exited. He turned back to the President. "The General Secretary
has directed that the aircraft be turned over to you immedi-
ately.
"So what about all that garbage about retaliatory strikes,
bombers and -cruise missiles? " Deborah O'Day asked. "Was
that a bluff?"
"The same as your bluff with the attack on Puerto Cabezas ...
"That is no bluff, Vilizherchev," the President said. "I've
got bombers from the George Washington lined up to attack that'
base, whether DrearnStar is there or not. When the air attack is
completed I've ordered a company of Marines to land, occupy
that base and take control of the area. If they don't find that
aircraft they'll move down to Bluefields and level that base.
After Bluefields they'll move inland all the way to Managua."
"This is not a bluff, Mr. Ambassador," Curtis said. "Once
those planes are airborne, we're committed."
"The President has approval from Congress, sir," Van Keller
said. The Speaker of the House of Representatives and the con-
gressional Majority Leader was sweating. "The plan was pre-
sented early this morning to the Senate and House committee
chairmen. We stand behind the President."
"All right," Vilizherchev said. "The bombers, the cruise
missiles, the attacks against Honduras I invented them. I
had to find a way to regain at least some of my bargaining po-
sition-"
"This is not the time for diplomatic face-saving, Mr. Ambas-
sador," the President said. "In five minutes those planes
launch.
"I have been ordered to negotiate a way to turn the fighter
back to you," Vilizherchev said. "No conditions. The General
Secretary has directed it be done immediately."
"Is the aircraft flyable?" Curtis asked.
"Yes. It is at Puerto Cabezas, as you already know. It was
flown there to avoid the attack against Sebaco."
"What about the pilot? What about James?"
"A KGB agent, the project was run by the KGB. The General
Secretary learned of the theft of the aircraft only afteritlanded
in Nicaragua. The General Secretary never agreed to keep the
aircraft in Nicaragua-he never knew of the plan to move it out
430 DALE BROWN
of your country. The whole affair was run by Vladimir Kalinin
of the KGB. "
"So why should the KGB turn the aircraft over to us now?"
Deborah O'Day asked. "If they control the aircraft . . . "
"The aircraft is now in the hands of the Soviet army, not the
KGB. Colonel Maraklov has been ordered to return to Sebaco
to await transportation to Moscow via Managua. The army has
orders to make the aircraft ready to be flown out of Nicaragua."
Deborah O'Day looked at the President. "Sir, it is over . . . "
"Not yet," the President said. "I'll cancel the air strike, but
I'm keeping the George Washington on station. I don't trust
these people. Not any more. Wilbur, I want you in the Situation
Room for a meeting. Postpone the air strikes for now." Curtis
nodded, a faint hint of a smile on his face not detectable by
anyone, and departed.
"Then I suggest sending in a security force to guard the air-
craft," Stuart said, "until we can figure out how we can get the
aircraft out of there."
"General Elliott is in the Cayman Islands in control of the air
forces," O'Day said. "He has a man that can fly DrearnStar-
only specially trained pilots can fly it. He can send in a security
unit with the pilot and some technicians that can inspect the
aircraft. He can make the decision on how to get DreamStar
out. "
The President nodded to O'Day, then looked at the Russian
ambassador.
Vilizherchev under-stood that look. "I assure you, the General
Secretary is anxious to be done with this . . . incident. "
"Bill, get down to the Situation Room, advise Mr. Kemp to
hold the Second Fleet's air raid but tell them to stay on the
alert." Stuart nodded and departed.
"Deborah, set up a satellite call in the conference room with
General Elliott. We will plan this thing together so the ambas-
sador knows what we'll want from his people and the Nicara-
guans. I'll meet you all there in a minute. " Van Keller, Danahall
Deborah O'Day stayed behind.
"What is it, Debbie?"
"Did I hear all this correctly a minute ago? Did I hear you
say you had elements of the Second Fleet ready to invade Nic-
aragua?
DAY OF THE CHEETAH 431
"You must have heard it correctly," the President said with
the hint of a smile. "Kemp and Curtis heard it, too."
O'Day said, "Strike aircraft with heavy bombs on board usu-
ally have to jettison their bombs before recovering back on the
carrier. But I'm confused. I didn't know anything about an in-
vasion plan. Did you formulate a plan with John and-- She
stopped, then stared at the President. "You made that up?"
"I thought Vilizherchev might be lying to me again," the
President said, "so I raised the stakes on him. He had nothing
in his hand but he wanted to challenge me. The guy has balls.
Without authorization, without anything to back himself up with,
the guy stood in front of me and threatened us with war if we
didn't back off."
"So what will you do if the Russians won't turn DrearnStar
over to us? Will you invade Nicaragua after all?"
"Yes. He forced my hand, whether he knew it or not. Now
we both have to live with that threat. Hell, I wish we did have
congressional authorization for an invasion. Van Keller makes a
good poker player, too. He played right along, just like you and
Wilbur.
"If the Russians don't turn over DrearnStar, I'm prepared to
destroy Puerto Cabezas, then order the Marines to occupy it.
We'll have -to make a decision on whether or not to go after
those other airfields and bases after that.
Sebaco, Nicaragua
Sunday, 21 June 1996, 1132 CDT (1032 EDT)
"Am I under arrest?" Andrei Maraklov said, pulling himself
away from the KGB Border Guards that had escorted him into
Sebaco's command post.
General Tret'yak turned toward him, waving at the guards to
leave him. "Arrest? No, Colonel, you are not under arrest. Why
would you think such a thing?"
"Because some Russian and Nicaraguan army bozos dragged
me out of DreamStar and threw me into a helicopter to take me
back here," Maraklov said. "What the hell is going on? I can't
allow DreamStar to be left alone and unprotected like that. And
I want my flight suit back. That's a delicate piece of equip-
ment-"
432 DALE BROWN
"It's no longer your concern, Colonel. You don't look so
well, Colonel Maraklov. Apparently Central America does not
agree with you."
Actually Maraklov did look in poor health. Most of the men
under Tret'yak's command, because of bad water, stress and the
spicy food had lost weight after coming
to Nicaragua, but Mar-
aklov had only been here a week and he looked emaciated. The
elastic belt on his flight suit was drawn in so much that the ends
overlapped halfway around his waist, and his eyes looked almost
ghostly in the command center's stark overhead lighting. He also
seemed to be losing hair. Could he be on drugs? No-Maraklov
was guarded night and day and observed through hidden cameras
while in his room. If he was doing drugs he was being very
crafty indeed to escape detection.
Maraklov's anger flared. "Forget my waistline, General. What
do you mean, DreamStar is no longer my concern?"
"The army has been ordered to take control of the aircraft,
effective immediately."
"And what are they going to do with it?"
"I don't know or care. My job is to get this base operational
again. Your fighter, or you for that matter, are no longer my
concern. "
"My mission was to deliver that aircraft to Ramenskoye Test
Center in Moscow," Maraklov said. "I have authority to de-
mand assistance from all Soviefor allied forces. That includes
you-"
"Nyet. My last order concerning you was to see to it that you
board an Aeroflot plane in Managua for Moscow when you are
told to do so, which will be in the next two or three days. Mean-
while you are not to return to Puerto Cabezas or go anywhere
near the DrearnStar aircraft. You will not be placed under arrest
but I trust you will do as you are told."
"This is nuts. Why is the KGB; abandoning the project now?
We can still get DreamStar to Russia-why are they giving up
like this?
"I don't know," Tret'yak said. "The KGB troops under my
command have not been used to secure the fighter-they Eire
using only Red Army troops. Who knows, perhaps they have
made a bargain with the Americans for the return of the fight-
er . He paused, staring at Maraklov. "Perhaps they do not
trust you any longer."
DAY OF THE CHEETAH 433
"What do you mean by that?"
"I mean, Colonel Maraklov, where were you when Sebaco
was under attack? You had four missiles and extra fuel on board
your fighter, and yet you stayed in Puerto Cabezas and hid in
your concrete bunker while my airbase was being blown to hell
by an American B-52 bomber. You--
"A B-52 bomber? You mean one B-52 bomber?"
"Yes, one B-52," Tret'yak said, "armed with air-to-air and
air-to-ground weapons. Certainly your amazing fighter plane
could have shot it down with ease-if you had bothered to join
in the fight. "
"Well how the hell was I supposed to know it was only one
plane? We were expecting a major assault-I got into the bunker
and shut down before they could track me. Besides, I was never
informed-"
"It was never your intention to help defend the base,"
Tret'yak said. "One plane or a hundred-you were not going to
come to our aid." He rubbed his eyes irritably, then held up a
hand before Maraklov could speak. "Your special metallic flight
suit has been impounded-you will have no use for it. It will be
sent with you when you leave for Moscow. Lieutenant Zaykov
has asked to remain your aide until you leave, and her request
has been granted. You are dismissed."
"I want to contact Moscow for clarification of instructions."
Tret'yak waved toward his office. "Do what you want. KGB
headquarters wanted to speak with you when you arrived from
Puerto Cabezas anyway. The channel has already been set up.
But until I receive orders to the contrary, Lieutenant Zaykov is
to escort you to Managua first thing in the morning and to see
that you are on your way to Moscow. Good-bye, Colonel Mar-
aklov.
Maraklov hurried into Tret'yak's office and ordered the call
be put through to KGB headquarters in Moscow. Things had
gone to hell real fast, he thought. Tret'yak was naive if he
thought Moscow would risk using DreamStar to defend his little
jungle base. Hell, Sebaco, Puerto Cabezas, Bluefields, even Ma-
nagua were going to be sacrificed-anything to get DrearnStar
off safely. Somebody changed their minds in Moscow. The
B-52 must've really shaken them up. Kalinin must have screwed
up. The responsibility of getting DreamStar out of Nicaragua
was obviously his, and he slipped up-this was the first time
434 DALE BROWN
anybody but KGB troops had had anything to do with Drearn-
Star. Obviously there had been some sort of shakeup in Moscow
and someone else was in charge now ...
So the question was-what could he do to get around this?
How could he turn disaster to his advantage?
The satellite transmission went through after several at-
tempts-the American bomber attack had done extensive damage
to the power transformers and underground communications ca-
bles, and they had only a patchwork setup still running. Mar-
aklov shook his head as he thought of a single B-52 bomber
attacking Sebaco. It had to be another of Elliott's toys, he
thought-another Megafortress Plus, or maybe the resurrection
of the one he had shot down? Would he never be rid of Drearn-
land's ghosts?
"Tovarisch Polkovnik, dobriy vyechyer, " the voice on the
other end of the line greeted him. "Ehtah General-Major Kali-
nin. Kahk dyela . . . ?
"You have to speak English, Sir," Maraklov said. "My Rus-
Sian is still very poor. Vi gavaretye angleyski?"
"Of course, yes, I speak English," the man replied. "I am
Director Kalinin."
Damn . . . it was the KGB director himself on the line.
"I assume you have received your orders from General
Tret'yak, vyehma?
"Yes, Sir.
"What is your . . . kak gavaretye . . . how do you say,
thoughts?
"My opinion? Of my orders, Sir?"
"Yes, your opinion."
What the hell was going on? The director of the KGB was
asking him if he agreed with his orders? He was screwed either
way he answered. Well, no use dodging this "I do not
agree with them, Sir. We must not give the aircraft to the
Americans. We have already paid a very dear price for it-it
is ours now .
To his surprise he heard Kalinin say he agreed with him.
There was a long pause on the channel. What was going on?
Was Kalinin going to disobey his own orders and bring
DreamStar back to Russia? Were they trying to set him up, use
what he said against him in a trial once he returned to the Soviet
Union?
DAY OF THE CHEETAH 435
"Colonel, I will transmit message to you, in confidence, soon.
It will be in English. The message for you only. Not Tret'yak.
Vi pahnyemahyo?
"No, I don't understand, Sir."
"I will give you orders. New orders. Carry them out if you
can. Etah srochnah. It is urgent - Da svedahneya. " And the line
went dead.
Brooks Medical Center, Brooks A", San Antonio,
Texas
Sunday, 21 June 1996, 1305 CDT (1405 EDT)
"O God of heavenly powers, who, by the might of thy com-
mand, drivest away from men's bodies all sickness and all infin-
ity; be present in thy goodness with this thy servant, that her
weakness may be banished and her strength recalled; that her
health being thereupon restored, she may bless thy holy Name;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Patrick and , who had come back with him, then would
return as needed, stood apart from the small circle of Wendy's
parents and relatives around her bed in the intensive care unit as
the doctor checked Wendy's eyes and skin. They had had no
time to change out of their flight suits. After securing the still
heavily armed Cheetah in a guarded hangar they had gone right
from the aircraft parking ramp to a waiting Air Force sedan and
on to the hospital. McLanahan had knelt beside his wife only
briefly, then backed away when he noticed the number of rela-
tives present and their faces. Now, with the minister and rela-
tives crowded around her, he felt more excluded, more isolated
than ever.
A minister had been there for the last twelve hours. When he
first arrived the prayers were full of uplifting, optimistic words.
Now the prayers had taken a sudden shift toward the irremedi-
able.
The doctor finished his examination, took notes on the mon-
itor readouts, changed an intravenous fluid bag, then moved
away. McLanahan saw the minister touch the doctor's arm, and
they spoke briefly. Did he see the doctor shake his head? He
drove murderous thoughts out of his mind and got the doctor's
attention.
436 DALE BROWN
"What's the story, doctor? "
"The right lung sounds clear. I think we stopped the edema.
But she's very weak. I'm sorry, but we have to expect respira-
tory failure-
"No.
"The damage was massive. She's a strong woman, Colonel.
But for every step she takes forward, her body takes two back-
wards. She's fought back bravely, but . . ."
McLanahan could not stand to look at the doctor any more.
He sought his wife's face from the foot of her bed. They had
removed the larger tubes from her throat, leaving only the nasal