Shadow Flight

Prologue

Gennadi Levchenko leaned against the side of his Lincoln town car, braced his elbows, then stared at the B-2 through his binoculars. The senior KGB officer, dressed in khaki-colored slacks, brown loafers, and a green windbreaker, blended in with the throngs of spectators watching the Stealth bomber accelerate down the runway on one of its routine test flights.

Levchenko, shivering slightly in the brisk morning air, followed the takeoff and initial climb. He lowered the binoculars, zipped his jacket, and got back inside the warm, idling automobile. The KGB Stealth project officer was feeling more confident by the minute. After waiting eight months and enduring many arduous trips to Moscow, Levchenko had received permission straight from Golodnikov, chief of the KGB, to commandeer a Stealth bomber.

The crowd returned to their vehicles, and as the cars in front of him began to move, Levchenko placed the Lincoln in gear. He had a meeting in San Bernardino with the two KGB agents who were responsible for initiating the B-2 hijacking.

Irina Rykhov, astrikingly beautiful young woman with sensuous hazel eyes, and Aleksey Pankyev, a dashing and experienced agent, had spent the previous six months systematically organizing the operation. They were both distinguished graduates in military intelligence from the prestigious Bukharin Academy, and had worked as a team for more than three years. They had been directly responsible for obtaining the classified Trident D-5 missile specifications.

Now, Levchenko thought as he adjusted the radio volume, Rykhov can execute the final step to carry the hijacking to completion. The Motherland would have an American B-2 Stealth bomber in a matter of weeks.