Fallout by James W. Huston

“I’m not sure, exactly. But the U.S. bought all twenty-one MiGs and all the missiles
and
spare parts for forty million. The base is empty. I figure we lease eight MiGs—maybe nine, one two-seat trainer—and the air base. It’s got to cost a lot less than buying all of them did.”
    “So how much money total you talking about raising?”
    “I don’t know,” Luke said, glancing at Katherine. “Maybe a hundred mil.”
    Thud almost choked. “Dollars?” He laughed out loud. “Are you out of your mind? Where you going to get that kind of money?”
    This was the part Luke hadn’t wanted to bring up. He knew what it would do to Thud to hear it. It could ruin everything, and would put Luke’s credibility and Thud’s friendship at risk. “Your father.”
    Thud stared at his friend as if he had just been betrayed for the first time in his life. “Oh, I get it,” Thud said bitterly. “You need me to pimp my father for dough.”
    “No, I don’t. It’s got nothing to do with it. I’m happy to go
anywhere
for money. If you know a couple of other billionaires that might be able to fund us, let me know. And if some of them are former fighter pilots from Vietnam, like your father, that would be even better.”
    “Ain’t happening, Stick. We’re not even on speaking terms.”
    Luke looked at Katherine, who wasn’t about to say anything. “Yeah, help me with that. Your father flew Thuds in Vietnam. One of the few black fighter pilots in the war. And he holds it against you that you’re a TOPGUN instructor?”
    “He didn’t want me to fly. He wanted me to go into business with him. His multizillion-dollar business. That’s why I was a business major. Then, when I told him I wanted to go into the Navy and fly, he did a total meltdown. I don’t think his Vietnam experience was all that positive. He always said, ‘Don’t trust the government! Ever!’ Like a mantra. ‘Don’t trust the government! Don’t trust the government!’ ”
    “So
I
can’t ask him?”
    “I didn’t say that. But
I’m
not asking him for anything.”
    Good enough for Luke. “So what do you think? You willing to get out to do this if we can pull it off ?”
    “I’ll have to think about it.” Thud looked at Michelle, who was giving him one of those spousal frowns that says, “You’d better talk to me before answering that question.” “I’ll have to think about it a lot. But it sure sounds like a kick.”
    “Your father isn’t our only idea,” Katherine said. “If he isn’t interested, I know some other investors in Silicon Valley. We can go to venture capitalists if we need to. This isn’t the usual sort of thing they like to invest in, but who knows? Maybe they’ll branch out a little.”
    Thud nodded. “I’ll think about it.”
    “I’ve got a cross-country scheduled to go to Ohio to check out the MiGs. Want to come?”
    “Ops O approved?”
    “He doesn’t know
why
I want to go to Wright-Patterson. It all looks normal to him.”
    “I thought you were grounded.”
    “That was until after the board. Now I can fly until I’m gone.”
    Thud thought about it. “Why the hell not?” he asked enthusiastically.
     
     
    Petkov lay in his bed in his uniform and lined boots and stared at the dark ceiling. He had been on base security for two weeks. The Colonel hadn’t changed his mind, and everyone on the base knew it. All the pilots knew he’d been assigned to security for the duration of his natural life, which, they also knew, without flying, wouldn’t be long.
    He looked at the clock on the table next to his bed. One more hour. He had the night duty again, midnight to eight in the morning. The worst watch of the worst assignment on the base. The only things that happened to an officer in charge of security were bad.
    Every morning he’d come back to his room after his watch and try to sleep, while his fellow pilots headed toward their MiGs to climb into the cold morning sky to their freedom. He couldn’t