“Don’t salute me!” I called over his shoulder.
The Chief appeared again and brought me a headset. She motioned for me to put it on and showed me how and where to jack in to hear the pilots. I did so and heard Phillips call over, “Dan, Halo 1 has returned. He said the airport is filling with the infected. Said he took four strafing runs and thinned out the horde. He thought he saw two men jump off a roof, but isn’t sure. He can only go so slow before stalling, but the ground is still a blur and hard to keep an eye on two men. He has returned off our wing. Just wanted to let you know.”
“Thanks, Phillips. What’s our flight time?”
“ETA is set at three hours. Would be two, but our entourage needs a pit stop. A KC-10 will be rendezvousing with us in an hour. Our escorts are F-22 Raptors. They came up from near Bakersfield using drop tanks. Normally, they can go close to one thousand, eight hundred miles, but we figured we should refuel them soon. They will stay with us in Hillsboro and provide us with air cover ‘till their relief shows up.”
I thought for a minute, “Sounds great. Let me get to work on planning back here. I’ll keep you updated on my progress, but I might also have questions.”
“Roger that.”
I turned around and found myself face to face with Harry and Brian. “You guys have training on this kind of thing?”
Harry spoke first. “I did some work with our CIA brothers. They use some of the same equipment. I am positive I can keep the thing in the air. Midair refueling and landings I’m not so sure of.”
“Great, here is the manual and specifications. Sit at the station, and get it all fired up.” I turned to Brian, “You know about this stuff?”
“A little. Depends on which drone they gave us. I have flown and landed these things. I also have one midair refueling success.” He patted my shoulder softly.
“Alright, sit in with Harry and brush up on your skills. I need maps and to sit with Hase, Kuppers, Vic, and Doc.” I punched him in the arm and almost broke my hand. Goddamn, he is like Colossus from the X-men. You know, the Russian guy made of metal. I am a definite geek, I agree.
I found the Chief and asked her for maps of Hillsboro and our flight. She dug in her bag and handed me a tablet, “That thing has every map of the entire West Coast. Knock yourself out.”
I read her name tag. I was tired of calling her Chief. “Thank you, Ms. Stanhope.”
She gave me a sour look. “Let’s make this easy. Call me Diana, okay?”
“As long as you call me Space Cowboy,” I winked at her and she rolled her eyes and walked away. Either she didn’t get the Steve Miller Band reference or thought I was a dork. I can accept either.
I made my way over to the rear Humvee and set my notes and the tablet down on the hood. I stretched and cracked my back. When I turned, I was face to face with Julie. She stood there staring into my eyes. I reached out and gathered her into my arms, soaking up her energy and love. My mission changed from saving her to protecting her. She was the one at the end of the big picture. Everything I did from here on was to protect her. We shared many small kisses and loving words. When we parted and I opened my eyes, Hase, Kuppers, Vic, and Doc stood there surrounding us.
“Sorry to interrupt the love fest, but shouldn’t we be working on that guaranteed plan you promised?” Kuppers intoned dryly.
Julie turned and punched Kuppers in the shoulder. The man didn’t even wince. Instead, he smiled and apologized to her. She half hugged him and went back to play with Apache and Angel.
We got to work on the planning. Vic took over the maps and marked out the three best routes to Sharla’s house, discussing them with Doc. Kuppers, Hase, and I discussed our options for the two teams needed. Losing Howser and Helmut hurt. It left us short, we would have to get lucky if this was going to work.
Brian appeared behind me and asked me to follow him to the drone station. When we arrived, Harry was sitting behind the flight controls with a video open in front of us. “We took control thirty minutes ago. Everything seems to be in the green. Fuel is full. This thing is easy as hell to fly. Hold on, I’ll show you our position.” He pulled on the controls and the C-130 became clear on the screen.
I jacked the helmet into the connector. “Philips, I don’t know if these yahoos told you, but the drone is here and sitting behind and slightly above you.”
He came back quickly. “Oh, we know alright. Halo flight saw it coming miles away and informed us. I’ll have another headset brought down to them, so they can talk to us. Would be nice to know what they are going to do before they do it.”
“Roger that. Sorry.”
I chided the guys and watched as Diana came over and handed Harry a headset. She then chewed his ass off for his little stunt. He apologized like a little boy being reprimanded by his mom. She then turned her venom on Brian and chided him for letting the…(her words here)… “Special needs Ops idiot to stop fucking with my plane!”
I turned and walked away when Brian started stammering out an apology. I felt bad, but it was their fault. I made it halfway back to the Humvee when an idea out of the blue hit me hard. I stopped midstep. I quickly looked around for a point to connect my headset. I found one and jacked in.
“Hey, guys and gal. Sorry, Diana. I have some ideas and questions. First, how long ‘till we hit refueling?”
Phillips commented quickly, “About to be pretty soon.”
“If we refuel the drone now, can we send it ahead? I want to get a picture of the area, so we can plan accordingly.”
Harry cut in and answered, “We have almost a full tank, but wouldn’t hurt to top off. I’ll give it over to Brian to attempt it. We only have a three-hundred-mile range from wherever the C-130 is at any time, though.”
“Got that, Harry, thanks. So how far are we right now from Hillsboro?” I took out my notebook and started taking notes.
“Right now, we are about three hundred and fifty miles as the crow flies. With that said, though, I think an approach from the west over the ocean would be our best plan. Let’s wait another thirty minutes and send the drone out. I’ll make sure we stay within a safe distance, so we can stay connected.”
I wrote down the current time and marked when we would send the drone out. “Thanks, Phillip. Brian, have you taken the controls of the drone yet?”
“Yeah, Boss, I got it. Give me a sec to get used to it. Phillips, can you ask the KC-10 to slow down a little just over stall speed? Can we also patch them back to me?”
“Wait one.” I took that, as Philips was relaying the request and working on patching us into the radio. “Brian, I have call sign BigBird piloted by Captain Houston.
“Captain Houston, my name is Brian and I am in control of that little drone climbing up your ass. Feel like pumping me some of the good stuff? I also need the oil checked and windows cleaned, please.”
A sweet voice came back almost like a fairy’s would sound, I imagined. High pitched, but melodious. “Brian, do me a favor and don’t ride my ass too much, I barely know you. Next time, bring flowers and chocolate. I’ve decreased speed to just above my stall speed. If you are too close and not being nice, I am going to increase speed and call you off, ok?”
“Roger that. I’ll bring chocolates and a diamond ring next time.” Brian teased.
“Wow, moving a little fast, big guy?”
“With the world today, I don’t think so. Now hold your ass right there. I’m moving up.”
The sexual banter was getting thick. I think the poor Captain would be upset to learn Brian was actually gay. Then I realized, like an idiot late to the party, that Brian was nervous, and this is how he handled it.
“Pull my hair once you get close enough to let me know you’re there.”
I looked over and watched Brian concentrating on his video with sweat pouring down his face. I motioned to Harry to wipe it off for him. Harry gave me a thumbs up and reached over with a small hand towel and wiped Brian’s forehead. Brian looked a little more relieved and smiled his thanks.
“I’m in!”
“Can’t even tell you’re back there, Brian. Don’t tell me. You’re a Marine, right?”
“Ow, that’s closer to the point then I want to admit. And just like a Marine, I’m in and out without anyone the wiser. We just needed a top off. I’ll make sure to give you more of a challenge when I see you again, Captain.”
“Wow, you really are a Jarhead. I will hold you to that, Brian. Be safe, Mustang, and good luck. We have another KC that will be here waiting for your flight home, boys and girls. I am RTB.” Brian later explained to me that RTB meant return to base.
“I’ll look you up when I get back, Captain, and first and second rounds are on me,” Brian called out.
“Maybe breakfast, too, if you play your cards right.”
I watched the KC on the drone monitor bank to the right and climb away from us. The drone climbed and then slowed as the C-130 crawled underneath us. We took position off and behind the left wing. Brian spoke over the intercom, “I am off your left wing and trailing about six hundred yards. Let me know if you need to maneuver.”
“Roger, we are good. Twenty minutes ‘till you can leave us behind and start on your flight to Hillsboro.”
I disconnected from the jack and made my way back to the planning team. “We just finished topping off the tanks of the drone. In about twenty minutes, we are going to send it ahead to check on the city and our route from the airport to the objective.”
Kuppers looked in my direction with an ‘ah ha!’ moment written on his face. “Damnit. I finally figured out your angle. I think I’m about to get screwed on the bet.” He rubbed his face and shook his head in the way only a man who has discovered he is about to lose a prized possession. He sighed and stepped forward, “What can I do to help?”
Doc made a face behind Kuppers that five year olds around the world had perfected. He crossed his eyes and stuck out his tongue. Kuppers never turned, but hooded his eyes and growled, “I’ll make you pay for that, Doc.”
That melted the look off of Doc’s face as he realized that Kuppers had caught him. “Alright let’s get to work, let me lay out my plan. You can poke holes in it, but I want alternatives not whining.” That was something I said a lot back in my old life as a manager.
“The drone will pull ahead soon and head straight to Hillsboro. Once there, it will fly around the airport and the three routes Vic marked out on the map. I want to note down the location of big hordes, any roadblocks on the routes, and Sharla’s house. Have you guys decided on the teams?” I read off my notes.
Hase looked down at some hastily thrown together notes. “Alpha team will consist of Vic, Doc, Kuppers, Hunter, and myself. We will be the rescue team. Bravo team will consist of Apache, Senshi, and Heaven. They will be the backup team if we need support or take over our mission if we cannot continue. Charlie Team will consist of the rest of you. Your mission will be to man the drone and defend the plane.”
“Excellent, I want to add the two jets that are escorting us. One, of course, will fly air cover for us while we are on the ground. The other will be on station to help you if you get overrun or have to deal with Ridder. The drone will handle two missions. It will continuously fly your route and come back to the airport to check on our position. The jets fly too fast to see much on the ground. Hase, can you check with the pilots and see what ordinance they are armed with?” He nodded and jogged up toward the cockpit where Diana intercepted him. I turned to the team, “Oh, I forgot to tell you who our pilot is. Colonel Phillips, the co-pilot, is Helmut’s friend. This is the most important, though. Do not piss off the crew chief. Her name is Diana, and she will cut your balls off.”
Doc smiled and looked past me. I turned to see what he was smiling at. Diana was giving Hase shit and not letting him in the cockpit. Hase towered over her by almost a foot and a half and outweighed her by easily one hundred and fifty pounds. Yet she had him backing up with his hands raised in an apology. I laughed and looked over at Apache and pointed toward the cockpit. She looked over and amusement could be seen blossoming on her face. She gave me a thumbs up and made her way over to help Hase.
We continued planning, with Doc taking over the role as armorer. He decided the load outs and chose the .50 Cal equipped Humvee as the primary Alpha vehicle. Bravo would man the MK-19 Humvee and wait near the gates of the airport. Hase made it back to our little meeting and shook his head. “Damn, you weren’t kidding, Dan. Dianna almost chopped my balls off. Both jets are equipped with eight two hundred and fifty pound SDB, or Small Diameter Bombs and four AIMs, air-to-air missiles, for protection. Along with their cannons, one of the fighters has only one hundred rounds left in each cannon. The other still has its full load out of ammo consisting of nine hundred and sixty rounds, or four hundred and eighty in each cannon. Phillips wants to know why you wanted that info, by the way.”
I had a mischievious grin on my face. “I’ll tell him later. I have no idea whether we will even need them.” I stopped and thought for a second, then turned and ran toward the drone station, “Brian, is the drone armed?”
He hunched his shoulders and gave me the ‘wait a second’ finger. Harry and he started flipping through the manual and then the drone computer screens. Harry answered me, “Wow, they loaded up two Hellfire air-to-ground missiles and two GBU-38 Joint Direct Attack Munition, or JDAM for short. I guess they figured we would need them. By the way, Phillips just gave us release on sending the drone forward. We should be on station in fifteen minutes.”