The Sum of All Fears.pdf - Delta Force

Ryan turned. 'Oh? I didn't know. I'm sorry, Captain, but what else can we do?'
'I know,' Rosselli said quietly. 'With luck, maybe they can get the crew off . .
.'
***
Jackson was nearly out of fuel and ready to turn back. Theodore Roosevelt had an
Alpha Strike spotted and ready to take off when the new orders came in. The
battlegroup immediately increased speed to open the distance between the
American and Russian formations. It didn't seem to Jackson like running away.
The Hawkeye called a warning that the Russian ships had turned west – perhaps
into the wind to launch aircraft. But though four fighters were aloft, they
orbited the battlegroup, which continued west. Their search radars were up, but
their missile radars went down. That, he knew, was a hopeful sign.
And so, Robby told himself, so ends my second war, if that's what it was . . .
He brought his Tomcat around, with Sanchez on his wing. Four more F-14s would
orbit here, just to keep an eye on things for the next few hours.
Jackson trapped just in time to see a rescue helicopter landing forward. By the
time he dismounted the aircraft, three people were in the ship's hospital. He
headed down to see who they were and what had been going on. A few minutes
later, he knew that he wouldn't be painting any more victory flags on his
aircraft. Not for something like this.
***
Berlin settled down much more quickly than anyone imagined. The relief column of
the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment had only gone thirty kilometers when the halt
order arrived, and it pulled off the autobahn to wait. Inside Berlin itself, the
American brigade got the word first, and pulled back into the western portion of
the kazerne. Russians probed forward with dismounted infantry to see what was
happening, but without orders to renew the attack, they remained tensely in
place. Soon the area was flooded with police cars, much to the bemusement of the
soldiers. Twenty minutes after the Americans began moving, communications were
reestablished with Moscow and the Russians pulled farther back into their
defensive positions. A number of unexplained bodies were found, including the
regimental commander and his executive officer, plus three tank crews, all of
whom had been killed with small-arms fire. But the most important discovery was
made by a Berlin policeman, who was the first to examine the truck and staff car
ripped apart by 25mm cannon slugs from a Bradley. The 'Russians' were all dead,
but none had identity disks. The policeman immediately called for assistance,
which was dispatched at once. Two of the faces looked familiar to the cop,
though he couldn't remember why.
***
'Jack.'
'Hi, Arnie, grab a seat.'
'What happened, Jack?'
Ryan shook his head. His mental state was one of giddiness. His reason told him
that sixty thousand people had died, but despite that, the relief at having
stopped something a hundred times worse had left him in a slightly drunken
condition. 'Not really sure yet, Arnie. You know the important part.'
'The President sounds like hell.'