The airliners had been extremely uncomfortable and the flight had been long. He stretched the stiffness from each leg and shrugged his shoulders. Stopping at a small magazine stand, he searched the countless rows of various snacks and candies until he found the item he wanted. He went to the counter and paid for a small Three Musketeers candy bar. All he had eaten in two days were soft drinks, peanuts, and stale doughnuts. As he walked away, he didn’t eat the candy. Instead he placed it in his shirt pocket, smiled with the slightest bit of anticipation, and returned to the passenger pick-up area.
He didn’t like the airlines. If he had a choice, he would have preferred the F-16 or F-15 fighter jet he was accustomed to flying. But then, no one had offered him a jet to fly home. In the Navy it had been the F-14 Tomcat, a two-seated jet with retractable wings and excellent firepower. During Operation Iraqi Freedom, he and Ruben had flown the F/A-18 Hornet, a single seated jet capable of performing at Mach-2. It had the turning capabilities of a circus biplane. Neither could match the raw power and speed of the F-16 Falcon or the F-15 Eagle he had flown for the Israeli Air Force — both single-seated fighter jets with guns, bombs, and rockets, the likes of which man had never seen in action until 1991’s Desert Storm.
Those thoughts faded fast as he kept watch for his friend Ruben, who would be there to take him to the base. He pondered how he would tell him of the danger so near at hand. It still seemed hard to believe when everything around him appeared to be so normal. Even so, he was sure an invasion of the United States was in the very near future. How could America been destroyed from within? He had heard rumblings from Israeli officers but he still refused to believe. Even when his captor Sharafan told him the same unbelievable story it still seemed implausible but the evidence was adding up and it appeared Americans were turning a blind eye. As long as America could dole out money to the poor Obama and his hand chosen czars would control America the same way Castro, Chavez and so many incompetent leaders in history had done. Obama had created a utopia of chaos, murder and mayhem. Christian black Americans acted on impulse and resembled more the radical Muslim Brotherhood. Holder and Obama continued the systematic elimination of Americans as they became “judge, jury and executioner,” while specifically connecting whites with guns, murder and racism, as they supplied radical the Muslim Brotherhood with unlimited weapons. America’s leaders demanded all individual American’s weapons going as far as taking toy guns from children. They ignored and tried to destroy the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. The news media joined in giving false information while putting the stigma of white as a precursor to any person of another race who killed a black American; even in self-defense. Obama was not a peace maker joining the races and worthy of the Nobel prize, but rather he had created racial tension and terror never seen in America. He had become the killer not only of Americans but also freedom and democracy. So unbelievable, so unreal, so close. An invasion was imminent and it was coming to America.
Seldom was Captain Ruben Alonzo late for a meeting or appointment, but today he had been delayed in picking up his best friend at the airport. Five years had passed since he had last seen Beau. Now it was Commander Gex, his former rank having been restored. At the time of his resignation, he had ranked above Lieutenant Commander Alonzo; now their roles were reversed. The fact his rank had been reinstated at all was nothing short of a miracle.
As he neared Corpus Christi International Airport, his thoughts wandered. It seemed like only yesterday they were high school rivals in Corpus Christi. Beau attended Ray High School, while Ruben went to King. The first two years, Ray defeated King in football — or more accurately, Beau defeated King. Ruben remembered never having seen anyone so quick and strong, and at the time he had hoped one of his teammates would break Beau’s leg. The games were close but Beau was one of those players with the ability to do what it took to win. In their senior year, Ray and King were rated one-two in Texas.
Then three weeks into the 1998 season, the King team learned Beau Gex had dropped out of football unexpectedly. Ruben’s team celebrated, defeated Ray High School, and went on to the championship. Later that same year, Ruben learned Beau’s father, along with other military personnel, had been killed in a bombing incident in Spain, related to a revenge motivated fatwa. Beau had taken it upon himself to help his mother financially with his three brothers, and had foregone football in his senior year.
Less than a year later Ruben and Beau met again when Ruben decided to take flying lessons. He found a biplane and a young crop dusting instructor outside Corpus in the small cotton-producing town of Petronilla. The instructor was Beau, his old high school nemesis. Beau flew like he had played footbalclass="underline" untouched by anyone. Ruben learned quite a bit in those two months. They became best friends and together they completed college, joined the Navy, and became fighter pilots.
They both joined with the high ideals of serving their country and the opportunity of an adventure that would make them astronauts and offer a chance to go to the Moon or even Mars. Only Beau had come close when he was able to test the SR-71 Blackbird and take it to its known limits at the time. Their first military action had been in Afghanistan shortly after the terrorist attack on New York and the Pentagon in 2001. It seemed like the United States military was invading some Middle Eastern country every year after those first terrorist attacks that took almost 3000 lives on American soil. Since then, the U.S. had responded to terrorist threats almost every year.
Ruben’s wife, Maria Domingo, had introduced Beau to his beautiful wife-to-be, Rebecca Jo Collins. What a sweet and wonderful person. Those were the days, Ruben thought. As he entered the airport and neared the passenger area, he wondered about Beau’s enlistment in the Israeli Air Force. Never had Ruben seen a man so in control of any situation. He would trust Beau with his life at any given moment. He could still see the magnetic smile and those mischievous eyes.
Ruben laughed to himself and remembered all the havoc the two of them created. At the surprising age of twenty-one, Beau was group leader of “Operation Liberty” in 2001 during the standoff between Taiwan and China. He was always available when one of his men was in trouble. There was never a problem he couldn’t overcome. Then something happened, and one day it all ended.
The end began with Operation Iraqi Freedom and the almost unknown Operation Clean Sweep attack on Lebanon, Iraq, Morocco, Somalia, Libya, and Syria. Beau commanded a small group and Ruben was his wingman. Reporters described the attack as something glamorous. It was hell. Ruben knew he could confront the Devil himself if Beau was along, because he felt his friend could get them away safely — even from the Devil.
He laughed at his foolish thoughts and then grew serious again. All Middle Eastern countries threatened revenge and death to the pilots who had flown Operation Iraqi Freedom and had issued a fatwa of death against them. Over the next few years, four former pilots of Operation Iraqi Freedom were killed while overseas. Extreme groups claimed responsibility and pointed to the fatwa.