The First Billion

Inside the Mig, Gavallan lets the images fade away. He has seen enough. In an instant, the past has vanished. But it is a different past than the one he has known. A different reality than the one he has lived with these eleven years. No longer will he question his response, second-guess his reflexes. He knows now that he did everything he could, more even, to prevent the bomb from injuring American Marines. Governed by his instincts, he ordered the bomb off its course even before he himself had fully received the command. If his actions were not sufficient to save the lives of ten men, to prevent two others from being robbed of their ability to live full and decent lives, they were still all he could demand of himself. He was an accessory, yes, and for that he would always feel horror and revulsion. But he would no longer feel the guilt, the shame, the dishonor, no longer believe that it was his own poor reactions that had caused those tragic events.

He would never be free of that night, but he was no longer its prisoner.

Slowly, the nose righted itself and the wings found the horizon. The plane shuddered again and was still. They were gliding on a lake of ice.

"Just a little engine problem," he said to Cate. "All taken care of. Sit tight. I'll have us down in a jif."

"Hurry, Jett… thank you… but hurry."

"Roger that."

Bringing the airspeed down to 250 miles an hour, Gavallan let go a long breath. The Mig flew straight on its course, a black eagle skipping across the European sky.

***

Ramstein Tower, this is United States Air Force Captain John Gavallan, retired. Serial number 276-99-7200. I've got a Russian Mig under my butt that I'd like to put down at your place. You should have word about our arrival. Copy?"

"Copy, Captain Gavallan. Sorry, but we have no word of your status. You are negative for a landing. Please exit secure airspace immediately." There was a pause, and the communications link crackled with white noise. A new voice sounded in Gavallan's earphones. "Captain Gavallan, this is Major Tompkins. You are roger for a landing. Please proceed to vector two seven four, descend to fifteen thousand feet. Welcome back to the Air Force."

"Roger that," said Gavallan. Same old. Same old.

***

At 10:07 local time, Gavallan brought the Mig to a perfect three-point touchdown on runway two-niner at Ramstein Air Force Base, thirty miles south of Frankfurt, Germany. A jeep waited at the end of the runway, blue siren flashing, to guide them to their parking spot. Gavallan followed at a distance, keeping his ground speed to a minimum. Finding his spot, he killed the engines. Airmen dashed beneath the Mig and threw blocks under his tires. Gavallan waited until they reappeared, flashing him the "thumbs-up," before opening his canopy and unbuckling his seat harness.

The twin, rounded hooks of a flight ladder coupled onto the fuselage and, reluctantly, he climbed out of the cockpit. He stopped at the bottom rung, not wanting his foot to touch the ground. The crackle of avionics still echoed in his ear. The "by the seat of your pants" rush that came with flying a jet lingered inside him like a melancholy phantom. For a few seconds he listened to the cry of the turbine engines winding down and sniffed at the burnt rubber and let the wind brush his cheek. Technically, he owned the plane, but he had no plans to fly it again. Jets belonged to his past, and he knew well enough not to look back.

Jumping to the ground, he jogged around the nose of the aircraft to help Cate out of the cockpit. "Never again," she said. "And you did that for a living?"

"It's not so bad once you get the hang of it."

A major in neatly pressed blues approached. "Captain Gavallan? I'm Calvin Tompkins, executive officer in charge of field security. Welcome to Ramstein."

Gavallan accepted the outstretched hand. "This is Miss Magnus."

"Evening, ma'am," Tompkins said, offering a crisp nod of the head. "I understand you two are headed stateside."

"We need some transportation. The Mig's got a lousy range- fifteen hundred miles max."

"If you'll follow me, I'm sure we can accommodate you. We've got a Lear fueling up as we speak, courtesy of Mr. Howell Dodson of the FBI. I'm afraid it doesn't have such wonderful range either. You'll have to stop in Shannon, Ireland, to refuel, but it'll have you to New York by morning. We had you scheduled for ten forty-five, but I'm afraid we've hit a bit of a glitch."

"A glitch?" asked Cate, her voice taut.

"Just a solenoid that needs replacing," said Tompkins. "Should have it changed out any sec."

Gavallan knew his luck had been too good. "So what's the new departure time?"

"Right now, we're looking at a midnight ETD."

"Midnight?"

"And you shouldn't have to dally in Shannon long. An hour tops."