Piranha

“Stinger then. Good idea.”

Chris brought the tail gun on line as Bree began banking.

“Redtail One, I’m going to come right over you and nail those mothers,” she told the pilot. “Just hold your course.”

“Negative, Air Force. Negative. Shit.”

“Redtail?”

“I’m ordered to return to my carrier. Repeat, I just got the order to break off. I have to scrub.”

“Scrub? You’re kidding,” blurted Chris.

The Navy pilot didn’t respond, but his actions showed he was dead serious—he began a slow bank to the east. The Sukhois continued to dog him, not yet realizing they’d won.

“Quicksilver, what’s going on up there?” asked Zen.

“Just the normal command bullshit,’ said Brea

“We need to drop the buoy, Bree,” Zen reminded her.

“On it,” she said, pulling the big plane back toward the drop point.

Philippines

2300

It was a long green bag, a simple thing, the kind of wrapping that emphasized the one enduring truth of man’s existence.

“Shoulder, arms!”

Like everything Whiplash did, the service was a bit ad hoc—and utterly suited to the task at hand. All Dreamland perso

Da

“I say unto you which hear,” began the reverend, “love your enemies, do good to them which hate you. Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you. And unto him that smitheth thee on the one cheek offer also the other …”

The words, from Luke 6, struck Da

Turn the other cheek? Bullshit!

A new urge came over him. Da

But Da

“Love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.”

The words drifted away. The chaplain stepped back. On a tape player found by one of the Marines, a recorded bugle began its lonesome wail. Powder’s best friends in the universe each went to the corners of his remains, then gently placed him on board for the journey home.

Chapter 6

The verdict of fortune

South of Taiwan, aboard the command ship Blue Ridge

August 27, 1997, 1023 local

“What do you and your people don’t seem to appreciate here, Colonel, is that we’re suppose to be the peacemakers. Are you seriously interested in starting World War Three?”

Wood’s face puffed out with anger. The admiral turned sideways for a moment, staring at the wall as if he could see something through the ship’s steel.

“I authorize you to conduct a simple reco

“Admiral,” Dog stopped himself. There was no point in trying to explain the mission again. Not only had he told Woods everything, but the admiral had the tapes of the incident and Da

“Well?” said Woods.

“Nothing,” said Dog.

The admiral turned back to the wall. Maybe he really could see through it—maybe he could see beyond it to the forces gathering on either side of the American task force. “In tow hours, the Indian and Chinese fleets will be able to bomb the hell out of each other. The President has sent the Secretary of State—the fucking Secretary of State—to New Delhi to negotiate a cease-fire. You know what my orders are, Tecumseh?”

“No, sir,” said Dog. It was the first time Woods had used his given name.