"Pick the checklist up at 'taxi,' Charley," Torine ordered.

"Yes, sir."

The 727 was moving. Charley wondered if you were supposed to move before you started the taxi portion of the checklist.

"One, flaps and runway," he read.

"Flaps, check," Colonel Torine responded. "Runway? That one." He pointed out the window.

Castillo saw a wind cone indicating that Torine was headed in the right direction to make a right turn onto the runway into the prevailing wind.

He also saw the Tomas Guardia International Airport fire department fighting, without any apparent success, the fire on the blazing fuel truck.

And he saw a Little Bird, six Gray Fox operators hanging on to it, fly right on the deck over the runway threshold and then drop out of sight. He looked around and saw no others.

"Two," he read from the checklist, "Takeoff data."

"In a manner of speaking," Torine said, "I already did the max takeoff gross weight figuring on this"-he motioned to his pocket computer and Charley remembered him furiously tapping its keys with his stylus in the hangar at Pope Air Force Base, figuring how far the stolen aircraft could fly-"so all we have to do is line it up with the runway and go." Yes, sir.

The 727 reached the threshold. His hand on the throttles and his feet never touching the brakes, Torine lined the 727 up with the centerline of the runway with a steady roll.

"Call out our airspeed, please," Torine said as he moved the throttles forward.

"Seventy," Castillo called when the airspeed indicator came to life.

"Eighty, ninety, one hundred, one twenty, one thir:"

"Rotating," Torine said.

The 727 put its nose into the air. A moment later, the rumbling of the landing gear on the runway died.

"Gear up," Torine ordered.

Charley found the switch and worked it.

"Gear up and locked," he reported.

"Okay," Torine said. "While I try to recall what all these switches and other stuff are for, why don't you see if you can turn on the Radio Direction Finder and whatever other navigation equipment you find? I'm going to head for the Atlantic."

[TWO]

Aboard Costa Rican Air Transport 407

11.374 degrees North Latitude

81.699 degrees West Longitude

Above the Atlantic Ocean

1505 10 June 2005

"Ah," Torine said. "I wondered how long that would take."

He pointed out his side window.

A USAF F-15 was on their wingtip. A moment later, a second appeared directly ahead and two hundred feet over them. And then a third F-15 appeared on their right wingtip.

"What do you want to bet there's one on our tail, too?" Torine asked.

The pilot of the F-15 on their left held up a hand-lettered sign. It read: "119.9."

"Tune the radio, please," Torine said.

Charley tuned one radio transceiver to 119.9 megahertz.

The voice of the fighter pilot came immediately into their headsets: "Costa Rican Air Transport Four-Oh-Seven, this is United States Air Force Six-Two-Two. Do you speak English?"

"Reasonably well," Torine replied after switching to transmit.

"You are directed to immediately commence a 180-degree two-minute turn and begin a descent to flight level ten. Do you understand?"

"Before I do that, son," Colonel Torine said, "what I want you to do is get on your Abort Mission frequency and relay the following to Central Command: Attention, General McFadden. I am in command of Costa Rican Air Transport Four-Oh-Seven. Regards. Jake.' "

"I repeat," the F-15 pilot said, "you are directed to immediately comm-"

"I'm not going to tell you again, son," Torine interrupted. "Get on the horn to CentCom now. Change the signature block to: 'Jake Torine, Colonel, USAF.' You read me?"

The F-15 pilot didn't respond for nearly two minutes. Then he said: "Sir, what is your wife's maiden name?"

"McNulty," Torine said. "Mary Margaret McNulty."

"Hold one, sir "Sir, CentCom directs that I accompany you to your destination. What is that, sir?"

Switching to intercom, Torine looked at Castillo. "We never thought that far, did we, Charley? Where do you think we should go?"

"MacDill," Castillo said.

"You're anxious to face the wrath of General Naylor? I was going to suggest we go to Gitmo and give McNab and McFadden a chance to tell Naylor what heroes we are before we go home."

"What would we do with four bodies at Gitmo?" Castillo replied. "I'm open to any suggestion, but it looks like MacDill is the answer."

"What are you going to do with the bodies at MacDill?"

"You don't want to know, Colonel. What I would like is a 160th Black Hawk, with two muscular crew chiefs, to meet us there with a couple of stretchers."

"Air Force Six-Two-Two," Torine said after switching back to transmit. "Our destination is MacDill, repeat, MacDill. Advise MacDill that we will require a Special Forces Black Hawk and a stretcher-bearing team immediately on arrival. Acknowledge, please."

[THREE]

The Oval Office

The White House

Pennsylvania Avenue NW

Washington, D.C.

June 2005

"Mr. President," Secretary of Defense Frederick K. Beiderman said, "there's some good news from General McFadden at CentCom."

"That's good, for a change."

"It's fragmentary, sir, but:"

" 'Fragmentary' means you have only a part of it, right? Why does that worry me, Fred?"

"Sir, F-15s intercepted the missing 727 over the Atlantic:"

"Oh, shit, McNab couldn't neutralize it? That's:"

"Sir, Colonel Torine, who went to Mexico with Castillo?"

The president nodded.

"Sir, he's flying it. That's confirmed. The F-15s are escorting it to MacDill, in Tampa."

"I know where MacDill is," the president said. "Do we know-really know-that Colonel Whatsisname is flying it?"

"Yes, sir. That's been confirmed. They should be in MacDill in about two hours."

"Keep me posted," the president said and then changed his mind and picked up a telephone.

"In exactly fifteen minutes, get me General Naylor at CentCom," he ordered, hung up, and turned to Beiderman. "Maybe in fifteen minutes there will be more than fragmentary information. Have you told Natalie or Matt?"

"That's next, sir. Them and the DCI."

"Why don't we let Matt Hall tell the DCI?" the president said. "Tell Matt to tell him after I hear from Naylor." Yes, sir.

"Christ, I wonder how much of Costa Rica is left after McNab pulled this off? That's probably why we only have 'fragmentary' information."

"I asked General McFadden about that, sir. He doesn't know about collateral damage. He's not in contact with Colonel Torine or General McNab. General McNab's having communication problems again."

"I almost wish you'd have waited until you knew more," the president said. "But, of course, if you had, I would be all over you for not telling me earlier. Thanks, Fred."

"Sir, if we have the airplane, it's not going to crash into the Liberty Bell."

"I was just thinking the same thing. What about Major Castillo?"

"Nothing on him yet, sir."

"Yeah, I know. Our information is fragmentary. Tell Matt and Natalie, please, Fred, and then stay available."

"Yes, Mr. President."

[FOUR]

MacDill Air Force Base

Tampa, Florida

1710 10 June 2005

"Costa Rican Four-Oh-Seven, you are cleared for a straight-in approach to runway two-seven. The altimeter is two-nine-niner, the winds are negligible. Be advised there are a number of ground vehicles on either side of the runway. You are directed to stop on the runway at the end of your landing roll and to shut down your engines at that time. You will receive additional instructions at that time. Acknowledge."

"Fuck you," Colonel Torine said to a dead microphone and then pushed the TRANSMIT switch. "Oh-seven, I have the runway in sight."

He pushed the INTERCOM switch.