by W. R. Benton
Gray and black smoke began to stream from the helicopter and due to the slipstream around the aircraft, some entered the cargo hold. Vova felt his stomach tighten from fear, when a large piece of aluminum fell from the engine. He correctly identified it as the engine cover.
Now smoke from boiling hydraulic lines was filling the cabin and the occupants were having a hard time breathing. The two machine gunners wore the only smoke masks so the passengers had to make do with covering their faces with parts of their clothing.
“Pilot to crew, we are almost to the runway. Prepare for a crash landing. I will try to set us down off to the side of the runway and just over the fence. Here goes.”
A minute later the aircraft began to shake as they lowered toward the ground. Then, without warning, the aircraft dropped from about six feet. It landed on the wheels, bounced into the air and then fell to the side. The big rotor blades denigrated as they impacted the ground, sending dirt and parts of the blades in all directions. After a minute or so, the rotor blades now gone, the noise and movement of the helicopter stopped. Smoke now filled the cargo compartment and the passengers were all terrified of a fire.
Crew and passengers all began to exit, scared of leaking fuel starting a fire, but the pilot reached down and turned all power to off. They were safe. There was still a danger of the hot engine catching any flammable liquids or fuel on fire, but turning off the power reduced the odds of flames a good 80%.
As they evacuated the destroyed helicopter, Vova heard an emergency response vehicle start their siren as they approached. He ran about 100 meters to where others were gathering in front of the destroyed aircraft and listened to them talk. All knew they were safe and nervous laughter could be heard at times.
I need a glass of vodka and a steak for supper, Vova thought as the firetruck and ambulance arrived on the scene.
A fireman neared and said, “Everyone in the two vans that are coming. All of you are to see a doctor before you are allowed to roam around on the base. Get checked out and then the day is yours. I consider you all very lucky. From what I can see, five more minutes of flying would have resulted in an explosion of your fuel tanks. All of you are lucky to be alive. Now, here are the vans. Load up and see a doctor.”
At the hospital all were free to go except for the pilot who suffered a severe back injury. The rest had swallowed a little smoke but not enough to cause them to be hospitalized.
Vans then took the enlisted to their temporary quarters, the Lieutenant co-pilot to his officers quarters and finally Vova to the senior enlisted quarters. The Senior Sergeant quarters were visiting quarters for NCOs. It was a suite, and beautiful. He immediately walked down the street to the closest package store and picked up a quart of top shelve vodka. While out he picked up a potato, an inch thick steak, a bag of salad, and a gallon of milk.
He was leaving when Olga entered and their eyes met.
“Stay out of trouble.” Petr said and then laughed.
“I will visit you tonight, Senior Sergeant.” she said and then winked.
“You are all talk.” he said and left before she could answer.
You will find out about 2100 I am not just talk at all. When I visit then, you will have been in your cups and probably a little drunk. Once you see me naked, you will desire me. I am young enough to turn you on and, while not beautiful, I am hardly ugly either. I know my body is fine, because I have been told that many times in the past. This date will be different than other meetings with men, because I have a deep hunger for you, Senior Sergeant, she thought. I will turn into a cougar and come for you.
Later, after cooking and eating his steak, he enjoyed a long hot shower and changed into lounge pants and a tee. He relaxed with a tall glass of vodka. He was sitting in the overstuffed chair, close to falling asleep, when he heard a knock at his door. He glanced at his watch and noticed it was 2100 hours, or 9 pm to most civilians. He took a big drink from his glass and then stood as he called out, “Stop knocking, I am coming!”
Pulling his pistol and sliding a round into the chamber, he opened the door a crack a looked out. There stood Olga, with half her big breasts seen, her nipples poking on the material of a thin short cut tee, and wearing a cut off pair of camouflage pants that covered little. He opened the door wide and said, “Come on in, and I am sorry about the gun. It is an old habit of mine, and I have been doing it for years.”
“I did not think you would still be up.” Olga said and wiggled her rear as she moved past him to his sofa and sat.
“No, and I did not think you would visit. What can I do for you this evening?”
“It is more like what can I do for you. I told you in the field I desired you and I have come here to have you, if you like what I have to offer a man.”
She stood, pulled her tee off and thew it on the floor. Petr was surprised at the firmness of her breasts, which stood up on their own. Next she removed her shorts and moved slowly to get his attention. Then standing with just a red thong on, she said, “If you like what you see, remove my thong and we will play for a few hours.’ She then pushed the Sergeant into the overstuffed chair and climbed in his lap. As she kissed him, she wiggled her rear on him and heard him surrender with a loud moan.
Morning dawned wet and with cold rain. The weather man on the television in Petr's room reported the freezing rain would soon be covered by a half meter of fresh snow. Olga was still sleeping and he wasn't happy to wake up in bed with her at all. He had a rule about never sleeping with his troops and now he'd violated his own rules.
“Do not worry, Petr,” Olga said the evening before, “I will tell no one that we were lovers.”
“Were is right. If I had been completely sober tonight I would have never done this.”
“Is my loving that bad?” She asked, now confused, because he was supposed to love her after what they'd done with each other.
“It has nothing to do with good or bad, but sleeping with one of my people is not smart. I may have to send them in harms way and sleeping with one would make me hesitate to send them.”
“It does not matter to me, do what you must do, because I wanted you last night and still do.”
“What are you thinking about?” Olga now asked from the bed and it surprised him, because he thought she was still asleep.
“Not much, except sleeping with you was a mistake, I think. But only because I am your Senior Sergeant.”
“If you come to bed right now, I can make you smile the rest of the day”
“No, I think it would be better if you got dressed and left.”
She got out of the bed naked, smiled at him and then moved toward him. Stopping within reaching distance she asked, “Are you sure you want me to leave? I see no reason we cannot be together until we leave for our return trip to our home base. Our secret is safe with me.”
His eyes took in her beauty and he sighed as he pulled her into his arms and almost smothered her with deep kisses. She felt her smoking fire burst into flames, so she pulled him to the sofa, where she fell on her back. Petr landed on top of her and his mouth soon discovered her neck. She wrapped her legs around his middle and began to moan softly.
An hour later, while having coffee, he said, “If you stay here, we will need more food. My rations are bigger than yours, so I will take my ration card to the store and stock up with what we need.”
“That is fine, and while you do that, I can return to my room and gather some clothing.”
Just like in Russia, certain foods, like meat, veggies, beer, strong alcohol, and fruit was limited by the use of a ration card. No one could exceed their monthly ration, but many bribed the cashiers so they could get more. It didn't bother Vova, because that was just the way the system worked. He had money to buy what he wanted with a bribe but he'd never do that because he wanted to obey the system. If too many bribed, then some families with children would not get the needed foods they wanted to feed their young. He knew an unhealthy diet would cause children to be raised under
nourished, with possible learning problems or other abnormalities.
An hour later he walked into his suite and placed two brown bags of food on the aluminum table in his kitchen. He then poured a water glass about half full with vodka and began putting the foods away. For tonight he had two thick beef steaks, a baked potato, and lettuce for a salad. He had to admit, compared to most Russians, he was a big meat eater. He'd also picked up a nice big bottle of French wine and another bottle of vodka. He hated to admit it, but he found Olga to be the sexiest woman he'd ever been with, and he'd bedded a few. He never bragged about his success at loving women. To him, a real man had no need to keep numbers or to pat himself on the back because a woman may have wanted to share sex with him. He felt that was between him and the woman, and no one else should ever be told. He liked to think he was a hard nosed gentleman and he would not have been surprised that most of his lovers thought the same of him.
Near 5 pm, Olga entered the apartment and found Petr asleep on the sofa. She used care not to wake him and showered and changed clothes. She placed her work uniform in the dirty clothes hamper and then dried her hair. Then, seeing it was close to 6, she woke him and began cooking supper. Both liked their steaks medium rare and neither liked a tough steak. The steaks had soaked in soy sauce all afternoon, which Petr thought tenderized the meat.
They both enjoyed supper, and after helping Olga with the dishes, they moved to the sofa and cuddled up close as they watched the government news channel. They only got one channel, so they were limited in what they could watch. The partisans had a channel now from some place in Arizona, and the Russians hadn't gotten to that state in their invasion. Since the Sergeant spoke very little English, he only watched it after a big battle or before one, to see the images and to listen to some things spoken in Russian. They were constantly showing propaganda in an effort to get Russian troops to desert and come to the American side where they'd treat them well.
Finally a documentary about World War II came on and both were interested in the women snipers, especially the one with over 450 kills. The woman they showed looked more like a child than a young woman. It showed her on camera killing Germans at almost a two kilometers. Most of her shots were supposedly head shots, but Petr found that difficult to believe. She was the highest decorated soldier in the Russian army's history.
When it came time for bed, Petr pulled her close, licked her ear and whispered, “You are mine until morning.”
“Ummm, nice. What will you do to me?”
“Anything you or I want, my dear. Once in bed, give me some suggestions.”
“Yes, oh yes, I can do that.”
They'd been sleeping for three hours when there was a loud pounding on his front door. They were both surprised and Petr said, “It must be an emergency or they would never bother me. Let me answer and see what is the matter.”
Picking up his pistol, he yelled, “Just a minute, please. Stop the pounding because you will wake up the whole building.”
He cracked the door, saw a Junior Sergeant and asked, “What do in the hell do you want at this hour?”
“A military cargo plane has gone down, destroyed by Partisans, and the commander wants all Senior NCOs and commanding officers to report to his stand-up room at 0400 for an intelligence briefing. I was ordered to tell you that you are expected. Uniform is battle fatigues with full combat vest and helmets. That is all I was told to tell you.”
Opening the door wide, Vova said, “Tell your boss that I will be there and I will be a little early.”
He closed the door, told Olga what was going on, changed into his uniform, and kissing her on the forehead he said, “I have no idea how long I will be. Be patient and sleep while you can. Right now it is just a briefing, so I may be back before breakfast. I hope they keep it all short but do not count on it. They will have to find answers for Moscow and that means the safety team and the various commanders will be working long hours today. I hope they allow us airborne troops to go home after the presentation, but you never can tell.”
Putting his helmet on, he said, “I will return when I can. Stay in here and keep the bed warm, I hope to return soon.”
The briefing room was filled by 0330 and Vova got one of the few empty seats left. He heard all kinds of rumors floating around and one said a traitor had his body wrapped in explosives and killed himself. While another stated the man and woman, they were a team, killed the pilots and flew the aircraft into the ground. The black boxes had been found and right now the things were being copied on paper. He had no idea what had happened, so he paid no attention to those talking and spreading rumors.
“Teeen-hooouuut!” a crusty old Senior Sergeant yelled as the Commander entered. Everyone stood and then once in the room, Colonel Pudin Luchok said, “Take your seats.”
The Colonel took a sip of coffee from his mug and said, “Ladies and Gentlemen, at 0120 hours this night, a missile fired by a partisan unit struck our resupply aircraft in the left wing, bringing it to the ground nose first. The aircraft was approximately 500 feet above the runway. At this time all inbound and outbound traffic has ceased except for aircraft with emergencies, until we finish our preliminary investigation. We suspect it will be complete within 24 hours. All aircraft are being diverted to other airports and our goods transported here by truck. We have witnesses who saw a missile fired from the woods and then five men running across an open field. I have three dog teams on them right now.”
The Colonel took another sip of his coffee and said, “I have called you all here to order you to increase security and to have roaming squads out and about the airport. We cannot allow this loss of life and equipment to continue. I want the guilty men caught, punished with death, and increased security all around the airport.”
“Any dead or wounded, sir?” someone up front asked.
“We currently have identified 23 dead and two survivors with horrible burns over most of their bodies. The doctors expect them to die as well. 18 of the known dead were infantry replacements and each will be shipped home once an autopsy is done. As of right now, we expect all of the 43 men and women on board to be dead. The aircraft body burned almost completely, leaving two wings, about 4 feet of the nose, and very little of the tail still intact. Right now, I want all of you to send your squads of men to protect our airport and to find the guilty party.”
“Sir, I am Senior Sergeant Petr Vova and I am here temporarily with my troops; are we called to provide security as well? We were on the crashed helicopter that landed yesterday, sir.”
“No, Sergeant, this is not your base of assignment and not your responsibility. I appreciate your asking, because it identifies you as a real professional. It reminds me that all airborne troops are some of our nations best. Now, all of you not involved in security may leave the briefing. The next part is classified secret and if you do not have a security clearance, you need to leave too. Dismissed.”
Vova hurried back to Olga and when she asked what was going on, he simply said, “It's classified.” She never asked another question.
Chapter 10
John and his troops watched the napalm hit the wooded area and instantly burst into flames. A huge ball of reddish yellow flames with black edges and smoke then rolled in the air as it fell on a number of Russians. Once the containers hit and detonated, the flames could not be put out easily. Those covered from head to foot died quickly, but those splattered with the sticky jell would burn for what seemed like hours to the victims. While they were a good quarter mile away, the Colonel would have said in a court of law that he could hear people screaming, but that was not possible due to distance.
“Eagle One, you are right on target. Have your wing man drop about a hundred meters deeper into the trees.”
“Copy, Cobra, and will do. Eagle two, did you hear my conversation with Cobra Two, over?”
“Roger that, One, and I'm lining up now for my approach.”
The Americans and Russians watched as the aircraft lined up, h
eaded for the trees at a great speed, and just before he flew over the heavily wooded area, he released two canisters that flipped end over end as they fell. There was a huge flash of flame when the napalm struck and a wall of flames went up and over a good acre or more of land. When the wave fell, John knew Russians were dying by the dozens.
“Copperhead, Cobra Two.”
“Go Cobra, over.”
“We are now moving and on a heading of —” John spoke into the handset a few minutes and then handed it back to his radio operator. “Okay people, listen up. We're leaving, and no need to search for any tank farm. According to Chinese intelligence, they are no more. We are to find and harass the enemy anyplace we can find them. Saddle up, our threats in these woods are now gone. Brown, get to the point, and Smith, you are my drag man. Let's move so we can finish this day and then see what our orders will be tomorrow.”
They moved until noon and seeing his people were tired, he stopped. He stopped for the night early, because they needed some rest, food and sleep.
“Msgt. Dias, we'll spend the night here and catch up on some rest and sleep.”
“Roger that, and all of them need some sleep time. It's hard to sleep at night sitting and sleeping back to back, but it keeps us alive.”
“Yes, not much sleeping takes place sitting like that, but we're better ready for battle in that position.”
It was near 1400 when Green handed the handset to the Colonel.
“Cobra Two, go Copperhead.”
“Uh, you have a classified message coming to you, so read it closely. You are to follow the orders given in the message even if you cannot complete your mission on time. If you cannot comply immediately, move to your location and do it then, after the fact. Read the message and then contact me if you have questions.”