by TD Webb
“I don’t know, Reggie. How quite can you be?” she asked with an evil smirk on her face.
“You have room to talk, JC. You scream louder than I do,” she laughed.
Reggie closed and locked the cockpit door. “Let them think we’re doing something in here. I need a nap.” She curled up in the co-pilot’s seat and dozed off. JC put her headphones in and listened to music and watched the instruments as she let the plane fly itself.
Five hours later, Reggie stirred, got up and stretched. She unlocked the door and headed back to the washroom without saying a word. JC just laughed. She knew Reggie was probably still half-asleep, until she gets a coffee in her. She came back with two coffee’s handing one to JC.
“How are you feeling, are you awake yet?”
“I’m feeling just great. I don’t hurt at all from sleeping in that awful tiny seat but ask me in a couple of hours if I can still feel my ass,” she laughed.
“These damn seats are uncomfortable when you sit for long periods of time. That’s why we switch pilots every few hours on the transatlantic flights. Would you mind going back to the galley and getting me another cup of coffee please, and maybe something to eat? For some reason I’m starving”
“JC, you’re always hungry. If I didn’t know any better, I would think you were eating for two,” Reggie said as she got out of the cockpit fast. She went down the aisle to the galley area on the plane and made her and JC some sandwiches. She went back to the cockpit. When she sat down, JC got up and left to use the washroom.
Six hours later, JC was on the radio, talking to the control tower for their approach to Pearson International airport and to find out which runway they would be landing on.
Pearson International Airport came over the radio. “Flight 769, this is Pearson International Airport, you are cleared to land on runway 23.”
“Roger, Pearson, flight 769 cleared for runway 23,” JC radioed back. JC pulled back on the throttle bring the nose up for her approach, twenty minutes later she eased the plane onto the runway.
Reggie told everyone that they were coming in for a landing and top put their seat belts on. After landing, the unit had a bus waiting for everyone and their gear to be transported back to the base. Reggie and JC had their personal bags loaded into JC’s car, which was still at the airport. They headed home.
Doug and the Bill loaded their personal luggage into Doug’s car, after he told them there would be a meeting at 1400 hours tomorrow. This should give JC and Reggie time to go to the base hospital and to seen by their own doctors. Doug took them to Reggie’s place while Chris and the rest of the team took all their military equipment to the base. Once all the gear was unloaded at the base, Chris gave Linley a ride to Reggie’s place. When Reggie and JC arrived at her place, JC started the laundry and then they both went up to JC’s place to get her uniforms and other clothing she would need for her stay at Reggie’s place.
They had just walked downstairs, when Linley walked in. After getting coffee, they sat around the table discussing Linley staying in JC’s place and her trip back to Calgary the next day. JC called the airport flight control and filed a flight plan for the plane to leave at 1700 hours the next evening. She then called the crew, to give them a chance to get ready and informed them that they were at Master Warrant Office’s disposal for the return flight. They then took Linley upstairs to show her where she would be living while in Toronto. Linley loved JC’s condo. She got the keys and said she would see them tomorrow afternoon for the meeting. She was going to repack in the morning and right now she just wanted to call Sean, to see if she would return with her and to give her the flight information.
•••
JC and Reggie went to the hospital for their checkup. Reggie was given permission to go back to work but was going to be on light duties for the next three weeks, she would be starting therapy the following week and JC was off for the rest of the week and would then be allowed back to work, she would also be on light duties. Both women were required to do physiotherapy, since the both knew what needed to be done to strengthen their injuries. Reggie was happy after her wrist being X-rayed, that her cast could come off. It seemed she heals really fast. After the hospital, they went to lunch before the meeting. At 1400 hours the team met in the hanger and discussed everything that had happened in Iraq. Doug was late and when he walked in, the area went quite.
The Colonel stood up and told everyone to listen to Major Mackenzie.
“This morning I received a phone call from one of my contacts in Ottawa. They have been hearing chatter over in the Middle East about the team. Someone has put a contract on both Reggie and JC. Reggie’s was for breaking up the drug smuggling but it’s the one on JC that raises some issues. It seems someone in the United States has put a Million dollar bounty on JC to be brought in alive for shooting DEA agent Whyte and the other one too. The one in Iraq hasn’t been identified as of yet. The President and the Prime Minster have both of their security forces working to try and find out who did it. So the secret service and CSIS will be working together to investigate it. JC they want you to have security until this is over.”
“No, Sir, I refuse to have my life disrupted because I did my job.”
“Come on, JC. You just can’t go around as if nothing is going on. You have to have security.”
“No, Chief, I don’t. I carry my own weapons. I can protect myself.” As she finished, she got up, saluted and left the hanger, with Reggie hot on her heals. As JC was heading for her car, Reggie cleared the hanger doors and stopped.
“Sergeant Mackenzie, front and center now,” Chief Bellow commanded.
JC stopped, turned around and went to where the Chief was standing.
“Sergeant Mackenzie reporting as ordered, Chief Warrant Officer Stone.”
“What do you think you are doing, JC? You just can’t walk away as if nothing is going on. I want you to take the bodyguards?”
“Chief, are you ordering me to take the detail?”
“No, not at this moment I’m not but please don’t make me do that.”
JC looked at her, turned and went to her car. Getting in, she floored it leaving the base. She was mad as hell that they wanted her to have a bodyguard. She went back to Reggie’s place, packed a bag and left. She didn’t know where she was going but she needed time to think and since she was off for the next five days, she just drove. She ended up right down town, so she checked into a hotel in the center of the city and then went to the nearest liquor store for a bottle of Jack Daniels. Going back to her room, she turned the television on and proceeded to drink herself into a stupor.
After waiting for quite some time for JC to return, Reggie walked back into the hanger. Everyone wanted to know where JC was but all Reggie could tell them was she drove off. Doug told her to just give JC some time to cool down and she would come back when she thought it all through. It was just her way to figure it out on her own.
Linley walked over to Reggie. “Can you give me a ride to the airport?”
“Yes, Linley, what time do you need to leave?”
“I have takeoff scheduled for 1700 hours, so within the next hour.”
“Okay. I’ll be in my office. Come and find me when you are ready to go.”
“Reggie, are you okay?”
“Yes. No. Linley, I really think I fucked everything up with JC a short while ago. I kind of pulled rank on her and she flew out of the parking lot mad as hell.”
“Just do what Doug said, Reggie. Give her time. I’ll be back when I need to leave. I’m going to clean some of my gear to keep me busy.” She left the conference and went back to her assigned locker, where she ended up cleaning her weapons. She would need to take both hand guns with her. An hour later, she went to Reggie’s office, then they went to the airport. Reggie told her to call and let her know when she was coming back and she would pick her up. Linley told her to take it easy and rest. She would call her after she landed in Calgary.
•••
“God, baby, I missed you,” Sean said grabbing Linley pulling her in for a hug and giving her a kiss. Sean wasn’t one for doing the whole feelings thing in public.
They left the airport and went to Linley’s place. Linley called Reggie to let her know that she had arrived safe and sound, and asked if she had heard from JC. She reiterated to Reggie to just give JC some space.
Linley and Sean agreed that they would both go to Toronto and would leave at noon the following day. Linley called the pilot to make arrangements for the next day.
Chapter Fourteen
After Reggie dropped Linley off for her flight, she went to Mandy and Beth’s, to see if they had heard, or knew of JC’s whereabouts. They told her the same thing as everyone else, to just give her some space. JC never went back to the condo that night and Reggie slept very little. She ended up going into work the next morning early.
At 1000 hours the Colonel walked into Reggie’s office.
“Chief, we have a major problem. Linley’s co- pilot and a crew member were found dead at the Calgary airport an hour ago and the Mackenzie’s plane is missing.”
“Has Doug been notified? And someone tried to get a hold of Linley to see when she was supposed to fly out.”
“Reggie, she was scheduled to fly out early this morning, her and one other passenger and flight crew where on the flight manifest. We call and flight control said that the pilot took off on time.”
“Sir, Linley looks like me and Sean her girlfriend could pass for JC from a distance. Sir, do you think they were taken because of us?”
I don’t know, Reggie, but there doesn’t seem to be any reason for Linley to take the plane, and I called her supervisor. She cleared out of her section to come here.”
“Sir, someone needs to call JC and get her in here.”
Doug walked in. “I’ll call her, Chief.” He left Reggie’s office and went around the corner to call his daughter.
Late the next afternoon, JC woke up, hung over all as hell and her cell phone ringing. She knew she had to answer it. “Hello, Sergeant Mackenzie speaking.”
“JC, its Dad. You need to get to the base ASAP. It’s an emergency.”
“Dad, what’s going on?”
“Honey, we don’t know for sure, what’s going on, just get here as soon as possible please. We will brief everyone at the same time?”
“Okay, Dad, I’ll be there shortly. I need to shower and I’m downtown.”
“See you soon.”
JC ran to the bathroom jumped in the shower and was on her way to the base with her dash light flashing. She was back on the base within a half hour.
Most of the team were assembled, when JC walked in. Reggie ran over to her, pulled her into her arms and apologized. JC apologized too, they where both pig headed and stubborn and neither would admit they where wrong.
The Colonel and major informed the team on what had recently happened.
“What are we doing to find out whether Linley and Sean were kidnapped, or even if they were on the plane?”
“JC, they were on the plane and I’ve talked to Ottawa, and the Prime Minster called the President of the United States. They’re working on tracking the plane. Interpol is also involved.”
“Dad, I had a special tracker installed on the undercarriage of the plane last year, just in case the plane was stolen and the IFF is shut off.”
“JC, you are a genius. What’s the code so we can trace it?”
JC gave Doug the code. He ran to the Colonel’s office to call Ottawa. He talked to his friend and was informed that there was a plane for them at Pearson International Airport. It was at their disposal when they required it.
•••
Linley and Sean arrived at the airport an hour before their flight took-off. When they boarded the plane, Linley didn’t recognize the stewardess but didn’t think anything of it. They were told to take their seats and were given a drink. Neither had seen the pilot, since the door was closed to the cockpit.
When they awoke, Linley knew something was wrong. She checked her watch—they had been in the air for six hours. She went to draw her Glock but it was missing—both where gone. Just then, the cockpit door opened. A man walked over to them and sneering at Linley, he smacked in the face. Sean tried to protect her but she was grabbed from behind and slammed back into her seat. The man took a seat across from them.
“Now, listen up, ladies. I want Sergeant JC Mackenzie and Chief Warrant Officer Stone. I know you are related to her, since you both have the same last name. You!” He pointed to Sean. “I have no idea who you are and have no problem throwing you out of this plane, so tell me, where are they?”
“They’re both probably in Toronto,” Linley said.
“Where are you taking us and what’s this all about?” Sean asked.
“You will know when we get there.”
•••
Back at the unit, Reggie and JC were pacing through the hanger. Both women were frustrated.
The plane was being tracked
The man who hit Linley, went back to the cockpit. Linley watched and saw a woman in the pilot’s seat. She looked like the stewardess. “That’s three,” she said. She looked at Sean, who reached over and took her hand. She then leaned over and whispered in her ear, “No matter what happens with this situation, we’re in this together and we’ll figure a way out together.”
Linley nodded her head that she understood. She looked down. Sean lifted her pant leg, she had a 38 in an ankle holster. Linley looked at the man behind her, she knew she would have to think of something to distract him. She didn’t know if Sean could shoot, so she asked her. Sean told her she used to be a police officer. Linley looked at Sean, moved her eyes to the guy behind her and tapped her chest, referring to herself that she would take him and then moved her eyes to the cockpit and mouthed fire.
Linley shot straight up from her seat, when the guy behind Sean stood to push her down. She elbowed him in the face, he fell back and Linley went over the seat on top of him, punching him first in the throat, then in the face, while Sean stood up, after retrieving her gun and pointed at the cockpit. She fired once, hitting the female pilot in the shoulder, causing her to impact with the control panel, knocking her out. The guy sitting next to her, started screaming. Sean fired again, as he peaked around the corner of the door. The bullet grazed his head, sending him unconscious. The plane started nose diving, as both women made their way to the cockpit. Neither of them thought that they would be flying manually. Neither of them knew how to fly a plane.
“Sean, help me pull this bitch out of the seat, we need to level the plane out.”
After Linley and Sean dumped the woman in the aisle, Linley took over the pilot’s seat. She tried to pull the plane out of its nose dive, not quiet getting it level but it was better than hitting the ground right now. They had no idea where they were and from the fuel gage, they were running low.
Back at the unit, Doug received a call from Ottawa. He was told that the control tower had tracked the plane as far as Sarnia Ontario, before they lost it but since they have been able to track it again, it was heading for the Rocky Mountains. But they lost the plane five minutes ago, giving them the impression that it had cashed.
“Guys, listen up. Colonel, I need you on the horn, laying in a flight plan to Calgary. The rest of you, it looks like whoever took Linley and her girlfriend, left the IFF running till they hit close to Sarnia and then shut it off, making it look like the plane has crashed. Now, because of JC, they started tracking again but lost the plane over the Rocky Mountains between Calgary and Kamloops British Columbia. Guys, I’m sorry, they crashed. There’s some kind of freak storm going on in the mountains, so load your gear and let’s get to the airport. We’re going to Calgary with half the team and the other ha
lf will start from Kamloops. Hopefully by the time we hit Calgary we’ll have a better idea where they went down. Oh, take your rifles. There’s been a bunch of news reports for grizzly bear and mountain lion attacks.”
The team loaded their gear and themselves into a deuce and a half out in front of the hanger. Both the Colonel and Major climbed in the back with the team.
Meanwhile, a half hour before the crash, Linley was trying to keep the plane level and steady in the storm that had materialized in front of them. “Sean, can you strap those guys in? I don’t think we have a choice, we’re going to be crash landing real soon.”
When Sean was done, she took over the co-pilot’s seat and tried to help Linley. She kept praising Linley for the good job she was doing, then she remembered they would be needing gear if they were going down, so she told Linley she was going to check out the plane and bring anything she could find up to the cockpit.
Twenty minutes later, after a few trips, she finally sat back to her seat. “I found your weapons and I got a duffle bag of food, plus I found a tent, a few sleeping bags back where the survival gear was kept in the cargo hole, I grabbed our sneakers and some sweat shirts I bought with me, and I found an emergency medical kit, so I bought that forward too.”
“You did really good, baby, now buckle up. I can’t keep the plane in the air for much longer.”
The engine died, which was good, because the plane couldn’t catch fire with no fuel left. They only had to worry about what they might impact with on the ground. Both women strapped themselves in with the shoulder straps. Linley had been looking for an open area, for a safer landing but found none. As the plane descended, Linley caught sight of an opening in the trees and aimed the plane there. Five minutes later, the plane had finally come to a stop in the trees. Both wings and the tail section were gone. The windshield had shattered.
