Contents ( 55)
- In Memoriam
- Epigraph
- Cast of Characters
- Americans
- Russians
- Canadian
- Prologue
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- Thirty-Five
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- Thirty-Nine
- Epilogue
- Acknowledgments
- Weapons and Acronyms
- Weapons
- Acronyms
- About the Author
- Also by Dale Brown
- Copyright
- About the Publisher
Confirming his suspicions, the CIA representative turned his head toward the Air Force two-star presiding over this irregular kangaroo court. “Ideally, we’d prefer that Flynn here be held incommunicado in some stockade. The last thing any of us want is him being available to testify in front of any congressional hearings . . . or blabbing to journalists.”
Jesus Christ, Flynn thought, scarcely able to believe his ears. Just how far did these guys think they could go? Did they seriously imagine they could imprison any U.S. citizen, let alone a serving officer in the U.S. military, without trial or review? Forget Alice in Wonderland, this was starting to sound a lot more like the opening of The Man in the Iron Mask.
The Air Force general glanced at his Pentagon colleagues and then cleared his throat. “In our judgment, that would be . . . inadvisable. We don’t think it’s necessary in this case to go so far outside the regulations.” He looked briefly at Flynn and then turned back to the CIA’s representative. “Nevertheless, we agree it would be in the best interests of the Department of Defense and our national security to make sure what happened at the Wath Oasis fades quickly from the public consciousness.”
“What are you offering?”
“This episode is already highly classified. Which means that any unauthorized disclosure to the media or Congress is a serious felony, punishable by years in federal prison. Should Captain Flynn decide to do so anyway, in some fit of whistleblower zeal, we are also prepared to convene an immediate court-martial to try him for various crimes, including the unprovoked use of deadly force resulting in the killing of numerous civilians, fellow U.S. Air Force personnel, and other American citizens.” Here at least, the general had the grace to offer Flynn an apologetic look.
After a moment, the CIA man shook his head. “My agency needs something more concrete.”
“Which is why we’re also going to transfer the captain to a new duty post,” the general continued. “One that’s about as far from the District of Columbia as it’s possible to get. He won’t be talking out of school to anyone from there, at least not easily . . . or undetectably.”
“Flynn could resign his commission,” the CIA executive pointed out. “I’ve seen his records. He’s completed his active-duty service obligation. And once he’s out of the Air Force, all you’ve got as a hold on him is that top secret classification rating.”
Flynn sat rigid, half in shock and half in fury at the way these . . . pompous assholes . . . were so cavalierly debating the best way to wreck his life and his military career.
The Air Force general shrugged. “Any request Captain Flynn makes to resign can be denied on the grounds that the needs of the service come first. A year or year and a half should be long enough for this mess to die down and be forgotten.”
The CIA man thought about that for a moment and then nodded sharply. “Fair enough. That meets our needs.” With a cursory nod to the assembled Pentagon brass, he climbed heavily to his feet and left. He didn’t spare a glance for the young officer whose career he’d just helped destroy.