In Memoriam Once again, this novel is dedicated to my son, Hunter Dale Brown. My fondest memories of him are when I gave him his firstbath in my kitchen sink when he was about a week old, with his mom looking on in terror; his high school graduation partyon the shores of Lake Tahoe; his Eagle Scout court of honor; and collaborating on my novel Strike Force when he was just nine years old, tossing ideas back and forth as I drove him home from school. Like his old man, Hunter was quiet, a little shy, and fiercely loyal to those who got to know him. He was a hard worker, thego-to IT guy, a great teacher, and the best son Diane and I could have ever wished for. Life is nothing but the soul’s never-ending journey through time and space, and I’m happy that Hunter’s came into our lives.We love and miss you, big guy. Enjoy the rest of your journey. Epigraph We had discovered an accursed country. We had found the Home of the Blizzard. —Sir Douglas Mawson, polar explorer I will find a way out or make one. —Attributed to Robert Peary, Arctic explorer Contents Cover Title Page In Memoriam Epigraph Cast of Characters Prologue One Two Three Four Five Six Seven Eight Nine Ten Eleven Twelve Thirteen Fourteen Fifteen Sixteen Seventeen Eighteen Nineteen Twenty Twenty-One Twenty-Two Twenty-Three Twenty-Four Twenty-Five Twenty-Six Twenty-Seven Twenty-Eight Twenty-Nine Thirty Thirty-One Thirty-Two Thirty-Three Thirty-Four Thirty-Five Thirty-Six Thirty-Seven Thirty-Eight Thirty-Nine Epilogue Acknowledgments Weapons and Acronyms About the Author Also by Dale Brown Copyright About the Publisher Cast of Characters Americans captain nicholas “nick” flynn, U.S. Air Force intelligence officer, assigned undercover to Wizard One-One, an HH-60W “Jolly Green II” combat search-and-rescue helicopter captain scott “fx” dykstra, U.S. Air Force, command pilot, Wizard One-One technical sergeant carl “zee” zalewski, U.S. Air Force, pararescue jumper assigned to Wizard One-One captain kate “ghost” kasper, U.S. Air Force, copilot, Wizard One-One staff sergeant bill wade, U.S. Air Force, flight engineer and gunner, Wizard One-One technical sergeant mike camarillo, U.S. Air Force, pararescue jumper assigned to Wizard One-One “anderson white,” head of an OGA “Other Government Agency” (CIA) black ops team sergeant first class andy takirak, Alaska Army National Guard, senior noncommissioned officer assigned to Captain Nick Flynn’s Joint Force security team pete johansson, civilian maintenance supervisor, Barter Island Long Range Radar Site, Kaktovik, Alaska smitty walz, civilian electronics technician, Barter Island Long Range Radar Site marta mcintyre, civilian cook and “gofer,” Barter Island Long Range Radar Site senior airman mark “m-squared” mitchell, U.S. Air Force, communications specialist assigned to Flynn’s Joint Force security team private first class cole hynes, U.S. Army, assigned to Joint Force security team trig jensen, hermit trapper working the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska miranda reynolds, head of the CIA’s Directorate of Operations jonas murphy, U.S. Director of National Intelligence bill taylor, U.S. Secretary of Defense rear admiral kristin chao, U.S. Navy, head of the Pentagon’s operations directorate general frank neary, U.S. Air Force, Chief of Staff staff sergeant peggy baker, 176th Air Defense Squadron, Alaska Air National Guard, radar specialist, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska lieutenant colonel carmen reyes, 176th Air Defense Squadron, Alaska Air National Guard, operations center supervisor, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson specialist rafael sanchez, U.S. Army, Carl Gustaf 84mm recoilless rifle gunner attached to Flynn’s Joint Force security team private wade vucovich, U.S. Army, assigned to Joint Force security team major jack “ripper” ingalls, 211th Rescue Squadron, Alaska Air National Guard, HC-130J Super Hercules pilot captain laura “skater” van horn, 211th Rescue Squadron, Alaska Air National Guard, HC-130J copilot general keith makowski, U.S. Air Force, commander, North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) captain amanda jaffe, U.S. Air Force, Information Integration Officer, RC-135V Rivet Joint ELINT (Electronic Intelligence) aircraft technical sergeant philip kijac, cryptologic language analyst, RC-135V Rivet Joint aircraft colonel leonard huber, U.S. Air Force, commander, Third Wing, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson captain connor “doc” mcfadden, U.S. Air Force, F-22 Raptor fighter pilot lieutenant allison “cat” parilla, U.S. Air Force, F-22 Raptor fighter pilot major king, 176th Wing, Alaska Air National Guard, liaison officer to Third Wing lieutenant general david rosenthal, U.S. Air Force, commander, Alaskan Command (ALCOM), Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson private first class torvald pedersen, U.S. Army, designated rifle marksman for Flynn’s Joint Force security team airman peter kim, U.S. Air Force, assigned to Joint Force security team staff sergeant tim wahl, Alaska Air National Guard, HC-130J Super Hercules loadmaster private noah boyd, U.S. Army, assigned to Joint Force security team private mike sims, U.S. Army, assigned to Joint Force security team private floyd leffert, U.S. Army, assigned to Joint Force security team private gene santarelli, U.S. Army, assigned to Joint Force security team Russians colonel alexei petrov, Russian Air Force test pilot in charge of the PAK-DA prototype stealth bomber flight test program mikhail ivanin, CEO of the Tupolev aerospace and defense company georgy remizov, Tupolev corporate test pilot dmitri grishin, oligarch and CEO of Severnaya Zvezda Stolitsa (North Star Capital), one of Russia’s largest industrial and financial conglomerates dr. viktor obolensky, neurologist employed at the Bekhterev Private Clinic in Moscow major oleg bunin, Russian Air Force test copilot for the PAK-DA stealth bomber flight test program pavel voronin, confidential assistant and troubleshooter for Grishin sergei bondarovich, ex-Spetsnaz major now working for Voronin piotr zhdanov, president of the Russian Federation major general vasily mavrichev, Russian Air Force, commander of the Long-Range Aviation Force lieutenant general yvgeny rogozin, commander, Russian Air Force major valentin yakunin, Su-30 fighter pilot captain ivan saltikov, Su-30 fighter weapons officer konstantin yumashev, head of the Federal Security Service, the FSB gennadiy kokorin, Minister of Defense admiral nikolai golitsyn, commander, Russian Navy sergei veselovsky, head of the Foreign Intelligence Service, the SVR aleksandr ivashin, head of the General Staff’s military intelligence agency, the GRU major vadim kuryokhin, Russian Air Force, Su-35S fighter pilot captain ilya troitsky, Russian Air Force, Su-35S fighter pilot colonel iosif zinchuk, Russian Air Force, commander, Tu-142 maritime reconnaissance aircraft captain sukachov, Russian Air Force, Tu-142 defense systems operator lieutenant gorsheniov, Russian Air Force, Tu-142 second navigator captain yuri bashalachev, Russian Air Force, Tu-142 bombardier-navigator captain arkady timonov, Russian Spetsnaz special forces, commander, reconnaissance-attack team outside Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson lieutenant leonid brykin, Russian Spetsnaz special forces team outside Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson captain first rank mikhail nakhimov, Russian Navy, commander, SSBN BS-64 Podmoskovye senior lieutenant anatoly yalinsky, Russian Navy, diving officer, SSBN BS-64 Podmoskovye major gennady korenev, Russian Spetsnaz special forces, commander, Raven assault force captain primakov, Russian Spetsnaz special forces, second-in-command, Raven assault force colonel general anatoly gruzdev, commander, Russian Strategic Rocket Forces Canadian peter gowan, Royal
