A small coyote picked his way carefully through the remnants of muddy wreckage, pausing at intervals to sniff at pieces of yellow insulating material that had once lined the fuselage of a mighty aircraft. The thin gauze curtain of clouds that had been drifting over the desolate land suddenly parted and moonlight bathed the bottom of the gorge.
The coyote lifted his head and howled.
The forlorn sound echoed through the gorge, the desert’s own requiem for the plane known as Air Force One.
Author’s Acknowledgments
Grateful appreciation for technical aid and advice is expressed to Captains William Bettwy, William Davenport, and Rod Coston of American Airlines; Alvin Spivak, White House correspondent for United Press International, and Louis Cassels, also of UPI.
An equal nod of gratitude to Grant Dillman, news editor, and Julius Frandsen, bureau manager, United Press International in Washington, treasured friends who exemplify the spirit of objectivity that is the lifeblood of the wire services.
A low bow in the direction of Susan Brown, who transcribed the manuscript while refraining from suggesting that I write it in longhand and type the corrections.
And finally, my thanks to the late Captain Frank Eberhart Haynes, Jr., United States Marine Corps—like the fictitious Marcus Henderson, a quiet hero.
Robert J. Serling
Washington, D.C.
The President's Plane Is Missing Page 33
