The rising bile expels the regulator from Mick’s mouth, sending him into convulsions. He sucks in a breath of air, then another, then tears the mask from his face and rolls onto his back, his chest heaving as he stares at the bizarre arched ceiling overhead.

Mom? “Dominique—”

Struggling to his knees, he crawls over to the girl, quickly removing her dive mask, the regulator already out of her mouth. Verifying a pulse, he positions her head back and opens her airway, then breathes into her mouth, inflating her lungs.

Come on …

Water fills her mouth. Straddling her, he presses her abdomen with both hands, forcing the liquid out of her stomach.

He clears her mouth and begins again.

A dozen more breaths.

Dominique’s face flushes pink. She coughs, spitting up a mouthful of water, then opens her eyes.

Bering Strait,
Off the Coast of Alaska

1:43 A.M. (Alaska Time)

The seven Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptors, the most advanced aircraft fighter in the world, rocket across the dark Alaskan sky at supersonic speed. The semitailless stealth vessels, about the size of an F-15, are not only invisible to radar, but can cruise higher and faster than any jet.

Major Daniel Barbier flexes his muscles to stay awake within the dark cockpit. Eight long hours and five midair refuelings have passed since his team left Dobbins Air Force Base at Marietta, Georgia, and the formation leader can feel the fatigue in his bones. The Canadian-born pilot reaches into his breast pocket and removes the picture of his wife, daughter, and four-year-old twin boys, gives each a kiss for luck, then refocuses his attention on the colorfully lit console before him.

The F-22’s tactical display is a sensory management system designed to provide its pilot with the maximum amount of information without becoming overwhelming. Specific colors and symbols segregate the jet fighter’s three main sensors, allowing for quick recognition. The Raptor’s Northrop Grumman/ Raytheon APG-77 fighter radar is so powerful that it allows its pilot to acquire, identify, and destroy a target long before the enemy knows it is there. In addition to radar, the F-22 is equipped with two other sensors, both passive, nonemitting devices, which help preserve the aircraft’s stealth.

The first of these is the Lockheed-Sanders ALR-94 electronic warfare (EW) system, a sensor that scans the battlefield, searching for enemy signals. When an enemy is detected, the EW immediately determines the target’s bearing and range, then programs the Raptor’s AMRAAM missiles to intercept. A second passive system, called datalink, gathers information from airborne AWACS, providing the F-22 pilot with superior navigation and target-identification data.