunlight far above. Tombstone's Tomcat was dropping out of its Immelmann now, nosing over into an inverted dive.
The three MiGs stayed with him.
Below Batman, the Fantans and their escorts thundered toward Wonsan and the sea's edge.
There was no time to think, though the conflict within was cold and diamond-hard. He could save his wingman or attack the Fantans… but not both.
Biting off a curse, he pulled his wing over and plummeted, letting the altitude scale on his HUD rocket down the numbers, past five thousand… four thousand… three thousand…
'Sidewinders!' They were too close for a Phoenix.
'Yo!' Malibu said. 'Watch it, Boss. We've got a missile lock on us.'
He heard the tone. Somewhere, a MiG's radar was hunting for him. 'Screw it!' He concentrated on the targeting pipper on his HUD, hauling the stick over as he lined up on the lead Fantan, now three miles ahead. Sun glint sparked fire from the surface of Wonsan Harbor beyond.
The target graphic changed to a circle, indicating a lock. Batman's thumb closed over the firing button. There was a pilot riding in that Nanchang Q-5…
… and there were sailors and Marines in those ships riding black against the sunlight. 'Fox two!' The Sidewinder streaked from beneath the Tomcat's wing. 'Batman!' Malibu called. 'Missile launch, on our six!'
'Chaff!'
'Done. It's still coming!'
Batman slipped the Tomcat to the side, lining up on another target. From behind the Fantan formation, their tailpipes made perfect heat-seeker targets. The escorting MiGs were all over the sky, screening the Q-5s, dogging the F-14.
'Pull up, Batman! Batman!'
Damn! He pulled up sharply, dumping chaff as he twisted into a hard loop. The missile followed, but too quickly to turn inside the American's arc. A proximity fuse detonated the warhead thirty yards away, a thunderous concussion which rocked the Tomcat. The escort MiGs dropped onto his tail, and searing lines of tracers burned the sky.
Then the first missile hit and the lead Fantan exploded, blossoming in a succession of savage blasts as the Kerry missiles under the wings detonated. Burning fragments rained from the sky.
Tombstone twisted away from the gunfire in a clockwise barrel roll, slamming on his air brakes to kill his speed. The entire point in any ACM was always, always, to get the other guy out front; most dog-fighting maneuvers were designed to force the guy on your tail to overshoot and pass you, lining him up for a shot from the rear.
One of the MiGs flashed past, so close to Tombstone's port wing he could see the man looking back at him through his helmet's dark visor.
'Missile launch!' Snowball yelled. 'Heat-seeker!'
'Pop flares!' His RIO would have to handle the countermeasures. He was busy.
His last dive and roll had carried him well to the northwest of the city and into the fringes of the combat area. He was down on the deck, altitude less than three hundred feet, and the roads, buildings, and power-lines whipped past him almost too quickly to be perceived.
'It's still coming', Tombstone!'
'Hang on!' He pulled up sharply and broke right. Something streaked past his canopy on a trail of fire. He whipped the F-14 into a scissors and saw a second MiG roll away. Tombstone brought his stick over; he was tempted to try for a shot at the second MiG, but he knew there was a third one back there somewhere.
'Where's number three?' he yelled.
'Still there, Tombstone. Right on our six!'
'Good night, Snowy!' He kicked in his afterburner.
Batman pulled out of the loop. The escort MiGs had scattered, unable to follow his high-G pull-out, and he was in the clear once more.
The Fantans… where were they? He spotted them eight miles ahead, riding their own shadows across the rugged ground as they streaked toward the outskirts of Wonsan. He slid back into the formation's wake, much farther astern now, but still too close for a decent Phoenix shot. The three Q-5s were still dead on course for the fleet, flashing across Wonsan's western suburbs, the sprawl of industrial plants and refineries. The taller buildings of the city rose ahead, snatching at the low-flying aircraft.
'Hey, dude, this is turnin' into an obstacle course!' They were down to five hundred feet. Batman remained intent on the three target symbols on his HUD.
