AFGHANISTAN – The approach to Bagram was as uneventful as a landing at a
commercial airport, which, after the bronco ride the team had
experienced out of Hong Kong, caught them by surprise.
Conversation on board the 777 stopped for a few seconds as the plane
circled in from the south, passing eight miles high over Karachi and
the Pakistani frontier. Who knew if the skies would be clear, or if
terrorists on the ground had the means to launch missiles at the jet
and its American cargo? What if the Iranians were patrolling nearby
and decided to take some pot shots? Or maybe the Pakistanis
themselves, those experts at duplicity, felt like taking them down?
Yvonne held her breath as they crossed over from the Arabian Sea.
It was Buck who broke the silence and the mood when he
reminded everyone that this wasn?t an American jet. It still bore the
logo and colors of the People?s Republic of China.
Yvonne imagined clusters of mujahedeen below, gazing up at the
big bird through their binoculars and wondering what the hell a
Chinese jet was doing up there, but figuring they?d let it pass because
they weren?t at war with that country. In fact, with China and the
United States competing over philosophies and economics, they
probably applauded its arrival. For the team, the jet?s normal
appearance was better than camouflage.
General Cyrus Diaz-Magadan met them as they disembarked.
He had a warm embrace for Stokes, and added a huge smile when
he was introduced to Yvonne. ?We don?t get too many visitors here,?
he said. ?And we hardly ever get beautiful women in person. You?re
a rare combination, Miss Tran.?
Yvonne was taken back at the general?s blunt remarks. It wasn?t
unusual for a man to come on to her when they first met, but she
expected a man of such high rank to maintain some formality,
especially with the rest of the team within earshot.
Stokes explained. ?You?ll have to excuse Mags. He?s been on
remote assignment for the last four years. Being without a goodlooking
woman for so long sometimes makes a man say exactly what?s
on his mind.?
Magadan was a small man, shorter even than Yvonne, but more
than twice as wide, and had the hard look of someone who?d been
born into a tough neighborhood and had to fight to get anywhere in
life. He proved Stokes?s point further. ?At least when I ran the
installation in Thailand I could buy a little recreation for myself once
in a while. But in this hellhole, the best-looking things are the
villagers? goats.?
So he wasn?t politically correct. In fact, he wasn?t even fit for
mixed company. But they would only have to be there for a day or
two before they could isolate the elusive IP that had haunted Yvonne
ever since Key West. She was excited just being there, on the
tarmac?she was close now, close to solving the mystery of the rogue
microchips, and so physically close to their source she could almost
feel it. Stokes had been right about coming here. He was proving to
be right about many things.
After a few minutes back at the commander?s office, which had
been decked out in non-denominational holiday ornaments, as was
much of the base, they were assigned billeting and given a quick
rundown of the layout of the place, where they could go and where
they couldn?t. Magadan kidnapped Stokes for a catch-up session in
his private quarters nearby, which he promised contained a full bar.
He invited Yvonne along too, ostensibly for some ?Christmas cheer,?
but she declined. The team would get the grand tour later, after
they?d had a chance to relax from their seven hours in the air.
Back in her room?a cinder block cell of about twelve feet
square?Yvonne tried to use the internet to continue her search, but
couldn?t get on.When she inquired she was told access was extremely
limited owing to the base?s sensitive operations and its proximity to
enemy operations. She knew she could hack in, but decided against
it?someone would notice. After stowing her gear, she wanted to do
anything but sit. She found Colin outside the guest quarters and
snagged him for a stroll. He was more than eager to go, and they
walked out past the buildings to a place where they could watch F-22s
performing touch and go landings in the desert haze. The mission
hadn?t been quite what he planned, he said, in the lulls between the
roar of the jets.
Despite the jokes at the start about them staying in
separate rooms, he?d expected she would have at least spent some
time with him. ?After KeyWest I thought we had something going,?
he said. ?But you?ve ignored me since San Fran.?
?You know I?m not looking for anything more than good times,?
she said. ?Besides, there?s too much difference in our ages, darling. In
a little while you?d realize how big that difference is.?
He looked up as a C-17 lumbered in on a far runway. ?We?re not
as far apart as you think, Yvonne.?,
?And what about Macao?? she said. ?You didn?t seem that
interested in me when you went off with Pansy.?
?Actually, I was hoping you?d be jealous.?
So Armageddon Squadron wasn?t the only game Colin played.
But if he thought jumping into bed with her friend would bother her,
he had some growing up to do. For now she added him to her list of
men who hung on way too long after the fling was over. She supposed
he was looking at her in the perverse way so many of her younger
men did?part lover, and, ugh, part mother. Maybe it should have
been flattering they could look at her with such respect for her
matriarchal qualities, but really it was just creepy. What was wrong
with them? What had happened to the James Bond type?the love-
?em-and-leave-?em Casanova who went through scores of the
opposite sex without a second thought? That kind of man seemed to
be disappearing, at least among Americans. She supposed she, and
probably plenty of other confident women, were usurping that role
from them.
Yvonne knew that Stokes had come on the mission with the same
hope as Colin. She was thankful he?d been seduced by the excitement
of being in the field again. Maybe she could find a purpose for Colin
on this mission, something to keep him engaged and occupied.
They?d walked a circle around the area of the base that hadn?t
been restricted, and found themselves near the general?s quarters.
Yvonne suggested they join the commander and Stokes after all. At
least two of them would be trying to impress her, and she had an idea
Stokes would join in once the competition started. It would be like
watching bull moose in combat during the mating season, and she
could amuse herself for a while with the show.
But Stokes and Magadan were on their way out as she got to the
door. ?Ah. Miss Tran,? the general said. ?I see you?ve come to your
senses and are ready to join us.?
?It?s a small base, general. We?ve already run out of things to see.?
?Well, I was just about to give Rohan here the insider?s view.
Some of the technology here is pure Star Wars. We?ll have dinner
after, and I?ll show you that military life doesn?t necessarily mean mess
hall fare.?
?Excellent,? she said. ?And maybe somewhere in that tour your
technology can help us. I?m sure Rohan has filled you in on our
mission.?
?Definitely.We should definitely help each other out.? He flashed
a smile at Yvonne, revealing a set of tobacco-stained teeth.
Magadan had a jeep brought around and relieved the driver so
he could lead the tour himself. He cruised the flightline, where
fighters and transports were in a hive of constant motion. ?Can?t just
let them sit on the tarmac,? Magadan said. He pointed to the nearby
mountains. ?This is Taliban country. They?d be sitting ducks.?
But the real attraction, particularly for Yvonne, was the war room,
a subterranean command center bunkered a hundred feet
underground. The room was a maze of computer equipment and
monitors, manned by both officers and enlisted men who looked
more like they were executing stock trades than prosecuting military
action. She and Colin were engrossed in the work of the drone pilots.
They stood behind three of them who were sitting in a row in
front of a bank of huge monitors. Each man used a modified joystick
to control a Predator or a Reaper as it cruised over the desert.
?This,? Colin said, ?is bitchin?. ?You?ve come a long way since I
flew these babies.?
Yvonne could see him doing a job like this. It wasn?t so different
from the games he played back at her bungalow.
?We get feeds from three satellites, including GPS, and we
monitor every transmission in a hundred-mile radius. It?s all
coordinated in the ISR computer,? the general said. ?That lets us
keep tabs on the movements of the potential bad guys in the region.
If we can confirm that they?re on our kill list, we send the drones in.?
If she could tap into those feeds, Yvonne would be able not just
to locate the source of the cyber attack, she might be able to see
exactly who was behind it. She was eager to get to the task.
?And it keeps our need for personnel to a minimum,? Stokes said.
Magadan said, ?When the bulk of the forces were recalled from
Afghanistan, the Pentagon stepped up our efforts here. We are
literally the only thing keeping the Taliban from retaking control of
the country.?
?Yvonne, didn?t you have something to do with the design of
these systems?? Stokes asked.
?A small part,? she said. The general seemed impressed, but that
was all she would say about her role.
?Mind if I give those drones a try?? Colin said.
?Try ?em? I shouldn?t even let you see ?em,? Magadan said.
?Sorry son.?
Yvonne spoke up. ?Then how about letting me tap into your
satellite feeds so I can get a look at who we?re after??
?Can?t let you do that either. You don?t have the clearance.?
Yvonne wondered how he was going to provide the help he
promised if he wouldn?t let them use the equipment. She didn?t trust
the base personnel to do it?compared to her they were amateurs.
Perhaps she?d find a way to convince him over dinner. Stokes nodded
at her as if to say he?d take care of it, but she wanted it now. She was
tired of waiting for the government to go through its never-ending
hoops. The days when she made her own decisions and then took
action seemed so long ago now.
She made sure to sit next to the general when he hosted the team
at a special table for the Christmas meal. The Air Force had flown in
enough turkeys for the entire base to enjoy, andMagadan tapped into
his personal cache of wine for himself and his guests.
?You?re right, general,? Yvonne said. ?This meal is much better
than I anticipated. You really do run a four-star operation.?
Stokes lifted his glass in a toast. ?Not bad for a one-star general,?
he said.
?Just a matter of time, Rohan. I?m on the short list for that second
star.?
?And you deserve it,? Yvonne said. She traced the rim of her glass
with her finger and gave Magadan a seductive look. ?A man in
control of this much power?they should forget about two stars and
skip you up to four.?
Magadan downed the rest of his glass of wine in a single gulp. ?I
like the way you think, Yvonne,? he said.
?And I?ll bet you have so many medals and honors you?ve run out
of room and have to display some of them in the bedroom.?
The general looked surprised for a second. He put down his glass
and stared at her, then said, ?Well, of course, there?s only one way to
find that out.?
Colin and Stokes both looked amazed at this exchange. In fact,
every man on the team seemed taken by it to some degree, except
for Silk, who continued to enjoy his meal as though nothing had been
said. Her sexual nature was common knowledge among those who
knew her, and the term ?cougar? was often applied in gossipy
conversations, so why she was interested in this arrogant, fiftysomething
toad of a man was a puzzle.
And as predicted, both Colin and Stokes tried to assert themselves
in the discussion. Stokes noted the importance of CyberCom in the
nation?s affairs, and Colin played the youth angle, trying to switch
the talk to motorcycles, and when that failed to work, the obvious
lack of nightlife at the base. But Yvonne kept playing to the general,
enticing him into finding some time the two of them could be alone,
although he didn?t need any encouragement.
Indeed, Magadan had a wall full of honors and military
memorabilia. He also had a huge computer setup that he described
as ?linked into every communication that goes in or out of this base.?
?I am so into technology, darling,? Yvonne said, asking for a
demonstration. She lined herself up behind Magadan and massaged
his thick shoulders. As he logged in she leaned over and licked his
ear, and made sure to memorize each keystroke as he did so. She
feigned interest as the general showed off his ability to access the
various security cameras stationed around the base, even in the
private offices and quarters of his administrative staff. They didn?t
reveal much of anything on this Christmas night.
?Pretty boring out there,? she said.
?The real excitement is in here,?Magadan said, reaching around
to grab her hand. He pulled her onto his lap and put his arms around
her waist. ?Enough technology. Time for primal instincts to take
over.?
?Not so fast mon general,? Yvonne said. She tried to wriggle free
from his grip, but he had her held tightly.
?As you might have guessed, I?m not into teasing,? he said. He
stood up from the chair with her still in his arms.
?Aren?t you at least going to let me get comfortable??
?Yvonne, I?m comfortable enough for both of us.? He carried
her into his bedroom. It was no surprise that there were almost as
many pictures and honors on the walls there as outside.
?You should at least let me do a strip for you.?
He put her down, but kept hold of her wrist, and looked at her.
?All right,? he said. ?Let?s see what you can do.? He jumped onto the
bed and shimmied up until his back was against the headboard. Then
he unzipped himself. ?Show time,? he said.
Yvonne loosened her belt and let it slide slowly around her waist
until it came free. She looped it around Magadan?s neck like a lasso
and pulled his head towards hers, but broke off the move just as their
lips came close.
He huffed like a frustrated elk. ?No teasing. Remember??
?But a really good tease heightens the pleasure,? she said, and
undid the top two buttons of her blouse.
She began to dance, to sway in the sultry way she did when she
was really attracted to a man, moving her hips in little circles, raising
her arms over her head as she did. She watched as his hand went
deeper into the opening in his pants. Thank goodness he wasn?t close
enough to grind himself against her. She undid two more buttons.
?Faster,? he said. ?Let?s get those clothes off you.?
She slid her blouse down until it was around her shoulders and
did a few more turns around the room.
Magadan got up from the bed. ?Too long. This is taking too
long.? He cornered Yvonne and pinned her against the wall,
grabbing her hips and pulling them into his.
?Don?t you want the full performance?? she said.
?I?ve had enough previews. Time for the main event.? He picked
her up again and headed for the bed. As he dumped her onto the
mattress, there was a loud banging at his front door. ?What the? I
told them not to bother me tonight,? he said.
The general tucked himself back in and went to see what the
problem was. It gave Yvonne time to put her clothes back together.
Silk smiled when the door opened. ?Ms. Tran, Mr. Stokes need
to see you right away. Emergency message from CyberCom.?
?What bullshit is this?? Magadan said.
?I?d better go see what it is,? she said, squeezing past him.
?I know what it is. He wants you for himself. I could see it in his
eyes at dinner.?
?Oh no, general. There?s nothing between Rohan and me. I?m
sure this message is legitimate.?
?You tell your boy I want to see him in the morning,? Magadan
said. ?We?re going to have a little discussion about friendship.?
Yvonne and Silk were a hundred feet away before Magadan
finished closing his door, but they didn?t slow their pace. ?I thought
you had forgotten,? she said.
Silk looked at his watch. ?Right on time. Nine forty-five. Just like
you say.?
?Time moves so slowly when you?re trapped with a creep like
that,? she said.
?You get what you need??
?Down to the last keystroke.?
End Chapter 10
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