Satan's Tail

The ground team would prevent escape by land and secure whatever the pirates had onshore. The old village had been largely abandoned and could be isolated by capturing a small bridge at the southern end accessible from the water; with that out of the way, the main force could concentrate on the buildings directly across from the mooring. The Marines and Da

“They most likely have at least a token watch in this area up here,” said Da

“We need at least a token force to come in off the shore to the west,” said Dancer. “Otherwise they can just filter down here and get away. And just for good measure, we should put people on this side of the village to the east as well. We’re looking at three heavily armed teams, lots of firepower, sup-

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port from those robot helos. If there are two hundred pirates in there—”

“I doubt there are two hundred,” said Da

“We still need more people,” said the Marine lieutenant.

Da

Too often junior officers simply parroted what their superiors drew up.

And she was good-looking when she was skeptical.

“We can always use more people,” said Da

“I’ll take two boots on the ground over a silicon chip any day,” said Dancer.

“We can use the SITT teams onshore,” said Storm. “In a pinch we can make a shore party from some of the people on Shark Boat One. They should be able to handle the western escape route. The Shark Boat can be operated with a minimal crew and still provide fire support.”

They worked the changes into the computer driving the holographic display. The elements snapped in: a dozen men down each side of the cliff, with a team at the top of the cliff to keep them secure; two fire teams on the shore below, a Flighthawk for reco

It looked like it would work. But it was a complicated plan, and Da

“What are you thinking, Captain?” asked Dancer.

“I’m thinking I’d like a chance to work with you guys before we do this, just to make sure we’re all on the same page,” he said.

“I wouldn’t mind that,” answered Dancer. “But I don’t SATAN’S TAIL

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think we can tell the pirates to hold in place for six months.”

“I’ll settle for three days.” Da

“Oh, yeah,” she told him, in a voice that clearly indicated she was not happy. “I have some tests to run, and then we’ll finish training our pilot.”

“You’re not flying them yourself?”

“Captain, if you want to discuss tasking, I’ll be available following our pla

“Captain Gale, there’s an urgent communication from the Dreamland aircraft Wisconsin for you, sir,” a sailor said.

They turned toward one of the screens at the front of the room, where Dog’s helmeted head appeared.

“Storm, this is Bastian. We have a ship dead in the water that looks as if it’s been abandoned. It’s the oiler we spotted the night of the battle. We think you should send somebody to check it out.”

Da

“Hey, Colonel,” said Da

“Da

“Where exactly is it?” snapped Storm.

Je

“That’s it,” she said.

“I’ll send one of the Shark Boats,” said Storm. “OK, Bastian. Good work.”

“Jen, we’re ready for that diagnostic series,” said Dog without acknowledging Storm’s comments.

“Coming up,” she said, pulling a seat over. “But the fact that I was able to add that information to the display means 288

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we’re going to come through with a hundred percent. The Megafortress sensor data is now available on the AbnerRead’s network.”

“Let’s run the tests anyway.”

“Ready whenever you are.”

“I have an idea,” Da

“I like that idea,” said Dancer.

“So do I,” said Storm. “Good idea, Captain.”

“What do you think, Colonel?” asked Da

“Sounds good to me, but it’s not my show.”

“That’s right,” said Storm. “I call the shots.”

Dog cleared his throat. “And Delta One is the aircraft that will be on patrol. You’ll have to alert them. I’m turning you over to the copilot, Jen; I’ve got some things to take care of here.”

Washington, D.C.

1650

“I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU DID THAT,” SAID FREEMAN OVER THE

scrambled line.

“I know it was stupid, sir. It was idiotic and childish and I have no defense. I should not have made the image.”

“You shouldn’t have given your laptop to the Secretary of State,” said Freeman.

“He kind of demanded it,” said Jed, surprised that Freeman was focusing on that. “I made sure the drive was totally wiped before I left for New York. I always run the shredder program. You know, in case something screws up and it gets, SATAN’S TAIL

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um, like lost. The only stuff on there was the presentation.”

“You should not have handed over your laptop.”

“He was pretty adamant. I guess you could say he was ticked.”

“Jed, when you get that laptop back—if you get it back—anything could be on it. Anything. You’d have no proof of anything.”

“Well, yeah, but—”

“Look, you’re a bright kid. You know technology and you know a lot about how countries can use it, and you deal with the people at Dreamland and the other military pretty well.

General Clearwater down at CentCom was asking about you just the other day. But you have to understand, son—this is Washington. You ca

Including you? thought Jed, but he kept his mouth shut.

“As for the picture,” continued Freeman, “as for the picture …”

“I know, I know.”

Neither of them spoke for a moment.

“Should I write up my resignation?” Jed asked finally.

“Should I, like, make a statement about what happened or something?”