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THE TEAM FINISHED THEIR last sorties and debriefs just after sunset. They ate more sandwiches from the galley of the Gulfstream and settled in for their night sleeping in the hangar. Those that weren’t flying set up rotating guard shifts to stand watch over the quiet hangar.
“Dude, this jet is awesome and all, but I almost died today!” Woody said as he opened a bag of chips.
He was sitting at one of the tables that had previously been used for flight briefings and debriefings with Spectre, Sparky, Cowboy, and Dusty. As far as anyone knew, Kruger, Tuna, and Sierra were on the Gulfstream doing a secure teleconference with CIA Director Chapman and the U.K. Secretary of State for Defence Nigel Williams.
“What do you mean you almost died? How?” Sparky asked.
“The TVC can be a little touchy,” Woody said.
“What’s TVC?” Dusty asked.
“Thrust Vectoring Control,” Spectre answered. “It’s what controls the movable nozzles in the back.”
“Ah,” Dusty said. “My guy didn’t show me that.”
“You’ll probably get more tomorrow,” Spectre said. “Today was just a fam flight.”
“So, you departed controlled flight or what?” Sparky asked Woody.
Woody nodded as he took a bite of his sandwich. “Alexei thought it was hilarious. Me? Not so much!”
“Well, you’ll have three more flights tomorrow to figure it out before we go home,” Spectre said.
“Dude, there’s no way,” Woody protested. “Maybe a few days, but five sorties in two days with minimal academics?”
“Not like we can understand anything they’re saying anyway,” Sparky added.
Spectre held up his hands. “Look, guys, I get it. But this is a high-risk environment and we’re trying to minimize exposure. You’ll get plenty of seat time once we get back to the States.”
“In all fairness, I guess this is more seat time with an instructor in the back than we get with the F-35. And it’s pretty easy to takeoff and land,” Sparky said.
“Yeah, if you can get past the commie metric readouts,” Woody added.
“There you go. Just like the F-35 and A-10. No sweat,” Spectre said.
“But we get a ton of academics and sims before we ever touch an airplane,” Sparky said. “Not quite what we’re getting here.”
“We’ll get you spun up back home. We just needed to get you some seat time before the aircraft arrive,” Spectre said.
“And when is that?” Woody asked.
“Classified,” Spectre said with a grin.
“Of course it is!” Woody replied sarcastically.
“Is there anything specifically we should be focusing on for this mission?” Sparky asked.
“Nope,” Spectre said flatly. “Need to know until we get to that point.”
“Do I even need to know how to work the TVC?” Woody asked.
Spectre smiled, seeing Woody’s obvious attempt to dig for more information. “Learn everything you can about the aircraft from your instructor.”
Woody threw up his hands. “Oh, come on!”
“Cowboy, you’ve been awfully quiet,” Spectre said as he tried changing the subject. “How’d the flight go?”
“Pretty fun ride, mate,” Cowboy said. “Looking forward to tomorrow.”
“See?” Spectre said. “That’s the spirit!”
“Just sucks that I’m going to have to shave this amazing beard,” Cowboy added.
“See?” Woody said.
Before Woody could complain some more, Spectre looked up to see Kruger and Sierra approaching. They both appeared to be unhappy, presumably about something from the teleconference.
Spectre made eye contact with Kruger who motioned for him to come over. Spectre excused himself and met Kruger near one of the disassembled SU-30s.
“Bad news?” Spectre asked.
“Change of plans,” Kruger said.
“Oh?”
“The timeline for the delivery of the assets has changed,” Sierra said, referring to the SU-30s that were to be shipped to their off-site location.
“How soon?”
“Pickup tomorrow,” Kruger answered.
“Shit!” Spectre hissed. “How’s that going to work?”
“Tuna and I are going to take Ringo and Churchill and we’re going to meet Natasha to facilitate the transaction with the Russians,” Kruger whispered. “You and the others will stay here and go home tomorrow as planned.”
“But what about the three sorties tomorrow? Don’t you think you’ll need them?”
“I’ve got it, bub,” Kruger said. “I’ll figure out the rest when I get home. This is more important.”
“Surely you could send one of the others instead,” Spectre said.
“Getting the assets is the most important part of this plan,” Kruger said. “If that falls through, we’re fucked. I’m going to be there.”
“Are we still driving back to Minsk after our flights tomorrow?” Spectre asked.
Kruger nodded.
“So, we’re losing half of our protective detail?”
“Threat assessment is low,” Sierra said. “We’ve determined that it’s unlikely that you’ll need the contingent we had coming here.”
“Look, lady, I realize you and I don’t know each other,” Spectre said to Sierra before turning to Kruger. “But you’ve met me. You know that’s not how my life works. We’re just asking for trouble.”
“It’ll be fine, bub,” Kruger reassured Spectre. “Taylor and Sledge are perfectly capable. And Cowboy and Dusty will still be with you. That’s a four-man team.”
“I want a rifle,” Spectre said.
“I’ll be there as well,” Sierra added. “I assure you, I’m quite proficient.”
“I’m well aware,” Spectre said. “But I want a rifle and gear. In fact, I think we should all be armed.”
“Won’t happen, bub,” Kruger said dismissively. “If you get stopped at a checkpoint, that won’t fly. Only the security teams get weapons or our cover is blown.”
“Then have Coolio change my identity to a member of the security team. You know I can handle myself, and I’ve trained with you before. These pilots are just as important as the assets. Without them, you still have nothing.”
Kruger turned to Tuna. “It’s your show, bub. What’s the verdict?”
“Better safe than sorry,” Tuna answered. “I’ll have Coolio start working on the new documents.”
“Thank you,” Spectre said.
“And there’s another small problem,” Kruger said.
“Jesus, what else?” Spectre asked.
“We could only get one Russian heavy transport aircraft,” Kruger said.
Spectre frowned. “Wait, that’s only like two aircraft! What about spares? We can’t run training and an op relying on just two jets!”
“Relax, bub, we managed to get an Air Force transport reassigned to help. You’ll have three jets.”
“Three? C’mon, Kruger, that leaves us no margin for error.”
“That’s the deal, bub. We work with what we have. Improvise, adapt, overcome.”
“Goddammit. I don’t like this, Kruger. It’s a house of cards.”
“Just make sure your boys get through tomorrow without any issues,” Kruger said. “Don’t worry about the assets.”
“Not a problem. They have a busy day ahead of them. And they’re already complaining about not getting enough seat time.”
“Realistically, do you think they’ll be on timeline?” Sierra asked.
Spectre nodded. “Pilots bitch. That’s what we do, but these guys are professionals. They’ll be ready.”
“Alright then. Well, we’d better get going,” Kruger said. “See ya in the land of freedom.”