The Sum of All Fears.pdf - Delta Force

supposed to go back until tomorrow morning. When'll it be fixed?'
'If I start now . . . say around midnight.'
'Get breakfast first. I'll take care of the back-up bird.'
'Roge-o, Major.'
'I'll have them run some power out here for a heater, and a radio, too.' The
major knew the crew chief was from San Diego.
The major trudged back to the cabin. The helicopter pad was on a high spot, and
the wind was trying very hard to blow it clear of snow. As a result, there was
only six inches to worry about. Down below, the drifts were as much as three
feet deep. The grunts out walking the woods must be having a fine time, he
thought.
'How bad?' the pilot asked, shaving.
'Circuit panel is acting up. The chief says he needs all day to get it back on
line.'
'We didn't hit that hard,' the colonel objected.
'I already said that. Want me to make the call?'
'Yeah, go ahead. Have you checked the threat board?'
'The world's at peace, Colonel, sir. I checked.'
The 'threat board' was mainly an expression. The alert level of the government
agencies that dealt with various problems depended on the expected level of
danger in the world. The greater the possible danger, the more assets were kept
ready to deal with them. At the moment there was no perceived threat to the
United States of America, and that meant that only a single aircraft was kept
ready to back-stop the President's VH-3. The major placed the call to
Annacostia.
'Yeah, let's keep dash-two warm. Dash-one is down with electrical problems . . .
no, we can handle it here. Oughta be back on line by midnight. Right. Bye.' The
major hung up just in time for Pete Connor to enter their cabin.
'What gives?'
'Bird's broke,' the colonel replied.
'I didn't think we hit that hard,' Connor objected.
'Well, that makes it official,' the major observed. 'The only one who thinks we
did hit that hard's the friggin' airplane.'
'The back-up's on alert status,' the colonel said, as he finished shaving.
'Sorry, Pete. Electrical problem, maybe has nothing to do with the touchdown.
The back-up can be here in thirty-five minutes. Our threat board is blank.
Anything we need to know about?'
Connor shook his head. 'No, Ed. We know of no particular threat.'
'I can bring the back-up bird here, but it means exposing it to the weather. We
can take better care of it down at Annacostia. That's your call, sir.'
'You can leave it down there.'
'The Boss still wants to watch the game up here, right?'
'Correct. We all get a day off. Lift off for D.C. tomorrow about six-thirty.
Problem with that?'
'No, ought to be fixed before then.'
'Okay.' Connor left and walked back to his cabin.
'What's it like out there?' Daga asked.