"Yes, sir, I have."
The Korean woman came back into the room with two crystal whiskey glasses of beer. Howe took one and raised it to Donald.
"Well, in that case, Major, welcome to the CIA and McCoy's private army."
"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir."
Howe and Master Sergeant Charley Rogers exchanged glances, and both thought just about the same thing: Good. McCoy has no idea that it was arranged by Major General Ralph Howe, NGUS.
"Can you use these aircraft, Ken?" Howe asked. "Have you given that any thought?"
"We already have, General," Zimmerman said happily. "We made a very successful raid on supply depots at Inchon in them."
McCoy flashed him a dirty look.
"And then we went looking for Pickering," McCoy said.
"Oh? How did that go?"
"We didn't find him, or any sign of him, but if we had had these helos just a week ago, I think we'd have him back. They're going to be very useful. I've already got some other ideas. Actually, sir, that's what we were about to get into when you came in. We just got back."
"I'd like to sit in on that," Howe said. "But before you get started, two important things. I've got to get a message off. General Almond told me MacArthur ordered him to reembark X Corps 'as soon as possible after Eighth Army makes it up the peninsula to Seoul.' He wants to land them on the East Coast, probably at Wonsan, and cut off the North Korean retreat northward." He paused. "I want to make sure the President knows about that."
"Sir, wouldn't General Pickering have heard about that, and sent that intel?"
"I don't know if he knows, Ken, and it's better not to assume that he does. I presume you know he's on his way to Washington?"
"No, sir, I didn't," McCoy said, and looked at Dunston, who shook his head no.
"Give Charley time to get that message off, and for the both of us to have a shower, and then we can talk about how you're planning to use the helicopters."
"Yes, sir," McCoy said.
Everyone was sitting around the table waiting for Master Sergeant Rogers to finish his shower when the Korean woman who was in charge of the radio room came in and handed McCoy a sheet of typewriter paper. He read it, then slid it across the table to General Howe.
"From Billy Dunn," he explained to the others. "No sign, either visual or from aerial photographs, of our wanderer."
"Which does not mean he's not out there, right?" Howe said.
"No, sir, it doesn't."
"And, from what you've seen, these helicopters MacArthur gave you are going to be useful in getting him back?"
"Absolutely, sir."
Master Sergeant Rogers came into the room.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, but I thought that was important enough to wait for an acknowledgment."
"And you got one?" Howe asked.
"Keller must have been sitting on his radio," Rogers said. "He acknowledged, told us to Hold One, and then sent, 'I have acknowledgment from Camp Pendleton.' "
"Good man, Charley," Howe said. "And I'm sure Colonel Banning will make sure General Pickering sees it before he leaves the coast for Washington." He turned to McCoy.
"Okay, Ken, tell us how you're going to use General MacArthur's helicopters."
"Aside from looking for Pickering, the first thing that comes to mind is using them to insert and extract people behind the NK lines. Maybe even other places, too. ..."
When he sensed Howe was about to say something, McCoy stopped. Howe paused, his mouth open, and then said nothing.
"... But before I can start seriously thinking about any of this, there's a lot I have to know."
"For example?" Howe asked.
McCoy looked at Donald.
"What should I call you? Donald or Alex?"
"Either's fine."
"My name is Ken," McCoy said. "Dunston's is Bill."
"Okay," Donald said.
"Let me give you the problem, and then you give me the solution."
"Okay."
"When the helos first came to K-16,1 presume they went through the same kind of radio chatter—'Kimpo, this is Army six six six or whatever, request landing instructions,' et cetera—that you went through when you brought us back?"
"Yes, they did."
"We have to presume NK agents saw the helos flying over Inchon to come here. And it's a given that somewhere within range of the Kimpo tower is an NK agent with a radio. So they heard that radio chatter. So they now know there are two H-19s in Korea. And didn't you give them a number?"
"What they call the 'tail number,' " Donald said. "You use that to identify yourself when you call the tower."
"And when the other chopper went back to Kimpo, alone, he used his tail number?"
Donald nodded.
"So now they know we have two helos, and even know their tail numbers." He paused, smiled, and went on: "What all the secrecy, all the Marines guarding the hangar, has done is keep the H-19s a secret from everybody but the enemy."
"That's a problem, Ken?" Howe asked. "What's the difference? The enemy will see them eventually."
"Yes, sir. But if we're going to use the helos to insert and extract agents across the line, I don't want to telegraph our intentions. They now know we have helos. They'll figure out in a hurry that we're using them to do the insertions and extractions. That's not a problem. The problem is if we have to go on the radio every time we take off, that's when they'll start looking for helicopters."
"I get it."
"Another thing I don't know is when General Pickering is coming back here," McCoy said. "Can you tell me, sir?"
"All I know is that he was sent for," Howe said. "What do you need from him?"
"I was going to ask him to ask General Smith if we could keep at least some of the Flying Fish Marines," McCoy said. "They're at the hangar with the helos. General Almond had them guarding them."
"I saw them," General Howe said.
He exchanged glances with Master Sergeant Rogers, who knew about his luncheon conversation with General Smith.
"Would you like me to ask General Smith for those men, Ken? To at least loan them to you for a while?"
"I hate to ask you to do that, sir. And for all I know, the 1st MarDiv may need them."
"All he can say is no," Howe said. "I'll ask him when I see him in the morning."
"If you think it would be all right, sir."
"I have a feeling it will be," Howe said. "Okay, Ken. Presuming you can keep the Flying Fish Channel Marines for a while, what are you going to do with them?"
"These helos are supposed to be able to carry ten men. That would be twelve, if we got rid of the copilot and the crew chief. I figure that's about the same weight as a pretty heavily armed eight-man fire team. I'd like to train maybe six or eight teams to get carried somewhere—for example, if we find Pick, or to pick up an agent the NKs have discovered on their side of the line."
"You think that can be done?"
"We won't know until we try it, sir."
"It sounds like a pretty good idea to me."
"That still leaves us with the problem of how to get the helos into the air without going on the radio and announcing, 'Here we come.' "
"Is there any way, Major," Howe asked Donald, "not to use the radios?"
"Not on an airfield, sir. It's a question of being clear to land or take off—I mean, so there's no midair collisions."
"You'd need, in other words, your own airfield?" Howe asked.
"Where would we get our own airfield?" McCoy asked.
"Killer," Zimmerman said. "You don't need an airfield for these things. You saw where we landed at Inchon. All we need is a good-sized parking lot, far enough away from an airfield so airplanes don't run into them."
"He's right, McCoy," Donald said.
"Okay. Shoot this down, please," McCoy said. "We find a large enough parking lot someplace, preferably with a building we can hide the helos in in the daytime—"