DreamStar to the press in the first place. "If they wanted to,
they could have DreamStar in pieces in hours-it could already
be crated up and ready to ship. But I don't think they would just
t up. The XF-34 is the most advanced aircraft in the wo
hack i r1d.
The Soviets will want it intact'
"Then why take it apart at all?" William Stuart, the Secretary
of Defense asked. "Why not just fly it to Managua and load it
onto a large freighter?"
"That can be done, sir," Elliott replied. "But they know that
it would be easy to spot once it arrived in Managua, and very
difficult to conceal. We could detect which ship it was loaded
onto and intercept or destroy-"
"Destroy a Russian fteighter? " from Attorney General Rich-
ard Benson. "In peacetime? That's crazy! "
"Mr. Benson," Elliott said, "that is one thing we should
never reveal. "
"I don't understand."
"Sir, many other military powers in the world would kill to
keep an aircraft like DreamStar from falling into enemy hands.
To the Russians, the Chinese, the French, the Israelis, the Brit-
ish, destroying a freighter with a torpedo from several miles
away to keep that freighter from escaping with their country's
most valuable military aircraft would be no big deal. They
wouldn't hesitate-"
"That's them, not us."
"Mr. Benson, if we really want our fighter back we must at
least appear ready at any time to commit such an act. We must
convince the Russians that we are ready to do anything nec-
essary to get our aircraft back. If we announce we will never
shoot at a Russian freighter in peacetime, we invite them to
load DrearnStar on that freighter and sail it right under our
noses back to Russia. If we tell them we'll blow your ass out
of the water if we find out our plane is on board, and we
convince them and the world that we mean it, well, they may
just look for a different way to get it out of Nicaragua." He
was also thinking about the Cuban missile crisis but didn't
bring it up.
Heads nodded around the conference table; Elliott had appar-
ently gotten through to most of them, at least enough to see the
276 DALE BROWN
logic of what he was saying. And the President was at least
attentive if perhaps not convinced.
"If they don't want to risk discovery by loading the entire
aircraft onto a ship," Elliott pressed on, "and they don't just
quickly chop it up into pieces, they have two other options: they
can take their time dismantling it, making careful records and
notations about how to put it back together, or they can fly it
out of Nicaragua. It wouldn't take long to dismantle Dream-
Star-a day or two, pull the engine and the black boxes, dissect
and discard the rest. If they choose to fly it out, it may take them
a few days, three at the most, to configure it for overwater flight
with extra fuel tanks."
"What's keeping them from just flying the thing onto one of
their new aircraft carriers?" Deborah O'Day asked. "From what
I understand DrearnStar can land on a carrier without an arresting
hook and take off again without a catapult."
" All true," Elliott said, surprised that she knew so much,
careful to use the same tone of voice with her as with the Pres-
ident and Stuart and the other members of the staff. He had to
fight himself to keep from smiling at her. He was all but con-
vinced that she was the one who had leaked information about
DreamStar to the press to force the President's hand. He knew
her feelings and those of the NSC. It was a risky maneuver but
it could pay off-and it could also result in both of them being
sent to Leavenworth or Eglin for ten years for conspiracy . . .
"Again, they'd be exposing themselves to a great degree of dan-
ger if they tried to fly DreamStar onto a carrier. It's a tricky
operation under the best conditions; for James in DreamStar it
would be that much more difficult, even with his advanced flight-
control system. And the Soviets know they would risk attack if
it was discovered that they had DreamStar on board. They would
not, I feel, risk one of only six Moscow-class aircraft carriers
for one fighter plane, even this one.
"These are all conjectures on your part, Elliott," the Presi-
dent said. "Sheer speculation not surprisingly biased in favor of
a military response."
" Yes, sir, I agree. I am speculating on all of this, and I am
leaning in favor of a swift, decisive, direct response-but only
for the sake of time. If we could count on the Russians taki ng
weeks to carefully dismantle DreamStar I would not even con-
sider a direct military response. Certainly not at this point. If
DAY OF THE CHEETAH 277
you recall back in 1976, when Viktor Belyenko flew his then-
top-secret MiG-25 to Japan, one of the first reactions by the Ford
administration was to guarantee that we would turn the MiG over
to the Russians intact immediately after our investigation of the
matter was completed-which, of course, gave us time to study
the thing. We made that guarantee, sir, because the Russians
had one-fifth of their navy within five hours' sailing time of the
MiG's landing spot and the administration was convinced that
the Russians would militarily intervene in Japan to get their MiG-
25 back. I'm saying, sir, that is the threat we need to project to
the Soviets in Nicaragua. It comes down to how badly we want
DreamStar back."
The President was silent, staring at Elliott. "Did we give the
MiG-25 back?"
"Yes, after we deten-nined that the MiG-25 wasn't all our
intelligence and their propaganda said it was. The MiG-25 was
simply two huge jet engines with wings, built for speed at any
cost. Our F-15 was operational by then, and the F-16 was in
production. Both those aircraft could fly rings around the MiG-
25. But DreamStar is different, sir. DreamStar is our only flying
model of that concept of aircraft. It would be a huge loss for us
and a quantum leap in technology for the Soviets. It would take
two years to build another XF-34, and we'd be right back where
we are now. Meanwhile, the Soviets would take several giant
steps forward in their technology, and with their advantage in
military budget and production could field a squadron of XF-34
aircraft before we could--
"Excuse me, Mr. President," William Stuart broke in. "Gen-
eral Elliott has made several broad statements that Defense
doesn't find supportable. He's making DreamStar seem like the
ultimate weapon, when in fact it's nothing more than an ad-
vanced technology demonstration aircraft. Congress hasn't voted
to deploy the XF-34, nor will DreamStar even be ready for de-
ployment for another five years. Agreed, it's an extraordinary
machine, but it is not our next fighter aircraft. Far away from
it. "
"So you're saying that it's not worth going after?"
"My point is simply that DreamStar in the hands of the Rus-
sians is not the terrible threat that General Elliott is making it
out to be. It is a setback, true, but no more of a setback than if
278 DALE BROWN
DreamStar had crashed on a test flight or if the program had run
out of funds and was canceled."
"General Elliott?"
"I disagree with Secretary Stuart, sir. Seriously disagree. The
technology transfer alone in the DreamStar theft is enormous.
it's certainly of such great military importance to us that. its
return, or if it comes to it, destruction, is of the highest pnor-
ity-"
"Not my highest priority," Stuart interrupted.
"It may be true that we were several years from deploying
DreamStar, Mr. President," Elliott said, "but the Soviets could
follow an entirely different timetable. We have the F-32 fighter
in preproduction that will be our front-line fighter for the next
five to ten years. The Soviets have their MiG-33 and Sukhoi-35
fighters operational or in production that will serve them for the
next decade. Neither of those fighters can match our F-32-and
that is a DOD assessment, not mine. With the XF-34 fighter in
production in the Soviet Union, they will easily have the capa-
bility to counter our front-line fighters for the next ten years until
we redevelop our own XF-34-and then we will only be match-
ing the Soviets' capability. We will instantly be five years behind
the Soviets if we don't react."
"General, you're blowing this whole thing out of propor-
tion-"
"All right, enough," the President said. "We don't need to
get into arguments about the future. The fact is, they got the
damn plane. What do we do about it now?"
"I think we need to examine this problem from another per-
spective, Lloyd," Attorney General Benson said, "the politi-
cal side. This thing's about to be splashed all over TV,
newspapers and videotext terminals around the world. We can
avoid feeding fuel to the fire by not providing any details, and
it may indeed fizzle out over time, but the opposition is going
to use this against us when their convention opens in Seattle
next month. We need a strong, positive step to show the voters
that we're in charge-"
"So you favor a military response?"
"Not necessarily, Lloyd," Benson said, leaning sideways to-
ward the President and scarcely making himself heard in the
conference room. As the President's brother-in-law (he'd taken
plenty of heat for that), he was one of the few Cabinet members
DAY OF THE CHEETAH 279
who called the President by his first name; when he did it usually
meant he was separating himself from the Cabinet to make an
especially strong point. "But we're playing catch-up ball here-
the press has the advantage and we can't let that situation con-
tinue. You've got to make a move that shows that you're ready
to handle the situation. We don't have to decide on an offensive
against Nicaragua right now-I think it would be a bad move
anyway. But you do have to make a move, and something
stronger than a diplomatic protest. Five months from now when
the voters ask what you did about this, you want to be able to
point to something substantial, positive."
Benson decided after the meeting he would tell the President
that the first step would be to get rid of Elliott. After all, he was
the one who lost the damn plane . . .
The President held up his hand, indicating that he was going
to reserve judgment, and turned to William Stuart. "Outline our
responses, Bill. "
"I think it's a problem for State or CIA, Mr. President,"
Stuart said. "We can't attack Nicaragua. It's just not an option
for us. CIA might be able to suggest something, a covert oper-
ation maybe, but in my opinion it's out of DOD's hands. We
can't put out a candle with a fire hose."
"That's it, Bill?"
Defense Secretary Stuart looked at Elliott. "If I may say
so, the problem should have been handled long ago by General
Elliott and his unit, and the aircraft should have been properly
secured, We lost the aircraft. Now General Elliott wants to go
in, as usual, with six-guns blazing. But if we confront the
Soviets, they will probably agree to turn the aircraft over to
us. It may take a few weeks, or months, but we will get the
aircraft back from them. And if we do, well, that's the bottom
line. "
"So you'd just let them have it? They kill four of my flyers,
two security guards and two interceptor pilots, and you're saying
that we should let them alone until they've done What they want
with it? "
"Don't put words in my mouth, General Elliott." Stuart's
voice had risen. "What I'm saying is t at we can t go o and
start a war over our screwups or-rather, your screwups. I agree
with the President. The X-34 is great but it isn't worth-"
"Isn't worth what? That aircraft is the most advanced in the
mm
280 DALE BROWN
world. We can't just build a thing like that and then hand it over
to the Soviets to study, for God's sake. I don't care if they only
"DreamStar, as I understand it, is twenty-first-century tech-
nology. The Soviets are having their problems with 1980s tech-
nology-"
"And that is a 1960s stereotype, sir," Elliott shot back. "We
all learned, or I thought we did, what a fallacy that was. Ever
hear of Kavaznya, Mr. Secretary? Sary Shagan? Since the late
seventies the Russians have repeatedly proved that they can keep
pace with any other western nation in technology, and that in-
cludes the United States. And don't forget Sputnik . . ."
"My recommendation stands, Mr. President," Stuart said.
"I'm surprised by Bill's position on this matter," Dennis
Danahall, the Secretary of State, said during the pause that fol-
lowed Stuart's remarks. Danahall was considerably younger than
others on the Cabinet and, like Deborah O'Day, a recent White
House appointee-widely thought of as a political asset to attract
the support of younger voters. "I thought he'd opt for a stronger
stand. But until I heard some better options I must agree with
him, Mr. President. I think a strongly worded letter, perhaps,
from the Oval Office itself, combined with some face-to-face
between myself and the Soviet Foreign Minister or their ambas-
sador could expedite things."
"As I said, Secretary Danahall," Elliott interrupted, "in any
other circumstance I would not favor a military response. But
time really is of the essence here. We must act quickly."
"I agree," Deborah O'Day said. "My staff is working on an
interagency report, sir, but I'm forced to go by what little Gen-
eral Elliott has told us about the XF-34. We can't allow the
Russians to walk off with it . . . A small-scale military response
just may be necessary."
The President looked briefly at O'Day, the
n turned away.
:'Any other inputs?" When he heard none he summarized:
'Two suggestions to take the diplomatic route only, confront
the Soviets and demand our property back. One to intervene
directly. Frankly, I don't see how far a military response would
get us. As I said before, the damage has already been done
here. Whether or not the Soviets give our jet back or even
admit they have it is a moot point-the fact is, we lost it and
this government-and I believe the Congress-is not about to
DAY OF THE CHEETAH 281
start a fight to get it back ... Therefore I am directing Sec-
retary Danahall to draft a letter for my signature, using the
strongest diplomatic'language possible, demanding the return
of our aircraft immediately. I'll follow this up with more di-
rect communications with the Soviet government, if neces-
sary. I I
The President now looked at Elliott. "Our business in this
matter is closed. I want to reopen the previous agenda in the
time remaining. General Elliott, our business is concluded.
Please wait for me in my outer office."
"Yes, sir. " Elliott stood, masking his disappointment with
an expressionless stare. The Cabinet watched as the tall, thin
veteran of two wars and a mission to Russia that was still
only spoken of in whispers limped out of the conference
room.
Cesare had alerted the President's receptionist that Elliott was
on his way, and he was quickly and politely shown into the
waiting area outside the Oval Office, given a cup of coffee and
asked to wait.
Never, Elliott thought, had he felt so damn helpless. He was
getting no support from the Air Force Chief of Staff, he had just
been in an argument with the Secretary of Defense, and the
President of the United States apparently thought he was some
nut-case hawk. Even Deborah O'Day, who must have been the
one who leaked the information about DreamStar and Maraklov
to the press, didn't act supportive. Well, she said be ready with
a presentation to knock the President's socks off, and he had
clearly failed to do that. And if he couldn't support his own