Ford got up on all fours, and it was becoming clearer to him who was in the room now.
“Good morning, guys. Hi Em… I had a hell of a night downstairs and…”
There was a quiet and soft knock at the door. Emily tilted her head sideways, curious who could possibly be knocking now.
“Get in the shower, Ford. Now,” Emily told him, angrily, and she walked over to answer the door.
It was Pinky, wearing her olive flight suit, face full of makeup and ready to start the day.
“Wonderful. A cutie here wearing a tight flight suit. Who the bloody hell are you?” Emily said sarcastically.
“Hi. I’m Pinky Pinkerton. Um, isn’t… this Ford’s room?” asked Pinky, looking past Emily, leaning to the right and spotting her purse. “Oh, yes, it is, I can see my purse I left here.”
“Oh really, that’s your purse, doll face? Why is your purse in my boyfriend’s room?”
“Ravi, we are expecting the Americans here in the coming days. We need to be ready,” said Air Commodore Vivhan Priya to Group Captain Ravi Rahul, both flying pilots and leaders at Yelahanka.
“We are ready, Commodore. Hangar number two will be clear for their jet remaining overnight. Will be fueled up and ready for a nineteen-hour turnaround. Second jet will take on fuel and immediately takeoff again. Will not remain here. Is that accurate, sir?” Ravi asked.
The Indian Air Force flew training aircraft at this base for ramping up transport pilots, but also conducted navigator training, too. Yelahanka, four-letter code VOYK, had a main asphalt runway due east/west, runway 09/27, at 9,858 feet.
“Concur, Ravi. Put your best men on this. No camera phones. Silent at what they see and hear. Full security police on the exterior of the building, as well as the interior. Deadly force authorized. Orders directly from the deputy prime minster,” ordered Air Commodore Priya.
AFS Yelahanka was home to about forty thousand flying hours per year and was known as the busiest airport in the region. New pilots were trained on the Antonov-32 Cline twin-engine turboprop, Dornier, and Mi-8 here.
Hangar Two, one of four airplane hangars and three helicopter hangars, was modern and strong enough to house something C-130 size, which was the expected size of Black Scorpion. She would be fueled and locked up upon arrival, as Ravi Rahul would not let his superior down, nor his country.
“I take much pride in my work, sir, and will see to it that a superb job is completed on this issue,” Ravi answered.
Pinky had no idea why this British girl had such an attitude problem, or why she was in Ford’s room, but she kept her cool and continued to stand there.
“Yes, that’s my purse, right there. I am Ford’s copilot, Pinky Pinkerton. I left my purse here yesterday by accident when we met up to do our pilot training. I’m sorry if I am troubling you this early. And Ford. Is he… ready for our last day of training today?”
Emily was about to lose her marbles. “You miserable git. Did you shag him? Did you?” Emily was in Pinky’s face, pushing her back against the wall with her arm.
“Shag? What? No…”
“Listen to me. Hope you kept your fanny in your tight little flight suit.”
From inside the bathroom they heard Ford stirring. “No… no, Emily, nothing happened.”
“Shut up in there, you bastard,” Emily replied with full venom. Eying Pinky now, they stared at each other.
Mark poked his head out of the bathroom sideways, leaving Ford to see what kind of a fight was developing in the room.
“Get back in there, wanker; this is of no concern to you.”
Mark raised his eyebrows and did an immediate about face into the bathroom. Emily turned back to Pinky, and could tell after years of operations work that her body language and voice suggested she was telling the truth. Indeed, it looked like nothing had truly happened.
Emily waived both her hands and stepped back. “No, I am sorry, Pinky. My apologies, I thought you and Ford spent the night here together. Your purse. Please stay,”
Pinky nodded and was somewhat shocked at the pit bull inside Emily. “Oh, OK. Is he… all right in there?”
“Yes, Ford is getting cleaned up. Got sick, and our friend Mark is helping him in there,” Emily replied. She walked over and handed Pinky the purse.
“Thank you. I guess you’re the girlfriend I’ve heard so much about? I am jealous. You’re so skinny… and pretty. He really loves you,” Pinky told her.
Emily was even more disarmed now and felt good that Ford was talking positively about her. “Yes, I am Emily Livingston. It’s a pleasure to meet you,” she said, extending her hand. “I’m from London and working with our upcoming task, the one Robert read you in on and why you’re here at training.”
Pinky understood the full connection now. “Oh, yes, I understand. I also believe you and I are going to India together, as Ford heads on to Diego Garcia?”
They heard coughing from inside the bathroom, as if someone was throwing up. Then came moaning.
They both looked at each other and made a face, thankful it was not them throwing up. “Yes, that’s our plan for India. At least it was, until this morning in here.”
The brief had just ended, and the teleconference equipment was shut down. This was the first time in a few days that they could all be together, with the exception of Jeanie, who was on the video screen from DIA, as well as the Diego Garcia Group Commander, Colonel Zeke Ziehmann.
“Thank you again for the brief. Ford, I’m happy you have recovered from your sickness. Obviously, the secretary understood and did invite you to see him in his office at the Pentagon. So, let’s go around the room and see if there are any closing questions for us locally. Anyone?” Calvin said, ensuring his team was prepared.
Ford agreed and piped up. “Thank you, sir. First thing I’ll do when I get back to DC is pay him a visit. Team, thank you again for your professionalism in working together on this mission. I feel very lucky to have been part of this, two times now. I am still saddened by our loss of Wu but look forward to the future. And the future is bright. We can get this mission done. Go Air Force Reserve and Jojo Rising.” As he said this brightly, he glanced over at Emily, and she blushed.
The team went over the specifics one last time in private, and it was no different than when they discussed it in planning. This final aircrew walk-through was a high priority for a mission with so many moving pieces.
Ford would hitch a ride via a C-17 to Diego Garcia from Nellis. Pinky, Mark, Emily, and Robert would head to Bangalore directly to receive the Black Scorpion upon landing. Finally, Jeanie would work her cyber-hijacking magic from Washington.
Mark got the team together for hand shaking and hugging and a few good-byes. They gelled well as a team, and Mark was proud of their work.
“Fly her straight, kid. No aircraft carriers this time. Should be easy. Plus, no bad Chinese copilots to fight. Just take her to India, then the US… good to go?” Mark told Ford, acting like a sports coach. He then gave him a hug.
“Take care, Mark. I’m good. I’m good. I got it covered. Kid!” Ford replied, pointing at him jokingly.
Ford and Emily separated from the group and went back alone to the Paris, spending their last night together for a few days. They got into the room, and Ford sat down in the chair by the window to take his flight boots off.
“Ford, look, before we talk about anything… I have to bring up something delicate. Something sensitive. I must know. Please share with me, love. What happened last night… with you in the bathroom?” Emily asked.