Necessary Retribution

by Mike McNeff

  Robin walked back to where Mark lay on a fold out bed as Willy worked on his bandages. “How we doing, partner?”

  “I was hurtin’ there for awhile, boss, but Willy fixed me up.”

  “The wounds look good, Rob. Those Russian doctors did a helluva job.” Willy glanced past Robin and he turned around to see Rada coming down the aisle.

  “If you don't mind, I would like to check on my patient.”

  Robin nodded to Willy, who stood up. “My medic bag is there, ma'am. You can use whatever you need.”

  “Rada this is Willy, one of our team medics.”

  “Nice to meet you, Willy. I've just been hired as the team nurse. I can take care of Mark now.”

  “That's fine with me, Rada. I'm sure ol’ Puppy Dog here likes your touch better than mine.”

  Rada rolled her eyes and as she bent down to take Mark's temperature Robin heard her say, “Men!” He smiled at Willy and walked up front to talk to Ernie. Robin sat next to him and Ernie hung up a call on the satellite phone and handed it to Robin.

  “I'm sure you want to talk to your wife.”

  “Yes, I do. After that you can brief me.”

  “Just kick back and relax. It's a long story.”

  “Where are we going now?”

  “RAF Mildenhall. Fatboy is there.”

  Robin nodded and punched in the number for his home phone.

  THIRTY-FIVE

  AS FATBOY WINGED ITS WAY to the United States, Robin briefed Jamie on the mission to find Picushkin and the missing weapons.

  “Get the Russian info out to all of our reps right away and tell them it's top priority. Then I want you to give me an intelligence assessment of who wants these kinds of weapons, who can pay for them and who has the will to use them.”

  “Can I use my contacts at the Agency.”

  “Not yet. I'll let you know. Here is the number you can call to keep current on what the Russians have come up with. In the meantime, try my home again. Karen didn't answer last time.”

  “You got it, boss.”

  Robin put the headset on as the phone rang…and then he heard Karen's voice.

  “Hello.”

  His throat caught for a moment. “Hello, beautiful.”

  “Oh, Rob, thank God it's you! I've been so worried…” Karen broke down and started crying.

  “It's all right, honey. I'm okay. I'm on my way home.”

  “I'm sorry, Rob. Ever since Jamie told me the Russians had you I've been frightened.”

  “We had some rough spots, but all in all, the Russians treated us just fine.”

  Karen laughed through her tears. “I'll bet they just didn't know how to deal with you.”

  Rob chuckled also. “I did have them guessing for awhile. I'll tell you all about it when I get home.”

  “I love you, Rob. I can't wait to hold you in my arms.”

  “I'll be looking forward to that myself. I love you.”

  “How long before you get here?”

  “I'll keep you posted. We picked up some personnel on the way and we will have to deal with some immigration issues, but we shouldn't be too long.”

  “Oh, Rob, I'm so excited. Please just get home.”

  “I'm on my way, honey. I love you.”

  “I love you.”

  “I'll call later.”

  “Okay, bye.”

  “Bye, Babe.”

  Rob turned to Jamie. “Try to get me Bill Grassley.”

  “Don't have to try. He's waiting on the other line. I'll switch you over.”

  Robin heard a click and then a connection. “Hello, Bill.”

  “So you got yourself out of the Russians’ grasp.”

  “Yeah, but it was iffy there for awhile.”

  “I'll bet. What's next?”

  “You need to meet us. We need a secure place to land somewhere near you.”

  “Okay, plan to land at Langley Air Force Base in Virginia. I'll get back to Jamie with the clearance codes. Do you need anything special?”

  “We need some fast track immigration processing.”

  “You don't make things simple do you?”

  “After this mission, call it payback.”

  “Hmm, I guess that's fair.”

  “I'll see you when we get down.”

  “Okay, talk to you then.”

  Rob took off the headset and went to the flight deck to see Jack, Oscar and Eric.

  “Well, look what the cat drug in,” Oscar drawled.

  “I hear you three have been sittin’ on your asses the whole time I was gone.”

  “That's true, but we've been sitting on our asses flying at five hundred knots over half the world trying to keep this baby in the air with minimum maintenance until we get back to home base.”

  “Yeah, Ernie kept on saying, “Fly here, fly there, fly everywhere. He sounded a lot like you,” Jack chimed in.

  Robin looked at Eric. “You got something to say, too?”

  “Nope, I love my job. I can't help it if you saddled me with these two ne'er do wells.”

  “Well, I'm glad to see nothing has changed on the flight deck. Grassley wants us to land at Langley Air Force Base in Virginia. He'll be calling Jamie with the clearance codes.”

  “Okee dokee, boss, I'll dial it in,” Eric replied.

  “I'll talk to you guys later.”

  Robin went to the team quarters and found Ernie talking with Gunner in the conference room. Gunner came to attention when Robin entered the room.

  “At ease there, Lieutenant. I'm Rob.” Rob held out his hand.

  “Yes, I know, Colonel. I am very pleased to meet you.” He shook Robin's hand.

  “Please call me, Rob, Gunner. The rank is used only when necessary with people outside of the team. Please sit down. Ernie told me all about you and the great help you were to him and the team. You have a couple of choices here. You can go to work for the CIA, and become a covert agent in North Korea. I'm sure the CIA would love to have you in that capacity. You can join the US Army and become an American soldier, which will be a path to citizenship. Lastly, you can join us. We would put you through about two years of tough training, before you would become operational, except for occasional trips to Chongjin. You'll have time to think it over before you decide.”

  “I do not want time to think it over. I want to join you. I want to be like Rocky and Burke.”

  “Well, that's a damn good goal to shoot for. If it's what you want, we'll get started on it as soon as we get back.”

  “Thank you, sir.”

  “Call me, Rob, Gunner.”

  “Yes, sir…I mean, Rob.”

  “Don't worry, you'll get used to it. Welcome aboard.” They shook hands and Robin went back into the team area and found the team in the workout room.

  “Hey, boss, getting the details worked out?” Emmett asked.

  “Slowly, but surely. What's the latest on Rick?”

  “We should be able to bring him here in another week. Maria says he's coming along as well as can be expected. Having Lucy there is doing him wonders.”

  “That's good news.” Robin turned to Burke and Rocky. “Gunner says he wants to be like you two, God help him. You need to prepare him for Ranger School. That's where we'll start him.”

  “We'll take care of it, Rob,” Burke replied. He looked at Rocky, who shrugged. “No time like the present, Rock. Let's get him in here.”

  “When are you going to give us more details on this new gig?” Mike asked.

  “After we get home and get some rest. Right now it's up to our intel network to develop some leads. You guys need to keep your reps motivated to find these people. We have to get those weapons back.”

  “Will do, boss,” Mike replied.

  Ernie came into the room. “Rob, Emmett and I need to brief you on the Taiwan op. We have some loose ends there.”

  “Okay, let's go back to the conference room.”

  The men went to the conference room and Emmett briefed Robin on what h
appened in Taiwan.

  “Why did Rick stand in the door? That goes against all our training. He knows it's the fatal funnel.”

  “I haven't had a chance to ask him.”

  “Has anyone told us what the prisoners from the terrorist recon team are saying to the Taiwanese Marines?”

  “All we know is they are talking.”

  “Well, that's a good thing. We need to follow up and get the intel also.”

  Emmett shifted in his seat. “There's one more thing, Rob.”

  “I get the feeling this isn't good.”

  “Well, it could be.”

  “Okay, Emmett, out with it.”

  “We're sorta hiding one of the tangos.”

  Robin mulled over this statement for a moment. “Okay, I know you have a good reason. Let's hear it.”

  “Well, it seems Doug saved this tango's life and now he feels he owes Doug the world. He's willing to go back to the Middle East and work undercover for us. We've kept him under wraps.”

  Robin's mind automatically started working out the details. “Do you think this guy is capable of pulling off an undercover op?”

  “I think he's trainable.”

  “All right, I'll need his identifying information and where we have him. I assume he's in Taiwan with Doug.”

  “Yep.”

  “Then we'll take him with us when we pick up Doug and Rick.”

  Ernie looked at Emmett. “See, I told ya.”

  “Told him what?”

  “That you'd approve of what Emmett did with the tango.”

  “Look you guys, I approve of everything both of you did. I learned a few things while I was with the Russians. One them is I have the honor of commanding the best team in the world…and I'm not the only one who thinks so. In Russia, I did things and made promises based on my faith in you guys and the team. You didn't let me down.”

  “Thanks, Rob. That means a lot to both of us,” Ernie responded.

  “What you guys did means a lot to me.” Rob stood up. “Now gentlemen, if you'll excuse me, I need some sleep before I deal with Bill Grassley.”

  Robin made his way to his berth when Rada intercepted him holding bandages and ointment. “I need to check your back.”

  “I appreciate that. It's been hurting for awhile.”

  “Please, take off your shirt.”

  Robin started taking off his shirt as he walked into his berth. Rada followed him. “I can get a chair and put it out the door, Rada.”

  “My husband knows full well what a nurse does. We have been happily married for twelve years and we trust each other. Just sit down and be quiet.”

  “Yes, ma'am, just trying to be polite.”

  “I suppose I should thank you for getting us out of Russia.”

  “I'm not sure if I'm overreacting or not, but based on what Alex and Yosef told me, it seemed to be the best thing to do right now.”

  “It probably is. It's just frightening to know we have to start over in a new country. We have lived in Vladivostok our whole lives.”

  “We'll help you make the transition. I don't think it will be as hard as you fear.”

  “There, I am finished. The wound is healing nicely.”

  Robin stood up. “Thank you.”

  Rada gathered the rest of the bandages and ointment. “You look tired, please get some rest.”

  “That's exactly what I'm going to do.” Rada kissed Robin on the cheek.

  “Thank you. I was wrong about you. You are not crazy and you are a good man.”

  “I just kinda grow on people.”

  Rada smiled and then left. Robin closed his door and shed his clothes. He crawled his exhausted and sore body into bed and fell instantly asleep.

  THIRTY-SIX

  FATBOY LANDED AT LANGLEY AFB six hours later. Robin felt much better after four hours sleep. He stood at the top of the stairs for the bottom hatch waiting for Bill Grassley.

  Fifteen minutes later Bill came up the stairs, without his usual smile. Another man carrying a large briefcase followed him.

  “Hello, Rob.”

  “Howdy, Bill. Good to see you.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah, really.”

  “Rob, this is Ralph Goodson. He's with the intelligence unit of the Immigration and Naturalization Service.”

  “Glad to meet you, Ralph.”

  “Nice to meet you, Rob. I understand you have foreign nationals we need to admit into the country.”

  “Yes, sir. They all assisted in the protection of the national security of this country. Their actions required them to leave the country they were in for their own safety.”

  “So, do we need an application for political asylum?”

  “Well, actually I was thinking more of a permanent resident status with application for citizenship.”

  Ralph's eyebrows raised and he looked a Bill. Bill hesitated for a moment and then nodded his head.

  Ralph turned to Robin. “Okay, where are these applicants.”

  “Ernie will take you to them.”

  Ernie waved Ralph forward and the two went to the conference room.

  “Come on, Bill, we'll go to the com center.”

  Robin and Bill walked up the stairs to the center where Jamie and Emmett were working.

  “Gentlemen, why don't you take a break for awhile.”

  “Roger, boss. Hi, Bill.”

  “Hello, Emmett. Jamie, hope you're doing well.”

  “Doing just fine, Bill. Good to see you.” Emmett and Jamie went down the stairs.

  Robin and Bill sat down at the round table in the room. Robin poured them both a cup of coffee.

  “Rob, I'm sorry to hear about Rick and Mark. How are they doing?”

  “Mark should fully recover after a while. We don't know the full story on Rick yet.”

  “I hope he'll be okay.”

  “He's a tough guy. He should be all right.”

  Bill looked down at his coffee for a silent moment. Then he looked at Robin “Tell me about Russia.”

  “I probably put too much faith in them being thankful we recovered the nuke.”

  “So how did you get out of there?”

  “We had three young men who were sons of members of the Council of Ministers. We told the Russians we would start sending body parts to them if they didn't release us.”

  Bill looked back down at his coffee and Robin could see Bill's jaws were clenched. “That's totally against US policy. We don't condone or do such things.”

  “Good for you. It's not against our policy, especially when dealing with the Russians. As you know, they understand that kind of action.”

  “You can't go around kidnapping sons of high ranking government officials!”

  “I don't think you want to get into a moral argument about this, Bill. After all, in our first mission, we kidnapped a man for you.”

  “That's different. He's a criminal.”

  “He wasn't convicted of anything and in the custody of a foreign government that's supposed to be a US ally. Like I said, it's not a good idea for you to make a moral argument.”

  “You work for the CIA…”

  “No we don't. Unless you're prepared to put us on the payroll with full benefits and the guarantee to negotiate our release in case we're captured, we don't work for you. You set the rules, you're the one who put us on contract. When I was floating in the Sea of Japan with Mark in bad shape, was the cavalry coming? Was there a helicopter or a submarine coming for us?”

  Bill decided not to tell Rob about the submarine, mainly because it was there to sink the freighter if necessary, not to rescue Rob and Mark. “You know the deal.”

  “Your damn right I know the deal. It's you who seems to have forgotten the fine print. I did what I did in Russia to survive, get Mark medical treatment and get us home. You're the one who said we would be on our own if we got caught.”

  “I know you agreed to work for the Russians.”

  “I didn't agree to work for th
e Russians. I agreed to a contract for a mission. It's the same basis as we have with you.”

  “How can you say that? What if we want to send you into Russia for an operation?”

  “It's the same thing. If it's acceptable, we'll do it.”

  “And what if they want to send you on mission into the United States?”

  “If it's acceptable, we'll do it.”

  “Jesus, Rob, you know we have a new president, but what you probably don't know is the director died last night. They've appointed James Chapple as the acting CIA Director and he'll probably get the appointment. He's a political hack and with you pulling this crap, I don't know if I can protect you guys under these circumstances.”

  “You told me you knew we had a deal with the Russians. That means you know what the deal is, because you have a mole. You know exactly what's going on.”

  Bill suddenly became nervous. “You're jumping to conclusions.”

  “Bullshit. You have a mole and you know the mission we agreed to is more than compatible with the national interest of the United States.”

  “Rob…”

  “Don't insult me by telling me not to talk about this. You know damn good and well this conversation won't leave this room.”

  Bill sat back in his chair and took a deep breath. “Okay, we know you're looking for General Picushkin and the Russians are missing either nuclear or biological weapons or both.”

  “All right, good enough. I need you to get your people looking for Picushkin and get them talking to Jamie. Between the Russians, our people and yours we should find him pretty quickly.”

  “I'll get it going, but you need to understand the president is very upset about the way you handled the Russians. He's questioning the viability of the team.”

  “I love it. You send us to do your dirty work, but you don't want us to get too dirty. Please tell the president, if he doesn't like us, don't use us, if he has another team as quick and effective as we are. We'd love to be home with our families.”

  “What makes you think there aren't other teams?”

  “I don't know if there are other teams. I don't care. It boils down to the simple fact that if you need us, you know we're here. If you don't need us, that's okay too.”