by Cliff Deane
“Move away, Kate,” ordered Dr. Tom…
*
23 May 0820
1,000 Feet
Headed South
Gus was having a bucket list kind of moment; having a wonderful time sitting in front of Susan, in the Gunner’s Seat.
Susan spoke over the intercom saying, “You having a good time, Colonel?”
“Oh, hell yes,” said an excited Gus, “this is fantastic. Now I see why you so wanted to get back into the air so badly.”
“Yes, sir, this is the best. The only real downside these days is that the Skonk Works hasn’t figured out a functioning radio communications system with ground control. The radio in the aircraft works fine, but Lejeune’s Control Tower wasn’t hardened. In retrospect, I’ll be damned if I can figure out why.”
“Major, how long is the flight to Lejeune?”
Susan said, “Sir, I hate to tell you this, but flight time is a little over an hour; this bird is fast. Sorry to disappoint you, sir.”
Gus would have liked the flight to last longer, but it was what it was. “Were you able to reach Lejeune via the HAM Radio back in DC?”
“Oh, yes, sir, Lejeune is expecting us just around 0900.”
The discussion finally made its way around to Levi. “Susan, I don’t want to know details, but I would like to know how things are shaping up between the two of you.”
“Oh, Gus, oops, sorry sir…”
“Relax Susan; we’re all friends here in the cockpit, Gus works just fine.”
“Thank you, sir, er um Gus, well, I can tell you that we make each other very happy right now, and we both want our relationship to continue to grow.”
Gus was thrilled to hear this news, he said, “Susan, that’s wonderful, my best friend needs to find some romantic happiness. Are you aware of what happened to Levi’s first wife, Sarah?”
“I only know that she was murdered on the morning the lights went out. Beyond that, no, I don’t know anything else.”
“Do you want to know?”
“No, I don’t think I do particularly want to know, but if our relationship goes further, and I sure hope it does, I guess I should know; so what else is there?”
Gus spent the remainder of the flight relating the story of Sarah, as Levi had confided in him. He ended the tale with, “Susan, I must tell you that until you walked up to Levi at your first meeting, he, well, I guess I’d have to say that you have broken a dam of emotion he was holding inside. I believe he has finally made peace with the past, but I must give you a friendly warning, that I would take it personally if I found out you are just having a spot of fun.”
Susan heard the subtle change of Gus’ tone and assured him that what she felt was no game, and if Levi felt the same, they would be together until death.”
“Thank you, Susan, I didn’t mean to sound rough, but I had to know. Levi has absolutely no idea how important he is to the reshaping of this land.” Gus chuckled,” and said, “If he did, I’d have to carry around a hatpin to stick in his head so he could get through a doorway.”
Susan handled rotary aircraft like she was born in the Pilot’s Seat, and landed her bird with barely a bump.
Susan’s ground crew, along with Major Guyado came running up to Gus and Susan as they dropped to the ground. Gus could see by Mike’s face that something was very wrong.
As they shook hands, Gus said, “What’s wrong, Mike?”
“Sir, it’s the General, he’s been shot in his upper back and is in surgery. Right now we just don’t know anything more than that.”
Susan turned to her ground crew and shouted, “Make it quick boys, this bird is headed right back to DC as quickly as you can get her refueled.”
Major Mike Guyardo said to Gus, “Sir, you are required to return to DC to take command of the Task Force. Beyond that, I have nothing else, sir.”
“Roger that, one quick thing; how long before the Insertion Teams will be ready?”
“Sir, I can have them to you in about a week.”
“Damn,” said Gus, “Okay, but get them and the mortar crews there soonest; Roger?”
“Yes, sir; the mortars can be there in about three days.”
“Good, send ‘em up. Now, I need to use the can and get some coffee before we head back.”
Mike said, “Yes, sir; please follow me.”
Susan went to her quarters to change clothes and freshen up for the flight back to DC. It took her ten minutes for the change, toilette, and then twenty minutes to cry her heart out.
Forty minutes after landing Susan and Gus were back in the air and headed for DC. Gus knew that Susan was crying, from worry, and decided to let her get it out. The only sound heard in the cockpit was the engine’s whine.
*
23 May 1025
WH Helicopter Pad
DC
Kate and Colonel Pickett were waiting for the Cobra to land. Susan could see the worried looks on their faces. It was obvious that Kate had been crying. Oh, God, no, please don’t let him be dead, please!
***
Chapter 4
Jihadi Johnnies
23 May 1035
WH Helicopter Pad
DC
Gus and Susan were rushed to the White House Presidential Surgery, where they were met by Dr. Tom.
“This morning at approximately 0815, General Levins received a Sniper’s bullet to the back.
The bullet was not from a powerful Sniper weapon but a standard issue 7.62 X 39 AK-47. My guess is that this weapon was scoped because the damage from the apparent range was minimal. The round lodged against a rib, just short of puncturing his right lung.
The bullet was visible from the wound opening, which made its extraction quite simple, to include the piece of uniform cloth at the head of the round. Those close by were able to get the clotting cloth into the wound quickly enough to preclude heavy bleeding.
When the bullet hit General Levins, it threw him face first onto the cobblestone walkway where he sustained a significant blow to his head.
He unquestionably has, at a minimum a concussion; I would say that he also has a significant skull fracture. We will be keeping a very close watch on him, by stationing a Nurse in his room 24-7. Blood pressure will be checked every fifteen minutes. A rising blood pressure could be an indication of a swelling of the brain. If this occurs, I will be forced to drill into his skull to relieve the pressure. This surgery is delicate but has been done by Doctors dating back to the time of the Roman Legions.
I am confident that if we can control the swelling of the brain, that his chances of recovery will be greatly improved.”
Gus asked, “Tom, do you have any idea of his chances to fully recover?”
“I have to tell the both of you that Levi will have to survive the next twenty-four hours before I would even hazard a guess. The bullet wound is insignificant, in comparison to his head wound. A wound of this severity often leads to low survivability.
We are also hampered by a lack of our ability to utilize the incredible medical devices available in this surgery. Here, in the Bunker area, the machinery should work fine; we just don’t have power. To give you an idea of where we stand; I would have to say circa 1960.
Susan collapsed into a chair, sobbing into her hands which covered her face.
Gus said, “All right, Tom, what can I get to provide the juice needed to run all this stuff?”
“Can you get five thousand gallons of diesel fuel for the generators? The Caliphate siphoned off every drop of fuel from the White House storage tanks.”
“Diesel? All you need is diesel? Damn, Tom, of course, we can get diesel fuel. We can get you up and running in just a few hours.
Major Turner, pull yourself together and come with me, we’ve got a job to get done, and I need you to do it.”
Susan looked at Gus, and immediately realized what he wanted; wiping her eyes, she stood and apologized to Gus for her loss of self-control, and then she followed him to the communications ce
nter in the War Room of the White House.
Gus rushed to the Commo Chief and ordered him to get Lejeune on the horn, stat. Gus then took the mic and said, “Scott, tell me you have a UH1-J Huey up and running, and a fuel bladder you can strap under it.”
Colonel Scott Eldridge said, “Gus, we sure do have what you need, but the only pilot currently available is with you. My two instructor pilots are flying with student pilots to Fort Bragg on a nap of the earth exercise.
If you can get Major Turner back here, I can have your fuel ready to take off by the time she arrives.”
“Do it, Scott! She’s on the way, so expect her shortly.”
“Roger that, we will have everything in place for her in one hour from now; anything else? How’s Levi?”
“Later, Scott, time is critical, we need five to ten thousand gallons of diesel, mosh-skosh: out here.”
Turning to Susan, Gus asked, “Susan do you have the fuel to make it back to Lejeune, or do we need to top you off?”
Susan said, “Sir, it will be close, but I have a bit more than half a tank, so I should be good.”
“All right, go, now!”
Susan turned and ran to her bird and began to wind it up.
Dr. Tom Monroe asked Gus if he could really get so much fuel here in just a couple of hours.
“Of course, Doc, we don’t need it all at once; we also have crews already out to find diesel distributors here in the DC area. That will take longer because of the traffic situation, but yeah, we will have you up and running in under three hours; sound good? If we hadn’t topped every one of our vehicles off, we’d have enough diesel to get you running right now.”
Tom told Gus that it sounded like a miracle, and with the equipment now at his disposal, Levi’s chance of a full recovery would be exponentially enhanced.
In the meantime, Levi lay in a coma in Intensive Care. Dr. Tom began preparing the equipment he would need in the IC Unit.
Gus left to find Captain Page to get an update on the hunt for this Sniper asshole.
Gus sat down with Captain Neal Page in the Oval Office to be briefed by Neal on his progress.
“Sir, I’m afraid the Sniper has made his escape after making the luckiest shot in history. We found his shooting position, and retrieved a shell casing from an AK-47, along with other evidence that put him in that room for only a few hours.
I have also established surveillance in every building surrounding the White House grounds. SGM Cobb is making up the duty roster now. If the Sniper returns, we’ll get him before he gets off another lucky shot.”
Gus approved the plan and directed him to send out more teams to find diesel tanker trucks and do whatever it took to get, at least one to the White House. There had to be several diesel storage facilities in the DC area.
He then briefed Neal on Levi’s condition to include the incoming diesel via helicopter.
Gus then found Bradley Cobb and briefed him on the day’s events and directed him to pass the word of Levi’s injuries along to both Defiance and Lejeune.
*
23 May 1445
WH Generator Fueling Station
DC
Susan lowered the fuel bladder onto the fueling pad and waited until the Ground Crew unhooked the bladder straps so she could land on the Helipad.
She ordered the Ground Crew to immediately refuel the Huey for another trip to Lejeune.
Gus came to her and asked how she was doing.
Susan assured Gus that she was fine, but he could see that she was exhausted, and ordered her to the Lincoln Bedroom for nine hours.
“Sir,” said Susan, “that will not be possible. My fuel hauling capacity is only five hundred gallons at a time, and if the generator is only run at one-quarter power, the fuel consumption will still be around fifty gallons per hour. I have to make at least one more trip. By that time the Instructor Pilots will have returned from Bragg, and they can relieve me at that point.
So, I have to tell you that rest is not possible for me until I’ve made, at least one more run. What I need to do now is see the Doc and get enough speed in my system to make this last run. I promise, sir, that I will then rest, but not in the Lincoln Bedroom. I intend to be with Levi if he is out of surgery. I’m sorry to be insubordinate, sir, but we all have to do whatever it takes, and just a little bit more to give the General his best chance.”
“Yeah, okay, let’s get over to the Surgery and get you hopped up for one more trip. I can’t believe I’m doing this, but you are right; it will take all we’ve got, and just a little bit more; come on, let’s get moving.”
They quickly made their way back into the White House and down to the Surgery. Upon arrival they found Dr. Tom Monroe in his office, asleep on a couch.
After awakening him, they told the Doctor that Susan had brought five hundred gallons of diesel, enough for almost ten hours of generator time if they did not go over a load of twenty-five percent.
Tom was not sure five hundred gallons would be sufficient and asked if it was possible to bring in more; lots more.
Gus said, “Yes, Tom, we have teams out acquiring tanker trucks, but it will at least a day before one can arrive. The only other option seems to be that we send Major Turner back to Lejeune for another bladder of fuel. By the time she returns with another load, other pilots will be back from Ft. Bragg and be able to begin relay runs to bring in the fuel we need.”
“Wonderful news,” said Dr. Tom, “so why is Major Turner here instead of in the air?”
“Good question, Tom; she’s here because she has made three runs to Lejeune, today and she is exhausted. We need for you to give her something to keep her flying for one more round trip. She needs to be on top of her game for another six hours. Do you have what she needs?”
“Yes, but remember, this is for emergency use only. We must not make a habit of doing this. Come with me to the Pharmacy. I have to tell you that I was amazed to see the drugs stored here. This Pharmacy is large enough for any Regional Hospital.”
The Dr. made his way, by the light of a battery operated lantern. In short order, he was able to find the drug, Provigil.
“This is the med the Air Force gave Pilots to stay awake and alert on long flights. The dosage is 100 mg, but don’t expect it to keep you awake for six hours. This stuff will have you up for a good twenty-four hours, so if you do need to make more than one trip, you will feel alert and wide awake. Unfortunately, there are some possible side effects commonly described by first time users; nausea or a headache, possibly both at the same time are the most common effects reported.
I’ll give you something to take if you have either of these problems, but don’t take them unless you feel a headache coming on, or nausea; okay?”
Susan said, “Gotcha Doc, is it okay to take it now because I am exhausted?”
“Yes, of course, here,” then Tom made his way to the two other meds that Susan might need.
As Tom was making his way to the other meds, the lights came on. He quickly gave Susan the meds and shooed them away so he could begin running a Pet Scan of Levi’s brain.
Personnel were running all over the White House shutting down anything that used electricity. Only the Surgery and the Dining Facilities were to receive power.
*
23 May 2200
WH Generator Fueling Station
DC
Susan didn’t make one more trip; she made two before the other Pilots were able to take over the task of providing fuel for the generator.
She climbed out of her Huey for the last time on that day feeling really good and very pleased that she had none of the potential side effects.
Susan made her way to the Orderly Room and reported that she was in for the night, and then went to the Surgery, one floor below. She found Dr. Tom and was told that Levi had, indeed suffered both a concussion and a skull fracture. The good news was that there had been no build-up of fluid between his skull and the brain. Levi should make a complete recovery; in fact, he t
hought Levi might be able to return to work in as little as six weeks.
“Levi awoke about two hours ago with a bad headache, but I would be highly surprised if he didn’t have that bad pain. You may see him if he is awake, otherwise come back in the morning, and we’ll see.”
Susan’s back went straight up as she said, “Tom, what you fail to understand here is that I intend to spend every moment in that room with him; so please have a reclining chair, and another hospital bed placed in there.”
Dr. Monroe looked at Major Turner and decided to rethink what he had been about to say, and relenting, said, “Okay, the chair is already in his room, but I will not bring a bed in there while he is sleeping, so you’ll have to wait until tomorrow to have a bed.”
Susan smiled and said, “Thanks, Tom, and as far as the bed goes, I have a feeling I’ll be awake for another ten hours or so, anyway.”
Tom was reminded of the Provigil he had given Susan and asked how it was working for her.
“Well, Doc, I feel great, oh, I should tell you that I had none of the side effects, so yeah, I’m good to go.”
“Susan, I don’t like doing this, but I can give you something to let you sleep now so that you and Levi will be on the same wake cycle. Your choice…”
“Until you mentioned the wake cycle I would have said no, but that is a good idea. Yes, please let me sleep through the night.”
Levi awoke to find Susan asleep in a reclining chair next to his bed. He thought, now there is a sight I hope to wake to every morning for the rest of my life.”
The morphine coursing through his system kept the pain, for the most part, at bay, or, at least tolerable, but also kept him drowsy. Within a few moments, he peacefully drifted back to sleep and saw Sarah and his Mother waving goodbye from the top of a small rise. He fell deeper toward REM sleep as the images of Sarah and his Mother faded out of his vision. On some level, he knew that neither would return and that it was now, all right.
