Tomorrow War Read Free Page B

country’s rabid celebrity-driven press to look into security matters that no one in the military or the OSS wanted them to see. It would also revive the biggest question of all: Where did Hawk Hunter come from in the first place?
    And that was a secret no one who knew the truth ever wanted to reveal—Y included.
    So Hawk and the B-2000 crew had to be found—and found quickly. Dead or alive, it really didn’t matter. The affair just needed closure, and it needed it now. Then it would be up to Y to write the last chapter in the history of the country’s sixty years of war. Like the huge bombers being put into mothballs, maybe for forever, this story finally had to have an end.
    However, with Y tied up in Washington, it had been left up to Zoltan to gather together the resources they would need for the mission to proceed. There were a few times when Y had wondered if he would come to regret his decision to include the psychic in his search plans. Like it had once been said about someone else, Zoltan certainly worked in mysterious ways.
    Y’s first assignment for Zoltan was to find a team to use in searching for the missing B-2000 bomber and its crew. Zoltan had just about the entire U.S. military to choose from, and Y had really thought the psychic’s ability would locate a team of tough, combat-hardened, special-forces types who would be just right for the job. Now, one week later, Y was, to say the least, skeptical about the group Zoltan had chosen.
    They were standing nearby on the flight line, bags packed, ready to go. And indeed Zoltan had rustled up some special forces. But instead of arranging for an attachment from some famous Army teams such as the 882nd Airborne or the Air Corps Blue Berets, he’d somehow uncovered a fairly obscure unit of Sea Marines reservists called Unit 167.
    There were twenty-six of them in all, and they were essentially shock troops. The odd thing was their specialty was not exactly combat search and rescue, rather it was taking over enemy ships on the high seas, and if need be, sailing them to friendlier ports. Why Zoltan felt the need to bring them, Y wasn’t sure, and with time running out, there was nothing he could do about it anyhow. Like it or not, Unit 167 would have to do.
    Standing in line with them now was another person Zoltan felt should go on the mission: Colonel Crabb himself. Crabb was not a military officer, his “colonel” rank was one of pure invention. And while Crabb was an outstanding guy and certainly had a perceptive and level head on his shoulders, Y wasn’t really sure that the search mission would be something he’d find to his liking. After all, Crabb was in his late forties, and looked more at home with a drink in his hand and a blonde on his knee than a Fritz-style battle helmet and a double-barreled assault rifle. But when Y asked Zoltan why he’d selected Crabb to join them, the psychic had simply replied: “Two reasons: he’s a friend of Hawk’s, and my vibes tell me we’ll need a morale officer.”
    Y chose not to argue the point.
    Now they were all waiting for their air transport, and that would prove to be the oddest aspect of all.
    When Y was first ordered to organize the search party, he was torn between going to Asia by air or sea. Flying would be quicker, of course, but there was always the pain of trying to find a place to land and refuel, especially in what might be a hostile environment. A surface ship would be slower, but their mobility options would definitely be increased.
    When Y told this to Zoltan, the psychic did his fingers-to-the-temple routine and shouted, “Ah ha!” He then said he had just the dude they needed.
    They were all waiting for this “dude” now.
    He was late.
    Y finally walked over to Zoltan. The sun was climbing higher, the air was blistering, and everyone was dressed in heavy jungle fatigues. It was getting very uncomfortable. And they were already one hour behind schedule.
    “OK, swami,” Y said to him.