by Finian Blake
“If you want to risk pissing off our primary contact in England, you go ahead and ask.” Noah was trying hard not to give too many secrets away. “Concentrate on business not your dick.” The relief seemed very upset because he was not used to being talked to in that manner.
“Hey! I was just horsing around. You don’t have to cop an attitude!”
“It’s this way,” Noah said firmly. “We are starting the high risk sections. We are in a foreign country, and we haven’t met our Iranian contact or the Russian contact yet. Think of pussy when we are on the return leg.” Noah wanted to keep everyone centered. “We can’t afford to shift our focus.”
“You got it,” Frank was still annoyed. “Remember you were the only one that got laid last night.”
“Alright already, when we get back home, I’ll get you all hookers and we will drain the semen off your brain,” Noah cracked a smile. “In the meantime slip down to the lav and do it yourself.” The other three Franks started to roar with laughter.
“If you do, don’t forget to clean up. We don’t want to follow your mess.”
“Screw you guys!” The relief flared.
“No! We prefer women.” The chorus sounded as everybody started laughing.
The landing in Tehran was smooth. They were directed to the military side of the airport and as they were stopping on the spot, a large covered truck driven by soldiers pulled up to the wing. An official looking car parked behind the truck. Noah looked out the window. This did not look like a good omen. He left the crew seat moving down to the door. Upon hearing the engines shut down he cracked the door waiting for the slap on the door. When Noah opened the door’ he was face to face with a tall European looking man.
“I am U.S Embassy security. Call me Frank.” Noah’s eyes rolled back and shook his head in disbelief.
Frank looked very confused, “I just said my name was Frank.” As he was finishing his sentence the Quartet moved down to the crew cabin.
“Frank, I would like you to meet the ‘Franks’.” The Quartet chimed up in unison.
“Hello, this is our first time in Tehran.”
The security man’s jaw dropped. “You’re yanking my crank!”
“No, will you yank ours?” The answer came in unison.
Frank held up his hand, “Alright, let’s start over. I am with Embassy security. Is there somebody here called Noah?”
“That would be me.” Noah looked around not seeing any of the normal customs officials. “Are we going to be cleared or arrested?”
It was Frank’s turn to laugh. “You have been cleared. We have a special arrangement here. The Shah gives us his personal exemption. We helped to put him in power, give him military aid and train his security forces.”
“We have a diplomatic pouch for you. I see that you came prepared.” Noah jerked his thumb toward the rear of the Ark. “Have the truck back up to the ramp and we will deliver.”
Frank reached out the door and motioned the truck to the rear of the aircraft. He looked at Noah and motioned to the cargo bay. “Let’s have a look at the goods.”
“Frank, power up the cargo bay, I am going in back and give them the diplomatic pouch. You guys chill up here.”
“Yes, your wish is our command,” the Quartet answered in unison.
“You put up with this all the way over?” The security man shook his head.
“And all the way back,” Noah finished opening the door leading to the cargo bay.
“We just managed to get the pouch in without rearranging. They did not have a pouch big enough, so we stacked it on the pallet.” When they entered the cargo bay Frank held up an envelope.
“Here are the frequencies I believe that you will find that everything is set. Give them a call when you are thirty minutes out. I can’t stay, but everything is squared away. My wife Angie will handle anything you need. That pouch needs to be in pristine shape. My wife spent two weeks in London with Susan picking it out.” Frank went on to explain. “We need to get our furniture from outside the country. The Ambassador ordered some shipping it using the normal resources. The Russians found a way to plant a few ‘bugs’ on some of the pieces. We found them while we were doing a routine sweep and there was no damage done, but it put a bug up Washington’s ass”
“I assume that you’re not referring to the insect kind.” Noah said with a half laugh. As they reached the ramp controls, he hit the down switch and lowered the ramp.
“I loaded this stuff personally, so your wife can blame me if there are any scratches.”
“She will. There she is now.” Frank pointed out an obviously American blond woman wearing shorts and a revealing sleeveless top. “She had waited for a month to get the first installment. Angie is chomping at the bit to get this stuff in the residence. Noah say hello to Angie. I have to run and Angie will finish you off.” Frank waved over his shoulder as he jumped in the car. Angie stroked Noah’s bicep affectionately presenting him with a seductive smile and a view of her ample cleavage.
“Susan said that you were very accommodating. It is so nice of you to bring this all the way from England. What can I ever do to thank you?” Angie was absolutely gushing.
“Well the fly boys did the driving. I was along for the ride,” Noah said modestly. “I have to get the fuel load ready. Frank will help you with the unloading. Noah waved the relief pilot back to observe the offloading.
“Angie this is Frank. He absolutely would not leave without your furniture.” Noah gave Frank a wink and a smile as he walked forward.
Noah went up to the engineer’s position setting the switches for the initial load. It only took a few minutes to work out the fuel load and as he was heading out the door, he heard Angie say. “You must really show me your cockpit.”
“I’ll show you mine, if you show me yours,” Frank said with a laugh. Angie started to giggle. Noah went outside to meet the other three Franks.
“The fuel truck is overdue. I’m going to ask the guards if there is somewhere that I can grab a smoke.”
The engineer moved his arm in a circular motion. “I’m going to do my walk around.”
“The boys are back in the Ark,” Noah said with a grin. “Whatever you do don’t go in the cockpit.” Frank gave Noah a strange look and started his walk around. Noah walked over to the guards holding up a cigarette making a gesture of smoking.
“Is there any place that I can smoke?”
One of the guards said, “I speak English. If you move over there, it won’t be a problem.” He spoke with a slight British accent. “Please excuse my poor English.”
“Your English is excellent. I speak none of your language it is I that must apologize for my ignorance.” Noah’s comment drew a smile from the guard. He accompanied Noah over to the area that he had indicated earlier. Noah opened a pack of Lucky Strike offering one to the guard and taking one out for himself. When the guard accepted Noah gave him the pack. They engaged in conversation, for about twenty minutes.
After about twenty minutes the guard asked, “Where is the lady?”
“The lady wished to see the airplane. I will see if she will be much longer.” Noah walked over to the Ark. The guard was a few yards behind him. “Hello, is the lady through viewing the cockpit?”
The answer came down, “The lady is in the toilet.”
“The guard is waiting to take her back to the Embassy,” Noah urged.
The guard stopped short of the airplane and smiled. “I do not wish to see something that I have been asked to report. When one has a family one must exercise caution to keep one’s job. I see that you have similar thoughts.”
“It is best,” Noah nodded and closed his eyes briefly. “Allah, be with you.”
The comment was in English, but the guard nodded his appreciation, “And with you.”
Angie emerged from the toilet with fresh makeup on her face. She had traces of semen still in her hair.
“My dear you haven’t worked in all of your hair gel.” As Noah ma
de the comment she shifted her bag to her shoulder running her hands through her hair.
“Better,” she scowled. “I am flying back to London tonight. I will be seeing Susan late this evening. I need more furnishings.” She indicated that she was ready to the guard and he coolly escorted her to the car making it obvious that he disapproved of her. Noah did not want to complicate things by playing slap and tickle with his contacts wife. Having her follow the crew back to the UK was extremely complicated.
The Ark was fully serviced a few minutes before five PM, and the mechanic buzzed and cleared Frank for an engine start. Soon all four engines were running, and the Ark was dispatched for the one-hour flight to Chalma Kandi. The plane took the lowest cleared altitude possible. Everybody picked a window and surveyed the countryside to observe the landmarks. They flew north northwest following some low valleys over some sparsely populated areas. After an hour the Ark was ten minutes from Chalma Kandi. The copilot dialed in the assigned frequency giving the call sign. The answer came quickly.
“We have your signal. In five minutes turn to twenty-five degrees and follow the farm road. You should have farms on the left and barren land on the right.” They reached their destination about an hour before sundown.
“We have the road and the farms,” Frank followed the directions to the letter. “We are turning to follow the road.”
“Drop down to 400 feet. Look for smoke to the right of the road and at the end of the landing area. The wind is ten miles per hour and parallel to your landing area. The hardened area is one point five miles long. We will see you on the ground.” Frank lowered the flaps a few more degrees to compensate for the tailwind. “We have the smoke and are lined up.” The road widened to about six lanes width and they went for the landing.
The Ark touched down a few yards past the smoke. Frank did a long roll out taking up two thirds of the runway doing an immediate turn around and firing up the Aircraft Power Unit (APU) before shutting down the engines. Noah checked the fuel quantities and started the weights.
“We can take 3,5000 pounds max. Power up the bay, and remain in the cockpit. If possible, I do not want them to see your faces. If anything goes wrong, try to get out of here.”
“And don’t look back,” The chorus came from the four Franks.
“That’s right.” Noah left the flight deck and opened up the crew door. He lowered the steps. As his foot came to the last step, a Russian command car pulled up within 20 of the steps. Noah lit a cigarette and sat down on the steps.
A large olive skinned man stepped out of the car. “I am General Smirnov. You must be Noah.”
“Yes, I am.” Noah held out his hand. “We have vodka called Smirnoff.”
“Of course you do. If you don’t like that name, we can try another.” Smirnov waved his arm widely.
“No, one name is as good as another. I’m not going to check IDs.” Noah laughed and held out an open pack of Lucky Strike. “Would you care for a smoke?”
“I will thank you.” The general pulled out a cigarette and lit it. “I have a fondness for your Lucky Strike.”
Noah immediately handed him the pack. “I brought a few cartons, for good will gifts. Would you accept them?”
The general smiled and walked back to the command car pulling a bottle of vodka out of the back seat. “Would you care for a drink with your smoke?”
“I would thank you. Would you like some glasses or?” Noah held his thumb up to his mouth.
“We are not at a banquet.” The general mimicked Noah’s hand gesture.
Noah took a good long pull on the bottle. “That is some good vodka!”
“Of course it is. I am a general,” Smirnov laughed. “Do you speak any Russian?”
“No, I am limited to English. It is a great relief to hear such excellent English. I can detect no accent what so ever.” Noah was not just putting out a compliment. He was in fact greatly relieved.
“Yes, I learned in our spy school. We use Dutch teachers because their accent is quite clean.” Smirnov searched Noah’s face for any sign of surprise. He detected none and asked. “You are not surprised that I went to spy school?”
“No, this is not the kind of deal that passes through normal channels.” Noah shrugged off the comment. “We are trading restricted technology, in exchange for used weapons, plus extras.”
“Ah yes, is your shipment complete or do we need to amend our deal?” Smirnov locked eyes with Noah.
“All things are precisely as promised on our end. The weights on both of the contraband items are 100 pounds. Your end is it correct?” Noah asked.
“Yes, 2,000 AK’s, 500,000 rounds for AK’s and 100 RPG’s. Total weight 28,500 pounds. Do you mind if our technicians examine your goods?”
“Please do, I was told that the oil bits were what you requested, but I am going on what I was told. If you want to check the drugs, I must uncover them.” Noah motioned toward the cargo bay. With your permission I will open up and we can do some business.”
“To business,” Smirnov lifted the bottle taking a long drink. He waved the techs on board as the bottle was passed to Noah.
“Come this way gentlemen,” Noah took an equally long pull on the vodka. He handed the general the bottle as he turned to lead the technicians into the cargo bay. He noticed one of the techs playing with the insulation by the cabin door. The bay was still chilled from the altitude and still quite comfortable. Noah pointed to the four pallets at the rear.
“The drills are back here. The drugs are under the produce. You can check it as we unload. The produce is AA California fresh and was picked only a few days ago.
The General nodded his appreciation.
“You spare no expense on your cover. This is something that my troops will enjoy.” Smirnov believed the old adage that an army travels on its stomach.
“We can increase the provisions on the next run.” Noah offered.
“Next run,” the general looked at Noah showing surprise. It had been arranged, but he did not want to tip his hand to Noah.
“No extra runs? I was told there may be as many as five.” Noah lied.
“The correct number, I believe is three. You can tell everybody else that it will be five.” The general smiled, “We need to sit down over some drinks and find out who the better liar is.”
The techs started going over the cargo while Noah moved back to the controls for the loading ramp swinging the panel away from the wall powering it up. When he looked over his shoulder the general was standing close by.
“Does anybody else speak English?”
“No, they need my direction. What do you need?” The general started to walk down the ramp while it was being lowered. Noah looked at the trucks. Not only were they flatbeds, they had a power roller system on them.
“I need to get the trucks backed up within two feet of the ramp. It looks like your troops have experience in handling cargo.” The general called another officer over giving him a quick rundown.
“If you don’t mind I would like my men to finish the check before we unload. You do not mind do you?”
“Not at all, it will give me a chance to ask a few questions.” Noah shifted the insulation aside revealing the four cases of booze. “I brought these along as gifts and bribes. It was not necessary to bribe anyone and I do not need to return with them. Could you do something with these?”
“In the spirit of détente I would be happy to accept your gifts.” Smirnov beamed.
Noah rolled the insulation back between another set of spars to reveal ten cartons of cigarettes.
“Would these also be welcome?” The General waved a couple of soldiers over. He pointed at the case of Smirnoff vodka pointing at the troop carrier. He tossed a couple cartons of cigarettes on top of the booze and had a few other soldiers move the rest of the gifts to the car.
“This is most generous of you. I am embarrassed I have no gifts for you.”
“Your good will is more than a gift.” Noah waved his hands
expansively. “And your expert help is a huge gift.”
The general felt much better, since it was bad to be lopsided on the good will thing. “My men are signaling that things are as they should be. Shall we unload?”
“Yes, I will set the ramp up to truck level.”
Noah finished undoing the floor locks while the truck backed up to the ramp. Inside of fifteen minutes all of the pallets were loaded on to the trucks. The Russians move a large amount of cargo by air so the ground crew was well equipped and familiar with their jobs. It did not take much longer to load the outbound pallets back on. Noah busied himself inspecting the nets and locking in the pallets. While Noah was busy with the out bound load the general sent his trucks back across the border into Russia.
The air temperature inside of the cargo bay had quickly risen to about 110 degrees. Noah looked like he had showered with his clothes on. He was just cinching down one of the nets when he looked up to see the general standing over his shoulder.
“I took the liberty of taking a few bottles of water from your chiller.” Smirnov sat down on one of the crates of arms. “We crated everything up in wooden boxes and the Russian writing identifies different types of machinery. You should be able to stand a mild customs check.” He let out a big sigh. “You are CIA yes?”
“I am CIA no. I am a private contractor. I am a true capitalist all the way.”
“I don’t understand.” This was the first sign of uncertainty that Smirnov had shown. “I was positive that you were a spy.”
“No, I do the things that my government will not admit to. Like saying officially that a technology is to be withheld, and then giving it to you anyway. Or to support a dictatorship and sell the rebels guns.”
“That is what is confusing me. Why used arms?” The general shrugged his shoulders. “A used gun will kill you just as dead as a new gun.”
“Everything in the crates is serviceable is it not?” Noah waved his hand around the bay. “Why are so many serviceable weapons being disposed of so cheaply?” The general felt a little more confident.
“There is a new version of the AK, it is the AK 74 and we are removing most of the old AK 47s from service. Most of the weapons have never been used, they are just obsolete. We have traded obsolete weapons for high quality oil drilling bits. This will let us get to the deeper pockets of oil. We have what we need and you have what you need.”
