Arctic Storm Rising by Dale Brown

Author:Dale Brown
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: William Morrow
Published: 2021-05-25T00:00:00+00:00

Twenty-One

Emergency Conference Room, National Military Command Center, under the Pentagon, Washington, D.C.

A Short Time Later

Under the ECR’s bright overhead lighting, it was impossible to tell that it was still pitch-dark outside, with more than an hour remaining before the sun rose. But in a concession to the early morning hour, coffee carafes and china cups were set out along the large central conference table.

Jonas Murphy took a cautious sip from a steaming cup and then set it back down. Miranda Reynolds, seated next to him, raised an eyebrow. “Any good?” she asked.

“It seems to contain caffeine,” the director of national intelligence said thoughtfully, after a moment’s consideration. “Apart from that, I refuse to testify on the grounds that it might insult our hosts.”

From his position at the head of the table, Bill Taylor chuckled. “Flattery won’t get you anywhere, Jonas.” Then the secretary of defense nodded to Reynolds. “Glad you could join us this morning, Ms. Reynolds. I understand we have you to thank for the extraordinary video we’ve all seen?”

“Yes, Mr. Secretary,” the CIA’s chief of clandestine operations said. The short recording he referred to was from a Russian Air Force pilot, Colonel Alexei Petrov. In it, he claimed to have successfully stolen Moscow’s much-touted stealth bomber prototype. The video had been emailed to her through the same covert server used by the shadowy Russian contact she’d met in Prague. She’d immediately relayed it to Murphy, who, in turn, had passed it straight on to the defense secretary and the Joint Chiefs. Before she’d even had time to finish dressing, she’d received a secure call summoning her to this early morning conference.

“So what’s your assessment of this message?” Taylor asked, not beating around the bush. “Is it genuine?”

Reynolds pursed her lips. “The man speaking does appear to be the real Alexei Petrov,” she said. “His facial features are a perfect match with other verified photos in our databases.” The CIA, like other intelligence agencies, amassed huge amounts of information on foreign government officials, military officers, business leaders, and the like—most of it from publicly available sources, including newspaper and magazine articles, television news broadcasts, and even internet sites. “And we can confirm that he’s regarded as one of Russia’s top test pilots, especially for multi-engine aircraft. Given that, it would be logical to expect him to head up their stealth bomber flight test program.”

“But is there anything in the guy’s record to suggest that he’d pull a stunt like this?” General Frank Neary asked suspiciously. The Air Force chief looked plainly skeptical. “I mean, Jesus, actually flying away with the most expensive and advanced experimental aircraft in the whole Russian inventory? That’s not exactly like walking into an embassy somewhere and asking for political asylum!”

“No, sir,” Reynolds admitted. “From what we know, Colonel Petrov was a highly decorated, highly regarded officer, one of apparently unquestioned loyalty.” She smiled slightly. “Then again, if there were any obvious reasons for Moscow to believe he might defect, Petrov would be in a Russian military prison or dead, and not sending us demand notes from a stolen high-tech aircraft.

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