Page 2 of Call Sign: Thunder
Zach's pulse was inching up as it always did as he prepared for a mission behind enemy lines. The US military might have the public support of the Colombian government as they joined the war on drugs, but that didn't mean the Colombian people agreed with their presence. It was a well-known fact that the multiple crime cartels in the region thought it their national duty to shoot down US military aircraft.
No wonder he'd been called back for duty. The other pilots on base didn't have a fraction of the experience Zach had in live missions. He'd earned his stripes in Afghanistan and liked to think of his time stationed in the Caribbean as a paid vacation.
Looks like the vacation is over.
They were in the air in less than thirty minutes. For a bigger crew, they'd normally fly in on a Chinook, but due to the stealth requirements of this mission, he was piloting a UH-1Y Venom Super Huey. It was a fast bird and handled the best in tight terrain like when he needed to put down on a dime.
The experienced platoon of marines dozed in the back, storing up their energy for their mission ahead while Zach hauled ass. They were racing the sunrise. They needed to be headed the other direction by the time the sun peeked over the horizon.
His heart beat a bit faster as he approached the Colombian shoreline. They'd flown many missions over the Latin American country, most on humanitarian jaunts, some for surveillance, and a few to lend air support for the Colombian army. Tonight's mission would be their first clandestine mission without the Colombian army's support or even knowledge. It had them all on edge.
Zach spoke into his radio, "Time to rise and shine, boys." At the same time, he set a course he'd plotted many times during training. It would zigzag them through the region, allowing him to hug the rugged terrain in a way less experienced pilots wouldn't dare. The inky black night was a blessing, providing them additional cover, but also making his job harder as visibility was low. His night-vision goggles, radar ,and superior skill as a pilot were the only things keeping them from flying into a rising mountain covered with tall oaks and palms.
The marines on board readied themselves in silence, mentally preparing for the mission ahead. Each man knew his job. Zach had as much confidence in them as they had in him.
An uncharacteristic moment of envy invaded his thoughts as he wondered what it must be like to be the hero who got to rush into the enemy camp to complete the mission. Providing air support and transport had always been enough for Zach, but recently he'd begun to wonder if he'd made a mistake becoming a pilot. He had started to resent missing out on the action of their missions and more importantly, the men had been giving him good-natured ribbing about getting to take a nap while they did therealwork.
Get your head out of your ass, Garrett. You're gonna get everyone killed if you don't keep your eye on your job.
Right on cue, the small lagoon he had been looking for came into view, a dim reflection of a sliver of the moon giving its location away. They were flying mere feet above the tree cover as he banked the copter to the right, heading for the small opening where he'd planned to put down.
Only once they were on the ground did his friend Rock pipe up behind him. "Just like threading a needle, eh Thunder? There aren't many pilots who could land here in the dark."
Zach grinned. "Yeah, well that's why you waited for me to get back to base now, isn't it?" He turned in his seat to watch as the men opened the side of the copter, piling out in silence. Rock was the last to leave. Zach called out to him. "Be sure to play nice with the other kids now. I'll pick you up after school like we planned."
Rock grinned and said, "Thanks, Dad," just before he slid the door back in place, leaving Zach alone to wait.
Chapter Two
ALLIE
"Come on you guys! It's still early. I thought we were going dancing too."
Allison wasn't going to give up on trying to convince her friends to stay out later. She'd been living under a microscope for most of her life and she didn't want to lose even a single minute of this rare opportunity she had to cut loose. As a foreign exchange student at the University of Bogota, she was finally far enough away from her father's reach to let her hair down.
"It's only Thursday night and I have a test tomorrow. Let's go dancing tomorrow night," her friend Kathy answered while pulling a $100,000 Colombian peso bill from her wallet to cover their tab, the equivalent of just over a twenty-dollar bill at home. "I want to run through my notes one more time tonight," she finished before standing.
Allie turned to their friend Ken. He was as gay as gay could be, but he'd turned out to be an excellent salsa dancer the previous weekend when they'd gone dancing for the first time while in town.
He was ready for her pleading. "Oh no. Don't look at me. I told you before we came out to dinner that I needed to stay up late to finish a paper for my Global Econ class."
"But..." She faltered, unsure how to best convince them.
Allison didn't know Ken and Kathy very well. They had only met last semester as the exchange student group from their home campus of the University of Virginia had begun to prepare for their year studying abroad in Colombia. While most of the students in the program were sophomores or juniors, Allison was the sole senior in the group.
She knew she should be taking her studies more seriously if she intended to graduate on time at the end of the following summer, but it was only two weeks into the semester. She'd have plenty of time to knuckle down later. Right now, she wanted to enjoy the time away from the microscope.
The friends were heading toward the door of the small cantina where they had eaten dinner. She caught up with them on the sidewalk outside.
"Come on you guys. Pretty please?" She tried not to sound as annoyed as she felt at not having the people around her bending over backwards to please her.
Don't forget. This is what you wanted, Allie. One year to try to be normal instead of being Walter Benson's daughter.
Ken wove his arm in the crook of one of her arms, while Kathy did the same to the other. "You have a test tomorrow too, young lady. Let's go."
Apparently they knew her better than she thought, but she'd be damned if she'd come all this way to have her fellow exchange students take over where her overprotective parent had left off.
Back in the States, her senator father would often have bodyguards trailing her to make sure she was safe. He'd made himself a target many times in his political career by standing up to the party leaders, yet he was adamant about keeping his only daughter out of the public fray. She was sure he'd finally agreed to let her study outside of the country if only to shield her from the bullshit going on during this election year.
