2020: Emergency Exit (47 page)

We heard the helicopters and drones pass by dozens of times throughout the day. We even saw a pair of choppers travel over our canyon twice, but eventually they moved on, and after 3 p.m. we didn’t hear them again. The crevice we were wedged in had served its purpose well, but we were ready to move on. We knew there was one last major set of rapids before the waters would smooth out heading into Lake Powell. Blake’s rafting experience had kept us safe and dry thus far. We were confident he could guide us through this last rough patch as well. It was the danger beyond the water we were more leery of.

As darkness fell, we moved back to our boats. This was going to be tricky given the enemy troops could be anywhere. Our one advantage was Eddie’s tracker. He had hidden tracking chips into the backpacks of three of the general’s remaining men, and we had seen two of the dots pass on the river early that morning. Eddie told us it had a reliable twenty-mile radius. If we were within twenty miles of their packs, we’d know. The only problem was, if they had a base camp near here and left their packs there, we wouldn’t necessarily have a location on the troops themselves. Somehow we were going to have to pass through the middle of Lake Powell tonight without using lights or a THIRST system, aided only by the handheld tracker. Danny and Blake had covered the reflectors on our boats with black tape, and we gathered brush and roped it to the rafts, trying to appear as much like floating bushes as possible. We had to be quiet and essentially crawl along the shoreline of the canyon walls.

Lake Powell on the border of Arizona and Utah is the second largest man-made reservoir in the world, behind only Lake Mead. It is also home to the famous Rainbow Bridge rock formation. At the base of Lake Powell, where the Colorado River heads off into the Grand Canyon, there is a dam near the town of Page. We figured that would be the likely base point for the military, as we wouldn’t be able to pass there without coming out of the water. With the only road in the area passing through Page as well, our options were definitely in our enemy’s favor.

We never made it to Page though. As the Colorado River took us past a place called Labyrinth Bay, we entered a narrow canal. Our map showed the river ahead either snaked to the left or opened into a bay to our right. We had intended to enter the bay, as it was much wider and more defensible, until Tara pointed out there was a small river branch breaking southeast after the bend to the left. If we took that small river branch south, we could avoid the town of Page altogether. It would mean a lot of walking to find a road after we reached the end of the small river, but it could be our only escape.

We never made it there either. Coming up on the bend we saw a line of boats spread across the otherwise dark channel. Motorized boats. They were decked out with torches and spotlights and there was absolutely no way around or through them. We had given up our cover at this point, and there was no way to backtrack. The river was forcing us rapidly towards the blockade. We paddled as quickly and quietly as we could to the southern shore into a small cove no bigger than a three-car garage. We knew we could climb up the ravine from here and try to walk into Page to find other transportation. The town was less than ten miles away. But we also knew if we left the boats, we couldn’t come back to them. As we were trying to determine what to do, we heard the unmistakable whir of an approaching helicopter. We pulled the rafts up on the shore, concealed them, and hugged the canyon walls around us.

The helicopter never flew over though. Instead, it landed on a plateau above us somewhere. Eddie and Danny were crouching next to each other, and I saw Eddie tapping his screen. Danny crawled over to me. He explained there was a dot on Eddie’s screen, and it was less than a half-mile from us. It hadn’t been there before, so whoever it was must have landed in the helicopter. There were sixteen of us. We’d never be able to climb the ravine now and walk to Page, not with the helicopter there. We were going to have to wait and hope it moved on soon.

And then we lost that option too. The boats started moving towards us. Eddie snapped his fingers and waved Danny over. Danny went back to him. A minute later he was back. “Dad,” Danny said. “Eddie, Lazzo, and I are going to climb the ravine and see what we can see. When those boats get close enough to where you know they won’t miss us, bring everyone up the ravine. That should be six to eight minutes.”

I checked my watch quickly.
10:08
.

“Let everyone know they’re going to have to run,” he continued. “Leave everything behind except the backpacks.” Danny looked at Blake then. “You’re going to have to cover the back end. Send Sam up first. Isaac needs to carry Abbey. Dad can carry Emily. Blake, you do
not
let anyone get shot.” Blake nodded, and Danny was off.

Danny, Eddie, and Lazzo scrambled up the steep ravine. As they reached the top, they dropped to the ground and peered through their rifle scopes. The helicopter sat about three hundred yards ahead of them. There was a tent set up about a hundred yards beyond it, and there were anywhere from ten to twenty men moving around, but Eddie didn’t see any of the officers. Instead, he was focused on a dog and the man holding his leash. General Roja was here.

EIGHTY-ONE: “Dog Gone”

The general had posted lookouts along the Colorado River leading to Page. Somehow the Americans had managed to get past almost two dozen of them undetected, but one of his men above the canyon walls near Labyrinth Bay had spotted two rafts pass beneath him. He had called it in, and the general had flown over immediately. He had the backpack of his officer in the back of the helicopter and was counting on it being detected when he landed. But he thought the Americans would be smarter than this. He thought they’d try to cross to the other side and hide on the island across from them. No matter. He was happy to take them however he got them. And if Eddie was indeed with them, he couldn’t wait to see the look on his face. Yes, he wanted to be right here when they caught them. This was the end of their run.

From the top of the bluff he watched as the heavily armed lighted boats closed in on where the rafts had last been spotted. He didn’t know what to expect. But he definitely wasn’t expecting the Americans to come to him.

--------------------

As Danny, Eddie, and Lazzo came out of the ravine and up onto the plateau they garnered the attention of the general’s dog. He started barking as Danny and Lazzo started firing. The man holding the radio was the first one Danny took down. The guy who reached for it was next. Lazzo took out three men by the general. The general released his dog, and Eddie shot the dog before it had taken five steps. As the general pulled out his own gun, Eddie shot him in the arm. Danny took out three more soldiers running at them with guns blazing. The helicopter propellers started spinning, but Danny reached the helicopter door, threw it open, and put a gun to the pilot’s head. The pilot shut the chopper down and Danny led him, alive, to the general. The helicopter, now in their possession, gave them a great escape option, but only with a living pilot. Another man suddenly bolted from behind the tent, and Lazzo put him down immediately.

Eddie, meanwhile, had gone directly up to the general and put a gun to his head. As the rest of us scrambled out of the ravine, Danny directed us to the helicopter. He ordered Blake and Sam to stand guard while he gathered Eddie and Lazzo. Danny ran towards Eddie and the general. “Eddie, wait. Don’t,” Danny yelled.

“Listen to your American friend, you cowardly traitor,” the general sneered.

“Why the hell should I?” Eddie demanded.

“Let me show you why,” General Roja replied.

“You have two minutes!” Eddie yelled. “Talk.”

“I only need one,” the general replied. “But I need radio.” Gun pressed to the general’s head, Eddie shoved him towards the tent with the radio. The general picked up the radio and looked to Eddie to make sure he could talk. Eddie rolled his gun as if to suggest he hurry up. “Turn on the lights,” the general ordered.

Below them on the river a boat suddenly lit up. It was several hundred yards away, but it wasn’t hard to tell the boat contained several soldiers and a prisoner. Then the general turned back to Eddie. “Because I have your wife.”

The stunning admission left Eddie speechless and reeling. He stared at the general. Then, suddenly, Eddie picked the general up off the ground by the throat. As the general struggled against Eddie’s anger-driven strength, Lazzo finally spoke up. “You lie.”

The general gasped out, “No.” He pointed at the boat as it approached.

“Eddie,” Danny urged. “We have to go.”

Eddie dropped the general and he yelled into the radio, “Put her on.”

A static voice replied confirming the general’s words. It was Eddie’s wife. Eddie stood there unmoving as tears formed in his eyes. Lazzo spoke to him. “Eddie. They’re stalling. Look at the soldiers. They’re coming.”

Eddie glared at the general. “What do you want?”

“You let me go. I let her go,” the general wheezed.

“No way, Eddie. He’s lying,” Danny reasoned. “You know it.”

Eddie nodded. “And my family?”

“They’re all alive,” the general said with a smile, convinced he was getting through to the giant man.

“And if I go?” he asked.

“They all die,” the general replied.

“If I stay?” Eddie eyed the general. The general shrugged.

Soldiers were taking the boats to the shore. Soon they’d be scrambling up the hill. They’d be here in a matter of minutes.

“Eddie,” Danny urged. “Come on. They’re going to kill you no matter what.”

Eddie turned and looked at Danny. “I know. But I can’t leave her. You go.”

“One problem with that,” the general said.

“What?” Eddie replied.

In an instant, the general raised his arm and fired a bullet from a small handgun in his sleeve through the head of the helicopter pilot standing next to us.

“No!” Danny screamed, as the pilot slumped to the ground—dead.

Eddie grabbed the general again. He looked at the soldiers climbing out of the boats below, hurrying towards them. “Lazzo,” Eddie shouted. “Get everyone in the helicopter. I’ll be right there.”

Danny could tell Lazzo didn’t believe his brother, but as Danny pulled on his arm Lazzo turned with him and ran. I watched Eddie and the general’s heated conversation from a distance. The general appeared to hand something to Eddie and Eddie looked down at it for a minute. Then Eddie looked back up, shoved the general and took a swing at him, knocking him down. The general didn’t get back up—didn’t move at all—and Eddie turned towards us. Eddie ran around to the pilot’s window and leaned in towards his brother. I couldn’t make out what they were saying but clearly Lazzo didn’t like it. I heard him say “no” twice. Eddie handed something to Lazzo and then stepped away from the helicopter, lobbing a grenade towards the radio tent. It erupted into flames seconds later and Eddie began walking towards the troops coming up the hill.

Danny grabbed Eddie’s arm as he started to walk away. Eddie held out his hand. “I’m sorry,” he yelled above the din of the motoring blades.

“Me too, my friend,” Danny replied. “Good luck.” Eddie spun back towards the troops and Danny jumped into the helicopter. “Let’s go,” he shouted at Lazzo.

Lazzo’s extensive flight training took over. He flipped the switches and lifted the Blackhawk off the ground, motoring it towards Page. There were lights approaching through the air. More helicopters. Lazzo flew directly at them while taking one last glance at Eddie below. It seemed wrong to leave him like that, but Eddie’s wife was down there. Eddie couldn’t just walk away from her either. The last I saw of him he was on his knees in the middle of a circle of armed soldiers. As soon as the general was revived Eddie would likely be dead. His wife as well. I could only imagine what he must be feeling. Lazzo too, for that matter.

The two approaching helicopters were Apaches, far more armed and dangerous than their Blackhawk, but they weren’t expecting the helicopter to be hostile. As Lazzo flew the Blackhawk inside their defense range, he fired two missiles at each. The Apaches tried to avoid them, but it was far too late. They both exploded into flames, and Lazzo flew the Blackhawk directly between the balls of fire. Danny directed him to fly to Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas. It was north from the direction we’d been traveling but through largely remote desert space. From the helicopter we could hear nothing but radio silence for now, thanks to Eddie. That wouldn’t last long. While it was unlikely anyone would be radioing Denver directly from the lake, it wouldn’t take them long to get past Eddie and get to a radio in Page. The higher chain of command would be reached and updated quickly after that, and half an hour or so later they’d be mobilizing aircraft from all the southern bases. It was unlikely anyone would see a reason to contact Nellis, well north of Lake Powell. At least that’s what Danny was counting on.

He turned around and looked back at the rest of us. Tara and Kate smiled up at him. Blake and I both gave him a thumbs up. Sam was sitting a few feet from him, with his back to Danny. Danny tapped him on the shoulder and Sam turned to look at him. Danny held his hand up. “High five!”

Sam smiled. “Ha ha. Jackass.”

Man, it was good to see Danny smile!

EIGHTY-TWO: “In Flight”

Friday, May 28, 2021.

Nellis Air Force Base. Las Vegas, Nevada.

This time Danny was right. No one was expecting us to head north, at least not to Nellis Air Force Base. We landed at the base, not long after midnight, and caught the few guards who were there by surprise. They approached the helicopter, and Lazzo ducked out, in uniform, to talk to them. The rest of us stayed in the helicopter. A few silenced gunshots later, Lazzo opened the passenger doors and led us towards a dark hangar. We entered the hangar and found the midsized cargo plane, a C-130, right where the last living guard had told him it would be. He and Danny hid us on the plane and then left for about twenty minutes with some explosives. They came back and calmly boarded the plane, merely nodding to the rest of us. We didn’t ask any questions.