by T I WADE
“Mike One and Mike Two, I guess. Shit, who cares!” laughed Preston. “Let’s help unload the aircraft and wait for our meeting. If I know my good buddy, Carlos, this is going to be a good one. I’ve never seen him so excited!” and he patted Carlos on the back. “I hear I owe you $500, you naughty boy!” Carlos grinned back but said nothing.
An hour later, Baby Huey came in directly from the north, turned in over the hangar, and came in to land from the south. Captain Jennifer Watkins had arrived five minutes earlier and the majority of the passengers from Captain Mallory’s convoy were getting ready to depart for Seymour Johnson.
This time, there was no honor guard as Baby Huey landed, but a lot more civilians were totally shocked to see the president. The general and Secret Service men exited the plane first and then the president. He shook as many hands as he could, especially the children’s hands. Little Beth gave him a kiss on the cheek and shyly introduced him to her new teenaged “big sister” and all her other friends from New York—especially the ones who also had a puppy like she did.
The president was then ushered into the hangar where Carlos and Lee had already set up a meeting room, and the hangar door was closed. All goodbyes and kisses and thanks had been shared with Mike Mallory, John, and Pam, who were staying behind while all the others from New York were about to be transferred to Seymour Johnson. The other remaining flight attendant was going along to look after the passengers. Jennifer started up and taxied out to the runway for take-off, as the growing team sat down for the next meeting. Martie was the last inside after hugging little Beth, who was also leaving for Seymour Johnson with her new sister, new friends and the retired teacher as her chaperones. It looked to Preston as if he had Martie to himself once again, and he smiled.
“She is going to make a good mother one day when this mess is over,” he thought to himself.
“Please we have little time. I must call this meeting to order,” started Carlos, still a little agitated. “Mr. President, General Allen, we believe that we have about 24 hours before New York is the victim of an invasion of sorts.” THAT got everybody’s attention and they all immediately sat down.
There was silence for 20 minutes as Carlos explained what he and Lee had achieved over the satellite link to China. He also showed an old television screen on a table with a real live picture of the United States, showing the massive winter storm heading northwest and currently over New York and New England. It looked like a Lego-made view of the earth, but he explained that they could now see only very large ships coming in from 300 miles out and the map stretched down to northern South America.
“I believe that within another 24 hours, Lee and I can patch ourselves into the three Chinese satellites and get their digital pictures bounced through our Navistar P. I don’t believe they ever thought to scramble their pictures, because who else would be watching if they terminated the electronics of all the other satellites? This is an important factor, General Allen. If we can see what they are seeing, then we can view China and Russia and see if they have their cities lit up. If they do, then they are the enemy. Whoever the real enemy is out there will light up the night sky. So please do not touch our stolen television truck in Salt Lake City, Utah. We are getting live feed from across the United States and will continue to do so. The pictures are just good enough to see any extremely large ships approaching within 300 miles of either coast, but not Hawaii or Alaska, I’m afraid.
“Pilots! Important! This picture is your only source of weather information, and once other television trucks are set up they can also view the same picture for weather patterns. Hill is already up, so is Edwards, and I believe Andrews will be online by late this evening. General, tell your men at the bases to find the same electronics we found at Hill and they will be able to see the same picture. An unlimited amount of people can view a satellite feed—it’s like satellite television was last year.
“Okay, back to the situation in New York. I have taken the liberty to warn all your bases through our radio link so they can prepare troops for battle. Jennifer—Captain Watkins—is dropping off the civilians at Seymour Johnson and picking up a company of readied troops—92 soldiers plus gear—and transporting them to Andrews. Captain Powers is currently heading to Andrews with another 92 fresh troops from Hill. I believe the Edwards-based C-130 is in the air with her and is loaded with two small bulldozers that can be lifted in by helicopter. They were put aboard by the commander at Hill to help clear the snow off the New York runways. I took the liberty, General Allen, to get things started since you were not in radio contact. I will now hand the operation over to you.”
“Thank you, Carlos,” replied the general. “I appreciate your quick thinking. I would have mobilized what I could if I were in the same position. So, Mr. President, pilots, thanks to Carlos and Mr. Wang, we have a little knowledge about our future. At this point we are transitioning into express mode. Everything has to be done yesterday. I now have six C-130s available to ferry troops into New York starting at midnight tonight, but the runways are blocked with snow. As Carlos explained, they must have men in or near New York who are going in to clear a runway for something big straight out of Shanghai. If that is the case, they must have bulldozers stashed away somewhere. We might as well let them clear the runway for us, but I want troops into JFK in the next couple of hours, before any incoming enemy army soldiers or Chinese termination squads get there.”
He walked over to the radio.
“Andrew, this is Pete. Do you copy? Over.”
“One moment, Pete, I’ll get him for you,” came the response. The base commander arrived a few seconds later.
“Hi, Pete.”
“How are those two whirly birds, Bud?” the general asked.
“Ready for service, Pete. We had two more units come in five minutes ago from our buddy Mr. Dover. That makes four. Ghost Rider will be taking off in an hour and she has Cousin Seymour’s address down yonder.”
“When you get her in the air, tell her to go and see Grandpa Pope (Fort Bragg) instead. He’s waiting to fill her up with men and she must return to Mr. McGuire’s (McGuire AFB) house.”
“Roger that,” the base commander replied.
“I want your four whirly-birds full of bad boys, a radio, and lots of firepower ASAP and sent up to Mr. McGuire’s. Get gassed up at old McGuire’s and then drop them into Juliet Foxtrot Kilo (JFK) by midnight. We are expecting visitors. Tell them to hide and monitor for any incoming. Let any visitors clear the footpaths and then watch for a few more buddies who will fly in and join them. They need to be up in the hunting lodge by the main airstrip before dawn to see the big boys arrive. The friends of the visitors are expected to fly in. ‘Allen Key’ is the code exchange for friendly conversation. Over.”
“Copy that, Pete. Confirm Juliet Foxtrot Kilo, our civilian neighbor to the north?”
“You got it, Buddy. We are expecting visitors sometime tomorrow, but they could arrive early. I recommend a silent entrance into Juliet Foxtrot Kilo from the water; you know the game. Out.” The general put down the microphone and thought out his next problem.
“The only aircraft I know of with a range to get here from China are the numerous civilian Boeing 747-400s long distance models, or the new Airbuses China has purchased in the last five or six years,” he continued, facing the people in the room. “I could not fly into McGuire Air Force Base in Trenton, New Jersey today. They were still struggling to clear the runway with two old snowplows, but I managed to get the base commander, General Billy Johnson, on the radio. Luckily, they had an idea to try everything in the storage depots.”
“They have zero operational aircraft since they were equipped with only the latest C-17s and Stratotankers, but they have a gazillion tons of fuel and he told me that C-130s could get in there by about 8:00 tonight. I’m going to use McGuire Air Force Base as my headquarters for this New York operation. Are there any questions up to this point?” There were none.
“Okay, next I am sea
rching for something we need. Captain Powers completed a tour of four bases today on my behalf—Yuma, Tucson, Phoenix, and Vandenberg in California—and found what I was searching for. I had forgotten where they were. Captain Powers is returning from Hill at this moment and two of our Vietnam-era, fully restored and operational Jolly Green Giants—Sikorsky S-61R helicopters—are an hour or two behind her and will be going in to Hill for refueling in about an hour. I will order them into McGuire once I’m up in the air, and they will have to refuel one more time before they get to the East Coast. Once they arrive, we can airlift the bulldozers into anywhere we want to clear the airstrips. They also have 30 soldiers on board—some of our specially trained Air Force antiterrorist troops from the West Coast. That now gives us seven helicopters in total.”
The General went over to the radio and called the commander at Andrews AFB. “How many companies of soldiers do you have ready for battle?” he asked.
“I can give you five companies; 500 men. They are ready to go at a moment’s notice, Pete. That will leave me two companies to defend the base,” was the reply.
“As soon as you have delivered my first order, start transferring your men up to old McGuire’s place with the choppers and then the bigger girls once they land. Your chopper pilots can report back to you as soon as it’s clear for runway use. I’m sending up everything we have down here to go to Mr. McGuire’s as well. I need 24/7 action. I will get back to you once we have worked out the next plan. Out.”
The general came back to the bar table podium and looked at several world maps he had brought with him. He then looked at Carlos’ television set and thought for a minute, while everybody, including the president, looked on.
“The Commander of McGuire, Billy Johnson, will take over command of the New York operation once I’m finished at this meeting. He has tons of military experience—worked with the Army and Marines as a liaison fighting officer for several years, and he will attack and sterilize any foreign troops arriving on our soil. We are going to base all our military aircraft at McGuire starting tomorrow. Right now, we need to thwart this incoming attack in Raleigh in 48 hours, right Carlos? Lee?” They both confirmed 48 hours.
“They seem to like another potential dawn attack at RDU this time,” Carlos commented.
“We need to get a few radios or communication stations on the incoming highways—I believe I-40 from the west and a site north and south of I-95. David, what range do we have for these radios of yours?” the general asked.
“Thirty to fifty miles,” stated David.
“If they transfer transmissions into my Chapel Hill tower, I’m sure that range could be extended,” added Preston.
“Fifty miles is a good distance,” suggested Pete Allen. “Carlos, back to you.”
“Based on what Lee suggested in his conversation earlier today,” Carlos continued, trying to prioritize the most immediate problems. “It sounds like a group of engineers are being flown into JFK in tomorrow, or the next day, also around dawn. I’m sure that they will be bringing in supplies and troops to protect these engineers. We should expect another couple of hundred people in New York to clear the runways and help prepare before these guys fly in. So, I believe that a maximum force of 500 troops will be enough to overpower our ‘visitors’.”
“Sounds good to me, Carlos,” stated General Allen.
“That means the troops with Sally and Jennifer could come in here, we could fly in another crowd from Pope 30 minutes away, and have 300 men on the ground ready to fight the battle that will start tomorrow. Plus, we have the new firepower of our aircraft. Immediately after the confrontation, we can send the troops up to McGuire. We clean up here, you get the guys up there, try and capture the engineers and supplies, kill the troops….” he thought for a few seconds…. “and capture the aircraft, if possible. Yes! They could help bring our troops home faster. Then we transfer all the soldiers, howitzers, tanks, aircraft and naval vessels we have to New York and we will have two whole weeks to do that.”
“How many men can fit in our smaller civilian aircraft, Preston?” the general asked.
“We can get about 30 in Lady Dandy, 15 in the Cargomaster, 12 in the Pilatus, and six in the 210. That’s over 60 we can put down anywhere we want on any cleared highway and return to get more.”
“Good. That will help, since you guys can put them down anywhere. Once we see them on a clear piece of road, perhaps just after the brow of a hill on the highway would be a good ambush point. You guys can fly in tomorrow and pick up men from Pope and Fort Bragg. You might invite the president to go with you, since he is Commander-in-Chief,” directed the general, looking at the president.
The president smiled and nodded his head in approval, excited.
“Preston, Carlos, you have First Sergeant Perry here,” the general said, nodding at the First Sergeant. “He has shown great leadership and experience in ambushing the first group of insurgents. This time, Perry, do the same type of attack. It could be daylight when they arrive, so set up positions a mile in front of them, and then have our civilian air force blow them to bits. Then take your soldiers in, charge the position, and take no prisoners. Remember, Perry, we need those cell phones, so go for head shots from snipers on prominent positions.”
First Sergeant Perry nodded. “Yes, sir,” he replied eagerly.
“Captain Mallory, good to have you with us. You will take over command of the civilian food supplies once the fight is over and Preston gives you all the non-fighting aircraft. It looks like you will have the FedEx Cargomaster, a 210, and two 172s to work with. I’ve thought about this for a few hours, and I suggest that you take supplies into a local rural airport, find someone to take control of that airport, or use Air Force troops if you think it necessary to guard the position of the supply—a machine gun post with sandbags, if necessary. I will let you have one C-130 to ferry in pallets of food and troops as soon as I can. I suggest you search out the pilots in and around that airfield and get the local pilots to distribute the food further—maybe into even smaller, more rural airfields. I’m going to borrow your tanker, Preston, and fly into Hill after we are finished here. I will take off in the first C-130 that gets here and meet up with Ghost Rider and the other tanker from Dover, send yours back to McGuire and then, Preston, you will take over command of this area until further notice. I want Captain Watkins and Powers to work for me for the next 24 hours moving troops out of Seymour Johnson and Pope into McGuire.” Again he walked back to the radio. “Jennifer, this is Pete, do you copy?”
“Jennifer here, just off-loading.”
“Is the boss there?” continued the general.
“Boss here, Pete,” answered the base commander at Seymour Johnson.
“How many battle-experienced guys can you find me?”
“You’ve taken a company already. I reckon I can give you another 300. They could be kitted out by midnight.”
“Roger that. Get them ready,” continued the general. “I need Jennifer to refuel and bring a company of 100 men back here ASAP. I need to get to Hill. Get a jeep, or some transport over to Pope’s place. I know they have tons more men. Tell the boss there what we’re up to. I need maximum fighting numbers ASAP. I need to get as many as possible up to Mr. McGuire’s place in the next 24 hours.”
“How many are you looking for?” the base commander came back.
“I need 180 for a party here and then as many as we can carry in over seven days with four of our big girls working 24/7. I think about 10,000 will do. Go and visit with our Marine buddies at Le Lejeune and get numbers. Billy Johnson will be in charge. He must be in radio contact with you by tomorrow. Also, get two sets of crew aboard each 130. I want nonstop action for a week. Out.” The general went back to the front of the room and thought before he spoke.
“Okay. My plan of action is this: I’m leaving for China tonight,” he explained. “I’m taking Mother Goose and Ghost Rider. Mother Goose will refuel Ghost Rider over the Bering Strait from Anchorage in
to northern Japan. Carlos, will the phone you have for me work?”
“You and I will be able to talk as well as if you were on your old cell phone,” replied Carlos. “If you activate your transponder for three minutes, I believe I can view it through their system and patch it into our system. It will take Lee and me all night to work on our satellite, but I think it will work. Remember, the enemy in Nanjing will see you as much as we can, but they will scratch their heads trying to figure out what type of aircraft is flying in the middle of nowhere for three minutes at a time. I think you should turn on your transponder only once or twice. I have a repaired cell phone for General Johnson and a fourth one will be repaired by morning. I will give you all the direct numbers. Who shall I give the fourth one to?”
“I want to take all you have,” answered the general. “I am going to need at least six working units to distribute around the world. Carlos, can you fix your own and make it work? Buck said you could. That will give me three and yours could be your base’s communications from now on when I need to talk to you.” The general turned back to the group.
“Let me continue. My mission is to flatten their headquarters. Then I’m going into Beijing. If they respond with fighters and shoot us down, I will disappear from view. But I believe I will be able to use my transponder once the Zedong Electronics building or headquarters is history because that should cancel out their global communications worldwide.
“I want to see if I can talk to the leader of China—hopefully by radio before I go in. I must make sure that they are in the same position as we are. Then, and with help from their airports and fuel, I want to get to Moscow. If the Chinese are friendly, they will help me. I want to do the same in Moscow, and I will carry all their military radio frequencies with me on board. If I survive through Russia and they are friendly, I want to stop at our base in Turkey. From there I can see what condition our troops are in and where they are situated. From Turkey, I’m heading to Baghdad and then into Ramstein to see if our European troops are okay. From Ramstein, I’m heading over to our base in the Azores and with a bit of luck will get back into McGuire before I miss the Super Bowl.”
