I Don't Know Who This Woman Is... Part Two

[DAVIDSTRAKA]

Sounds good Andy. You keeping quite an adventure going!

[jmbiii]

Man, keep going! I got to the bottom of page three too quickly !

[andyjohnston]

I really appreciate the feedback. It isn't easy to come up with ideas so it's nice to know people are reading and enjoying.

[andyjohnston]

Mary led me though security, I think I might have just signed my life away.

 

Then she led me across the lobby to a set of elevators, before pulling a key from her pocket. She put it into the slot next to one set of doors and wait a few seconds for it to open. She ushered me in as the doors closed behind. Inside, the elevator had a small keypad with Mary used to enter a code I couldn't see. The elevator started upward, and how far it went I couldn't be sure.

 

We stepped into a room filled with computes and more people than I could count. A multi-screen display at the front showed several different views at the same time. A grey haired man motioned for us and we followed him to a small room off to the right.

 

"This is...Tom," Mary said.

 

Tom laughed. "Have a seat." I hesitated and he said it again. "Have a seat." The second time it was more like an order.

 

"Glad you're safe," Tom said to Mary, before turning to me. "Thank you for helping. We're not finished yet though, we'll need you to continue a little longer."

 

"Then someone tell me what's going on."

 

"Okay. Get comfortable. It goes like this."

 

[andyjohnston]

It had been made painfully clear to me that at all times, I was to be escorted by someone who had sufficient clearance. As such, I was basically stuck following Mary wherever she decided to go.

 

We found ourselves on the rooftop observation deck. Mary leaned against the railing as the evening breeze blew against us. She sighed. "It wasn't supposed to be like this. I never imagined that...you know what I mean?"

 

I had no idea what she was talking about. I opened my mouth to say so when everything disappeared. As far as I could see in any direction, there were no lights.

 

Mary swore as she made her way back to the door by the glow of the moon. With no power, the electronic lock that normally held the door closed was useless and she pulled it open. I'm not sure how many flights of stairs we descended, lit only slightly by the emergency lights, until we finally popped out at the war room we'd been in previously. It was lit up like a Christmas tree.

 

"How..."

 

Mary glanced back, "There's a generator, this room has it's own power." She wound her way back to Tom, and though I couldn't make out what they were saying, both were gesturing frantically. Mary came back and grabbed my arm. She pulled me toward the stairs and we were going down again.

 

"What's happening?" I asked.

 

"The satellites show everything has gone dark within a 200 mile radius."

[DAVIDSTRAKA]

You have my attention :)

[jmbiii]

Got mine !

[andyjohnston]

I know the basics of piloting a helicopter. That's about it. I mean, in general I can get one to go in the direction I want, and my takeoffs are usually okay. Landings are a different matter altogether.

 

So the idea of trying to navigate through downtown Washington in the pitch black terrified me. Somehow, the fates smiled down on me. Mary dragged me from one area to the next and by the time we were done and headed outside, dawn had broken. The was more than enough light to make sure we didn't become a new fixture on the side of any building.

 

I took us off and managed to climb out fairly easily, and with a tiny bit of effort, swung us around in the direction of the airport we had come in from. The little plane we'd flown in waited and we taxied to the runway. Not much point in calling the tower, since they couldn't hear us anyways. We took off without talking to anyone and once we were airborne I waited for mary to make a decision. She took her time, muttering to herself in tomes too quiet for me to make out.

 

Finally, she looked at me. "I think we'd better head for Chicago." She hesitated before nodding her head. "Yes, Chicago."

 

I put KORD into the GPS, and set the autopilot to take us there. "Are you sure about that?" I asked.

 

Mary glanced at me before looking out the window again. "Not really," she said. "LA is probably a better place to go, but not in this plane."

 

I had to agree, we'd be flying forever. "Alright, Chicago it is."

[flightsimg]

Hope you and your crew wouldn't be allowed to managed a crisis! :):):)

[DAVIDSTRAKA]

Not sure what this Blonde has on Andy or he is really patriotic :D

[andyjohnston]

 

It was well into the afternoon by the time we got all the way from Washington into Chicago.

 

We landed and I followed Mary into the terminal. She used her connections to order us two tickets to LA. As she was in the process, I put my hand on her arm. "I think you'd better make it just one ticket. I'm done."

 

She barely glanced in my direction. "No you aren't. I'll let you know when your services are no longer required."

 

This time she followed me, taking no chances that I might slip away, as we headed for the waiting area. It didn't take too long before our departure was called and we boarded the plane. Flying as a passenger is pretty boring when you are used to being the pilot. They didn't serve any food, there was a movie on but it wasn't very good, some black and white thing.

 

Somewhat after nightfall, we landed in California.

 

[andyjohnston]

It does seem I keep asking, but does anyone care at this oint? Should I try to go on?

[DAVIDSTRAKA]

I’m looking forward to how this all ends. You’re doing great! A lot of loose ends to tie up :D

[flightsimg]

Keep on! Just take me some more time to read, than check images :):)

[Jim Robinson]

It does seem I keep asking, but does anyone care at this oint? Should I try to go on?

 

I've been following and enjoying every installment but if you're getting tired of it I'm sure everyone will understand. Do what pleases YOU! No hurry BTW, take your time and enjoy some unrelated flights in between if it becomes too much. Thanks for the entertainment!

[andyjohnston]

Mary hailed a cab outside of LAX and we made the long ride to a fairly large, non-descript complex. Once again, she got me through security and led me into the bowels of the building. I found myself alone in a small, dimly lit room. There was a chair and a small table, but not much else. I waited a while, and then a young woman of about 20 came in. She dropped a newspaper on the table, before turning and leaving again without a word. It was something to do.

 

How long I was there, I don't know. But it seemed like a long, long time.

[andyjohnston]

I'd read every advertisement, I'd read the obituaries, I'd read every article in that newspaper, most of them twice.

 

Finally, with an ominous creak, the door opened. In stepped a rather tall and balding soldier along with Mary. He reached over and grabbed me, pulling me to my feet. Mary immediately jumped between us and pushed him away. She took me to a corner and spoke barely above a whisper.

 

"You've helped us out a lot here. We're into the endgame, and I'm giving you a choice. You can go back to flying puddle jumpers, or you can see how it ends. I warn you, it's all or nothing. If you're in, you're in. I can't guarantee your safety."

 

I nodded. It took me a few second to think it over. "I'm in," I finally said.

 

Mary looked up at the soldier. "Let's go."

 

With that we were off at a pace so quick I almost had to jog to keep up. Mary led me through the building where I was outfitted with a uniform of sorts, before being ushered into a garage. Several black SUVs waited and I was pushed into one along with a group of other people I didn't recognize.

 

I never saw the woman again, and I assume her name wasn't really Mary. The demeanor she had kept up originally had obviously been part of the ruse to stop anyone from guessing who she was. I wished I could've learned more about her.

 

The convoy of SUVs was off immediately, and travelled at a pretty good clip toward an airfield I didn't recognize. I was piled into the rear seat of a fighter jet, and the pilot in front of me set about his routine of starting the engines before taxiing to the runway. When our turn came, we lined up and accelerated. I felt myself pulled into the seat by the forces, and then we were airborne and climbing at a rate I had never experienced.

 

We flew for a while until I heard the engines power down behind me, and we dropped into a steep descent. Just above the water, we levelled off. Off to my right, I spotted an aircraft carrier not far away. I know that landing on a carrier is considered one of the most dangerous things a pilot can be asked to do, but still I wasn't ready for the violent jolt as we snagged the arrestor cable and were dragged to a halt.

 

[DAVIDSTRAKA]

Ah man! I wanted to know who the woman was. Is there going to be a "director's cut" edition coming out later? :confused: :D. Carrier landing, not my cup of tea...

[andyjohnston]

If I had to choose two words to describe the situation I found myself in, they would be "utter disdain." That's pretty much how I was treated by the crew of the carrier, as an interloper who didn't belong.

 

My life on the carrier was pretty dull. I had a bunk, one of six crammed into a space not much bigger than a closet, stacked three to a side. Mine was the lowest on the left, with nothing but a pale blue curtain for privacy. I spent most of my time there, or in the ship's mess. Once you're on the carrier, you judge the time of day entirely by your watch. There are no windows, you have no idea if it's really day or night, or what the weather might be. The only people who are afforded such privilege are the crew who work on the flight deck.

 

I had heard that there were a couple of other people who were used for various tasks while we were still on land, most of them had chosen to take the opportunity to escape when it was given to them; I should have done the same. Through the grapevine, I got the information that there were one or two other civilians on board, but I was never able to meet with them.

 

And so it was one evening when a foot kicked at my curtain. "On your feet," came a voice. I did as I was told and rolled out of the bunk before doing my best to stand up. The crewman who stood before me looked up and down before shaking his head and motioning for me to follow. He led me through the cramped bulkheads, up and down various sets of metal staircases which sent the sounds of our footfalls echoing into the above.

 

Finally, we arrived at a deck filled with various aircraft, where I was handed over. I donned a flight suit, and was led to an aircraft that looked a lot like the one I'd flown in on, though whether it was the same one I had no idea.

 

Once seated in the back, I didn't have to wait long before we were moving, and an elevator lifted us to the flight deck above. It was dark, the sky was black other than the lights from a few other planes. We rolled forward and I saw the deck crew going about their duties around us. Then one of them stood to our three o'clock, giving hand signals to the pilot. I considered waving my hands around randomly back at him, then thought better of it.

 

The engines behind me roared, and then the catapult fired. We were airborne in seconds.

[DAVIDSTRAKA]

Off into the pitch black of the ocean!

[jmbiii]

I hope they're not going to eject the backseater over some forsaken area, just to meet up with 'Mary' once more. :p

[andyjohnston]

In the black of night, all I had to go by were the faint lights of other aircraft. We climbed out, then circled the carrier for a while, as others planes joined us. Then we settled into formation as we headed across the water. Within minutes, I saw the navigation lights marking the locations of the other aircraft disappear, and we were completely running in the dark. We stayed that way for a little while before I felt out attitude change. I couldn't see anything, but my gut told me we had rolled upside down and the pilot was pulling back. With a hiss, I saw a missile fire from under the wing to my right, just in time for me to groan as well rolled upright again.

 

I could see missiles firing from the other planes as well, and the faint glow that came from below told me they were hitting something, though I couldn't see what.

 

Then, with a noise that was almost deafening, I was thrown forward against my restraints. I was glad to have them or else my face would've hit the rear of the seat in front of me. I could hear the pilot swearing into his mic, followed by words I didn't want to hear. "I'm hit, I'm breaking off."

 

With that, the plane turned jerkily to the right and before long the scene of the attack was behind me. The pilot talked back and forth to the crew of the carrier with terms I didn't really understand and he descended, until he finally announced he had the ball.

 

"Get ready back there," he said. "This is going to be rough."

 

I had already felt what it was like when a craft landed on the deck, so I figured I knew what I was in for. I was wrong. With a bone-jarring thud, and the sound of metal on metal, we hit the deck and careened along. I did my best to remain calm, then everything went dark.

[andyjohnston]

I opened my eyes again to find myself strapped to a makeshift cot in the carrier's medical office. "Well, well," came a voice. "Look who has decided to rejoin the land of the living."

 

At first I said nothing, then I jolted. "Wait, what happened? I need to know!"

 

"Rest." The medic came into view for the first time.

 

"Please tell me," I said. "I need to know."

 

"Sure." The medic spoke slowly as he reached above my head and adjusted something. "What happened was..." I couldn't fight it, my eyes closed again.

 

When I woke, I was in a plane, next to a window that overlooked the right wing. I've said before that if you're flying but not as the pilot in command, it's pretty boring, but at that moment I was glad someone else was in charge.

 

I have a very vague memory of being helped off the plane and into a cab, which took me home to sleep a few more days. It was on my first day back up that I happened to log into my bank. I could see they'd paid me. One dollar, minus the tax.

 

Which totally reminds me of the time...no, I told you about that already.

 

Well there was also...well, that's another story.

[sfgarland]

just now got caught up since second installment . . . . enjoying this a lot!

[DAVIDSTRAKA]

Totally mysterious :confused: