“We also,” Claudia continued, “waited to confirm that no other plane of that description landed at any successive airport along that flightpath. We can confirm at least Miss Watson’s arrival there with a reasonably high degree of confidence.”
“Well, that’s weird as shit,” Mark grumbled.
“Any particular reason?”
He looked at her with that evil smile he used at a particularly good joke. If he’d had his mirrored shades with him, he’d have pulled them down despite the darkened room. Noticing her glance at the top of his head, he fished into the inner pocket of his jacket and slid them on. Now she and the lit monitors were reflected back to her.
“What? Did you take a lot of the base commander’s money at poker?”
“Nah. Fay was never big on poker. Though her Number Two has a real weak spot for it. Might have earned myself a couple fistfuls of pounds sterling the times I’ve passed through there.”
“We have to go get her!” Dilya jumped to her feet, waking Zackie, who gave a surprised bark from under the desk.
Emily put a hand on her shoulder and pressed her back into the chair. “It’s not that simple.” She glanced at Michael.
He spoke without hesitation. “Logistics first, plans later.” Oh God, that meant they were going to do this Delta Force style. Emily’s gut hurt. It didn’t mean he was wrong, but now the planner instilled in her by her present command warred with the reaction-based tactician of her piloting career.
Claudia had flown with and then been married to Michael long enough to require no explanation. She tapped in a set of orders and sent them to the Secretary of Defense. He’d learned to simply approve whatever the Protection Force sent him. “That’s a C-5M Super Galaxy transport on the move from Westover Air Reserve Base in Massachusetts. They’re the closest asset at the moment and the reservists will be so happy for a chance to fly that they won’t ask a lot of questions.”
Emily called Trisha and received a mumph in a sleep-slurred tone. Late morning here in Montana meant noon in Fort Campbell, which was Trisha’s midnight as she’d been overseeing night operations. Turnabout was fair play.
“I need the top three Chinooks stripped down in prep for C-5M transport. It’s already en route.” It was a several-hour task for a top crew to remove the rotor blades and heads to fit aboard even the largest of the military transports. C-5M Super Galaxies were huge aircraft, but Chinooks were not small either. Three at once was a serious ask.
“Fuck!” Trisha dropped the phone twice in her sudden scramble before answering more lucidly. “With or without the Delta teams?”
Emily glanced at Michael and received a nod. “With.”
“On it.” And Trisha was gone. She didn’t even slow down long enough to dump any imprecations upon Emily’s head. When action was called for, there were few better than Trisha O’Malley.
“Okay, now what’s the plan? The last I checked, the UK was still a friendly power.”
“That, we’ll have to figure out on the way.” Mark pulled out his phone. “Just texting the kids to hang with Julie for the next couple days. They’ll all love it. Her Jared is seven and has a super crush on Belle. Belle eats it up and Tessa gets to roll her eyes at both of them, then hang with Julie. Sweetest thing you ever saw.”
Great, another piece of her family’s life she was missing. Then it registered. Did she have such a sleep deficit that a full night wasn’t enough? It seemed so. “Wait, you’re coming with us. No, you’re staying at the ranch.”
“Someone has to make sure Dilya stays out of trouble.”
“Hey!”
They both ignored her.
“Seriously, Emma. Unknowns grab Miss Watson, there’s got to be heavy shit going down. I can’t run any interference if I’m off riding my horse across the wide prairie.”
She glanced at the others.
Michael nodded that he was aboard as well.
Claudia hid her smile as she turned back to the screens. “Y’all—” she gave it Mark’s full-on bad Texas. She was from a tiny desert town in Arizona. “—best git you’selfs a-movin’. That Galaxy aerioplane is prolly already off’n that there Yankee runway.”
Emily gave her a kiss on top of the head and followed Mark out the door with Dilya close on her heels. When Michael tried to immediately follow, Emily pointed at Claudia’s back.
Michael did a double take, circled back, and kissed Claudia very soundly before joining them. Emily knew that once mentally in mission mode, the rest of the world ceased to exist for him. She would have laughed in his face if he wasn’t so sweet about it when reminded.
30
Abby woke to two simultaneous sounds: a very loud ringing phone, and a very male curse. She went for the more predictable one first.
“Uh-huh.”
