Project Perses: Redemption

Chapter Four

Chapter Four

"Sorry to pull you from your training on such short notice." The General mutters to me as we sit side by side in our plane seats. This extraction wasn't planned, but kind of last minute.

I'd be lying if I said our current set up is just a little weird, no...it's a lot weird.  The plane's empty except for the crew and the team that had boarded with us, the same team that had accompanied us when we'd been transported by helicopter to the base in Okinawa.  The same team that had encircled us like a human shield the entire time we were on the ground until we'd loaded onto this privately chartered jet, heading back to the US.  I'd even been accompanied to the bathroom, meaning I had exactly zero opportunities to be alone. Don't even get me started about the huge burly dude who'd stood next to me at the urinal.  As I said, weird and enough said.

"Any chance you'll tell me what this is about?"  I ask, looking at him out of the corner of my eye, while watching the same big burly dude up front near the galley as he pesters the flight attendant for snacks. The guy had to be pushing 280, he's that big. Not fat though, but solid as a rock. The flight attendant tries to laugh off his attention, but I could tell she's a bit unnerved by him.

"Just time to bring you home."  Mitchell responds, not really answering my question.  I notice he seems agitated, and keeps glancing at his watch.

"You missed me so much you came to Japan to fetch me yourself from the middle of the ocean?"  I lean back and spy Master Hi sitting off to my right behind me.  "Or was it you missed Master Hi?"

The General snorts to himself.  "I missed your witty sarcasm, apparently."  He pushes back in his seat to recline a bit, stretching out his long legs in front of him.  He'd demanded the window seat and that I sit next to him as opposed to any other seat on this nearly empty plane, which didn't bother me so much, but I would have thought he would've preferred the aisle, so he could stick his legs out in the open like I was doing. He'd even demanded the row we sat in be specifically no further back than the fifth row. Seemed kind of stupid given the dozens of empty rows behind us that just begged to be napped in, but I guess some people just don't like sitting in the back.

Whatever, that was his choice.

I decide to close my eyes. The rumble of the plane is soothing, the hum of the engines drowning out every other noise until it's fairly easy to allow myself to drift off to sleep.  The only interruption in the peace and quiet is the burly dude up front attacking his bags of chips.  We'd already been in the air almost an hour, heading east towards the US.  I'd been informed we would be making a refueling stop along the way, before landing again in San Francisco.  Once there, it was another refueling stop before we'd be wheels up again on our way to an undisclosed location. 

There's no sense of time passing, and I must be more tired than I thought, because I drop off pretty quick, soon not aware of anything around me at all.  I haven't slept this hard in a long time, and I have to admit, it feels good to just relax and let go.  Surrounded by all of these men apparently and singularly dedicated to my well being, there's no reason to anticipate danger.  The worse thing that could happen here is I either snore or drool.

I'm having a bit of a weird dream, no doubt brought on by the illustrious airline food, when there's a bright flash of light that I can literally see behind my closed lids followed by the plane taking a violent lurch to the left before a rippling shudder can be felt through the very floor.  A horrible grinding sound of metal on metal drags me to consciousness as my eyes pop open to find the General hovering over me, in a protective stance, looking backwards toward the aft of the plane where there seems to be a ridiculous amount of air circulation.