Razor's Edge

Anhik Base, Iran

0610

THE RUINS CONTINUED TO SMOLDER. THE STRIKE HAD BEEN

quick and precise; they had examined the laser, then destroyed it. At least twenty of Sattari’s soldiers were dead, probably many more.

His duty was to go to them now, to comfort them, to rally them for the challenges ahead. Khamenei or the Chinese might choose this moment to mount their own attack. Perhaps some unknown rival or rivals might be encouraged.

A small part of him wanted to flee. Another small part RAZOR’S EDGE

417

wanted him to end the struggle completely—to give in to the urge of futility, to no longer fight the tide. Suicide would be so easy, a matter merely of pulling the handgun from his belt and placing it into his mouth.

Sattari felt a shiver run through his body. A prudent commander might find it necessary to retreat or even to surrender. But while he lived, there was hope, there was always hope.

Killing himself was the coward’s way.

He had one thing to live for now—revenge. He would get the men who did this. He would destroy the black-robed traitors. He might, if his rage continued unabated, destroy the whole world.

Sattari felt his heart stutter in his chest, overcome by the anger he felt.

But then it calmed. It was a soldier’s heart, trained to survive. Anger was meaningless to it.

He had known the risks and calculated them; if things seemed bleak now, they were not as bleak as they could be. He would survive, and he would have his vengeance.

The general began to walk down the road, past the parked vehicles, ignoring his driver’s call, ignoring the questions from the bodyguards. He would walk into his post by foot; he would comfort his men; he would rebuild.

Incirlik

0805

FACED WITH THE LONG PLANE RIDE HOME AND NOTHING TO

do, Zen had decided to do something he hadn’t done on an airplane in a long, long time—read a book.

But High Top didn’t have much of a library. In fact, it didn’t have any library at all. When they landed at Incirlik, Bree told him he didn’t have time to explore—they 418

DALE BROWN’S DREAMLAND

were only here to refuel. And since when was he reading books, anyway?

Fortunately, his cousin Jed Barclay came by to say hello.

“You have any books handy?” Zen asked his cousin after they exchanged the usual back and forth.

“Computers and Foreign Policy Decisions During theTwenty-first Century,” Jed suggested. “Hot topic.”

“How about something else?” said Zen.

Jed, who was lugging his bags en route to a transport, knelt down and pored through them on the Megafortress’s Flighthawk deck. “Coonts thriller?”

“Read ’em all. Most of ’em twice.”

“Well, I have volume one of Burns’s biography of FDR,” said Jed, retrieving the book. “Good book.”

“FDR?” Zen looked at the large paperback, which seemed to have been used as a football, door stop, and hammer.

Roosevelt. He’d been paralyzed too, right.

Good book for a gimp.

Zen had started to reach for the book but now stopped.

He remembered the hallucination of pain he’d had, the feeling that his legs were still part of him.

They were part of him. They were there. They just weren’t there anymore.

Was he doomed to think about them forever, at his worst times?

“I’ve been reading it for a year,” Jed was saying, holding it out. “When I was in college, this professor—”

“Okay,” said Zen, taking the book to forestall a long dissertation.

Knowing Jed, he didn’t even make the co

RAZOR’S EDGE

419

“Wish I could fly back with you,” said Jed.

“You can, cuz,” said Brea

“Can’t.” Jed gave her a peck on the cheek. “I’m supposed to be in D.C. tonight.”

“Then you better hustle. Your plane’s about to take off.” She winked at Zen.

Jed turned white. “Oh, man, I’m in for it now,” he said, grabbing his things and rushing down the ladder.

“It’s not, is it?”

“I was just talking to them on the radio,” said Brea

“He’s got an hour and a half.”

“You’re cruel,” Zen told Brea

“He’s cute when he’s dizzy. Kind of reminds me of a puppy I used to have.”

“Hmmmph.”

“So?”

“So what?”

“How’s the head?” She put her fingers softly on the lump at his forehead where he’d smashed it against the panel when the restraint loosened during their evasive maneuvers. Somebody estimated that the force must have been over seven g’s. Still, the restraint should have held.

Zen shrugged. He had a mild concussion, along with assorted bruises and whatnot. After losing his legs, other injuries seemed almost besides the point, not even a

Legs again.

“You did okay with Fentress, huh?” said Bree.

“He did okay.”

“It’s hard, teaching.”

“I wouldn’t want to do it for a living.”

“You said that. But you did okay with him somehow.”

She leaned into him and gave him a long, soft kiss.

420

DALE BROWN’S DREAMLAND

“No smooching on the job,” he said when she finished.

“Try and stop me.” She kissed him again. “He said he thinks of you as a father figure,” she said as they separated.

“Go to hell.”

Laughing, she retreated to the ladder. “Start reading, Major,” she said, starting up to the flight deck. “It’s a long ride home.”

About the authors

Dale Brown is the author of multiple New York Times bestsellers including Flight of the Old Dog and Wings of Fire. He also created the Dreamland series, co-authored by Jim DeFelice. A former U.S.

Air Force bombardier, Dale Brown is an instrument-rated private pilot and can often be found flying his own plane across the United States. He lives near Lake Tahoe, Nevada.

Jim DeFelice’s technothrillers include Brother’s Keeper (2000) and Havana Strike (1997). Jim has also written more than a dozen works of fiction and nonfiction for young people. He lives with his wife and son in upstate New York, and can be contacted by email at [email protected] /* */

Visit www.AuthorTracker.com for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins authors

Praise

Raves for the novels of New York Times

bestselling author

DALE BROWN

“A master at mixing technology and action. He puts readers right into the middle of the inferno.”

Larry Bond

“Brown puts us in the cockpits of wonderful machines and gives us quite a ride… . [His] flying sequences are terrific. Authentic and gripping, they will have you breathing a bit heavily.”

New York Times Book Review

“Dale Brown is one of the best at marrying high-tech military wizardry with a compelling plot.”

Houston Chronicle

“A master at creating a sweeping epic and making it seem real.”

Clive Cussler

“Nobody … does it better than Brown.”

Kirkus Reviews

“One of the premier writers [of] techno-thrillers.”

Virginian-Pilot

“Dale Brown has an unca

His knowledge of world politics and possible military alliances is stu

Tulsa World

“Brown is a master … bringing life to his characters with a few deft strokes.”

Publishers Weekly