Shadow Flight

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that," Milligan said sadly, "but we now have the answer… at least part of it." Milligan listened a moment longer and bid the director a good day. He severed the secure connection and turned to Wickham. "The Stealth is in Cuba, but the location is unknown."

"How did we confirm it was in Cuba?" Wickham asked, becoming more intrigued with the recon mission.

"I'm not sure of the exact connection," Milligan responded, "but we have… had an informant in Moscow fairly high up. The general didn't give me the particulars, but suffice it to say we lost our contact. The KGB had been watching him for quite a while."

Wickham remained silent, mindful of the implications.

"We've got a lot to do," Milligan continued, "so let's get under way. We're going to fly you to Cancun in a chartered cargo jet, then prepare you for the drop. By the way, don't shave… we're going to transform you into a gnarled farm worker."

THE WHITE HOUSE

The president walked briskly into the Oval Office, motioning for everyone to remain seated. "Please don't get up," Jarrett said as he crossed the room and sat down at his desk.

Kirk Truesdell and Bernie Kerchner noticed that the president's face was pale. They had become accustomed to this physical sign of trouble.

"Norm Lasharr just received confirmation," Jarrett said, grim faced. "Our B-2 is indeed in Cuba."

Truesdell and Kerchner exchanged stunned looks, then glanced at Brian Gaines, the president's national security adviser. Gaines was speechless for one of the rare moments in his life.

"God… damn," Truesdell said emotionally. "We're sitting on a powder keg."

Gaines studied the president before speaking. "Where in Cuba is it located, sir?"

Jarrett sighed, then looked directly at the tall, red-haired security expert. "The exact location is unknown."

"Unknown?" Kerchner asked. "If Lasharr knows—"

"Wait," the president interrupted, seeing Truesdell and Gaines forming words on their lips. "Wait a second, Bernie. We lost our priority contact — the air force general — before he could relay the entire message." Observing the shocked looks, the president poured a glass of water and waited for the gravity of the news to sink in before continuing.

"The CIA's intermediary cutout called an agency crisis line from Vienna. Seems that the general was in midsentence when the conversation was terminated. Our Vienna connection believes that the KGB has the general in custody. And we have no knowledge as to how he confirmed this information."

"Damn," Truesdell said, "we knew that the KGB had been suspicious. Voronoteev had relayed that concern when he gave us the MiG-29 data."

"Well," Jarrett replied, "it's water under the bridge. Norm Lasharr believed we needed to use the general and I agreed. Now, we have an explosive situation on our hands, and I want your suggestions."

"Mister President," Gaines said, shifting uneasily in his chair, "I'm not sure we should continue with the CIA probe into San Julian."

"Why not?" Jarrett inquired before he swallowed a sip of water.

"We already have confirmation that the aircraft is on Cuban soil," Gaines replied uncomfortably. "I believe we are asking for trouble if something goes wrong."

"If our agent is caught?" Kerchner questioned.

"Precisely," the lawyer-turned-security specialist replied in a firm tone. "The Soviets can use that to set up a hell of a smoke screen. My recommendation is that we confront the Kremlin, and Castro, diplomatically, and provide a face-saving solution for the return of our bomber, and the crew."

"I don't agree," Truesdell responded before the president could speak. "If we don't have positive proof of the exact location of the Stealth, the Kremlin will deny the accusations and buy a lot of time to scrutinize the bomber. Sure, they realize that we know the B-2 is in Cuba, but what the hell are we going to do about it? We can't prove a damned thing."

"Bernie?" the president asked.

"Sir, I have to agree with Kirk. We have to verify the location of the B-2, then confront the Kremlin and Castro. We've got to work both ends of this problem and force Castro to break the logjam."

The defense secretary sat up in his chair and cleared his throat before continuing. "We've spent years developing the Stealth technology, not to mention billions of dollars. We can't afford to lose our technological edge to the Soviets. Castro is providing a shelter for the hijacked airplane, and we must inform him of our intent to recover or destroy the B-2."

Truesdell glanced at Gaines, then turned to Jarrett. "Bernie is right, sir," the vice president said. "We must do our homework, then demand the safe return of the Stealth and her crew — immediatelyor Soviet President Ignatyev and Castro will face the consequences."

Jarrett sat quietly for a moment, analyzing the suggestions. "What sort of consequences did you have in mind, Kirk?"