Amphetamine induces a euphoric state which can affect mental concentration .sx " .sx " I know .sx My background is police work .sx We know about drug abuse .sx You just prescribed the thing for him ?sx Didn't you read his record ?sx He's receiving mission medication from Major Dyson at the hospital .sx All the pilots are .sx " .sx Rosen shook her head .sx " It's not on his record .sx He has no medical record at Mondrum .sx They're here on a temporary posting , aren't they ?sx Their main records won't have been transferred .sx " .sx " But - didn't you think to check the hospital ?sx " .sx " Of course I checked !sx " Rosen pushed herself upright again .sx She slapped the top of the computer monitor on her desk , " What do you think this thing is for ?sx We're on-line to personnel and to the hospital .sx There are no medical records transferred to Mondrum , and no medical records being kept on the pilots at Arlington Hospital !sx " .sx Eileen shook her head .sx " But Dyson can't prescribe mission medication without keeping a record .sx It's in the regulations !sx " .sx " Of course he'll be keeping a record !sx He'll have a record card .sx Do you think he'd go through the hassle of opening a computer file , cross-referencing it , instituting a full medical record repository address at personnel - just for people on a temporary posting ?sx He's a busy man !sx Can't you grasp that ?sx If he was doing mission medication for those people - people like Talley - he'd know he could trust them not to abuse the stuff .sx I mean , they're top pilots , aren't they ?sx You can trust them to exercise self-control .sx " .sx You could trust them .sx Eileen stared at Rosen , and Rosen stared back .sx You could trust them .sx Talley lied to Rosen in order to obtain drugs .sx But you could trust him .sx Eileen had watched Talley leave the briefing room in order to dispose the surplus tablets Dyson sent over .sx She'd watched him do it every single mission .sx Not once had she checked on how he disposed of them .sx Because you could trust him .sx A top-rated and highly motivated pilot like Major Clyde Lincoln Talley just didn't do that kind of thing .sx Slowly , Eileen dispelled the image of Talley leaving the briefing room , drugs in his hand - ready to disappear into his pocket , or his locker .sx So he kept it from her , from his fellow pilots and his CO , probably from his wife , certainly from medical officers Dyson and Rosen ?sx Someone sliding into drug abuse develops a repertoire of little tricks and stories and subterfuges .sx He even fools himself .sx Until a visible physical and behavioural decline sets in , an addict keeps his secret .sx " A record , " Eileen said .sx " Do you have a prescribing record ?sx " .sx " Yes .sx " Rosen picked up her keys and stooped to unlock one of the drawers in her desk .sx " I started a record card .sx I've given him two prescriptions so far - just over a week ago , and yesterday .sx " .sx " Yesterday ?sx " Eileen could see Talley in her driving mirror again .sx She gave him a ride from Special Team , let him out on Enoly Gay - and he crossed towards the medical centre .sx " Yesterday .sx He was here at midday surgery .sx " Rosen produced the record card and held it out towards Eileen .sx " See ?sx Two prescriptions for quinalbarbitone sodium and two for dexamphetamine sulphate .sx " .sx Eileen took the card .sx She could read Talley's name , she could just about recognise the descriptions of the drugs .sx Every doctor in the world writes with the same vaguely undulating line .sx " I'd better keep this .sx I don't see any way around confronting Talley .sx Before I do anything , though , I think I'd better talk with Dyson .sx Do you know if he's likely to be home ?sx " .sx " I doubt it .sx He and his wife are culture lovers .sx They go off base for the evening almost every weekend .sx I believe there's a Mahler symphony somewhere in Manchester tonight .sx Mahler's long , and Manchester's quite a way from here .sx They probably won't be back until the early hours .sx " .sx Eileen nodded .sx Culture freaks .sx Dyson had time for the finer things in life , but he sent tablets over for the pilots at Special Team without ever checking their state of health .sx Once again , because you knew you could trust people like Talley .sx She put the card in the breast pocket of her blouse and buttoned it closed .sx " Guess I'll wait until tomorrow .sx It's only fair to warn him first .sx At least there's no danger they'll be flying any more missions .sx " .sx " That's what Roy said this afternoon .sx He's sure the arrest means the operation is over .sx Is it rue , by the way , that they're looking for a Russian stealth aircraft ?sx " .sx " What ?sx " A sieve .sx Special Team was as watertight as the Titanic .sx " Did Sellert tell you that ?sx " .sx " No .sx It's the rumour going the rounds .sx " .sx " Is it ?sx " Well it wasn't her worry any more .sx Lutwidge had kicked her off the team , and thank God for that at last .sx " Talking of Sellert , didn't he tell you that Talley was a pilot ?sx " .sx " I never mentioned Talley to him .sx It's known as medical confidentiality .sx " .sx " Sure .sx Well , keep this confidential .sx Until I've talked with Dyson , that is .sx We don't know yet what kind of a mess Talley is in , nor if there's going to be a criminal charge .sx Unless there's a charge , we can't go branding him as a drug abuser .sx Think what that would do to his career .sx " .sx Rosen nodded .sx " Talking of - consequences .sx What about me ?sx And Major Dyson ?sx " .sx And me , Eileen thought .sx And me .sx Eileen went home .sx She fixed herself a TV dinner and tried to put her brain into neutral .sx It didn't work , the new mess with Talley kept frothing up into the focus of her attention .sx The only consolation was the way she'd be sharing the blame with a trio of people whose responsibilities put them way ahead of her in the queue for trouble - Rosen , Dyson , and above all Lutwidge .sx He'd hate her for this , too .sx At nine thirty she tried Dyson's home number .sx No answer .sx So she checked with the gate .sx Dyson and his wife had left at seven forty-five , Dyson in a tuxedo and his wife all dressed up with earrings and necklace .sx They left in a hurry , not only to judge from the way the car zoomed up to the barrier and then revved away into England , but because Dyson still had his name badge pinned to his tux .sx He must have been called back to the hospital for some kind of problem , and that would have made him late setting about .sx Most Saturdays the Dysons left earlier in the evening .sx .sx So Eileen sat around , isolated in the company of new knowledge she didn't want but couldn't yet share .sx It was the uncertainty of having to decide where to jump , and then having to wait to see if you'd landed safely - like the business with Bellman .sx She couldn't cope with the emotional upset of this kind of thing .sx Should have taken mom and dad's advice and gone into the housewife and mother profession in downtown Detroit .sx At ten thirty she called the gate .sx Dyson wasn't back , of course .sx Slowly she decided to do something just the same .sx If she went along to the officers' club , she was sure to get into conversation with someone for a while .sx With a little luck she might even run into one of the people from Special Team who were still speaking to her - Thorndike , maybe - and get a chance to ask some more about Talley .sx She wondered about changing out of her field security dress and maybe putting on civilian clothes , but then decided what the hell , and pulled on her boots instead .sx All kinds of uniforms turned up at the club .sx She went out to her car at a quarter of eleven .sx It was chilly , with drizzle .sx The wipers calmly swept the way clear for her as she cruised towards the center of the base .sx She went down Sabre , along a piece of Nagasaki , and turned into the north end of Enola Gay .sx The new thing with Talley wasn't like Bellman .sx She got to Bellman when she realised he lied , and she found that out because the entire business lay outside her own field of expertise .sx Unlike the flying specialists , she hadn't known where it wasn't supposed to be necessary to ask questions and check answers .sx Sometimes a little ignorance - and no fixation on ghostly stealth aircraft - goes a long way .sx Bellman had in fact been out of position behind Romulus .sx Well then , the simplest hypothesis was that Romulus had seen Bellman .sx Bellman fired a missile at something , Romulus disappeared , and Pinkett had seen a fireball ahead of where the radar showed Bellman to be .sx Again , the simplest hypothesis was that Bellman hit Romulus .sx With Talley it was entirely different , because her military policework past told her exactly what to look for , but her awareness of e lite status fooled her into paying no attention .sx .. What was Talley shooting at ?sx .sx The Sierra rolled to a halt all by itself .sx She'd taken her foot off the gas .sx She reacted in time to avoid stalling the motor .sx She sat there in the middle of Mondrum's main street , well south of Yokohama and right in the heart of the deserted shopping zone .sx Bellman did the sabotage .sx No doubt of that - the Kirtland evidence had nailed him in a box .sx It made sense that he spooked Romulus by sneaking up on the aircraft's tail .sx And he fired a missile at something - conceivably a real Red Wraith , if a Russian stealth had in fact been there .sx He couldn't hide it , because he came back with one missile missing and had reported firing at a target minutes after Romulus went down .sx Same with Talley , except in Talley's case it was shells .sx Talley shot at something .sx The radar plot had cleared to show Pinkett rolling out at the top of his turn , and Talley veering sharply away after what that chalk board diagram indicated as a gun attack .sx No evidence of a kill , or any kind of a hit .sx But it was right then that Pinkett was looking down towards Talley's position - and saw a flash as something exploded .sx Talley must have seen it , too .sx Why didn't he report it ?sx If Pinkett saw Romulus go , then Talley was shooting at a target right at that instant .sx What target ?sx If a Red Wraith - or Bellman - shot down Romulus , what did Pinkett see explode at the same instant Talley was firing shells at something ?sx If he saw a Red Wraith explode as Talley hit it , why didn't Talley report the kill ?sx .sx Headlights flared in her mirrors .sx A car surged past and blew its horn .sx In the illumination of streetlights and shop fronts , she could see the driver wave a fist at her as the car entered the first curve of the dog's leg .sx The vehicle left shadow-gleam tire tracks on the wet road surface , a fading trail like the one that took Bellman through the snow on his way to Special Team , like dying tracer pointing at something no longer there .sx .. Talley himself had said a dive by Romulus would be a plausible evasive manoeuvre :sx if that was the case , he couldn't say otherwise without arousing suspicion .sx Thorndike had said it was exactly what she would do , if a missile didn't get her first .sx Thorndike was an Aggressor squadron instructor , an air combat specialist .sx If Beamish had been good enough to put his aircraft into a dive , Romulus could have gotten exactly as far as where Talley ran into something .sx .. And then disintegrated in time not to appear on the radar plot .sx Eileen shifted the car into gear .sx She looked behind to check the street was clear , then she wrenched the Sierra around in a tight turn and headed back the way she'd come .sx It was late , just on ten of eleven .sx But it was time to talk with Talley .sx 33 .sx March 4th , 2250-2305 .sx This time the bait was a Badger , a Tupolev Tu-16 .sx It rode the night on long , swept-back wings .sx All of its lights were burning to make sure it looked friendly .sx It was a Badger-D , a maritime reconnaissance variant , with a bulbous radome under its nose .sx