Zen used the “open” number for Dreamland, which actually connected through Nellis Air Force Base. It was highly likely, of course, that the conversation was being recorded, and so he had to be careful exactly what he said. Still, he wanted to talk to Bree.
“This is Major Stockard,” he told the operator on duty who answered. “I’m looking for Captain Stockard.”
“Yes, sir!” snapped the operator.
The line clicked, and a few seconds later, a male voice answered.
“Yeah?”
“Who’s this?” asked Zen.
“Deke James. Who’s this?”
“Zen Stockard.”
“Why’d you wake me up for?” said James.
“I’m looking for my wife,” said Zen.
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“She ain’t here.”
Zen felt his jealousy spiking up—what the hell was James doing in their apartment?
“I want to talk to Bree,” he said.
“Yeah?”
The line went dead. Zen held the phone out, confused and angry. Deke was one of the engineer dweebs on the Unmanned Bomber Project.
What the hell was he doing in their apartment?
He was just about to put the phone down and try again when someone suddenly picked up on the other end of the line.
“Major!”
“Ax?”
“What, you’re away a few days and you forget who runs this place?” said Chief Master Sergeant Gibbs.
“How’d I get you?”
“Just lucky I guess. Deke James transferred you. Why’d you call him? What’d you do, wake him up?”
“I got the wrong number. What time is it there?”
“About 2100. He goes to bed early. Want to talk to your wife?”
“It’d be nice,” said Zen.
“Hold the phone. And listen, Zen—you kicked butt big time. We’re prouder than hell of you.”
“Thanks, Chief.”
Zen waited while the line once more went cold. Another voice picked up—male.
“Hey hero,” said Greasy Hands Parsons.
“Grease—what the hell are you doing?”
“Partying with your wife,” said Parsons. If Ax ran the administrative side of Dreamland—and he did—Greasy Hands essentially owned the planes. The chief master sergeant and Zen had known each other pretty much forever.
“She’s okay to party?” said Zen.
“Better than ever,” said the chief.
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“Give me that phone,” said Breanna in the background.
“Bree—”
“Jeff—”
Her voice was like a spell. He felt his body suddenly relax.
“You okay?” he asked.
“Am I okay?” she said. “I’m fine. How the hell are you?”
“Just tired. I want to see you.”
She laughed. He could hear her talk to the room. “Hey, I got Zen on the phone—”
There was a general shout. Zen made out some congratulations from the assorted tumult.
“Where are you?” he asked, but Bree didn’t hear. Someone took the phone from her.
“Zen?”
“Hey, Jennifer. How are you?”
“I’m okay,” she said, with a tone that seemed to be meant to reassure herself as well as him. “Is Colonel Bastian there?”
“No, he’s hooked up with some ceremonies and crap,” said Zen.
“Tell him I said hello, okay?”
“I will. I think your program helped us nail the clone.”
She didn’t answer. Zen imagined seeing her turn red and push back her long, strawberry blond hair.
Breanna took the phone back. “So?” she asked.
“So what?”
“When you coming home?” Bree asked.
“Haven’t figured that out yet.”
“Well, get moving, Major. Get the lead out. Here, listen, everybody wants to say hello.”
Zen didn’t particularly want to talk to them, but somehow it felt as if it was his duty to. He leaned back in his wheelchair and listened as Breanna reminded them it was an open line.
E-BOOK EXTRA
DALE BROWN: THE NOVELS
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Air Battle Force ; Wings of Fire ; Warrior Class ; Battle Born ; The Tin Man ; Fatal Terrain ; Shadows of Steel
; Sky Masters ; Day of the Cheetah ; Flight of the Old Dog ; Night of the Hawk ; Storming Heaven ; Chains of Command ; Hammerheads ; Silver Tower
With Jim DeFelice: Dale Brown’s Dreamland ; Dale Brown’s Dreamland: Nerve Center ; Dale Brown’s Dreamland: Razor’s Edge
Visit Dale Brown online at Megafortress.com
~
Air Battle Force(2003)
On America’s newest combat base, U.S. Air Force aerial warfare expert Major General Patrick McLanahan and his crew of daring engineers are devising the air combat unit of the future. Known as Air Battle Force, it can launch concentrated, stealthy, precision-guided firepower to any spot on the globe within hours. And soon McLanahan and his warriors will have their first target.
Chased out of Afghanistan, Taliban fighters are planning to invade the neighboring oil-rich Republic of Turkmenistan, an isolated and incredibly wealthy Central Asian state. As unsteady alliances form and forces collide, the impending battle for control of the world’slargest oil deposits threatens to tear apart the tenuous peace created by America’s victories in Afghanistan.
Now it’s up to McLanahan and a handful of American commandos half a world away, aided by an untested and unproven force of robotic warplanes, to win a war in which everyone — even “friendly”
forces at home — wants them to fail.
“[An] absorbing techno thriller … Brown fans will declare this a page-turning delight.” — PublishersWeekly
“Dale Brown is the best military adventure writer in the country.” — Clive Cussler
~
Wings of Fire(2002)
Ostracized by the government, the Air Force, and even by his own family, Patrick McLanahan has reached rock bottom. Or so he thought. While testing cutting-edge weapons in the skies over Libya, he and his private team are drawn into a power struggle between North Africa’s rulers.
In the face of tragic loss, unexpected defeat, and ultimate betrayal, the ex-USAF general must quickly decide where his loyalties lie. For it may be too late to stop the destruction rolling across the Sahara. And this could be McLanahan’s final battle.
“Brown has the techno thriller down cold.” — USA Today
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~
Warrior Class(2001)
The world is falling apart, and there are plenty of people willing to take advantage of the fact. One of them is Parvel Kazakov, a Russian oilman with close ties to organized crime and an audacious idea: build a huge pipeline through the Balkans, get the Russian army to back him, and everybody gets rich.
Though NATO will object, the new American president’s emphatic policy of isolationism will guarantee no effective opposition. Russia will dominate Europe. Kazakov will dominate the oil supply.
But he hasn’t reckoned with Patrick McLanahan. The young Air Force general leads a combat mission deep into Russia — until he is put in check by the president himself.
As Kazakov and Russia continue their unrelenting drive towards European hegemony, McLanahan and his team find themselves faced with a dire choice. Which is the greater threat: the dangerous empire in front of them — or the dangerous president at home? Which ever way they choose, there is no turning back…
“Dale Brown is a master at mixing technology and action. He puts readers right into the middle of the inferno.” — Larry Bond
~
Battle Born(1999)
Patrick McLanahan has been sent to a B-1B Lancer unit in Nevada to train a new tactical strike unit. He has his pick of the most aggressive personalities in the flying game, yet he knows it may take years to pull his bunch of mavericks together to fight as a team.
But the training days are abruptly over when the fragile peace in Asia is shattered. What was supposed to be a joint U.S.-Japan-South Korea mock bombing raid turns lethal as South Korean fighter-bombers abandon the script and attack key North Korean centers insupport of a massive people’s revolt against the Communist regime. To the world’s surprise, the raids are a complete success. The North Korean military surrenders, the borders are thrown wide open, and the United Republic of Korea is born.