Blue Skies

by Ali Vali

  “You’re not here to add anything new, so shut up.” Aidan clenched her fists so hard she broke the pen in her hand. When she finally looked at him he was staring at her hand. “You’re here because I’ve got something new to add.” She turned the screen so he could see it.

  The room was silent until the planes went into the obvious combat with the enemy. Aidan and Devin kept their attention on Lewis as the audio came on.

  “Blazer, do you copy?” Berkley’s voice made Aidan bite the inside of her cheek.

  “Copy, go ahead,” Blazer responded. “Can you handle the two incoming while I back track and take out our tail?”

  “Negative, stay on course and engage only if fired on. We’re not that far from the coast and I don’t want to use any unnecessary force. Do you understand?” There was silence. “Blazer, do you copy?” Berkley’s voice came on, but again there was no response.

  “In case you missed it, genius, when she says negative,” Aidan said and placed her finger on the blip that represented Blazer’s plane, “that was a direct order to not head north. But from this information, your pilot chose to ignore that direct order from a superior officer. That was one ignored order.” The plane on the screen then crossed into North Korean air space.

  “Ma’am, I can—”

  “No one asked you to speak, Mr. Lewis,” Devin bellowed. “I don’t think you understand the world of shit you’re in here, so zip it and listen.”

  Aidan started the program after she’d paused it for the outburst. “The orders I gave before you left were to not breach enemy lines except for your brief flight over your target.” She tapped the screen and the program showed their flight back to the Jefferson was mostly over North Korea. “This is proof you also ignored my order, and I plan to turn you over to be court-martialed as soon as we return.”

  “But—”

  “Do not interrupt me again.” Aidan spoke over him. “I plan to turn you over for disciplinary action for insubordination, and if I can prove you had something to do with Commander Levine getting shot down, I’ll have them add murder charges to that.”

  “You should thank Captain Sullivan, idiot, for at least warning you,” Devin said. “If it was up to me I’d throw you off the side and see if those water survival classes you probably slept through really work.”

  “Ma’am,” Lewis said but snapped his mouth closed when Aidan took a deep breath.

  “In this game you only get one turn before we move on. That means I talk to Blazer next and get his version of events. Only this time, I’m going to start with this program and the mistakes you two made out there. While you’re sitting in your cell, start praying that he’s as loyal to you as you’ve been to him.” Aidan cued the program to run again so he could see it one more time. “I have a feeling, though, that Blazer is the type of person who’ll gladly pass the blame onto someone else if given the chance.” She added the part of the radio contact where Blazer asked for Cletus to help him.

  “That’s not fair,” Lewis complained.

  “You had your chance and you blew it. Not fair is having no chance at all.” Aidan turned the screen away from him and looked at Devin. “Get him out of my sight.”

  When the two men stepped out Aidan started the program again and watched Blazer’s plane head toward North Korea. In her mind she could imagine Berkley following him. Whatever came next was a mystery or whatever the crew wanted to call it, but all she knew was Berkley hadn’t come back and it had something to do with Blazer and Alan Lewis.

  “When you get back I’m going to kick your butt,” Aidan said with her eyes closed. “Because I refuse to believe you’re dead.”

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Off the Northwest Coast of North Korea

  “Comrade, the general is waiting for you in the common room,” said the man who opened the hatch of the plane as soon as Jin came to a stop.

  “Jin,” Yong said as Jin turned to go down the ladder to the ground. “What if he takes you away?”

  “The general might try, but you know I’m not without my own ways of fighting back. Get inside and wait in our room.”

  “The general is waiting,” the man reminded her.

  “Yong, if things don’t go well, you have to leave and find your way to your family in Hyesan. From there you might have a chance to cross into China,” Jin said softly and quickly. “There’s no reason for both of us to pay for my mistakes.”

  She walked at a fast clip to the main building, ignoring her father’s men as she stepped into the common area. The television had pictures of the facility to the east of them with a voice-over of Kim Jong Il screaming about the unprovoked attack, but no picture of the Great Leader was shown. Pak sat with his legs crossed and listened with what seemed to Jin to be the kind rapt attention only those filled with total hero worship were capable of having.

  “My father was a farmer with seven children he couldn’t feed, much less buy shoes for,” Pak said without his eyes leaving the television set.

  “I’ve heard this before.”

  “Shut up, you stupid girl.” Though his voice rose, there was no other sign of anger as he sat in the same relaxed way. “You can hate me all you want. I don’t give a damn, but I hope you know you’ve ruined us both. I grew up with nothing, so I know what to expect, but you…” He looked at her and laughed. “You have no clue.”

  “So you’re here to gloat?”

  “I’m here to try to salvage what’s left of my life. With luck, our Great Leader will overlook my mistake in having any faith in you at all, and not cast me aside.” He stood and smoothed his jacket down. “I want a full account of what happened, then I’ll give you what you kept telling me you most desire.”

  “I doubt you’ve ever paid attention to anything I want.”

  “When I leave here I plan to never see you ever again. Whatever happens to you and your whore isn’t my concern.”

  “Finally, you show your true colors, General.”

  Pak reached into his breast pocket and removed something but kept it hidden in his hand. “Your report, Comrade Lee.”

  With as detached a voice as she could manage, Jin told him what happened. “The planes were painted black, but I’m sure they were Americans. You should find the wreckage in the interior.”

  “Anything else?”

  “The fact that we were able to down one despite the surprise attack should be enough.”

  He opened his hand and Jin took a step forward when she saw the jade circle her mother had always worn around her neck. “She wanted you to have this.” Pak placed it on the chair instead of handing it to her. “She died early this morning in her sleep.”

  “Anything else?” Jin asked through clenched teeth as he walked away.

  “Good-bye, Jin, and good luck. Starting today you’ll be transferred to General Ling in the northern territory.”

  “Damn you.”

  “No, after today you’ve damned us both.”

  Jin saw Pak take a deep breath when someone opened the door without knocking. From what little she knew of Pak it was how he kept himself in control.

  “General.” The man who entered said the word like it was some bad taste in his mouth he had to spit out.

  “Lowe, it’s good to see you,” Pak said and formed a smile before he turned to face him. Lowe Nam Chil was a small man whose father served with Kim Jong Il’s father, and was most known for his viciousness. It was a talent he’d shared with his son from a young age so that the teacher paled when compared to what he’d created. No one held out for long when they were locked in a room with Lowe.

  Lowe pulled on the leather coat he had draped across his shoulders to keep it in place. “You don’t seem excited to see me.”

  “Your company is always welcome, but I’d think you’d have other things to keep you busy.”

  “The destruction of the only two nuclear plants we have doesn’t sound like something that would interest me? This was our future, General, and our leader entrusted
it to you.” Lowe smiled, but to Jin it made him look cruel. “Considering what happened you can imagine our disappointment.”

  “From my understanding the attack was a surprise,” Pak said.

  “I’d hope so.” Lowe laughed. “That our best would see this coming and wait to act would be unacceptable. And I believe you understand what happens when our Great Leader finds something unacceptable.”

  “And I would hope you and he realize the level of my loyalty,” Pak said.

  Lowe didn’t answer him, but turned his attention to Jin. “The brief report I got on my way here was that you downed one of them.”

  “Yes, sir,” Jin said. Her father might have climbed the military ladder, but it was her mother who told her never to answer any question with too many words.

  “I’ve got a team on the way to see what we find. Before that happens, do you want to tell me anything else?” Lowe removed an unfiltered cigarette from his front pocket and acted as if he expected Pak to light it, which he did.

  “That’s what happened. There’s nothing more to add.”

  “If you need a hint.” Lowe blew a stream of smoke in Jin’s direction. “You should be trying to impress me with your efforts to uphold our beloved leader’s honor.”

  “The American attack was cowardly, Comrade. They waited until the patrol circled south to carry it out. When I got in the air I took out their best pilot. I’m sure of it.”

  “What our leader will remember is that both of his plants are now destroyed as well as the other two planes you put in the air. The life of one pilot doesn’t seem like a good trade.”

  “Even if it was their team leader?” Jin tried to keep her voice calm, but she could see how Lowe’s hands were twitching as he continued to fool with his coat. “I would think that would be a victory for us since the Americans pride themselves in their piloting skills.”

  “You’re so sure of this that you’d wager you life on it?”

  “I’m that sure.”

  The door opened behind Jin and since Lowe hadn’t answered her yet she heard the heavy clack of someone’s boots getting closer. It had to be one of her father’s men since Pak only utilized women in what he considered lowly positions. That was one of the reasons she’d always blamed for him abandoning her and her mother so easily. Pak had been disgusted that she was a girl, and disgusted with her mother for letting him down. He had set her on the course of her career, but no matter how good she got, he never seemed proud of her.

  “What is it?” Pak asked the soldier.

  “We’ve found the plane, sir.”

  Lowe’s eyes cut to the messenger momentarily before locking with Jin’s again. “Tell us you’ve brought the bodies back so we can exchange those for the two piles of bricks,” Lowe said. “And show the world how the Americans have no honor.”

  “The plane is scattered along the countryside, sir. The impact caused it to self-destruct, but I have men on the ground collecting every piece so we can reconstruct it. So far what we have isn’t of any use in identifying where it’s from.”

  “Any bodies among the wreckage?” Lowe asked.

  “None that we’ve found so far. The seats haven’t been found in the line of debris.”

  Jin didn’t know Lowe well, but she couldn’t believe the transformation on his face. He surprised her with a look of pure joy, a reaction she was sure came from the anticipation of being alone with her and his tools for hours of what he considered fun.

  “Which of us wins our bet?” Lowe asked Jin even though he’d made no counter offer.

  *

  North Korean Countryside

  “Junior,” Berkley whispered into Harvey’s ear. The fall from the tree had knocked him out, not from the impact but from the pain in his leg. Berkley had taken advantage and carried him to a more secluded spot in the woods.

  From her calculations and the brief glimpse of black smoke from their wreckage, the wind had carried them about six miles southeast. It was a head start, but Blazer’s idiocy had driven them at least eighty miles into North Korean territory. Their best chance to survive was to make it not to the coast, but into South Korea.

  The odds of that would’ve been somewhat manageable if they were both mobile, but Harvey would slow them down to the point that the search parties looking for them would have a better than average chance at finding them.

  His groan was laced with what sounded like excruciating pain. “Where are we?”

  “Eighty miles from where we need to be, so you feel up to a walk?” Berkley put her hand on his chest since she’d lowered his head to rest on her thigh.

  “The best thing is to leave me,” he said as he turned his head toward her feet. “No sense in both of us dying out here.”

  “I could do that, but then they wouldn’t give me a medal for saving you.” Berkley poked him in the head with her finger.

  “You don’t give a shit about that.”

  “Sure I do. They really make my dress uniforms pop. You don’t want to take that away from me, do you?” Berkley chuckled. The sun was starting to set but the temperature was still warm, and she hoped for Junior’s sake it would stay that way.

  “How fucked are we?”

  “Enough that if we dig out from this we’ll be legends.” Before it got too dark, Berkley took out the compass Triton had given her. Whether Junior was ready or not, they had to start moving. “I don’t care about that either, but I do want to get back to beat the shit out of Blazer.”

  Junior nodded and tried to sit up. “Oh God, I think I’m going to throw up.”

  “When you were out I set your leg. I know it hurts, but give it time and it’ll fade some.”

  “What’s your plan?”

  “We’ve got to cover at least five miles tonight, but since you can’t put any weight on that leg yet, we’ll go as far as I can carry you.” The stillness of the area made it easy for Berkley to hear the helicopter in the distance. “Try and get some sleep and we’ll move out after it gets fully dark.”

  She was deep in enemy territory, but Berkley wasn’t completely empty-handed. Her father had flown for the Navy years before her, and though the military had trained her, it was her father who had taught her what she considered the most important lessons. She always kept a small bag in her flight suit that she hoped she’d never have to use.

  Every item in it was on her father’s list of essential supplies. The knife, small binoculars, energy bars, and handgun wouldn’t seem like much to most people, but to Berkley it gave her a sense of hope they’d make it out if she kept calm. She moved up to the top of the hill they were lying against and focused on the site of their wreck. There was no way to make out exactly what was going on from this distance, but there was a lot of activity for a pile of small pieces of twisted metal.

  The buzzing helicopters were the sign of what was to come. When the North Koreans found they weren’t in the wreckage, Berkley had a feeling they would hunt them down if only to ease the sting of having been caught unawares.

  “Shit,” Berkley murmured. There was no choice, they had to start moving, and Junior would have to put the pain out of his mind.

  She took out the compass, and the picture of Aidan filled her with regret for all their missed opportunities. The biggest one Berkley would take to her grave, if that was where this ended, was not ever telling Aidan again that she loved her.

  “Of course I wait until now to figure out that I never stopped.”

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Northern Virginia

  “Sir.” Sergeant Nelson Alexander spoke into the phone to Jerry Teague as the new secretary of defense stood rigidly in front of his desk.

  Drew Orr had served in ROTC in college and gladly reported to active duty after graduation. But his years of service had not been what brought him to the attention of the new president. That had come on the first day of college and Drew had arrived at the dorm to meet his new roommate.

  Once Peter Khalid had announced his candidacy, Drew ha
d retired from active duty and hit the campaign trail with him. On election night Peter had recruited him for a new job, and since Drew had spent the last years of his career in the Pentagon, he was the perfect choice. The military was more political sometimes than the halls of Congress, but Drew had learned from his first day in the massive building to swim in those waters.

  “What is it? I told you no calls,” Jerry said in an irritated voice.

  “Secretary Orr is here to see you.” It was the only warning Nelson was able to give before Drew lost patience and walked in without invitation.

  “Secretary Orr,” Jerry said and stood with as broad a smile as his lips could stretch, or at least that’s what it looked like to Drew. “I’ve been so busy I haven’t had a chance to come by and congratulate you. Sorry about that, but hopefully you got my e-mail.”

  “What are you doing here?” Drew asked.

  “Sir?”

  “It’s a simple question, and if you’re going to stand there and play stupid, I’ll have you hogtied and dumped in the parking lot.”

  “I offered to train my replacement,” Jerry said slowly like Drew were simpleminded. “If anything, you should be thanking me.”

  “Lucas Rhodes has nothing to learn from you, and since he’s in China at the moment, exactly how are you doing any training?”

  The side door of Jerry’s office opened and Adam walked in with a sheet of paper in his hand. “I finally heard from our contact,” Adam said with his eyes on the paper as if it held the answer to world domination.

  Drew’s scalp tingled from the realization that his decision to personally deliver some background documents to the new deputy defense secretary had turned over a rock to expose the cockroaches underneath. Jerry’s clearance had been revoked weeks ago, so there was no reason for him to be getting any messages from anyone unless it was a wireless company trying to sell him a new plan. “Let’s hear it then, Adam,” Drew said as he removed his phone from his belt.