Twice we flew over hostiles but both times it was so quick that they didn't have time to get in a good shot. To our right, somewhere in the darkness, Forsyth was a burned out pile of ash thanks to yesterdays fuel air strike. I'd had friends from there but they were now scattered all over the country now. At least I hoped they were.
The moon was giving off plenty of light and as Yamada had said, the skies were clear. No need for a GPS on a night like this. Any idiot could see what part of the state we were heading for. So why the secrecy yesterday? Probably a Kasshole idea.
Shortly before midnight we surprised one of the units surrounding the airfield and the sky lit up with fire before we dropped into a shallow valley. A few minutes later we settled into a low spot 4 km due west of the airfield and Oswald and I jumped out. Our heads up displays had glowing maps that showed some terrain detail along with a dirt road that would lead us to the airfield and back. Pearce came over the IR.
"Eddy, you and Ozzie are on your own. Intel says there's too much shit that could drop us in a heartbeat. We'll wait for three hours and no more. After that you're on your own. If you can scrounge some transport we'd appreciate it. Stay on channel 6 but watch yourself. Radio silence unless absolutey necessary. And one more thing, if someone shows up our three hour promise is null and void.""No problem." I said. "Yamada, what about you?"
"I'll be here monitoring the two of you. If you need me then you're in trouble too deep to be of any use. Just get the goods and get away."
"Wow," said Oswald. "The sense of teamwork here is just overwhelming."
"Just keep your head down and don't unzip." said Yamada. "This is a can't fail mission."
"They always are." I said. "Ready Ozzie?"
"I was born ready."
"Ready for what?" I asked.
"Not sure, I keep hoping someone will tell me."
With Ozzy in the lead we headed for the airport and in less than ten minutes found ourselves face to face with a squad of soldiers. One of them was in a SPE Suit and his radio was transmitting a password request. We both sent the correct reply and were given a pass then waved through. Oswald sent an IR message to the SPE suit but didn't receive a reply. We just looked at each other and shrugged. Different loops for different people maybe.
Twenty five minutes later we hit a barbed wire perimeter complete with trenches and an M1 tank dug in behind a berm. The tank had lost several bogey wheels on one side along with the track and it looked pretty shot up. I checked it out with my thermal imaging and saw no sign of engine life. I handed over our pass from the first guard post and was given another. The ground around us now was littered with debris and numerous craters. Flames were visible on the edge of the runway and smoke rose from half a dozen points. I took a couple of pictures and sent them back to the helicopter after setting the signal to scramble. There was no acknowledgement but I wasn't expecting any. Oswald held his hand up and I halted.
"'If they dropped clusterbombs we could be screwed." said Oswald. "Watch your step."
Passing through some hastily constructed bunkers we found what looked to be a safe path leading to the control tower. Three soldiers, a sergeant and two corporals approached us. The sergeant held up his hand and we halted. They all looked scared and nervously fingered their weapons. Oswald set his transmitter to IR signal.