Dmitri answered, “Zdrah-stvooy.”
For the first time since leaving the moon Peter finally heard a familiar voice. He instantly flashed a big grin. “Hello, Dmitri, guess who?”
Dmitri’s voice shot up into a high octave tone. “Peter! It’s you. It’s great to hear your voice. We thought you were dead.”
Peter’s face tightened as he looked out the window. “What? Who told you that?”
“The Chinese. CNSA informed NASA you burned to death upon landing and there were no remains.”
Peter’s grip tightened on the phone. “Bullshit. Is that what Anya thinks?”
There was a long pause. “Yes. I informed her a few days ago.”
Peter started pacing. “Where is she? I need to tell her I’m okay. I just tried calling her cell phone.”
“She’s flying to America. After Dad’s memorial yesterday she told me she needed to give something to your mom.”
Peter stopped pacing and lowered his head. The depressing memories of Viktor dying in their spacecraft flashed through Peter’s mind. The veteran cosmonaut’s final resting place ended up being the surface of the moon, where their dying ship crashed with his lifeless body strapped in. “I’m sorry I missed his funeral. He did one hell of a job flying us to the moon. He was a good man.”
“Thanks Peter. If we had any idea you were alive, we would have held off. It was a beautiful service.”
Peter cleared his head. He needed to get to Anya and was sure she was delivering his letter to his mom per his request if he died. He resumed pacing. “When did Anya leave?”
“Earlier this morning. She’s definitely on a plane now.”
Peter’s mind began racing. He figured she had about twenty hours of travel time from Moscow before reaching his mom’s in Houston, probably arriving around dinnertime. He figured he could travel in half that time if he could fly out on one of the F-15s from the base. If he flew out in the next few hours, he should arrive before her. Convinced he could beat her, he decided not to wake his mom. “I need to get to Houston before she does.”
“Peter, there’s something you should know.”
Peter stopped pacing. “What’s that?”
“After she learned you were killed. The news…well…it was just too much for her to handle.”
“What happened? Is she okay?” There was a long pause. Peter began nervously tapping his finger on the phone.
“She lost the baby.”
Peter’s heart squeezed. He looked over to see Ying’s belly exposed as the doctor moved a rounded device over gel on her tummy. A big smile was on her face as she was seeing images of her child for the first time. She saw Peter look over and enthusiastically pointed to the monitor. He smiled before turning away. His smile fell. “Damn. Is she okay?”
“Physically, she’s fine. But emotionally, she’s a wreck.”
“Okay, thanks. I’m going to get to Houston as soon as I can.”
“Good luck. Anya will be thrilled. She’s madly in love with you, Peter.”
Peter grimaced at the pain she must be in. “I’m madly in love with her too.”
THE F-15E STRIKE Eagle looked impressive as Peter walked around the gray beauty, inspecting it while wearing a borrowed flight suit and carrying a helmet by his side. The Air Force had pretty jets, and to Peter, the F-15 was the queen of the ball. The sixty-foot plane looked like it was doing Mach 2 sitting on the ground. He couldn’t wait to get her in the air.
Pleased he was able to get in a quick shower and shave before suiting up for the flight, Peter slapped the back of the pilot who was stuck with the chore of escorting him home. “Tommy, I call the front seat.”
Tommy shot him a surprised look. “Sir, I was told you were to be in the weapon’s seat.”
Peter arched his eyebrow and assumed a cocky grin. “Why? Are we going into battle?” He pointed his finger to the back seat. “You don’t want to waste my talents back there, Son. Tell you what, you sit in the back and take a nap.”
Unwavering, Tommy said, “Sir, I need to check with my commanding officer.”
“Or you can check with my commanding officer.” Peter winked. Tommy was aware the President of the United States had given clearance to the base commander for him to have this ride. “Tell you what, I’ll just fly the first leg.” He would probably need sleep later on anyway. But right now, he had to get his hands on this baby and see what she could do.
Tommy started climbing up the ladder to the cockpit as he asked in a sarcastic tone, “You won’t crash it?”
Peter looked up. “Dude, I don’t have $30 million in change. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of your precious baby. However, I might show you a trick or two.”
Peter got his way, and before he knew it, he had the F-15 engines roaring as the jet sat motionless at the end of the runway waiting to be freed. Peter held the mighty bird back as he teased his senses. The howl of the engines shot goose bumps all over his body. His hand tightened around the stick as he looked down the straightaway in front of him. It’s been awhile, baby. He had been given final clearance by the tower and was ready to play. He wrapped the oxygen mask around his mouth and locked it in place before lowering his visor. He yelled out, “Are you ready for an E-ticket ride?”
His young passenger questioned, “What’s an E-ticket ride?”
A mischievous smile crossed Peter’s face as he released the brakes. The jet shot forward with an unbelievable force. “Let’s see what 60,000 lbs of thrust feels like.” The afterburner kicked in as their acceleration increased. Peter couldn’t have worn a bigger grin. As they powered down the runway, Peter decided to give the tower a little show. “Hold on.” He pulled back on the stick and went vertical, shooting straight up into the sky as he continued to accelerate. After all he had been through over the last month, this was the release he needed. He couldn’t contain himself as he yelled out a wild, “Yeehaw!”
KUANG SLAMMED THE phone receiver down hard. His blood boiled after learning the military allowed the American to escape China. With the astronaut safely out of the country, he lost his last chance of forcing a false confession with the hopes of swaying public opinion. Boxed into a corner, he had no choice but to put into action China’s backup plan, put in place in case the moon mission failed. With the American beating them to the moon and exposing their lies, he had to play his trump card. Though the hoax would kill astronauts and affect future space exploration for the international community for years, there was no other option. China had to strike back after being embarrassed in front of the world.
He decidedly picked up the phone to call Lin Wu, the Assistant Director of China’s secret service. The MSS was the lead agency for the covert operation and had been waiting for Kuang’s approval to initiate the final stages. Kuang hesitated for a moment before dialing the number, making sure he was making the right decision. He peeked over at the picture of his parents. A quick flash of Americans celebrating their recent success was enough to convince him. He assertively punched in the Assistant Director’s number before patiently waiting for Lin to answer.
“Hello.”
Kuang spoke in a steady voice. “Lin, it’s Kuang.”
A cocky tone oozed from the phone. “I was expecting your call.”
It was obvious Lin knew the details of the failed mission. “Put operation Tianlong into action.”
“You want all phases initiated?”
Without hesitation Kuang answered, “Yes, immediately.”
“Consider it done. You have made a wise decision.”