Mike looked toward the hangar and noticed the rest of our crew, as they stood, shoulder to shoulder and pointed upward. He tapped me on the arm and turned me in their direction and yelled, “If they’re gonna watch then so are we!”
I yelled back, “If the colonel comes back and sees us slacking off, it’s on your head!”
Mike grinned like a little kid as two Falcons zoomed overhead, and performed a similar maneuver to the one we’d seen earlier, only this time we had a better view. The bellies of each plane faced the other, briefly, again within feet of each other and then they broke away, roaring off in opposite directions.
Mike put his phone in front of me and showed me the text he’d received from Greg—with the Thunderbirds practicing, it was impossible to have a conversation. Our theory had been proven out by Tim; he had discovered a well hidden camera on Adelaide’s property. It was under the eaves of the barn and was aimed in such a way as to capture the comings and goings of anyone, vehicles included. Tim had reported most of the memory card had been wiped clean. He said only one image remained—it was of me driving Adelaide to what turned out to be not only a fake doc, but one of Jelly’s cohorts.
I looked at Mike in disbelief. Why would they leave one photo? No wonder I had a sinking feeling.
My eyes widened in horror. “Mike, they’re already here!”
Mike cupped his ears.
I screamed, again, “They’re here, Mike! Now!” I took off in a mad dash, back to my car with Mike close behind me.
Chapter 43
I yanked my keys out of my pocket and ran as fast as I could in the remaining yards to my car.
Mike came alongside me, nearly out of breath and asked, “Is this your crazy gut talking to you?”
“Mike, it all adds up. Think about it, the show doesn’t begin until the day after tomorrow and we’re all here. Jelly’s been tracking our every move, literally our every move and she’s gotten access to this base through Teddie Drango, our Russian friend who was leaking info from Nellis. It’s how she and her buddies got their credentials to be here, only we don’t know what names they’re under.”
Mike put his hand up and said, “Stop, Laura, we know all of this, you don’t need to go down the list. Man, you’re wound tighter than a drum. Lemme catch my breath for a second, will ya. It still doesn’t explain why you think they’re here right now. It makes a lot more sense for them to wait for the cover of a huge spectator crowd to pull off their heist.”
I gripped my phone and stared in disbelief at the text from Annie. “Okay, I just got this from Annie and it says a young Asian corporal did her best to persuade both her and Adelaide to come with her. The corporal said you and I had been in a terrible accident while practicing on the base shooting range and we’re being tended to in the base hospital. Annie was smart enough to not allow her inside. She kept her out and spoke to her through the window and said she’d text me and decide what to do afterwards. She said the MP who was with them was called away on an emergency right before the Asian corporal arrived. I’ve already texted her back and said it was more than likely Jelly and to notify the MP’s immediately.
“What do you say now, O’Malley?” I crossed my arms and stared at him.
“I say, oh dammit we had better talk to Greg and the others, ASAP and get over there right away.”
Greg and Reggie read the text exchanges and called Colonel O’Brien straight away who sent over a couple of MP’s to Annie and Adelaide’s quarters immediately. They packed them up and moved them to another barracks and placed a guard inside so as to not draw attention to their new location.
Greg looked at me and said, “Laura, the colonel will do everything humanly possible to protect them and so will we. You’ve my word. You’re going to be staying with them too, and you’re armed so it’s an added layer of protection.”
Crosby put his arm on my shoulder and said, “I might just stay on the roof across from you; it could be a lovely sniper’s nest. Besides, I need to practice for Friday.”
I sighed and said, “I don’t know if I’ll be able to sleep, but I’m going to have too.”
Reggie narrowed his eyes and said, “Laura, we need you rested, so sleep easy and know we’ve got your back. We’ll take shifts guarding you three so no harm will come your way.”
As I glanced around, all six guys nodded their agreement and crossed their hearts. An eerie calm descended over me as we made our way back to the barracks with Greg’s vehicle in the lead. My intuition had been on the money regarding Jelly’s being on base and as a result, Annie had listened to my warnings regarding not permitting anyone in their quarters. Annie hardly ever paid attention to anything anyone said—she must have sensed danger too.
Mike and I waited outside the colonel’s office while the others went inside for directions to our new quarters. While we bided our time, an MP guarded us.
“Aren’t we drawing attention to ourselves, Mike?”
“I would think so, but I’m not going to argue. Let’s hope we’re not here for long, ‘cause I don’t like having a target painted on me,” Mike responded.
Mike had no sooner finished speaking when everyone walked down the stairs and Greg motioned for us to follow him. Gladly, I thought. I wanted to get away from the neon arrow pointing at our location. I was convinced several sets of eyes were watching our every move and they weren’t the MP’s.
We kept our headlights off and drove for a couple of miles, which with a full moon wasn’t a problem. We finally pulled off to the right, in front of several low buildings with curtained windows and low lights.
“I just got a text from Greg and it says we’re supposed to go into the building right there, right in front of us,” I said.
“I’m starting to take it personally he texts you and not me. I know how to read,” Mike said.
“Maybe he thinks I follow directions better— ask him.” I smiled. “Oh, and bring all our gear in, guns and ammo included.” I smiled, again.
Before I locked the car, I took a good look around, and not seeing anything in particular, I followed Mike inside.
Mike said, “Checking your surroundings is always a good idea.”
We walked in and found an extremely distressed Adelaide who walked over and in a demanding voice said, “Excuse my language, but what the hell is going on, and why did we have to move to the farthest side of the base?” She pursed her lips while she waited for an answer.
“I’ll defer to Greg,” I replied as I set my things down.
“It was for your safety, Adelaide, and Annie’s as well. You both were in immediate danger and had to be rapidly moved,” Greg answered.
“I’m sorry for the inconvenience, Adelaide,” I said.
Adelaide looked nervously between us and said, “It was the Jelly person, wasn’t it? The one who’s after the B2, the friend of the rotten doc who tried to kill me; it’s all making sense now. Oh dear, I need to sit down.”
Grady spoke up and said, “I think all of us need a good dinner and compliments of the colonel, it’s being brought in to us. Yes, Mike, we’re being fed! So no worries we don’t have to go anywhere and scavenge for food. There will be no long walks to the dining hall, or as it’s fondly referred to, ‘the mess hall.’ It’s the reason for the long table and chairs, in case you were wondering. I took the liberty of ordering: fish, chicken and steak. I figured it would cover everyone’s taste buds, along with a variety of vegetables and salad and dessert. We’ve got cable TV, so you can watch what you’d like. The men are not sleeping here, we’re next door. As Greg said before, we’ll be taking turns with guard duty.”
There was a knock on the door, followed by a voice saying they had dinner.
Greg and Reggie went to check, regardless and once they were convinced they were a friendly, they were permitted entry.
Within an hour of downing our dinner, everyone, including Adelaide relaxed a bit more. Once the dinner trays had been cleared away, Adelaide agreed it was lovely to not have to d
o the dishes. The guys, including Kai departed to begin guard duty so it was just us girls settling in on our bunks.
Adelaide flipped through the TV channels for several minutes and cheered when she found Casablanca. The three of us managed to stay awake until the end. When the lights were turned off, I thought I’d be able to sleep with no difficulty, but each and every sound awakened me. I tossed and turned all night long and finally fell sound asleep as the sun came up— in time to rise for breakfast.
Mike clanged on the door and cheerily announced, “Rise and shine, I have: coffee, orange juice, scrambled eggs and toast. C’mon Ladies, come and get it while it’s still hot!”
“Oh, service with a smile, a girl could get used to this.” Annie pulled on a sweatshirt and shorts, jumped up and ran to the door to let Mike in. She stopped for a moment while Adelaide put her robe on and I threw on a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt.
Mike came in and set everything on the table and said, “Jensen, you look like hell, the colonel will be so pleased. Do your best to not fall asleep during our drills today.”
“Thanks, Mike, love you too,” I said as I poured a cup of coffee and guzzled it without bothering to put milk in. I quickly made a second cup sans milk and gulped it too.
Greg yelled from outside the door, “Jensen, you’ve got ten minutes to get out here, so make good use of them.”
I ran into the bathroom and took a two minute shower, dressed in a pair of jeans and the same sweatshirt I’d been wearing. I wolfed down some eggs between two slices of toast and filled up my driving mug with coffee and a bit of milk, pulled on my socks and boots, grabbed my gear bag and bolted out the door, taking the steps two at a time. I landed at Greg’s feet and asked, “How did I do?”
He leaned over and sniffed. “Yup, she took a shower and she’s got one minute left on the clock.”
Everyone clapped and Kai grinned ear to ear.
“Okay, let’s get this rodeo started and keep sharp since we know these bastards are out there,” Greg said.
We headed for the hangars to begin the days’ exercises and to be on alert since more people would be arriving in preparation for the show, and it was our job to assist in making sure all went smoothly. We were the additional eyes and ears as vendors came on base to set up their wares: T-shirts, patches, toy plane replicas, and the endless line of food trucks to feed the thousands of spectators who would enter the following morning. Most of the vendors either had campers they parked off base, or stayed in nearby hotels they booked well in advance. It was about to get incredibly busy for us and we had to stick to our specific zones and not get in the least distracted by either the Thunderbirds polishing their planes or practicing their maneuvers, or any other aerobatic teams. We were here for a reason and Jelly had shown her colors yesterday and she meant deadly business. If she found an opening, one of us could lose our life.
As Mike and I walked along, I said to him, “We weren’t told where Crosby’s perch is.”
“Nope, and there’s good reason for it. Want to take a guess?”
I thought for a minute, snapped my fingers and said, “I got it! If we knew, we might inadvertently look up and give his position away.”
Mike grinned as we continued to walk, while he surveyed one side and I kept watch on the other. So it went until Greg called us back in, letting us know we’d done a great job, under the circumstances of the hustle and bustle of people coming and going coupled with the jets flying overhead.
Greg called it a day and our weary group headed to our barracks, looking forward to showers, clean clothes and a relaxing dinner. I didn’t care if cartoons were on TV; I was so exhausted and looked forward to a good nights’ sleep. I had to be fully rested for whatever the next day brought us.
We quietly ate our meal and almost immediately dispersed afterward. Even Adelaide and Annie were tired from their day of walking around the portion of the base the colonel had permitted them to see. They had been allowed to view the Thunderbirds’ practice from a safe distance and some of the pilots had come over and introduced themselves to Adelaide. They were excited to meet her when they discovered that her husband, Henry’s grandfather had grown up with Jack Northrop. Adelaide had brought along some old photos of Henry’s grandad and Jack to the delight of the young pilots. She indeed had had an exciting day and tomorrow she would see the Spirit of Jack in person. Adelaide couldn’t wait to turn out the lights to begin dreaming about it.
Chapter 44
Friday morning rolled around in the blink of an eye. We were greeted the same as the prior morning, with Mike’s cheery salutation—and the promise of a hot breakfast. This time, we weren’t rushed. Everyone entered our domain and, and we were granted ample time to enjoy a relaxed breakfast, compliments of the colonel.
“I bring you morning cheer and breakfast vittles,” Mike said as he entered and bowed.
“You’re weird, O’Malley, vittles are road kill in the south and we’re nowhere near there,” Annie said, holding her nose. She got up from her seat to help Mike with the covered trays of food and carafes of coffee. I joined in to help with the food line that had begun from outside to our table.
“You’re weird, Tyler. I bring good vittles and you’re complaining?” Mike said with a groan.
“Glad to see this is starting off like any other day,” Reggie said as he skipped the line and brought in a stack of trays and set them down in the middle of the table and began sorting them.
“Hey Reggie, I have a couple of questions regarding the flying formations and the names of them,” I asked.
“Sure, Laura, go. Describe them and I’ll tell you what they are even though you were supposed to be paying attention to your zone,” Reggie grinned.
I spread my hands out and said, “Those gorgeous F 16’s flying overhead distracted me—I couldn’t help it!”
Reggie beamed as the rest of the crew took their seats and listened in and waited for me to question away.
“Okay, the first one I noticed was when one of the pilots flew inverted over the other and their vertical stabilizers nearly touched. In case you’re wondering, I cheated and Googled the plane part.” I dropped my head down in mock shame.
Reggie grinned and said, “At least you admit it, Laura. It’s a classic maneuver, and is known as the: Calypso. The pilot who’s inverted goes by: TB, or: Thunderbird Number Five. The pilot flying underneath is: TB Number Six and they are flying only feet apart. It is amazing what they are capable of. They’re the best of the best since they’ve flown missions in Afghanistan too. What else do you want to know? Oh, before I go on, Laura, TB Five has the number five painted upside down on both sides of his plane and it’s also sewn upside down on his flight suit because he spends so much time flying upside down.” Reggie laughed and motioned for me to continue.
“I love it! When they fly past each other and then the bellies of their planes seem to nearly touch and they zoom off in opposite directions, what’s that maneuver?” I inquired.
“Ah, you were paying close attention. It’s the cross over break, Laura.” Reggie scanned the room and asked, “Are the rest of you getting this?”
Everyone nodded and kept eating.
“All right, Reggie, last one; TB Five is inverted underneath TB Six,” I asked.
“That one’s the reflection and, no I don’t know which one is my favorite. I love watching them fly, Laura,” Reggie answered.
“Thanks, Reggie, you were a big help,” I said as I finished my plate.
Greg stood up and announced, “That was informative, Reggie, thank you. It’s good someone around here knows what the Thunderbirds do, but it’s not what we’re here for. I wish it were—we’ve a job to do and the Stealth is due to land within the hour. It means we have to be at our stations prior to her landing. The show will be open to the public an hour afterward and we will be swarmed with people, so be sharp people. If you need to take a bathroom break, advise me of it and I will find someone to temporarily take your place. I expect you
to take care of business expeditiously and return to your post promptly. Food and water will be brought to you, so don’t go looking for it—am I clear?”
We nodded.
Greg looked at Annie and said evenly, “I expect great things from you today so do not disappoint me. I’m assigning a plain clothes undercover guard to you both since Jelly attempted to abduct you and Adelaide the other night. Even so, be watchful of your surroundings and remain in the hangar. There is a porta potty in there and food and water will be brought to you as well—whatever you wish to eat so no worries.”
Annie replied, “I won’t let you down, Greg. I’ve got my notebook and plenty of things to do and Adelaide and I will be able to watch the show, so we’ll be fine.”
Greg said, “Excellent, it’s what I wanted to hear. All right, gentlemen, let’s get out of here and give the ladies time to get dressed. Ladies, you’ve twenty minutes. Thank you.”
The men left and we three ran through the shower, dressed and made our way down the stairs with Adelaide in the rear within our allotted time.
Greg leaned against his vehicle, stopwatch in hand, and clicked it off as Adelaide’s feet left the bottom step. “I’m in shock, twenty minutes on the nose. Someone please notify Guinness Book of Records, I’m sure this is an official entry.”
Adelaide tapped Greg’s calf with her cane and said, “I don’t want to injure you, this is an important day.” She grinned as she got into the car.
We reached the hangars well before the B2 was due to arrive, according to Greg’s schedule, giving all of us sufficient time to reach our assigned areas. We nodded to one another before we headed off. I wordlessly trailed Mike, and silently offered up a prayer without turning back as we approached our mark.
Mike looked at me and said, “You look good, Laura—you can’t tell you’re fully armed. Good job.”
Case of the Mouse Trap Legend Page 24
