I smiled and said, “Thanks Mike, I have the best teachers.”
“You nervous?” Mike asked.
“I feel a little like throwing up,” I answered.
“Perfect. It will go away as soon as people start coming in and you begin to concentrate.” Mike pointed over toward the metal detectors and said, “The early birds are lining up, beyond the gates even though they aren’t even open yet.”
“I guess they don’t want to miss anything,” I said.
“Nope,” Mike responded as a couple of guardsmen nodded at us as they walked by, not stopping us due to our badges. “Oh right, we have to tuck our badges in once the crowd comes in otherwise we won’t blend in,” Mike said.
“Glad you remembered, I forgot,” I said, shaking my head.
A broad grin broke over Mike’s face and he said, “Laura, turn around, you won’t believe your eyes. The B2 is getting ready to land.”
I did as he said and stared off into the distance. I scanned the horizon, but saw nothing and said, “Mike, I don’t see her.”
Mike rested his arm on my shoulder, pointed and said, “Follow exactly where I’m pointing and you’ll see a tiny black dot, way over the tree line.”
I did as he instructed and felt my heart thump and physically jumped, “Oh my, gosh, I see her! I see the Stealth, I see the Stealth! I can’t believe it, Mike, she’s here!”
“Don’t take your eyes off her for a second, Laura. She gets bigger and bigger and all of a sudden you’ll hear her and you won’t believe it. When you do, you’ll know why they call the sound, ‘thunder in the sky.’ I’ll bet you the pilot does a pass or two before he lands, and he’ll land way down there—he needs a lot of room to bring her down and then he’ll taxi on over to the hangar.”
Mike was exactly right. She came in ever so quietly, until the very last second—when she was right over our heads and then you heard her—thunder in the sky—Mike was right, an unmistakable sound. The pilot made two passes and then flew her in a wide circle, over the base. He became a tiny dot prior to making his descent at the far end of the runway and came back into view as he taxied back to the hangar to cheers and clapping. The pride of the United States Air Force was safely on the tarmac. I wished I’d been with Adelaide to witness the event, but my best friend was standing in for me. I felt the sinking feeling return as I contemplated where Kim Jong Un’s niece viewed the grand entrance.
Mike took a deep breath and said, “Laura, we’re gonna get through this, so tuck in your badge, the spectators are lining up.”
I turned back around and noted the line had grown exponentially. People had spilled into our watch area after having gone through the metal detectors. I quickly shoved the badge inside my jacket and zipped it up as a young mother was about to ask me a question. She grabbed her little one’s hand and went on her way as did Mike and I. We adopted our casual appearance as we walked several feet apart from one another and scanned the crowd for anything out of the ordinary. We had our tiny, colorless earpieces in for immediate contact with one another for emergency use only.
Never having been to an air show, I was astonished by the number of people streaming through and wondered if they would all be checked in in time for the beginning of the show. Mike and I reached the end of where we were supposed to be and turned to walk back when I thought I spotted Jelly, but I wasn’t certain.
I came up next to Mike and quietly said, “Mike, that looks an awful lot like Jelly, over there, behind the hangar. What do you think?”
“First off, don’t sneak up on me, you scared the hell out of me, and secondly be more specific,” Mike said.
“How else am I supposed to say it? I can’t shout, we’re supposed to be quiet.” I pointed and said, “Over behind the hangar, she’s in uniform, wearing a camo cap.”
“I don’t know, it’s hard to tell from here and we’re not supposed to go any closer. Greg was real specific with the instructions. I think this is one of those emergency situations that calls for using our earpieces. I’m not gonna be the one to screw up.” Mike tapped his earpiece to let Greg know of my suspicions.
“I think it’s Reggie and Kai’s area,” I said.
Mike nodded and said, “I think you’re right. Good eye, Laura.”
“Mike, whoever she is, she’s out of sight.”
“Yeah, I don’t see her either and I haven’t heard from anyone. The show’s about to start, which is gonna make it damned near impossible to hear anything.”
I said, “It’s the perfect time for them to pull off their heist, when they know it will be tough for us to communicate. All we’ve got then is texting and it’s not exactly fast.”
The music started to blare and the show announcer shouted over the music that the Thunderbirds would take to the skies in a few short minutes to begin their aerobatics. He informed us they were now taxiing down the runway.
Mike and I were in a crush of people doing their best to get into position to view the Thunderbirds while we were trying to ascertain the enemy’s next move and where on the base they currently were.
We continued to peruse the crowds as we’d been instructed to do, but then I decided to take out my cell phone and noticed the text icon. I opened it and there was a text from Jelly saying she knew I had spotted her but it was too late. She said the initial damage would occur soon and there was nothing we could do to stop it. She said it would all be over shortly and we had been worthy adversaries. I forwarded the text to Greg, Mike and Reggie and begged Reggie and Kai to get the hell out of there and then handed the phone to Mike.
Mike shouted in my ear, “We know what’s coming. C’mon, let’s get out of the way of this crowd, we’re gonna get trampled if we don’t. Let’s take cover and scoot under this Humvee.” Mike gave me my phone back and we moved underneath one of the Humvee’s on display for the crowd. A few people stared at us and made a circular motion with their finger next to their head, thinking we were nuts.
“It’s okay, we’re playing soldier,” Mike said.
“Right, just what I always wanted to do,” I said with a nervous laugh. I added, “Hey, got a text back from Greg—they can’t find Jelly, but they decided it’s safer to stay away from the armory in case there are extra explosives back there.”
Mike pointed up and said, “The Thunderbirds are airborne, Laura.”
“Oh good, they can help retrieve the B2, if they’re needed,” I commented.
Mike said, “Interesting back-up plan.”
I don’t know which came first, a feeling of an earthquake or the sounds of several explosions but it didn’t matter because the screams which ensued were ear-shattering.
Chapter 45
Mike had his arm over my shoulders and my hands covered my ears as we lay on our stomachs. Both our faces were pressed against the tarmac as it shook and rolled while the Humvee we were under moved ever so slightly against the tire chucks holding it in place. We waited several seconds after everything stopped moving and took an immediate inventory of our surroundings. The crowds had scattered in all directions, dropping their possessions as they ran for shelter. I spotted water bottles, purses and backpacks littered about as I peeked out from beneath the Humvee. A few strollers had been abandoned in the panic as parents had apparently snatched up their kids and fled.
“Laura, there goes the Stealth!” Mike pointed over my shoulder as the Stealth taxied out of the hangar with its stepladder dragging along. Two individuals ran frantically to catch up. They waved their arms as they sprinted and then one dropped like a rag doll followed by the other. The stepladder was pulled up into the front landing gear, the only entrance for the pilots. The underneath door to the B2 closed as it made its way down the same runway the Thunderbirds had taken moments prior to the explosions.
“Wanna place bets on who shot ‘em?” Mike asked as he glanced over at me.
“My ears are still ringing, but I’m going with Crosby,” I replied as I crawled out from beneath the Humvee, brushed my jacket
off, felt for my Glock and ammo, and surveyed the scene.
Mike followed suit, stood up and looked behind us at the curling smoke and said, “Good God, they blew up the armory, Laura! No wonder it sounded as if all hell broke loose, it indeed did. C’mon, let’s go check on everyone.” Mike ran in the direction of the hangars and was quickly met by Grady and Reggie.
Greg staggered out, holding his head with Kai trailing him, who was poking his finger in one ear. The men who’d been guarding the B2 ran out, and immediately apologized to the colonel who told them it wasn’t their fault—they’d done the correct thing in leaving their post to check on the guards at the armory. Fortunately, they had sustained only minor injuries. As soon as the first blast had gone off, they had evacuated the area seconds prior to the main explosion, thus saving their lives along with a number of spectators who had happened by.
Annie trotted out of the second hangar with Adelaide close behind and said, “This is going to make one hell of a story, but you failed to tell me we might get blown up in the process, Jensen. Next time, can you please warn me I’m going into a potential war zone?”
I replied, “I said it was a dangerous assignment.”
Crosby showed up with his rifle slung across his back, leaned on Greg’s shoulder and asked, “Well?”
Grady indicated the tarps now covering the two bodies lying on the tarmac and said, “Nice work, pal.”
“Don’t you want to know which ones didn’t make Jelly’s list?” Crosby asked.
Mike said, “Cho’s on the plane with her.”
Adelaide smiled broadly and said, “The doc in a box who tried to murder me is deceased on the tarmac? Karma bit him in the ass!” She shook her cane in the direction of the bodies.
I coughed and said, “Right, and now we have to concern ourselves with the return of the B2.”
I immediately became aware of the crowd who’d gathered near the speakers as Air National Guardsmen worked to secure the base, from the ground as well as the air. Our work wasn’t completed, as the colonel curtly reminded us. We were needed to reassure visitors and reunite them with their lost belongings. I was more interested in what was occurring in the skies overhead, between the Thunderbirds and the Stealth; had the Stealth even taken off, I wondered as I reached down to scoop up a backpack?
A large man ran up behind me and yelled, “Hey, lady, what the hell are you doing? That’s my stuff, put it down!” He was about to shove me, but I was able to duck away from him and was close to pulling my gun on him, but remembered I had my guest badge inside my jacket and pulled it instead.
“Sir, I’m on guest duty with the base and am assisting with clean-up.” I held my ID for him to see. “Name’s Laura, here’s your backpack.”
“I’m sorry, Laura, I really am, I’m Pete. This has been one helluva day, huh? Hey, look,” he gestured up as Mike came running over to assist me.
“What the hell?” Mike stopped in his tracks as the B2 flew right over our heads with TB five flying inverted, within feet of the Stealth’s cockpit and what had to be TB six flying directly underneath her. Two other Thunderbirds were flanking her wings on either side.
“I cannot believe what I’m seeing,” I said, stunned as Reggie, Grady, Greg, Kai and Crosby all stood there with their mouths open.
I turned to see even the colonel shaking his head in disbelief. Annie and Adelaide were standing behind him with their mouths open, as well. A roar went up from the crowd I believe to this day even the pilots could have heard.
The B2 banked, sharply to the left and began to drop, a little too fast. The base fire engines went by, full tilt, lights going and sirens blaring with an ambulance close behind.
The colonel hopped into a passing vehicle and motioned us to join a caravan of open military vehicles, if we wished to be present for whatever transpired. We didn’t hesitate as we jumped aboard the transports and held on as we drove down the tarmac keeping our eyes pinned on the B2 and the tight formation the Thunderbirds held around her.
I turned away for one split second and realized I had one hand on Mike’s shoulder and the other on Annie’s. I said to Annie, “I can’t believe you got on the bus.”
She laughed and declared, “And, miss the ending? Are you kidding?”
I strained to keep them in sight and with difficulty was able to do so.
Mike yelled, “TB six peeled off, did you see him!”
“I did and TB five is holding his position, he’s relentless. I guess he’s not going anywhere until he’s sure she’s going to land,” I said.
“The two on her wings have peeled away also, so now it’s just TB five. I can’t believe him; he doesn’t trust her,” Mike said.
“Her wheels just bounced down and there goes TB five!” I said.
“Yup, but look at the rest of the team, they’re buzzing her in case she gets any ideas,” Mike said.
Every available Humvee and any other motorized base vehicle caught up to the Stealth within seconds of the wheels touching down and raced alongside her while the Thunderbirds continued to buzz her, forcing her to slow her taxiing speed. Once her speed had slowed sufficiently, the ground vehicles crisscrossed in front of her to slow her even more and finally brought her to a stop. By then we’d caught up and every weapon was drawn and aimed, limiting Jelly’s options. The hatchway opened and the stepladder was lowered. Jelly came down followed by Cho.
Jelly, a diminutive young woman, dressed in camouflage, stood ramrod straight, spoke in fluent English, “You may as well shoot me. I have dishonored and shamed my family name by failing my mission. If you don’t kill me, Uncle Un will find a way to destroy me even if you bury me in your deepest, darkest prison. The same goes for Cho, even though he is a distant relative.”
The colonel stepped out of the lead vehicle and walked over to Jelly who had her arms at her side. He was followed by a master sergeant who held out two pairs of handcuffs. The colonel stopped and called Greg over. They chatted for a few seconds and then Greg trotted over to our truck and waved Mike down and went to one of the other transports and had Reggie hop down. They both rubbed their hands with delight and proceeded to walk like the soldiers they once were over to the colonel, saluted and took the handcuffs from him.
Mike walked over to Jelly and with his headset still on, stated, “I’ve got one Alpha Henry to place under arrest for numerous bombings and grand theft B2 in the State of Connecticut, along with numerous other charges. Please put your hands behind your back, Nari Kim, also known as, Jelly Kim.”
Reggie followed the same procedure with Cho Kim minus the bit about Alpha Henry, and the two prisoners were summarily marched off to separate transports to be immediately transferred to the base brig under heavy guard. Reggie and Greg would make arrangements for them to be transferred later on to state facilities for separate federal trials since these were crimes against the United States.
Once Jelly and Cho had been removed from the scene, Annie who had been busily jotting notes and taking photos, asked, “What does Alpha Henry mean?”
I grinned and replied, “Azz hole.”
Annie scrunched her mouth and said, “I wonder how exactly I can print that?”
“I’d leave it out if I were you,” I suggested.
Kai put his arm around my shoulder and asked, “What’s wrong?”
“I wish Adelaide had been here to see this,” I said and rested my head on his shoulder.
“I’m right here. I wouldn’t have missed this for anything in the world!” Adelaide’s eyes sparkled with delight. “Now will someone please help me get down from here so I can touch my dear Henry’s grandad’s friend’s plane?”
I looked at Kai in shock. We hopped off the truck and Kai gently lifted her down. Annie, Kai and I watched her as she walked over and tenderly rested her head against the stepladder of the B2 and whispered, “Welcome home, Spirit of Jack.”
I glanced at Kai and softly said, “I’m glad this one’s over.”
Kai said, “Me, too.
Any ideas for our next date?”
I thought for a second and replied, “I do love museums. Paintings are meditative and peaceful and nothing ever goes wrong there.”
About the Author
Jean Marie Wiesen resides in Southern Connecticut. She spends a good bit of her time by the Long Island Sound, walking her beloved dogs and conversing with her characters. One of her greatest passions - aside from reading, hiking and fishing - has been to volunteer as an EMT, where she spent 18 years working alongside local police, from whom she learned almost everything she knows about solving crimes.
Case of the Mouse Trap Legend Page 25