Jess saw the rocket and its smoky corkscrew flume just before
it hit, exploding into the front of the inboard engine on her side! The
prop flew off, two of the four blades ripping up the roof of the
cockpit behind Flece and Buz before it passed over and just behind
the right wing before continuing to fly and fall out North! Schrapnel
and engine parts had bombarded the left side of the fuselage and the
engine was in flames!
        "JESSY!" Kit yelled. All the others, except Jess, were yelling
too, and he checked his girl out quickly as he and Savvy together
pulled the throttle lever on the blown-up engine and Buz cut the fuel
to it, after confirming which engine with Sav, then Kit pulled the
extinguisher for it as he flew the plane and Savanna checked on Jess.
They heard all the bullets hitting the ship but, before they could even
think of checking for blood, a rocket-propelled grenade hit the tail,
shearing off a good portion of the left elevator, all of the rudder and
some of the vertical stabilizer, and they felt and saw the nose lunge
down, the old 7 shaking violently. And poor Sara was seeing it all
from her office window and calling frantically on the radio. And
Camp David was getting the word.
        "THE FIRE'S OUT!" Savvy yelled as Kit yanked back on the
yoke and powered up the outboards, then cut the right inboard
engine and feathered its prop, instinctively thinking that it would take
propwash pressure off the tail as well as balance out the power yaw,
and he regained enough control, using power differential to keep the
ship lined up with the runway's numbers and centerlines.
        Jess, in shock, began to try to help him fly, but Kit told her,
"I'VE GOT IT, Jess! Are you all right?!"
        "I...think..so...'cept I can't see too good," she answered, her
voice barely heard over the engine and wind noise coming through
the opening in the roof and Sara's and Tower's radio calls.
        "Awww GOD..." Kit cried, "if they've hurt you I'll..." and
everyone else was checking Jess and each other out as he flew their
trembling ship on down to the threshold.
        "Hurry up and get it down, Kitto," Buz called out, "we're
ZERO on fuel and hydraulic!"
        "SHIT!" everybody else yelled with Kit. All he could do was
add power, which he did, then a tweak of forward stick, and, in
moments more, pulled back hard again as he cut the power on the
outboards, though varying a little power in the left for longitudinal
alignment while he held a little left aileron for the quartering
crosswind.
        "I hope we still have wheels!" Buz yelled a few seconds before
they heard the mains squeal in sequence on the concrete, then the
engines sputter and quit, first the right, then the left, as the
nosewheel chirped.
        They cheered a lot as they rolled on down the runway, Sara
crying over the radio asking if they were all right. Flece and Savvy
helped Jess off with her helmet and goggles as they checked her out
more, Kit asking her questions like "who's the President?" as he dealt
with their non-existant braking and steering from the loss of hydraulic
fluid and engines.
        Buz was shutting down the panel and slapping Kit on the back,
pealing accolades at him and looking over to see how they were
coming with Jessy. She seemed OK, and the girls had found no
blood on any body so far and started getting Jess's flak jacket off as
they were all celebrating making it. Kit, though, was still futilely
struggling with the nosewheel steering and pushing all he could on
the pedals with his feet for the brakes, while still wondering if his girl
was OK. Then Buz told him to use the parking brake. So he did,
with some relief.
        Tower was still calling the guys, asking how everybody was and
complimenting the great job, adding that it was their discretion where
on the airport they wanted to go.
        Sav got the mike and commed back, "uh...it's more the Doug's
discretion, Tower..." and reported that everyone looked all right and
such, which they knew Sara was hearing too, as the ship drifted into
the high uncut grass at the left edge of the runway, despite Kit's
efforts, or because of them.
        They were greatly relieved back at Camp Dave, though still
worried that Jess or others might be hurt. Even Cincy, back in
Cincy, was deepheartedly hoping that Jess had made it through all
right, having the latest report from DC in D.C.
        Tower cleared the Hercules to land as the 7 coasted over the
grass toward the taxiway, Kit using every bit of his strength then to
steer them up out of the storm swale. They finally rolled to a stop
halfway onto the taxiway and their friends and guys from the 727
were coming out toward them in cars, trucks, a tug and on foot.
        The Serbs back in the approach area had retreated into the
woods, several of them left behind on the ground, as the Apaches
arrived, the WPG team still in pursuit. And the main Serbian force
was still attacking the airport.
        Back in the groinpit of the 7 they were still checking Jess,
themselves and each other, hugging and all. They finally got her flak
jacket off and saw the pieces of metal sticking in the Kevlar, then
the bullets sticking in some of the other jackets that had been
protecting her, and she was particularly sore in her left ribs. But she
was OK. They all were OK, and just amazed as they gawked at
each other.
        "Aw, God, Jessy...can you see all right?" Kit asked.
        "A little better, I think...well...I can see a big loss on our
investment here, Hotey...unless you got some insurance on this beer
can," she joked, looking out at the twisted, burnt metal and the holes
in the fuselage and roof, then back around at everyone with a smile.
And they knew then that she was all right and rejoiced again with a
group hug and kisses. Then she said to Kit, "man...do you look
tired...how's your heart?"
        "Still workin', I guess," he smiled at her and they grabbed
each other and held hard, passionately kissing each other's face and
head, with Flee joining in as they all shared some tears of joy, fear
and relief. "That's IT, Jess," he added convincingly. "No more of
this stuff. No more! I was crazy to let you do this...you too, Flee,"
hugging and kissing some more, "hell...ALL of us!" as he peered
out from their sea of heads at Savvy and Buz.
        "Uh, guys..." Buz said, "there's really not a lot of time to kill
here," looking out the windows. "We've got planeloads of agents
landing...and the airport's under attack. Do we have a plan?"
        They thought a few seconds as they watched all the vehicles
drive up and the smoke, flares, shells and tracers from the huge
fight on the other side of the terminal and flight line offices and
heard over the radio that the Herc was in and the Cheyennes were
ready to land.
        "God...are we...really here?" Flee said, almost in a daze.
        "We're gradjiated NOW, huh, cowgirl," Jess answered.
        Then, in the next few moments, they heard the explosions,
then saw the fire and smoke billow outside the airport as they
heard the fighter-bombers screech and thunder onward and
upward. And the Allies started closing the trap after their surgical
bombing. But the Hercules was taxiing in to the ramp from the
other end of the runway and the Cheyennes were on the ground,
so it looked like our guys were facing their OK Corral, one way or
another.

Next Page