Air Battle Force

Epilogue

We have your aircraft, we have your air raid on Engels Air Base on tape, and we have footage of your drones and bombers attacking our base,” General Anatoliy Gryzlov shouted into the phone. “This is a complete outrage! An unprovoked sneak attack on a Russian military installation by two American strategic bombers! It is an act of war! We have your dead crew members as positive proof that you attacked our country in a sinister act of aggression!”

“You have our crew members?” President Thomas Thorn asked. He had to stifle a smile.

“Their crumpled bodies were found not far from the crash site,” Gryzlov said. “Their pictures will be on the front page of every newspaper and magazine on earth if you do not halt this aggression and immediately recall all your forces!”

“As I told you, General, I have already recalled our forces,” Thorn said. “My forces were deployed to Turkmenistan only to protect our deputy secretary of defense’s flight as it departed the region. We had permission and full authority from President Gurizev to enter Turkmenistan.”

“Gurizev was a liar and a traitor to his people,” Gryzlov said. “If he hadn’t allowed those murderous Taliban forces to roam around inside his country so freely, none of this would’ve happened. They were certainly in collusion. Soon they would have stolen those American oil and gas pipelines and wells from you, but by then it would have been too late to stop them.”

“The Taliban commander has just been commissioned by the new Turkmen president as commander of the army,” Thorn pointed out. “He’s being called a hero for repelling those Russian troops from Charjew.”

“He’ll have to pay dearly for that,” Gryzlov said. “I don’t care if the Turkmen parliament or so-called interim president authorized or sanctioned his attacks after the fact. It was an act of cold-blooded murder.”

“It seems to be a legal resolution to me, General, voted on and signed into law by the interim president.”

“That new president was not elected by the people,” Gryzlov said, “and a state of martial law is still in effect.”

“But the Turkmen parliament meeting in Uzbekistan has voted in a new interim president,” Thorn said. “Surely the Russian military authorities will recognize the new government and allow the president and legislators back into the country safely?”

“You’re getting off the point of my call, Thorn — namely, the air attack on my military base!” Gryzlov interjected. “The death toll will certainly reach two hundred, and the damage will easily exceed one billion dollars. You will issue an apology to me, to the men and women of Engels, to the people of Russia, and to the world. You will pay reparations to alleviate the suffering of the families who lost loved ones in that dastardly attack and to rebuild what you have destroyed. You will pay, or, by God, Thorn, I will see your country burn hotter than the fires of hell. Do you understand my meaning, Thorn? What is your answer? Will you apologize? Will you pay reparations? Or does a state of war exist between our two countries?”

“Stand by, General.” Thomas Thorn put the call on hold, then looked at the others in the Oval Office with him: Vice President Busick, Secretary of Defense Goff, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Venti, Deputy Secretary of State Hershel, General Patrick McLanahan, and former president Kevin Martindale. They had all been silently reacting to Gryzlov’s tirade with scowls, astounded expressions, and shaking heads. Everyone was amazed that the president managed to keep his cool so easily while talking to this homicidal maniac.

“Tell him to go fuck himself, Mr. President,” Busick said. Everyone else seemed to agree, some by encouraging expressions, others by nodding heads. “He’s a damned nobody — he can’t tell the president of the United States what to do.”

Thorn looked to his friend and chief foreign-affairs adviser, Robert Goff. “He’s nothing more than a two-bit military strongman, Thomas,” the secretary of defense said. “Eventually the Russian parliament and the people will rise up and toss his ass off — it’s just a matter of time. The United States needs to lead the resistance against him, or he’ll turn into another Stalin.”

Thorn turned to McLanahan and Martindale. Both wore stony expressions. Martindale jabbed a finger at Thorn and said, “You’re the leader of the free world, Thorn, whether you like it or not. Be the leader of the free world, for Christ’s sake.”

Thorn remained expressionless. He looked at McLanahan impassively — Patrick thought he detected a bit of resentment or maybe betrayal in the president’s face. The president pushed the line button. “General Gryzlov?”

“What is your answer, Thorn?”

“My answer is this: The United States will pay reparations,” Thomas Thorn said. Busick, Martindale, and even his good friend Robert Goff wore absolutely stunned, then disgusted expressions.

Even Anatoliy Gryzlov sounded surprised. “Well… I’m glad to see you show some common sense, Thorn,” he said.

“The United States will pay a sum to the government of the Russian Federation equal to what the Russian Federation pays to the United Nations to rehabilitate and rebuild the government and infrastructure of Turkmenistan,” Thorn said. “In case any hostilities break out between Russia and the United States, the money is cut off forever.”

“What? Russia pay the United Nations to rebuild Turkmenistan?” Gryzlov retorted. “What kind of deal is that? That pissant country was about to be taken over by Taliban desert rats — we saved it from ending up like Afghanistan or Pakistan! We’ve already invested trillions in that country. We’re not going to invest one more ruble into it! Is this what you mean by taking responsibility for your actions, Thorn?”

“I hope you’ll reconsider, General,” Thorn said. “The United States will pledge twenty million dollars to help rebuild Turkmenistan, in the hopes that Russia will match that gift, and we shall also pledge the same amount for the families of the victims of our attack.

“As far as an apology goes — yes, I will apologize to the people of the Russian Federation and the world,” Thorn went on. “In my apology, which will be broadcast live around the world, I will explain why we conducted the attack on your bomber base: I will explain about how your Russian liaison officer murdered President Gurizev; how Russia firebombed Mary, as it did Chechnya, to kill Muslims—”

“That is a lie!” Gryzlov shouted.

“—and I will tell how you sent a Russian fighter plane to shoot down an American diplomatic mission, and how you sent a massive armada to bomb a small city in Turkmenistan into submission so you could invade it with hundreds of airborne commandos,” Thorn continued. “I will explain why we chose Engels Air Base as our target — because Russia was massing over one hundred supersonic long-range bombers there to continue pounding Turkmenistan into the sand so you could walk in and take over.”

“You call that an apology, Thorn?” Gryzlov retorted.

“I call it the truth, General,” Thorn said. “I’m willing to admit to the truth — the question is, are you?”

“This matter is not settled between us, Thorn,” Gryzlov said in English after several long moments of shouting and epithets in Russian. “You will not be permitted to wantonly attack a Russian military base like that — a Russian bomber base. In case you don’t know, I was a bomber commander — your striking that target was like striking at my own children.” There was a slight pause, then, “May I speak with Major General Patrick McLanahan, please?”

The president turned toward Patrick, switched on the speakerphone, then said, “Go ahead, General. General McLanahan can hear you.”

All eyes were on Patrick. “What is it, General?” Patrick asked.

“I know it was you who planned that strike on Engels Air Base, McLanahan,” Gryzlov said. “You spoke with General Kasimov and told him precisely which Russian targets in Turkmenistan were going to be struck and when — you could know all that only if you were in direct command of those attacks as well. This is the same McLanahan who participated in the air attacks against Russian forces in the Balkans and near Zhukovsky Flight Test Center recently. This is also the same McLanahan who participated in attacks against Russian military forces in Lithuania and, I presume, even participated in the attack against the Kavaznya laser ballistic-missile defense site in Siberia some years ago. I am sure that, with a little analysis, we can probably trace your involvement in many other significant covert military actions by the United States over the years — China, Taiwan, Iran.”

The surprised expressions turned into shocked expressions. Most of those in the room knew a little about a few of Patrick McLanahan’s military adventures — but no one, not even former president Kevin Martindale, knew that Patrick had participated in almost every major wide-scale conflict throughout the world over the past fifteen years.

“We could go on and on about your past, General,” Gryzlov said. “In Russia you would be a national hero, perhaps even president. Why in your own country you are nothing more than an insignificant Air Force officer with no real responsibilities or authority is a mystery to me, but it matters not.

“I am here to tell you here and now, General Patrick McLanahan, that we are enemies, you and I,” Gryzlov went on with an amused but ominous sneer in his voice. “You have used your bomber forces masterfully over the years, and you may have a technological edge. But you are weak because of weak commanders like Thomas Thorn. As long as you are led by men such as him, you will be powerless to stop me when I move against you. I will see to it that you are destroyed, General. Your friends, your bases, your crews, your aircraft — even your precious son, Bradley — will all be destroyed before finally you, too, will be destroyed. You will be destroyed because you mindlessly follow weaker men, thinking it is your duty to obey their orders. It will destroy you and all those around you that you love.”

“Listen, you son of a bitch, if your own officers and people don’t get you first, we sure as hell will!” Vice President Busick shouted. “You’re nothing but a two-bit generalissimo.”

“It will be my bombers against your bombers, General McLanahan,” Gryzlov went on, ignoring Busick. “The battle will be on my terms, on my home court. You cannot choose where and when the battle will take place, because you are too weak to do so, and you are weak because you follow weak leaders. So gather your planes and drones and missiles together like a child in his playpen, General, and get ready for the showdown.”

“Bring it on, General Gryzlov,” Patrick said, but the line had already gone dead.

For several long moments everyone in the Oval Office was stunned into silence. They had never heard someone openly and so brazenly threatened like that before during an official government phone call. Finally Vice President Busick said, “Mr. President, I’d like to discuss this idea of paying reparations to the Russians—”

“The attack on Engels Air Base was not approved,” the president said. “General McLanahan may have misinterpreted directives from Secretary Goff, but I don’t think so. I believe that the attack on Engels was deliberate and calculated. Whatever the final outcome, the mission was not sanctioned. We have a moral obligation to repay the Russians for the damage.”

“Like hell, Mr. President!” Busick shouted. “We don’t owe them squat! They started this whole thing — we just helped finish it. The general may have jumped the gun a little, but he did exactly what he thought was needed to be done to protect our guys out there.”

“General, is that the way you see it?” Thorn asked.

Patrick looked at Thorn, then at Martindale, and finally back to Thomas Thorn. “No, sir — there was no misunderstanding,” he replied. Both Martindale and Busick closed their eyes in frustration, and even Robert Goff shook his head sadly. “I was ordered by Secretary of Defense Goff directly to get my forces out of Turkmenistan after Deputy Secretary of State Hershel’s flight was safe. My ground forces were only fifteen miles from the Uzbek border — they could have been picked up easily, before or after the attack on Charjew. Instead I kept my ground forces in place and planned an air attack on Engels.”

“Because you knew that Gryzlov was going to launch more attacks on you.”

“Yes, sir, but mostly because I wanted to hurt Gryzlov,” Patrick admitted. “I wanted to defeat his bombers on the ground. I wanted to strike into the heart of Gryzlov’s bomber force. I had the weapons and the opportunity, so I took it.”

Thorn looked at each of his advisers in turn, then said angrily, “That’s why we’re paying reparations to the Russians, folks. America might be accused of being a bully every now and then, but when we screw up like that, we should at least have the guts to admit to it and pay for our mistake.” He and everyone in the room fell silent. “That will be all, everyone.”

Kevin Martindale stepped up to Thomas Thorn, looked him in the eye, shook his head, and said derisively, “You’re going to be a pushover next fall, Mr. President.” He turned to Patrick and said, so everyone including Thorn could hear him, “Don’t let him get to you, Patrick. Gryzlov is right — but it doesn’t mean it has to stay that way. Keep on fighting the way you know how to fight.”

Finally it was just Thorn and McLanahan left in the Oval Office. Thorn looked at the two-star general. “You’re dismissed, too, General,” he said. Patrick looked as if he was about to say something, but Thorn held up a hand. “Don’t say anything, General — I know you won’t mean it anyway. Just get out. Go home and give your son a hug. Take him to the beach. I’ll decide what to do with you later.”

Patrick left the White House and made his way to the West Wing gate. As he waited to be let out, he heard a car horn beep behind him. Maureen Hershel rolled down her window in the backseat of her limousine. “Give you a lift somewhere, General?” she asked.

Patrick looked at her, then stood and looked back toward the Oval Office — and was surprised to see Thorn looking back at him through the window, the phone to his ear but still watching him intently. Patrick took a deep breath, confused and, yes, a little uncertain.

“C’mon, General,” Maureen said. “I could use a drink right about now — and you look like you could use one too.”

Patrick McLanahan stood at attention and saluted the Oval Office. The president saluted back, then returned his attention to his phone call. Patrick dropped his salute with a snap, smiled, and nodded. “I’d love to, Maureen,” he said. “I’d love to. Let’s go.”