by Dale Brown
thousands of Chinese Marines dead, a couple hundred captured, and the
entire Bangoy Harbor burning from all the dead ships." He tried not to
sound too happy over apparent high Chinese casualties, but from the
warrior's point of view, the first night of battle had gone well for the
Air Battle Force. McLanahan felt a tingle over his entire body when he
heard the news-no matter how horrible war was, if there had to be a war,
then news of success on the battlefield was always welcome. "So when do
we go back out?"
"We may be called in for air operations over Zamboanga and Puerto
Princesa, " Elliott replied, "but with only two or three destroyers left
for Chinese air defense and fighter control, the bombers should have
free rein over Mindanao. We should be able to bring tankers closer to
Mindanao, so we can set up real fighter combat air patrols for the
bombers and Navy shipsand if that's true, they won't need Megafortress
escort bombers anymore. I'm sure they won't use B-2s either, now that
most of their big warships and the Mount Apo radar site have been
destroyed. HAWC might be out of the battle, I think. "The Army's
Twenty-fifth Infantry Division might try an invasion to Davao in order
to keep the Chinese ground troops from massing on Mindanao, " Elliott
added. "But the Chinese Navy got a pretty good thrashing last night,
and they know we can do it again-the second round of Tomahawk and bomber
attacks began shortly after the first strike package withdrew, and
initial indications look like they encountered virtually no resistance
even in daylight hours. I hope the politicians in Washington and
Beijing get their acts together and call a halt to this thing right
now." That, Patrick McLanahan agreed, was every warrior's silent
prayer-go and get ready to fight, but hope like hell they don't have to.
MALACANANG PRESIDENTIAL PALACE, MANILA REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES The
door to the rooftop helicopter landing pad burst open, and First Vice
President Daniel Teguina, surrounded by no fewer than ten bodyguards,
rushed through the doorway. While six soldiers spread out to cover each
side of the pad, the other four kept Teguina hidden from view, M16
rifles at the ready. Despite his formidable protection, Teguina looked
like the animal being hunted-which in effect he was. He carried with
him a suitcase filled with American currency, Filipino bearer bonds,
gold bullion, and other various treasures he could find in Arturo
Mikaso's vaults and in government museums-that would help establish him
in some Southeast Asia country loyal to China-or perhaps Pakistan,
Madagascar, or Sri Lanka-and it would ensure his safety for several
years until he thought it safe to return to the Philippines. A few
moments later, a low-flying helicopter could be heard in the distance,
swooping out from the south and approaching the palace fast. Teguina
was about to rise to his feet in the doorway when automatic gunfire rang
out. Teguina cried out, clutching the suitcase, as a bodyguard leaped
on top of him to cover him from the assassin's bullets-or at least that
was what Teguina thought, until he heard the bodyguard's animal-like cry
of pain and felt warm blood seep over his neck and chest. The gunfire
abruptly stopped, and someone lifted the bodyguard's bleeding body free
of the ex-President of the Philippines. Teguina turned and was going to
rush back down the stairs, but collided into a soldier wearing the
dark-green jungle fatigues favored by Jose Samar's Commonwealth Defense
Forces. "But your helicopter is just arriving, Mr. President, " he
heard a voice say. He turned and found General Jose Trujillo Samar
himself standing before him. His face and shoulders were still heavily
bandaged, and the hair had not started to grow back on his eyebrows or
eyelids yet, giving him a horrifying specterlike appearance. He wore
jungle fatigues and carried an American-made .45-caliber automatic
pistol in his holster, but it was not drawn. Teguina could see all but
two of his bodyguards dead on the roof, the rest were on their knees
with their hands on top of their heads. Teguina let the suitcase fall,
both as a show of defiance, because he felt guilty by having it in his
possession, and because he suddenly did not have the strength to hold
it. He placed his hands casually behind his back where Samar would not
see them shake, and sneered, "I see your time with your American friends
has not helped to improve your looks, Samar."
"Nor has your time with your Chinese friends improved your integrity, "
Samar said. "Where are they, by the way? We saw very few in the city
today."
"I no longer need the Chinese to help me secure my coun try, Teguina
said. "Your revolution has failed, your followers have been destroyed,
your troops have been slaughtered. The people know that I am their
President-"
"The people now know that you are a liar, a thief, and a traitor, "
Samar said casually. He motioned to a man standing behind him, who was
photographing the whole scene with a professional-quality videotape
camera. A soldier carried the suitcase over to him and opened it so
they could photograph its contents; then the cameraman swung it back and
took pictures of Teguina's shocked, disbelieving expression. "You will
be taken into custody and tried by the Parliament and the Supreme Court.
I hope they vote to execute you. "And do you expect to preside over the
trial yourself?" Teguina asked mockingly. "You are hated in this
country. The people blame you for all that has happened. You as
President of the Philippines will ensure civil unrest and political
hatred for the next generationyou will tear this country apart far worse
than I ever could. If I am sentenced to die on the gallows of Marikina
Cathedral, I will certainly see you there beside me. "I will let the
people and the Parliament decide that, " Samar said. "And I will not
preside over your trial-the President will." Teguina's smile vanished,
and he looked at Samar's face in complete confusion. "The . . .
President? But if you will not preside-" Samar turned to watch as the
helicopter that had been safely orbiting the rooftop now began its
descent. When it landed, the left side opened... ... and out stepped
Arturo Mikaso. Teguina could not believe his eyes. His jaw dropped open
in complete surprise as Mikaso stepped toward him. "Hello, Daniel, "
the Philippine President said. "Thank you for allowing us the use of
your getaway helicopter." Teguina also noticed that a Chinese Army
officer and two American military officers also stepped out of the same
helicopter. "What . . . what kind of conspiracy is this?" he
stammered. "No conspiracy, Daniel, " Mikaso said. "The Chinese military
has always said that they are in the Philippines to support the
legitimate government against rebels who wish to seize power. Well, I
am the legitimate government, and you are a traitor. They now support
my government, along with the American military. Now that the Filipino
military is firmly behind me once more, their services a
re no longer
required, and they have advised us that they are departing
immediately-as are the Americans."
"But... but I thought you were dead!"
"You mean, you thought I had been executed, " Mikaso corrected him. "I
have learned that the Chinese dislike the stain of honor that goes with
executing a head of state. They shot me all right-but it was only a
superficial wound. Then they put me in protective custody-a prison in
any sense of the word, but I think a far better fate than one that you
had in store for me." He nodded to the Commonwealth Defense Force
guards. "Take the First Vice President into custody. I have already
advised the Speaker of the Parliament of this action; he will meet you
at Government House with a copy of my warrant sworn out against
Teguina." After Teguina was led away, Mikaso and Samar stood and faced
each other. Samar wore an expressionless visage; Mikaso a slight smile.
"So, General Samar. Are you happy to see me as well?" "Why did you stay
in custody so long?" Samar asked bitterly. "The country has suffered
much because of your silence."
"I had little choice in the matter, Jose, " Mikaso explained. "While I
was recuperating, the Chinese were trying to decide which way the wind
was blowing before really killing me. If they had not seen what kind of
fool Teguina was, I would be six feet under a dungheap in Manchuria by
now." He sighed, looking across to the surrounding skyscrapers and
tropical trees of Manila, then added, "The country needed to experience
a little suffering, Jose, " Mikaso said. "There will always be those
who think that armed struggle and revolution will accomplish more than
democracy. I think the people had a taste of what happens when democracy
is not allowed to work. If democracy fails, the will of whoever has the
biggest or the best guns prevails. That means death and destruction on
a massive scale." Mikaso's smile did not dim one bit as he continued.
"You were once a proponent of such a struggle not too long ago,
General-in fact, I believe the Chinese would have gladly followed you if
you decided to lead the nation in revolt. Could it be that the fearsome
jungle fighter Jose Trujillo Samar believes in democracy after all?"
Samar shrugged, his features still hard-looking and dark despite his
hairless face. "Times change, politics change, politics change... but I
do not."
"We shall see, " Mikaso said. "We... shall... see." He turned to
face the two American and the Chinese military officers. "So. Should we
now expel all foreign military forces from our country, Jose?" "Part of
the problem in this country was that we excluded some but invited
others, " Samar said. "Our country is still too poor to hope we can
survive by isolating ourselves from all contact with the outside
world-perhaps we should try opening our ports to all foreign military
vessels. If the Americans have use of port facilities for their
military fleets, why not the Chinese, or the Vietnamese, or the
Russians? Is one society more or less corrupting than another?"
"Interesting idea, " Mikaso said. "Interesting . "I know, I know-you
did not expect it of me, " Samar said. "I am just a poor dumb soldier,
forced to dress like a politician."
"Is that how you see yourself?" "If I could control what others thought
of me, it would be different, " Samar said. There was a rather long and
comfortable pause between the two men; then: "What will you do with
Teguina? Will you push for the gallows?"
"Good question, Jose. What would you do?" Samar adopted a faraway
glance. "I've seen enough death in this country, ' he said. "Frankly, I
do not think that fool Teguina had a chance in hell of succeeding-he is
too greedy and self-serving to lead a country in revolution. . "Are
you?" Samar gave Mikaso an irritated glance. "You speak like some kind
of amateur psychiatrist, Mr. President, answering questions with
qliestions." He ignored Mikaso's question and concluded, "I don't think
such blind idiocy deserves the gallows. The prison at Puerto Princesa
would be an appropriate home for him for the rest of his life."
"Good answer, " Mikaso said. He took a deep breath, expelled it, and
said, "I have decided to advise the Parliament tomorrow morning that I
will step down as President and that you serve out the remainder of my
term. What do you think of that, Jose?" Without eyebrows, it was hard
to tell if Samar reacted at all to the announcement with anything that
might be considered surprise. With characteristic calm, he nodded at
Mikaso and said with just a hint of a smile, "I approve of your
decision, Mr. President." THE WHITE HOUSE ROSE GARDEN WEDNESDAY, 2
NOVEMBER 1994, 1007 HOURS ET "Attention to orders, " Colonel Michael
Krieg, General Richard "Rat Killer" Stone's aide, began. "Citation to
accompany the award of the Air Force Distinguished Flying Cross to
Patrick S. McLanahan." General Stone stood in front of Patrick
McLanahan in the Rose Garden of the White House. Just a few steps away
was the President of the United States, the Vice President, and just
about every other Cabinet member, important Congressmen, and a host of
other dignitaries. Aligned along the front steps of the White House were
twelve crew members-one B-52 crew from Fairchild AFB in Washington
state, one B- I crew from Dyess AFB in Texas, and Cobb and
McLanahan-selected to receive the prestigious DFC in a White House
ceremony. All members of the Air Battle Force had received Joint
Service Commendation Medals, and many had received Bronze Stars for
their roles in the Philippine conflict. "Lieutenant Colonel Patrick Sz
McLanahan distinguished himself by meritorious service as Mission
Commander, B-2A, from 1 October 1994 to 2 November 1994. During this
period, the outstanding professional skill, exceptional leadership, and
selfless efforts of Lieutenant Colonel McLanahan aided significantly in
the successful battle against invading People's Republic of China forces
in the Republic of the Philippines." Anyone who knew about individual
citations, as Patrick did, would know that the unit designation had been
purposely omitted from his award citation-even though this award was
unclassified (he had received the Air Force Cross, the highest Air Force
award except for the Medal of Honor, after the Old Dog mission, but was
prohibited from wearing the ribbon), the citation still had to be
doctored to keep secret the fact that Patrick worked at a secret
flight-test facility. "Lieutenant Colonel McLanahan flew in two combat
sorties during the Philippine campaign: the first, while unarmed and
carrying only reconnaissance equipment, Lieutenant Colonel McLanahan
flew his B-2 bomber over heavily defended airspace close to enemy
warships to gather intelligence data vital to the successful execution
of the campaign. The second mission, flown only twenty-four hours later,
Lieutenant Colonel McLanahan destroyed several enemy warships and a key
airdefense radar site in enemy-held territory, was hit by enemy fire
several times, yet helped
his aircraft commander to bring their crippled
aircraft back and landed safely. The distinctive accomplishments of
Lieutenant Colonel McLanahan reflect great credit upon himself and the
United States Air Force." General Stone pinned the medal onto Patrick's
uniform, stepped back, and saluted; Patrick returned the salute, then
shook hands. "Thank you, sir, " Patrick said. "I think it's time for you
to get out of Dreamland, Patrick, " Stone said. "There's ajob at SAC
headquarters waiting for you. Just say the word."
"I appreciate that, " Patrick replied, "but as long as General Elliott
is at HAWC, that's where I want to be." Stone smiled knowingly and gave
a short laugh. "Yep, he does have that effect on people. Good luck,
Patrick." A short reception was held in the West Wing afterward, and it
was then that Patrick noticed that Jon Masters had disappeared. After
inquiring with one of Paul Cesare's secretaries, he was escorted by a
Secret Service agent downstairs to the White House Situation Room, where
he found Jon Masters and Brad Elliott watching a newly installed PACER
SKY satellite terminal from the Situation Room conference table. Patrick
was not surprised to see that the screen was focused on the south
Philippines near Zamboanga. "What's going on?" he asked. "Something
happening out there...?"
"No, it's going along pretty smoothly, " Elliott replied. "Looks like
PACAF air patrols are flying out of Zamboanga already. We've got the
Wisconsin battle group in the Sulu Sea, too."
"It was pretty hairy out there, " Patrick admitted. "I'm glad the thing
defused so quickly. But why are you guys down here?"
"Jon wanted to take a look . "At your satellite terminal?"
"No, " Masters said. "At the Philippines; at the planes." He paused
for a few moments, then added: "You know something, Patrick: I'll never
look at this stuff the same way again." "What do you mean?"
"Well, I always used to see icons... pictures... nothing but
computer-processed data on those screens, " Jon said. "I worried more
about the quality of the image, how long it's been since the data was
