John and the other two members of the team headed in that direction while the soldiers protecting them fanned out to guard the perimeter.
“You the pilot?” John asked.
The man set his wrench down. “Billy Ray Bryant, at your service,” he said, flashing a set of gleaming white teeth. He was a large man, over two hundred pounds, with forearms the size of some men’s legs. His tanned face was round and covered with a patchwork of curly facial hair.
“Why weren’t you at the rendezvous point in town?” John asked him, eager to get on with the mission, but just as eager to get a sense of the man who was about to fly them into danger. “Right now you’re the only pilot we have. Coming out here without an escort could have gotten you killed and jeopardized everything we’re about to do.”
Billy Ray pulled a hanky from his back pocket and wiped the grease from his hands. “You want my plane to run, don’t you?” he shot back. “I already need to put up with the fact that she’s been painted to look like the enemy. Besides, I been here since dawn making sure she won’t dump us the first chance she gets. These machines are like women, you gotta treat ’em nice or they’ll turn on you something fierce.”
John fought the urge to smile at the man’s eccentricity. “Will she fly or not?”
“Oh, she’ll fly,” Billy Ray said, slamming the engine compartment shut and motioning dramatically. “After you, gentlemen.”
The Cessna pointed her nose into the wind as Billy Ray thrust the throttle forward. All four men were pushed back in their seats as the tiny plane lurched forward, its engines rumbling.
“We got a heavy load,” Billy Ray said. “But we should make it into the air just fine.”
Ahead of them was a stretch of runway which ended at a treeline.
“What do you mean ‘should?’” John said, concerned.
“Just hold on tight,” the pilot replied as the plane reached its full speed and he pulled back on the stick with both hands.
The small craft shook as the nose lifted off the ground and the runway slowly disappeared from view.
“Come on, baby,” Billy Ray pleaded. “Don’t treat me like this.” His arms shook as he yanked on the controls.
Slowly, the rest of the plane released its hold on the earth and they skimmed over the top of the trees with barely inches to spare.
In the back, Jerry looked positively terrified. His hands gripped the edges of the seat, and he wore the smile of a man on a violent rollercoaster. Next to him Reese was fast asleep.
Sweat trailed from Billy Ray’s brow. He let out a whoop. “I knew she wouldn’t let me down.”
The tops of trees flickered beneath them as they sped along only meters from the ground. Flying fast and low was intended to avoid any Chinese air batteries. Just like the one John spotted in a clearing up ahead. Communist troops were camped out in a field. As they flew over, a few raised their weapons, but didn’t fire.
A second later they passed out of sight.
“Looks like the paint job worked,” John said, glancing back.
Billy Ray nodded. “Heading there is one thing. Coming back might be something else entirely. It’s like that old saying goes. ‘Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.’”
“Our enemy isn’t nearly as dumb as we wish he were,” John said.
“You’re right about that, Colonel. Just look at the mess we’re in. Most of what used to be ours is now theirs and it seems like the little bit we have left keeps getting smaller.”
“They’re on a winning streak, no doubt, but it can’t go on forever. If we get this right, the shoe might soon be on the other foot.”
Billy Ray peered over at him, one eyebrow cocked. “You sure are optimistic. Most of the folks in town these last few days are pretty much doom and gloom. They say it’s just a matter of time before we’re all talking Mandarin.”
John stared out the window, watching the horizon as the Cessna pushed forward. “It’s difficult to blame them, I suppose. Many are still in shock.”
“Shocked that we been attacked?”
“More so that we might lose. Think about it. The last two major wars we fought were against enemies that couldn’t stand toe to toe with us on the battlefield. I suppose it was only a question of time before someone figured out a way to turn our greatest strength into our greatest weakness.”
“You mean our freedom?”
John laughed. “No, our technology. In the Odyssey, the only way Ulysses and his men could defeat the giant Cyclops was by gouging his eye out. We’ve been blinded, but now it’s our turn to return the favor.”
They crossed the New River and John knew they were only a few miles from their destination. He began rechecking his gear.
A sticker of the Alaskan state flag sat above the control panel facing Billy Ray and it caught John’s attention. “That where you’re from?”
“Alaska? Nah, just a place I worked for a while, running rich corporate types up to remote fishing lodges. Most of ’em didn’t have a clue what they were doing, much less how to survive if things ever took a turn for the worst. Felt more like a glorified chauffeur for a bunch of schoolkids most of the time. But let me tell you, pushing that deep into the brush can get your heart racing at times. Make one mistake out there and you just became someone’s dinner.”
“I see,” John said. “You one of those adrenaline junkies?”
Billy Ray let out a hearty laugh. “You might say that. But my addiction, if you can call it that, used to be a lot worse. Trust me when I tell you bush runs in Alaska ain’t nothing compared to flying drugs up from Columbia.”
John’s ears perked up.
“Yup, that’s usually the reaction I get from folks. You don’t need to do it more than a handful of times to know it just ain’t worth it, regardless of how much money those kingpins throw at you. So, yeah, I’ve done my fair share of evasive flying, if that’s what you were getting at.”
“I’m hoping there won’t be a need to test you on that,” John said, spotting a collection of buildings in the distance ranged along a runway.
“There she is,” Billy Ray said, pointing one of his meaty fingers toward Oak Ridge. He nudged the nose down a few degrees.
John reached back and shook Reese awake.
“We’re on in five.”
Chapter 4
The Y-12 National Security Complex was a sprawling set of structures located in a lush valley. As they lined up with the runway, John could see lots of activity on the ground. Men in fatigues loaded crates onto an old steam train while nearby other soldiers stood guard. While their plane was still a few hundred feet off the ground, anti-aircraft emplacements came into view. There were several of them, positioned in and around a number of buildings which had already been damaged during previous attacks.
General Dempsey had informed John that the 3rd Infantry Division was holding the approaches from the north and the west. But holding was a relative term. From up here, it didn’t appear the tiny figures scrambling below seemed all that intent on staying. On the contrary, they appeared to be withdrawing anything and everything they could lay their hands on. If John was right, then whatever was left behind would likely be destroyed in order to prevent it from falling into enemy hands.
The Cessna touched down with a thump and Jerry let out a yelp. The sound made Reese and the others laugh, especially Billy Ray, whose belly gyrated. Once on the ground, they didn’t need to taxi very far before a group of Humvees came into view, each with a gunner manning a .50 caliber machine gun.
The military vehicles skidded to a stop and soldiers poured out just as John and the others exited the plane.