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SPECTRE HAD BEEN LYING in the bunk bed, staring at the ceiling in the back of the plush Gulfstream when the intercom buzzed. He was exhausted and had tried to sleep, but he couldn’t get over the overwhelming sense of guilt he was suffering from leaving Woody behind in North Korea. Despite Kruger’s assurances that they’d bring him home, Spectre just couldn’t stand sitting on the sidelines.
He sat up and hit the intercom button on the touchscreen in front of him. “What’s up?”
“Hey, sorry to wake you,” Jenny replied from the cockpit. “Your wife is up on the VTC when you’re ready.”
“Okay, thanks,” Spectre said as he swung his feet onto the floor.
He put his shoes on and headed for the video teleconferencing suite. As he logged on, he saw the incoming conference request and clicked on it.
“Hey sweetie,” he said as he saw his beautiful wife and son on the screen. “What time is it there?”
“Cal! How are you? You look tired. Are you okay? How did it go?” Michelle asked. “It’s morning here.”
“Kruger sent me home. We left Woody behind,” Spectre said as he looked away.
“Left him behind? What do you mean? Where is he?”
“His jet ingested a rock when we landed and destroyed one of his engines. So, we swapped aircraft to get out and I guess when I flew by a SAM site near the border, they were alerted and shot Woody down,” Spectre replied.
“Wait, you did what?” Michelle yelped. “You flew out on only one engine?!”
“It doesn’t matter. Woody didn’t make it out and now they’re trying to find him.”
“Did they eject?”
Spectre nodded. “But when I left, they hadn’t made contact yet.”
“I’m so sorry, sweetheart,” Michelle said softly. “I’m sure Kruger has a plan.”
Spectre shrugged. “Natasha is still in country. I could tell that’s his first priority. Can’t say I blame him.”
“She was part of the mission?”
“She was a big part of the deal with the other Russians. They were brokering our deal. We were supposed to be demonstrating Russian jets to them, but that all fell apart when Woody’s jet broke.”
“Goddammit! I can’t believe I just left him there,” Spectre added. “They’ll kill him if they get to him!”
“Is there anything you can do?” Michelle asked.
“What do you mean?”
“I know you, Cal. You won’t be happy unless you’re helping. So, is there anything you can do to help bring them home?”
“I don’t even know where they are. Cowboy was with him. They could both be dead right now, for all I know.”
“It’s going to be okay,” Michelle said. “Kruger and those guys are the best at what they do. They’ll bring him home safely.”
“How’s Cal?” Spectre asked, changing the subject. “Hey buddy! He looks like he’s grown a foot taller since I was home.”
As Michelle held up Cal Jr. for Spectre to see and talk to, a chat window popped up on his screen. He saw that it was Coolio trying to get in touch with him.
Hey Spectre, do you have a second?
Spectre ignored it as he interacted with Cal Jr who was eagerly showing Spectre the bright yellow toy crop duster Bear had bought for him the day prior.
I found Woody.
Spectre’s eyes widened as he stared at Coolio’s message.
“Hey babe, can I call you guys back in a few minutes?” Spectre asked, his eyes still fixated on Coolio’s revelation.
“Sure, what’s going on?” Michelle asked.
“Coolio just sent me a message on the messenger on here. Says he found Woody.”
“Go! I’ll put Calvin down for his nap and wait for you to come back.”
“Okay,” Spectre said. “I love you.”
“Love you too.”
Spectre kissed his hand and touched the screen before ending the chat session. He dialed Coolio and waited for the video to connect. Seconds later, Coolio appeared on screen.
“Spectre! Sorry to bother you. I just thought you’d want to know we found Woody and are getting intel on him right now. We also made contact with Cowboy.”
“Where is he? Is he okay? Are they together?” Spectre asked nervously.
“Cowboy is with a separatist group that are CIA assets. They’re working to get him out now.”
“And Woody?”
“He’s in bad shape. They’ve got him in a hospital in Kaesong and will be transporting him to a secret prison soon.”
“How bad?”
Coolio shrugged. “We only just recently confirmed his location. Still trying to get eyes on, but they say he’s in ICU.”
“Jesus! Okay. Where’s Kruger? What’s the plan?”
“He and Ringo are moving to the extraction point after taking down Il-Sung.”
“Taking down Il-Sung? You mean what we did didn’t work?”
“We don’t know for sure. Either it was a body double or it failed, but we have confirmation that he went to inspect a launch site.”
“Does he know about Woody?”
“Yeah. Tuna is working on a plan to get him out and they’ll finalize the details when Kruger returns. But there’s one more thing.”
“What’s that?”
“Natasha’s plane just took off on a flight plan to Moscow.”
“That’s good news, right?”
“I haven’t run the facial recognition yet to confirm, but I think she was assassinated in front of Kruger when he took the shot to kill Il-Sung.”
“What?!”
“I watched it on the drone feed. Kruger didn’t say anything about it though when we talked, so I may be wrong. It sure looked like her though.”
“So, he’s distracted, but man that seems like something he might’ve mentioned.”
“A little distracted, yeah. But I don’t want to say anything, you know? What would I even say?”
“Okay, Coolio, thanks for the update. I’ll call you back in a few.”
“Thanks, Spectre,” Coolio replied.
Spectre ended the call and called Michelle back.
“By the look on your face, I can tell it’s not good. What’s going on?” she asked.
“They think Kruger’s girlfriend was killed, Cowboy is being held by a separatist group, and Woody is in a military hospital soon to be transported to a top secret prison where they’ll torture and kill him.”
“My God...”
“I have to go back,” Spectre said. “I don’t know what I can do, but I have to be there. I can’t go home like this. I can’t leave my friends behind like that.”
“I agree,” Michelle said. “Kruger needs you now more than ever. So does Woody.”
“So, you’re okay with this?”
“If Kruger just lost Natasha, he’s going to be distracted. He may not be thinking clearly. He’s been there for us, and Woody needs your help. You should go back and help, even if it’s just for moral support.”
“I don’t know what I can even do. The jet we have is broken with no way to fix it.”
“Don’t they have other jets on base you can fly?”
“Well, yeah, F-16s and A-10s, but it’s been years. And do you really want me going back in country?”
“No, but I know you’re going to do whatever it takes to get your friends back, so I just want you to be safe and think this through. Of course, I’d rather you not go at all, but I know you. You would never be able to live with yourself if you did nothing knowing what you now know.”
“I love you so much,” Spectre said.
“I love you too,” Michelle replied. “But don’t think I’m giving you a blank check, sir. Your son needs a father and your wife needs a husband. Promise me you won’t do anything reckless.”
“I won’t.”
“No,” Michelle said, shaking her head. “Say it.”
“I promise I won’t do anything reckless.”
“Thank you,” Michelle said. “Now go get your friends back.”