Chapter 15
670 Words
Chapter 15
“We have two flights tonight.” Major Beale indicated the two helicopters parked inside the hangar. Alice tried to get her clothes to settle properly. They’d given her a flight suit that covered her from collar to boots. The vest added another layer. Daniel wore a similar rig and managed to make it look enticing; like you’d want to strip it off to see what lay beneath. She felt like a balloon animal.
The black-painted Black Hawk bristled with armament and radar domes. It had to be the DAP version. She’d never actually seen one of SOAR’s notorious Direct Action Penetrator modifications. No one else flew these. There were perhaps twenty of them in existence and it was the nastiest and most effective piece of airborne weaponry ever launched into the night sky.
It looked modern, cruel, and impossibly deadly.
The other helicopter was almost a joke beside it. She’d seen a thousand pictures of the Mil’s Mi-4 “Hound.” The first true workhorse Russian helicopter by Mikhail Mil. Over three thousand had been built. So ubiquitous and stubbornly tough that a number of countries still flew them, though the last new one had come off the line in 1964. Based on the American 1950s-era Sikorsky S-55, it looked completely out of place besides its cousin, the Sikorsky Black Hawk MH-60M.
Alice didn’t have to ask what it was doing here; the idea had a brilliance in its simplicity. Emily nodded to her, acknowledging Alice’s quick understanding.
Beale and Henderson could enter North Korea in one of two different ways. On board the DAP Hawk they would have speed, night-vision, and nap-of-earth flying capabilities making them as nearly invisible as any weapon of war could become.
If they flew into the country with the Mi-4, they’d also be near enough invisible for a different reason. North Korea still used them as military trainers and agricultural birds. One of the last dozen countries to do so. No one would think twice about seeing one. But the mission would give up speed, maneuverability, and any chance of taking drastic action if called for.
“A tough choice,” Alice acknowledged.
“Mark and I have been back and forth on it.” Emily scowled at the two birds as if it were their fault. “We’re doing simulated missions in each tonight, hoping that will help answer the question. They’re the same weight, but the Hawk has half again the speed, twice the range, and four times the power. Should be interesting.”
Alice had already learned that in Emily Beale’s world, “interesting” was a word indicating a complete and all-consuming fascination. The mistress of understatement, nothing was more important to the Major than helicopters and especially the task at hand.
“Let’s start with the Hawk,” Alice suggested. “That’s your familiar ground, your baseline. Set your calibration point and then reference variations from there.”
Emily nodded agreement and waved a hand toward the Black Hawk.
Several things happened from that simple gesture. A couple of men Alice hadn’t previously noticed back in the shadows moved forward and began working over the DAP Hawk. These would be her crew chiefs, a mismatched pair.
One no taller than Alice but exceptionally broad-shouldered and slim-waisted, a six-pack ab kind of guy. The other was a huge man. Not an ounce that wasn’t muscle, but tall and wide. If he played a hockey goalie, no one would ever see the net past his bulk. They moved over the bird with the ease of long practice and the silence of long familiarity. A good team.
“We dropped in a couple of observer seats for you.” Emily indicated the back of the cargo bay. Two seats had been added, just like the ones for the gunners, low because of the four-foot height of the cargo bay. A circle of red-and-green Christmas lights had been arranged around the back of the pilots’ seats lending a cheery glow to the cabin.
“That’s great. I love it. Thanks.” Alice wondered if she could tease the woman, always worth a try. “Daniel says you like to crash a lot.”
Emily offered the slightest smile. “Well, we’ll see if we can keep tonight’s mishaps limited to just the simulated ones.”
Alice nodded, just as upright and forthright as she’d expected.
Then Emily offered her a beatific smile. “But don’t tell Daniel it’s only practice.”
Alice laughed.
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