by Jack Ford
Rosedale looked at Maddie. He closed his eyes then slowly nodded.
‘Okay. Let’s do this.’
Hurrying into the small cockpit, with Rosedale helping the children onto the plane, Maddie called to Moussa, ‘Throw me the keys.’
A pause. A cough. Then Moussa spoke. ‘I… I haven’t got them.’
‘What?’
‘I didn’t bring them, Maddie.’
‘What are you talking about?’
‘We were only supposed to gather evidence, so…’
‘So you left them and you didn’t think to tell us when you suggested the plane? Jesus, Moussa.’
‘I’m sorry…Maddison, I’m so sorry.’
Realizing she shouldn’t take out her frustration on Moussa, Maddie backed down, speaking warmly to this man she barely knew, but who had risked his life for them. ‘Look, it’s fine… never mind. You don’t need to apologize. You have done so much for us. It’s an old plane, so it should be alright. I should be able to get it started… Rosedale, can you see Tom yet?’
‘No, but he’ll be here. He was only a few meters behind. Best thing we can do is get this plane up and running.’
Not bothering to say anything, Maddie knelt on the floor of the cockpit, feeling the shake of the plane as the desert winds blew. Knowing old planes were easier to hot-wire than any car, she pulled and dragged at the dash, which gave way easily in her hands, exposing the wires she needed. Then, skilfully bypassing the ignition switch, she called to Moussa.
‘You have to hand crank the propellers. This thing won’t work otherwise, because of the way I’ve had to override it… You okay with that?’
He gave a thumbs up then gripped one of the propellers, gathering momentum before he swung his body down whilst Maddie opened the throttle and closed the cowl, and the engine spluttered and shook to a start.
Maddie looked around. Was it her imagination, or was visibility getting better?
As she began to turn the plane she could see Cooper appearing through the diminishing clouds of sand.
‘Tom! Tom! Hurry! Come on!’
With the sandstorm beginning to die down, Cooper stumbled forwards until he saw the plane. He tried to go faster but his body craved for the pills. It shivered and trembled and his legs and muscles became heavy. Cramps and pains tore through him, as he staggered along with the children on his back. Harder and heavier they felt. Cold sweat dripped down, washing his face of the sand as his head began to swim.
‘Thomas, run! Behind you! Run!’
He quickly turned round and there on the horizon, running down over the hill like buffalo, were Bin Hamad’s soldiers. Charging and shouting as the plane began to slowly move along the rubbled earth.
‘Thomas, run! Run!’
Putting down the two children, Cooper shouted instructions. ‘Go! Go! Go, Amira. Run! Run for the plane.’
As the children ran for the plane, Cooper pulled his gun from its holster and pointed it at the approaching soldiers. His hand shook and his vision was blurred, but then… then he saw what was in front of him…
Calling from the plane, Rosedale cried out. ‘Thomas, shoot! Shoot for God’s sake! What the hell are you doing?’
‘I can’t! I can’t, Rosedale. Look, they’re only kids! I can’t…’
‘Just shoot, Goddamnit!’
‘No!’
He dropped his gun and watched as the children approached, and he put up his hands, ready to die… And then he felt someone else. Standing in front of him was Amira, holding the gun he’d dropped and, as if time had slowed down, he watched as she expertly took off the latch and aimed then fired…
‘Amira, no! No!’
The bullets flew and struck the young soldiers. And one by one the child soldiers dropped to the floor and then, suddenly, slowly, Amira began to slump to the ground. Cooper caught her as her head lolled back and her tongue lolled out and blood seeped and flowed, her eyes staring right at him.
He cradled her in his arms and rocked her gently. ‘Amira… Don’t you die on me… Amira. You hear me? You need to stay alive so you can meet my little girl… You’d like her, and I know she’d just love you… Amira, you gotta stay awake, please… Amira! Amira!’
And the little girl for a moment held his stare, and a tiny smile appeared on her face, before the wind blew and her eyes closed as her life ebbed away.
‘Thomas, come on! Come on! For God’s sake, come on!’
In the distance, Cooper heard Rosedale’s voice and for a moment he didn’t move.
‘Thomas, damn it, come on!’
He glanced around at the plane, then turned back to Amira, and gently laid the little girl’s head down on the sand as more of Bin Hamad’s soldiers appeared on the horizon. Cooper began to run.
He followed the plane but his legs began to give up underneath him as his body shook and cramped. He held his stomach as he tried to run, and Rosedale gestured and shouted, leaning out of the open plane door. ‘Come on, Thomas! Come on! Run!’
‘Go… Just go!’
And without a moment’s hesitation, Rosedale jumped out of the plane and stumbled and fell to the ground. But he got back up, slipping and sliding in the sand, running across to Cooper, aware of the soldiers approaching, and conscious that Maddie was trying to slow down the plane as much as she could.
‘I got you, Thomas, I got you.’
Rosedale scooped Cooper up, throwing his body over his shoulder then sprinting with all his might towards the airplane.
With Moussa now leaning out to help, Rosedale pushed forward, running harder and leveling himself with the plane’s open side door, and with one almighty effort he managed to heave Cooper’s battered body off his shoulder and into the taxiing plane. Straight away, Rosedale threw himself at the open door, as Maddie began to accelerate for take off, and he scrambled and cycled his legs in the air whilst Moussa pulled and heaved him inside.
The plane flew up. Shuddering and shaking and flying through the sandstorm as bullets fired up from below and Maddie battled with the controls, trying to steady the plane. And Rosedale looked at Cooper, who sat shivering amongst the few remaining children.
He passed him a drink, and with sweat dripping from him, Rosedale gave a warm, genuine smile.
‘Thomas J Cooper, you will be the death of me. But what can you do? Unus pro omnibus, omnes pro uno. One for all. All for one.’
WASHINGTON, D.C.
USA
109
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‘Jackson, it’s me.’
Jackson Woods gripped onto his cell phone. Closed his eyes and silently mouthed thank you before he said, ‘Are you okay?’
‘If you mean am I alive, yeah.’
‘Where are you?’
‘Emerald Isle.’
‘North Carolina?’ Jackson said.
And as Cooper stood, bare feet on the cold white Carolina sands, the place he’d once come to scatter his Momma’s ashes, the wind blew and he looked out across the sea.
‘Yeah. I haven’t been here for a long time. Too long. Perhaps I’ll bring you here one day… Look, I’ll see you real soon, and Jackson… always know I love you.’
110
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‘Oh God, Coop! It’s so damn good to see you. Jesus, you had me worried for a moment back there. I can’t even begin to tell you how good it is to see your face. When I heard you were okay, well… What I mean is… Christ, I’m not good at this. Just come here and let me give you a hug.’ John Woods stretched out his arms as Cooper walked up the quiet hallway of the Executive Residence.
He stood in front of John.
Face to face.
Man to man.
Son to Father.
Then he clenched his fist and punched Woods right in the mouth. Sent him stumbling to the floor.
‘That, John, is for all those kids you left out there. Abandoned. Bombed. It’s about the handshake you made with the devil… You know in that camp alone there were three, four hundred kids? An
d you know how many we were able to save, John? Do you?’
Woods touched his bust lip. Shook his head.
‘Ten. That’s all. Ten kids, who we took to the Turkish Embassy in Abuja. The rest, John, we were too late. Either taken by Bin Hamad’s men to God knows where, or bombed by you in your off-record strike. Because it was, wasn’t it? Off record.’
Still sitting on the floor, John mumbled, ‘I can’t tell you that.’
‘You can’t tell me? You Goddamn bastard, I was there! I know what you did. But of course you wouldn’t and couldn’t let the world know that you were bombing kids.’
‘Jesus, Coop, what do you take me for? I was after Bin Hamad. And we got him. He’s dead. Which means our country will be a safer place for it.’
‘What? Are you trying to tell me you didn’t know there were kids there? I even told you.’
‘No, I… intel said… Look, we weren’t certain.’
‘You weren’t certain? But you thought there might have been a possibility, right? But you still went ahead with the operation.’
‘I don’t know, Coop… Look, like I say, we weren’t certain.’
‘Shall I show you certain? You want to see certain?’ Cooper opened his jacket. His khaki shirt red with dried blood. ‘See this… This is certain. This was from a kid. No older than nine. Her blood, John. She died in my arms, and you know why? She was trying to save me! You hear that? A kid trying to save me. Which is more than you did for them.’
‘You don’t know what you’re talking about. When I realized you were there, I tried to stop it… I tried to stop that Goddamn strike. I did that for you.’
‘I don’t need you to save me, John. Never have done, never will do. It was those kids you needed to save. They were the ones who paid the price. And this blood on my shirt, is blood on your hands… I hope you can live with that, John, because I can’t…I’ll see you around.’
111
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‘Teddy, tell me you haven’t come to make my bad day even worse.’ Woods sat behind his desk with his feet up, looking out across the White House lawn from the Oval Office window.
‘What have you done to your lip? Looks nasty.’
‘Don’t even ask… So, come on then. Tell me. Tell me what today is going to bring.’
‘Okay, are you ready for this? They’re looking to impeach.’
‘What?’
‘Some key Republicans heard about what happened in the situation room. They’re going after you, John. But look, they’re never going to succeed. Even if they get it through the House of Representatives, the Senate will never find you guilty.’
‘Are you kidding me? They hate me up there… Is it just talk? I mean, how far have they got with it?’
‘It’s such a long process to impeach, you know that, but the Republican Party are ready to form a select committee to draft the articles for impeachment.’
‘Based on what?’
‘A whole bunch of nothing,’ Teddy said.
‘I said, based on what?’
‘On Section 110 of Article III.’
Woods looked mystified. ‘For treason?’
‘Yeah, but like Chuck said, nobody really gets charged with treason.’
‘Oh my God, you’re quoting Chuck at me? The irony. That man will be looking down from whatever heaven or hell there is and laughing hard.’
‘Look, they’re grasping at straws, John, it’s more about embarrassing you.’
Woods sucked on his lip and quickly regretted it as a sharp pain went through it. ‘I think it’s more than that, don’t you? Come on, I broke every rule in the book, calling someone and telling them about a mission which was just about to happen. The watch room will have heard everything. You know that there are sensors installed in the ceilings to detect cellular signals and record them. It doesn’t look good, does it? First there’s Jackson looking at highly classified information from an outside source. Then there’s me, giving out America’s secrets. Jesus, Teddy, even I can see their point. The mail man could see their point. I was talking to somebody, on an unsecured line. I could’ve compromised the mission, helped our enemies, put people in danger. The list goes on.’
Woods stopped. Slid his feet off the desk. Sent the bowl of M&Ms shooting through the air.
‘Goddamn it, Teddy. If I was them, I would impeach me too.’
‘Which brings me to another point, John. They want to know who exactly who this Cooper is.’
SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA
USA
112
Ne7 Kh8
Maddie, Rosedale and Levi stood opposite Granger in his office. Lined up like school kids as he pointed his finger along the row. ‘I don’t know what it is you guys have been up to, and to tell you the truth, I don’t want to know. But I will tell you this: I am just about ready to get rid of you all. You’re more trouble than you’re worth. If I find out you’ve done anything, and that’s anything to put this firm, my business in disrepute, then God help you all. You understand me?’
Rosedale pulled on his cigar. ‘Easily.’
‘You being funny, Rosedale? Because you’ll be the first to go, right along with the foot print of my boot on your ass… Anyway, why I wanted to see you all is there’s a job which has just come in for you. A fleet of planes unpaid for. It’s a guy who works for the Nigerian government. You interested? Though it’s probably best you just take it. I don’t think spare time and you lot bode well. The devil makes work for idle hands.’
Rosedale smiled. ‘Don’t be too hard on yourself, Granger.’
‘Right, that’s it! I am sick… Oh, I wondered when you’d show your face.’
Cooper stood in the doorway. Leant against the side. Cigarette in his mouth.
‘Have you ever just tried just being nice, Granger?’
‘And have you ever tried just being sober, Cooper? You’re high, aren’t you? Popping those Goddamn pills… Look at the state of you.’
Cooper swayed and stumbled and staggered across to where Maddie, Rosedale and Levi were.
‘Tom, why don’t I get you home? Why don’t you come to the house to see Cora, she’d love that,’ Maddie said.
Slurring, Cooper smiled at Maddie as he spoke to her. ‘I don’t need to go home, Maddie. I need to know why he finds it so hard to be nice. There are so many bad things and bad people in the world and all you do, Granger, is make it a whole lot harder.’
Standing up from behind his desk, Granger walked around to Cooper. ‘Get out! Get out of my office. Out of my sight. You’re through.’
‘Well, isn’t that funny? Because the thing is, that’s what I was coming here to tell you. I’m through. I quit.’
‘He doesn’t mean it,’ Maddie said.
‘Shut up, Maddison.’
Rosedale’s eyes narrowed as he looked at Granger. ‘Careful, Granger. I don’t appreciate you talking to her like that… And Thomas, you need to take Maddie’s advice, just go the hell home and sleep it off. We can all talk in the morning.’
Ignoring Rosedale, Granger growled out his words. ‘You are nothing but a mess, and a whole lot of trouble. Everywhere you go, trouble follows you… I even had that man looking for you again. The official looking one. Wouldn’t say what he wanted. Wouldn’t say where he was from, but I do know if it’s anything to do with you, it’s gotta be a whole heap of bad. You’re a mess, Cooper… I don’t know what my daughter ever saw in you.’
A flash of hurt pooled into Cooper’s intoxicated eyes. And a moment later, Thomas J Cooper left the room.
‘I’ll drive him home,’ said Levi. ‘Don’t worry, he’ll be okay.’
‘I hope so, Levi. I really do.’
COLORADO, USA
113
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‘Look, why don’t I come inside? I could rustle up some food or just watch some TV with you.’
‘Go home, Levi. Go home to Dorothy. I’m fine.’
‘But… ’
‘I said, go home!’
&
nbsp; Cooper got out of the car and, holding a half empty bottle of whiskey, staggered to the front door of his ranch.
*
‘Levi, didn’t I tell you to go home! And if you have to knock, knock quietly!’
Cooper pushed himself up from the couch. Kicked the bottle of pills out of the way. Bleary eyed and wired and bare chested, he pushed open the door of his ranch. A new bottle of whiskey in hand. ‘Levi, for Christ…’
He stopped.
‘Lieutenant Cooper?’
‘Yes.’
‘I’ve been looking for you, Lieutenant. You’re difficult to find. I went to your work place a couple of times but nobody knew where you were. I spoke to a man called Granger. I didn’t want to leave a message… I’ve been trying to track you down for some time now.’
‘Well, now you’ve found me.’
‘I wanted to see you before I left…I’m going to live in Italy with my fiancée.’
Cooper took a swing of whiskey. ‘Swell.’
The man put out his hand. ‘Sorry, I haven’t introduced myself. I’m Officer Rowling. I was a helicopter pilot serving on the USS Abraham… I served on there for six months. I was there on the day of the incident involving the yacht and the pirate skiffs… Can I come in? I think what I have to say may be of interest to you.’
VIRGINIA, USA
114
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Ambassador Shaheen smiled. A big wide smile that failed to reach his eyes.
‘Brent. This is a pleasure, and also something of a celebration for you, I think.’
Brent Miller nodded. ‘It worked out well and I appreciate your assistance in this matter. It could’ve become very difficult.’
‘For you, perhaps, but we were happy to help nonetheless.’
‘And I’m grateful. Chuck had become a liability to me. He stopped wanting to play the game by my rules. He took too many risks. Made too many mistakes. Harry recording him being one of the biggest. It was only luck that I wasn’t mentioned on those tapes, but I knew the minute Senator Rubins brought me them, I had to do something… So my gratitude goes a long way.’