Satan’s Tail

Satan’s Tail
Dale Brown

DeFelice DeFelice

The seventh in the series of high-tech thrillers centred on Dreamland – a top-secret USAF weapons research centre – from the acclaimed author of FLIGHT OF THE OLD DOG and PLAN OF ATTACKDreamland is a cutting-edge weapons research facility in the Nevada desert – home to some of the world's finest pilots and an elite combat unit that operates directly at the command of the US President.When a small flotilla of high speed boats begins harassing civilian vessels in the Gulf of Aden below the Red Sea, a special group of experimental warships is tasked to investigate and stop the pirates. The operation is lead by Captain Harold 'Storm Gale, but the danger is considerably greater than they first envisioned and lives are lost.Enter Dreamland, with Colonel Tecumseh 'Dog' Bastian at the helm.Storm is not happy by Dreamland's interference and in the midst of the one-up-man-ship one of Dog's team is killed by the pirates. Suddenly Dreamland are faced with a powerful enemy, an enemy who intends to cause maximum destruction and maximum pain.

DALE BROWN’S DREAMLAND

Satan’s Tail

WRITTEN BY DALE BROWN AND JIM DEFELICE

Contents

Cover (#u1b4ee57e-64ae-53a9-b1d8-4f3a73579025)

Title Page (#u3c2c330d-6c55-5c00-98b9-64a5cee44b08)

Prelude: Lost Comrades (#ulink_21f2f6c6-5d8a-5029-a519-19ba06860ab6)

I Gimp Boy (#ulink_8ed2b6aa-3c4c-5317-9b58-ea32d3acd3d8)

II Xray Pop (#ulink_9eeb20a4-5808-52b9-af6d-ef0fe444c46f)

III Territorial Waters (#litres_trial_promo)

IV My Way or No Way (#litres_trial_promo)

V Invaders (#litres_trial_promo)

VI Paradise (#litres_trial_promo)

VII Friends and Enemies (#litres_trial_promo)

VIII Bloodthirst (#litres_trial_promo)

IX The Glory of God (#litres_trial_promo)

X Conspiracy Theories (#litres_trial_promo)

About the Author (#litres_trial_promo)

Also by the Author (#litres_trial_promo)

Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)

About the Publisher (#litres_trial_promo)

DREAMLAND

DUTY ROSTER

LIEUTENANT COLONEL TECUMESH ‘DOG’ BASTIAN

The master of Dreamland, his ‘bark’ and ‘bite’ have won him many powerful Pentagon friends … and enemies.

CAPTAIN BREANNA BASTIAN STOCKARD

A woman in a man’s Top Gun world, she will stay on the attack and keep her cool when the fighting spins out of control.

CAPTAIN HAROLD ‘STORM’ GALE, USN

Commander of Xray Pop, a cutting-edge naval squadron, his ‘shoot first’ attitude puts him on a dangerous collision course with Washington and Dog Bastian.

CAPTAIN DANNY FREAH

War hero and potential future political star, Dreamland needs his bravery and his brilliance more than ever before.

JED BARCLAY

Barely old enough to shave – a science ‘whizz kid’ and deputy to the National Security Advisor – he is Dreamland’s link to the President and will be called upon to take the ultimate risk in the midst of crisis.

MAJOR MACK ‘THE KNIFE’ SMITH

An ace with more MiG kills than any flier since Vietnam, he was taken out of the game by a terrorist in Brunei … but nothing will keep him out of the fight.

Prelude: (#ulink_e358bd38-22a1-5817-bb65-f1dbea270690)

Lost Comrades (#ulink_e358bd38-22a1-5817-bb65-f1dbea270690)

Dreamland 2 November 1997 0610 (all times local)

The shock of light from the rising sun stopped Jennifer Gleason as she rounded the mountain. She raised her arm to ward off the glare, standing at the edge of the trail as her companion, Lt Colonel Tecumseh ‘Dog’ Bastian, continued to the pile of rocks. Dreamland – the United States Air Force High Technology Aerospace Weapons Center – stretched out before them on the floor of an ancient lake, its desert surface glowing as the pink fingers of the sun brushed back the shadows of the night. It was an awe-inspiring moment, the sort of thing that made you appreciate the enormity of creation and man’s small place in God’s scheme. Jennifer shuddered, humbled by the view.

The past few months had been a struggle for her, personally and professionally; they had shaken everyone at Dreamland. But standing here as the new day dawned, the scientist felt her hope and faith in the future renewed. She had come through a difficult storm, and if she was not the same person she had been before her troubles began, she was wiser and stronger in many ways.

She glanced upward, watching Dog scramble the last twenty feet to the monument they’d come to visit. It was a simple, polished stone, etched with the names of those who had died while serving at Dreamland. All were friends of hers.

Dog reached into his pocket for a small stone he’d taken from in front of his hut before they started their hike – a token, he said, of remembrance, not a fancy or formal thing, just a sign to the dead that he remembered their sacrifice. Important to him, which was what mattered.

Not a fancy or formal thing: That was Dog.

Jennifer watched as he placed the small stone in the pile at the base of the monument. His eyes had welled up, and she saw something she thought no one else in the world was privileged to see: a single tear slipping down his cheek.

Jennifer turned back to look at the base in case he glanced around and caught her staring. After a while he came over and put his arm around her waist.

‘Beautiful view,’ he said softly.

Jennifer went to the monument and paid her own respects, tracing each name with her finger. As they started down, they talked about breakfast and how hungry they were, but soon fell silent again. The long spells of quiet walking, both of them scrambling in the same direction, apart and yet together, were her favorite part of the trips they took.