Targets of Opportunity (1993)

by Joe Weber

  "Don't try to talk," Brad said soothingly, and squeezed Stanfield's hand. "Just breathe easy and try to relax." Easy words for me to say.

  Austin felt a slight pressure from Grady's fingers. "I'm going to stick with you," he consoled, then said a silent prayer.

  Chapter FOURTEEN

  Brad paced the long hallway adjacent to the emergency room. Grady Stanfield had been undergoing surgery for over three hours. Brad finally sat in a chair and let the back of his head sag against the wall. He felt exhausted from the shock and stress of the past few hours.

  He thought about Leigh Ann and their future relationship. Would she trust him after the Allison incident? He had called the hotel when Grady went into surgery, but Leigh Ann had already checked out.

  The memory of Allison van Ingen's tanned body crept into his mind. He wanted to confront Hollis Spencer and find out how he had known about Leigh Ann. It had to be Allison, he reasoned. She must be some type of security specialist.

  Austin rubbed his temples to erase Allison's image. She had managed to entice Lex Blackwell into telling her the entire story about the MiG. Lex had been in the wrong, but she had definitely set the trap to snare him.

  Grady had been admitted to the hospital without anyone's having to reveal the exact circumstances surrounding the accident. In order not to jeopardize the secret operation, Stanfield's unavoidable mishap would be investigated as part of a routine training-flight exercise.

  Spencer had arranged to borrow a Phantom from VF-121. He had instructed Brad to fly the F-4 back to the test site after someone arrived to be with Grady.

  Brad's thoughts were interrupted when two navy surgeons walked out of the operating room.

  He rose to greet them.

  "Is he going to be all right?" he asked, swallowing the lump in his throat.

  "We have done everything we can," the taller of the two doctors assured him, "but the next twenty-four to forty-eight hours will be decisive."

  "Lieutenant Commander Stanfield," the other doctor reluctantly offered, "is currently in critical and unstable condition. If he survives, he will be facing a long and arduous healing process."

  Brad's heart sank. "Thank you. I know you did the best you could." The taller surgeon patted Brad on the shoulder. "Get some rest. He's getting the best possible care we can provide."

  "Yes, sir," Brad replied solemnly. After I fly an F-4 back to the base.

  As soon as the doctors left, Brad went to the cafeteria and ate a sandwich. He ignored the stares at his flight suit as he methodically chewed his meal. Like a newsreel being played over and over, Grady's crash kept flashing through his mind. It had happened so quickly that the time sequence seemed to have been compressed.

  After eating, Brad walked back to the waiting area. Bending over a water fountain, he was startled when an elderly couple burst through the double hospital doors. They went to the counter and announced themselves as the Stanfields.

  Grateful that someone had arrived to be with Grady, Brad quietly slipped out of the hallway. He felt uneasy about not talking with Stanfield's parents, but he did not want to lie to them about the covert operation, or what had really happened to their son. The doctors would provide all the information the Stanfields needed.

  The searing heat from the afternoon sun baked Brad Austin while he taxied the borrowed Phantom to the runway. VF-121, the Pacific Fleet replacement training squadron for navy F-4 crews, had hurriedly prepared the Phantom for departure. When Hollis Spencer made a request, he got results.

  Although he could not erase Grady Stanfield from his thoughts, Brad was relaxed. It felt good to be in the cockpit of a Phantom again. The crash helmet the squadron executive officer had loaned him felt a little loose, but it would suffice for the short trip.

  Closing the forward canopy, Brad switched from ground control to the Miramar control tower.

  "Miramar, navy one-one-four is ready."

  "Navy one-one-four," the terse voice responded, "cleared on course. Contact departure out of three thousand."

  "On the roll," Brad replied, swinging the F-4 onto the runway. He shoved the throttles forward and felt the first chill from the air-conditioning system.

  A moment later, Brad selected afterburner and watched the airspeed indicator. He gave his instruments and gauges a last peek before the Phantom clawed its way into the hot afternoon sky. He snapped the landing-gear lever up and glanced at the annunciator panel. Everything was functioning properly.

  Passing 3,000 feet, Brad pulled the throttles out of afterburner and switched to departure control. A minute later he was switched to the Los Angeles air route traffic-control center.

  Looking toward the Vallecito Mountains, Brad made a firm decision. He would talk with Hollis Spencer about the operation and get some straight answers. As much as Brad respected Spencer, he was disturbed about being deceived. Prior to Stanfield's disastrous crash, Brad had been debating whether to discuss Allison van Ingen with the project officer. Now he was positive that he would discuss her.

  Spencer was certainly a driven man. While he had waited for the medevac helicopter to arrive at the crash site, Spencer had requested the F-4 from VF-121 at Miramar. The confirmation that a Phantom would be provided to Spencer had been received before the helicopter was on the scene.

  Brad had been adamant about escorting Grady to the hospital, prompting Spencer to ask him to deliver the F-4.

  Approaching 15,000 feet, Brad flicked the microphone switch and eased back further on the throttles.

  "Los Angeles Center, navy one-one-four."

  "Navy one-one-four, Los Angeles."

  Brad glanced out at the area surrounding their secret base. "Navy one-fourteen will cancel and go VFR." He was changing his instrument flight plan, with the associated radar coverage, to a visual flight plan.

  "Roger," the clipped voice acknowledged. "Squawk one two zero zero, and have a good day."

  "Thanks," Brad radioed, switching the IFF to 1200. "One-fourteen is squawking twelve hundred."

  Lowering the Phantom's nose, Brad adjusted the throttles and settled into a slow descent. Watching for air traffic, Brad analyzed his situation. If they did fly the MiG over North Vietnam, what were the chances that he might get shot down by an American fighter? Probably fifty-fifty, if he flew enough missions over an extended period of time.

  Brad altered course a few degrees to pass behind a corporate jet. What if the North Vietnamese discovered what he was doing? That would double his chances of getting blown out of the sky.

  The surface-to-air missiles were another factor to consider. The North Vietnamese regularly fired their SAM missiles right through any melee, often downing their own pilots.

  There were a lot of ifs, but the most frightening aspect of the operation was the idea of being shot down and forgotten. The part about the White House disavowing his existence, if tragedy struck, particularly bothered Brad. At least, he thought cynically, the Marine Corps would make every effort to save him if he was downed while flying for them.

  It was time for a frank discussion with Hollis Spencer. Surely, Brad thought with a gnawing anger, there must be some type of contingency plans for rescuing the pilots. The CIA damn sure could not expect them to become kamikaze pilots. Brad did not subscribe to the Divine Wind philosophy.

  Reducing the power to idle, Brad descended to 500 feet above the ground. He deactivated the IFF, then turned to enter the narrow passage into the restricted airspace above their landing strip.

  Slowing to 220 knots indicated airspeed, Brad slapped the landing-gear handle down and turned downwind. He had decided not to land out of a normal military break.

  When the airspeed reached 170 knots, he lowered the flaps and turned base leg.

  Banking to align himself with the runway, Brad noticed that the C-1A Trader was taxiing for takeoff. He found that unusual. The COD normally flew under cover of darkness.

  Brad slowed to 135 knots and made a typical carrier landing. Without flaring, the Phantom sla
mmed onto the pavement with a puff of white smoke.

  He rolled to the end of the runway, turned around, then back-taxied to the midfield turnoff while the Trader held in position at the far end of the runway.

  Taxiing along the right edge of the ramp area, Brad slowed to a crawl and swung the Phantom ninety degrees to the left. He opened the canopy, unsnapped his oxygen mask, and breathed in the warm, humi d a ir from the rainstorm that had drenched the field prior to his arrival.

  He peered at the ominous black clouds that had passed over the landing strip. Lightning continued to flash from the bottom of the angry-looking cells.

  Brad watched the COD climb away as the F-4's engines spun to a halt. After removing the borrowed helmet, he saw Nick Palmer and Lex Blackwell approaching the Phantom.

  "Thanks," Brad said, handing his helmet to the plane captain. He unstrapped his restraining harnesses and wearily climbed over the side of the canopy railing.

  "How is Grady?" Nick asked when Brad reached the pavement. Lex handed Brad an ice-cold Budweiser.

  "He is holding his own," Brad assured them, then gulped the chilled beer. Breathing through an oxygen mask always made his throat dry. "When I left, Grady was out of surgery, but in critical and unstable condition."

  Lex shook his head in disbelief "It's a goddamn shame."

  Palmer gestured toward the blackened and twisted wreckage of the F-8 Crusader. "Murray found bird remains in the engine."

  "I figured he would," Brad replied, staring at the charred ruins of the fighter.

  "The explosion was so violent," Lex confided, "that it blew parts and blades plumb through the side of the fuselage."

  "It's a miracle," Brad let out a low whistle, "that he got out of it in time."

  "You're right," Palmer conceded. "Now we have to pray that God will grant him another miracle."

  Brad took a long pull on his beer. "What's been happening around here since the crash?"

  Blackwell and Palmer laughed nervously. "Brace yourself," Nick said, and smiled. "Our friend, Allison van Ingen, just flew in on the COD.

  "Well, Lex, you were right," Brad responded with an edge of discomfort. "I may be a bit embarrassed, but it's time for some goddamned straight answers."

  "Partner," Blackwell drawled, "you think you're embarrassed? Try lower than squid shit at the bottom of the Mariana Trench.

  "We're going to have a brief," Nick grinned, "as soon as you're ready to join the happy group."

  Brad asked his plane captain to put the borrowed helmet on the next COD flight, then looked at the MiG in the open hangar. "Did you fly any more today?"

  "Cap was beside himself," Nick informed Brad, "after the medevac left. So Lex and I waited until he settled down before suggesting that we resume flying."

  "He agreed," Blackwell chimed in, "so we took turns till that toad strangler hit the field."

  The atmosphere in the hangar was charged with tension when Brad entered the building. Hollis Spencer was in his office, speaking on one of the secure lines.

  Austin started for the flight-gear equipment room when he spied Allison sitting alone in the briefing room. He changed course and walked to the door. Allison was as beautiful as ever in tailored utility trousers and khaki blouse.

  "You did a real nice job," Brad declared, nodding his head. "They should give you a raise."

  "Brad, that's hardly fair," Allison protested in earnest. "I had hoped we could put things in their proper perspective, and work together as professionals who have a job to do. You have yours . . . and I have mine."

  Brad gazed at Allison without any visible emotion or hostility. "You have missed your calling," he deadpanned, fixing his hazel eyes on her. "You should have been an actress. They make a hell of a lot more money than a CIA employee."

  Allison returned his gaze, unsure if he was being sarcastic or if he had complimented her in a backhanded way. Inside, she felt a stinging pain. Allison knew he had a reason to be angry.

  She studied Brad, realizing how much she had come to respect him. "Would you mind if we take a walk later--after the briefing--and see if we can clear the air?"

  Brad hesitated for a moment while he considered Allison's offer. He knew that she had only been doing her job.

  "You mean," Brad answered-with a faint grin, "mend some fences, as Lex would say?"

  "Yes." Allison risked a thin smile. "I would like to mend fences, and start with a fresh slate.", "That sounds reasonable to me." Brad eyed her skeptically. "No more cloak-and-dagger stuff?"

  She beamed her radiant smile. "Promise."

  "Okay," he declared, and started to walk away, then stopped and turned to Allison. One question that keeps going around in my mind."

  She laughed quietly. "I'm sure you have more than one question."

  Brad nodded and looked into her eyes. "When did you start following us," he smiled slowly, "the night you tracked us to the lounge .. . and we went on the tour of the city?"

  "From the time you and Nick left the 0 club," she answered without a trace of embarrassment, and smiled like a Cheshire cat. "You two fighter pilots weren't checking your six."

  Brad chuckled and gave her a long look. "You don't take any prisoners, do you?"

  "Occasionally."

  Instinctively, Austin knew not to respond to the remark. "When is Cap going to talk to us?"

  "You have time for a shower," she informed him with a twinkle in her eye

  Turning to leave, Brad again paused to look back. "Would you mind using your influence to see if Cap will use the secure line to find out how Grady is doing?"

  "That's already been taken care of," Allison assured him. Her expression grew serious. "His condition has improved to critical but stable."

  "Thank God," Brad exclaimed, feeling the tension drain from his neck muscles.

  "Our people are checking on Grady every hour," Allison explained as the ground crew maneuvered the lumbering F-4 into the hangar.

  Brad searched deep into her eyes, curious about the nature of the real Allison van Ingen. "Thank you."

  She smiled warmly, then returned to her neatly written notes.

  Chapter FIFTEEN

  Toweling himself dry, Brad reviewed the questions he intended to ask Hollis Spencer. A kaleidoscope of thoughts ran through his mind, with Stanfield's tragic crash and Allison's involvement in the secret operation dominating the others.

  Dressed in a clean flight suit, Brad walked across the hangar to the small meeting room. Hollis Spencer and Hank Murray were huddled under the tail of the MiG, discussing a modification to the empennage of the fighter.

  When Spencer noticed Brad, he rose and walked toward the briefing room. Nick Palmer and Lex Blackwell, absorbed in an animated conversation next to the Phantom, followed Spencer into the crowded space.

  After an awkward silence, the project officer closed the door and sat down. "Before we get into specifics, I want to let you know that Grady's condition is improving."

  The pilots silently acknowledged the update and glanced at Allison. Her face remained expressionless.

  Spencer hesitated a moment, then addressed the three men. "As you are aware, Miss van Ingen is part of the nucleus of this operation. We have worked together for the past three and a half years."

  Spencer stared at each pilot a brief second. "Don't let her looks fool you. I can assure you that she knows her job, and knows it well."

  "I can attest to that," Lex agreed, and lowered his head.

  The CIA agent paused. "It will serve you well," Spencer warned them, "to remember that."

  Brad darted a look at Allison. She appeared composed and confident, as if she had heard it all before.

  There was a hint of impatience in Spencer's voice. "Besides being an excellent security specialist," Spencer continued steadily, "Allison serves as my adjutant. She handles all logistical and administrative tasks associated with the operation."

  Brad and Lex momentarily shifted their gaze to Allison. It was impossible not to be attracted to
the vivacious blonde. Brad noticed that Nick could not take his eyes off her.

  "She is intimately familiar with our destination," Spencer informed them, "having worked with me on an Air America project in Vientiane, Laos."

  Spencer observed the looks of respect forming on the faces of the pilots. They were coming to grips with the fact that Allison was more than an attractive showpiece. She was an extremely intelligent and efficient woman.

  "Everyone in this room," Spencer glanced at Blackwell, "along with a half-dozen maintenance people, will eventually be going to Laos."

  Although elated about still being a part of the operation, Lex showed no emotion after the announcement.

  "Excuse me, sir," Brad interrupted, "but it seems to me that we're going to be taking a hell of a risk to basically place a bandage on a hemorrhaging whale."

  "Captain Austin," Spencer said in a pleasant tone, "let me explain something to you."

  Brad's expression reflected the doubt he felt.

  "The Vietnam situation--our undeclared war--is not going well . . . particularly the air war."

  "How well I know," Brad agreed, refraining, for once, from expressing his contempt for the rules of engagement the administration in the White House had forced on the aircrews.

  "Politically," Spencer declared, "this war has created a wide distrust of our government and its leadership. Our failure to win the war, combined with the ever-growing casualty list, have consumed an inordinate amount of public trust."

  "Cap," Brad ventured, "with the growing resentment that is eroding the confidence in the military and the government, why aren't we using our full capability to end the conflict? We certainly have the means to win, and win quickly and decisively."

  Blackwell nervously cleared his throat.

  "Sir," Brad asked respectfully, "why are we pitting one American-flown MiG, with all the associated risks, against the entire North Vietnamese Air Force? I understand the unique concept, but I could probably be doing more damage flying a Phantom against the enemy.

  Brad felt Nick tap his toe in a silent warning.