Chapter 10:

Virginia and Ed were the last two off the plane. By the time the pair had made sure the plane was empty, a boarding stairway had been rolled into place. Ed grabbed his hat and briefcase; Virginia and he walked down the stairway together. They gathered everyone for a headcount a safe distance from the aircraft. A few minutes later a military issue jeep pulled up to the group. A naval officer dressed in khakis stepped out of the jeep. He was about ten years younger than Straker and looked oddly familiar. Straker had worn his Air force uniform while he was at Dreamland, and still had it on, and as soon as the naval officer saw the birds on Ed shoulders he snapped to attention and saluted.

"Lieutenant Commander Jeff Patterson USN, sir."

Straker returned the salute. Ed remembered; Patterson was at the Newport RI, Naval War College with him in 1968. Straker had taken an accelerated course in naval aviation tactics.

"Colonel Edward Straker USAF, nice to see you again Jeff."

"Ed I didn't know you were still on active duty, good to see you, sir," Patterson said as they shook hands.

"I'm not full time anymore, just a reservist now," Ed lied.

"I came down to make sure you were all alright, and the shake the hand of the lady who landed this thing, sir."

"In that case, may I introduce Miss Virginia Lake, Virginia, Lieutenant Commander Jeff Patterson," Ed said making the introductions.

"My pleasure ma'am," he said as they shook hands.

"How do you do Commander Patterson."

Patterson had to stop himself from staring; I didn't expect her to be drop dead gorgeous as well.

"Jeff I need to ask a favor, once you've moved this aircraft off the tarmac I need it cordoned off, no one is to go near it. It's carrying classified material."

Patterson was confused. Why would a reservist be in charge of a top secret project?

"It's an unusual request but seeing it's coming from you, I'll take care of it," he said. "I have a shuttle coming that will take you to terminal; I understand you have another transport coming in. Are they going to pick you up?"

"No, the transport is carrying a cleanup team; you won't have to worry about this mess. We will need to catch a military hop back to London if possible."

"I'm sure I can arrange something; I'll send word once I firm up the arrangements," said Patterson. He shook hands with Ed then saluted. "Colonel, Miss Lake," he said.

Virginia and Ed found a quiet spot in the terminal. He could sense that she needed a few minutes alone with him.

"Are you okay?" he asked. She looked at him and smiled. Ed had seen that smile before, he knew what it meant.

"No, not really; like a car accident, you don't shake until it's all over. Some second I turned out to be," she said noticeably trembling. Ed took her face gently in his hands.

"Now you listen to me, we are all damn lucky to be alive. That was a brilliant piece of flying Colonel," he said as he kissed her. She gave him a grateful smile.

"I just got off the phone with Foster. The scrub team will be here within the hour. As soon as they off load our bags, we will fly out of here on the military hop that Jeff arranged for us. We should be in London by 21:00," said Ed. Virginia was hoping HQ would send a transport for them.

"I have to get back in the cockpit Ed, soon," Virginia looked at him seriously as she continued. "I've never had a scare like this in an aircraft before. Even when we ran into the UFO over Loch Ness, I wasn't as frightened as I was today. I have to face this head on or I'll lose my edge."

"That was a frightening event, it would have shaken me up, but you're right. I'll have Alec go with you first thing tomorrow morning. Seagull Yankee is coming in later tonight and isn't scheduled to leave until late afternoon. You'll have plenty of time as our meeting has been moved back to 16:00," he said. Besides I have an appointment at the jewelry store in the morning.

"The two of you must have just been on your why back to the cockpit when the engine exploded."

"I knew something had alarmed you. I was still working on the reports when I told Alec we were in trouble. We got up and rushed to the cockpit just in time to hear you call for shutdown," he told her.

Ed and Virginia were still engaged in conversation when Alec walked over to them.

"That was some of the best flying I've ever seen. I was very impressed," he said to Virginia.

"Thanks, Alec but anymore like that and I'll die of old age before my time. I must have lost twenty years today," she said feigning humor.

"Let me tell you a secret, Ginny, I was more scared than you were. I lost thirty years today. You kept your head about you and reasoned your way out of it. You did better than I would have."

"Well I hope you're not too frightened to fly right seat for Virginia tomorrow morning; she wants to get back in the cockpit," said Ed as he gave Alec a grin.

"As long as she does the flying," Alec said giving her a wink. Virginia Lake was extremely confident in her abilities. To have these kinds of reservations was out of character for her, Alec thought. Hell that flight scared the daylights out of me, I don't blame her.

"By the way Ginny, Paul wanted me to tell you, your Mom got her first assignment today, she's going to see the survivor of the Sara Mae incident."

That statement had the effect that Ed intended. "Do you think she's ready?" Virginia asked becoming all business.

"Jackson and Foster say she is; she was after all a trained SIS agent, that's one of the reasons I brought her on board. Besides, success runs in the family."

"I'll see you two later," Alec said as he got up to leave.

They watched as Alec went over to talk with Mark and Lew. Ed turned back to Virginia and noticed that she seemed to have collected herself and sensed that her anxiety had subsided. At least she wasn't trembling anymore. Ed put his arm around her knowing she wanted to be held. He was aware that the two of them we being discreetly watched by their comrades; It doesn't matter, Ed thought to himself. They are all going to know by tomorrow anyway.

"I guess the rumors are true," Lew Waterman said to Alec and Mark as he tilted his head towards Straker and Lake.

Alec glanced over to them for a second and said, "Ed Straker has been a lonely man for too long; if the two of them can find happiness together than what's wrong with that. Personally I think they make a charming couple."

Mark Bradley was silent. Gay had told him one night about the brewing relationship; he had made a lover's pledge to her that he wouldn't say anything.

An hour later the passengers and crew of the ill-fated SST were boarding the military transport bound for London.

"I don't know about you but I'm going to sleep well tonight, Virginia," Ed said to her quietly as they took their seats.

"That makes two of us."

The 737 pulled away from the gate and taxied to the active runway. The airfield had just reopened and this flight was the first in line. Ten minutes later it was in the air on course for Heathrow International.

The heavy duty SST carrying Lake, Schroeder and Blake had just crossed the eastern seaboard of the United States.

"We will be landing at K. I. Sawyer Air base in about an hour," Colonel Blake said. "The survivor is at the base hospital and our security angle is covered. Dr. Schroeder you will be working under the guise of a specialist flown in to attend the case. I've been assured that the doctor in charge is going to be needed for some type of emergency. That will leave you free to administer the amnesia procedure if needed."

Schroeder nodded. This was one of the things he hated about the job. The amnesia drug was benign in most cases but in some trauma cases it could have undesired effects. And not administering it was not an option.

"Understood," was all he said.

Lake knew by watching that Schroeder wasn't happy about the whole affair, but what choice did they really have. It did beat the alternative.

Straker and Lake stopped in at HQ before going home. Home had pretty much become Ed's house, it was bigger. While they were in the States, Virginia had made arrangements to have most of her furniture put in storage along with whatever they couldn't fit at Ed's. She was canceling her lease at the end of the month; the landlord already had a tenant waiting to move in. The couple walked into Ed's studio office, and while Ed grabbed a handful of reports, Virginia opened the cigar box on the desk and spoke into it, "Lake."

"Voiceprint positive; Lake, Colonel Virginia L."

Ed was rubbing the bridge of his nose; Virginia didn't need to sense his feelings to know something was bothering him. The lift reached the bottom and the pair walked through the corridors to control. Colonel Grey had the mid watch.

"Commander, Colonel Lake, I'm glad to see both of you in one piece."

"Thanks John, anything to report?" asked Straker.

"It's been remarkably quiet. When it lasts for this long, I get nervous," said Grey. "I understand Virginia, that you saved everyone's bacon today," Grey said to Lake.

"Yes and lost twenty years in the process, I hope that was my last close call for a while, otherwise I'll have grey hair before my mother."

"I'm going to drop these in the office and grab the meeting agenda; I'll be right out," said Ed.

"Your mother should be landing at K. I. Sawyer about now," Grey said.

"I hope that freighter explosion wasn't related to the aliens, you know how Ed gets when we have an un-located UFO around, besides I'm still getting used to the idea of her working as a field operative."

"From her SIS dossier, she's been doing this longer than most of us. She'll be fine, hell maybe she can teach ol' Blake a thing or two."

Ed walked up as Virginia answered, "If he can keep his mind on his job maybe she will," she said. She turned to Ed. "Did you find everything you need?"

"I think so, are you all set Virginia?" he asked. She smiled and nodded. Ed took her gently by the arm. "John, hold down the fort, will you?" he said as they were leaving.

"Good night Commander, Colonel."

Skydiver 5 was patrolling the North Atlantic in the area where the SHADAIR SST lost its engine. Gay Ellis was bothered by the incident that almost claimed the life of her closest friends, including the commander, her best friend and her fiancée. She had gotten off the phone with him soon after their plane landed at Heathrow. The flight had shaken them all up, especially Ginny.

She learned from Mark that the aircraft had been torn down out at Groom Lake, was gone through with a fine tooth comb and been certified as airworthy. She knew that Straker being Straker was going to want some answers and she hoped that she would be able to provide some. It was like looking for a needle in a haystack but she had Skydiver searching the bottom for the wreckage of the engine. The chance of finding a piece large enough to stand out from the bottom was slim.

"Joan what's our depth?"

"700 fathoms, Captain."

"Sounding?" Gay asked.

"120 fathoms, keel to bottom, ma'am," replied Joan.

"Very well continue search pattern."

"Continue search pattern, aye, aye, skipper."

Gay thought about Mark again. They had been engaged for a couple of months, but had decided to tell no one at the moment. Their schedules were so hectic that it would be late in the year before they could have a wedding. She didn't even wear her engagement ring except when Mark and she were alone. She knew that sooner or later they were going to have to tell everyone, she just didn't want the gossip train running them over.

Commander Straker had said once that the only thing that moved faster than light was gossip. Gay wondered how he and Ginny were handling it. She knew things had gotten very serious between the two of them, but she also knew how the rumor mill worked. People like Joan worked overtime to keep it running. At least aboard Skydiver I can keep it contained, she thought to herself.

The heavy transport SST had landed at K. I. Sawyer Air base without incident, and the three SHADO operatives were given quarters on the base. Once they had settled in they walked over to the base hospital. Dr. Carlson, the attending physician was going over the chart with Dr. Schroeder.

"So as you can see doctor he is out of the coma but for some unknown reason he has withdrawn into himself," Carlson finished.

"Do we know you he is yet?" asked Colonel Blake.

"Yes we did find identification on him; it identifies him as Peter Watson, age 40. He was the first mate on the Sara Mae. We've run the standard biometric checks, they match. That is Mr. Watson lying in there."

"If it's alright with the two of you," Blake was saying to Carlson and Schroeder, "I'd like to have either myself or Lieutenant Lake present in the event that he regains consciousness. Would that present a problem Dr. Carlson?"

"No, that shouldn't be an issue; I'll let the duty nurse know. I trust you will stay out of the way if something happens?" Carlson asked but it wasn't really a question.

"Of course Dr. Carlson."

"Very good then, come along Dr. Schroeder, I'll get you formally attending the case," he said as the two doctors left.

"I'll talk to Schroeder about using a psychotropic drug to open his mind," said Blake after they left. Even though her placement at the army hospital was a cover, Lynn Lake was, in fact, an RN who still had her certification. She turned to Blake.

"Colonel, that is not a very good idea, and if Dr. Schroeder is worth his salt he won't go along with it either."

"Lt. Lake sometimes it is necessary to take certain risks," he said flatly.

"I agree with you Colonel, but right now is not one of those times. We stand a much better chance of getting valid information if he comes out of this on his own. That particular family of drugs is extremely risky."

Blake had forgotten about her medical background, he hated being caught off guard. "What would you suggest we do Lieutenant?" he asked somewhat sarcastically.

"I looked at his chart briefly, there is every indication that Watson will come out of this on his own in the next twenty four hours. The first thing they teach you in medicine Colonel is first of all, do no harm. This man was in a coma for six weeks, what differences will another twenty four hours make?"

Blake had to admit she made a valid point, he also found that Lt. Lake was a force to be reckoned with, just like her daughter.

"Very well Lieutenant, we'll wait at least for now," he said then added. "For a moment I thought I was talking to Virginia."

Lynn chucked to herself. "No Colonel, my daughter is not nearly as diplomatic as I am," she said innocently.

No damn wonder her and Straker get along so well, thought Blake.

It was after midnight by the time Virginia and Ed made it to bed. He was still bothered by something and he hadn't shared it with her yet. Virginia didn't want to pry but the worry she sensed from him was keeping her awake.

"Alright Ed, talk to me, you've been brooding ever since we got off the damn plane. What's bothering you?"

Ed sighed he didn't want to add to her burdens but it seemed there was no way to hide this from her.

"That engine was torn completely out of the airframe and stripped. The technicians even replaced a bearing in the turbine. So why does a perfectly good running engine suddenly and without warning catastrophically fail mid flight. And why does it correspond to the same flight that has most of the command staff, two Skydiver crews and Professor Reinhardt, on board?" he asked knowing it was a rhetorical question.

"I don't know; but I agree there is something going on it's too much of a coincidence to be an accident," she said. "But we're not going to solve it tonight, so please do me a favor and stop worrying about it at least for right now."

Ed knew she was right; he just didn't like this kind of a mystery. Ed pulled her closer to him and tried to clear his mind. He thought about the diamond they had seen at the jewelry store a month ago, Virginia's eyes had lit up when she saw it. They weren't even shopping for a ring at the time, it just caught her eye. Ed of course had made a mental note of it. Two weeks ago he went back to the jewelry store and placed a deposit on the ring. It turned out to be an almost perfect stone, with one very slight inclusion. It was a one carat marquee with a rose gold setting. Ed didn't even blink an eye when the jeweler told him the cost. Virginia had absolutely loved it and Ed knew he was going to spend the rest of his life with her. As he thought about surprising her Virginia relaxed in his arms; she was finally drifting off to sleep.

The next morning was hectic; Ed and Virginia met Alec at Heathrow and Ed dropped her off. Alec was going to drive her in after they did a check ride. Ed's plans to go to the jewelry store were delayed when SID reported three UFO's on course for the North Atlantic. They came in much faster than normal. But the interceptors were able to get two of them. The third had changed course and was now heading for the central Pacific.

"Get me Lt. Colonel Carlin," said Straker as he walked into control.

Carlin's promotion had finally come through. Straker had pushed hard for this one as well.

"Peter, it looks like you're going to have some company this morning, the interceptors got two of them, I need you to play cleanup," Ed said.

"Roger Commander, I have it on my screen now, closing for attack."

Colonel Carlin was Straker's ace in the hole; he had come through every time it counted. And with Gay Ellis that gives me a pair.

"Have visual contact, going in for attack," said Carlin.

You could already hear him accelerating over the radio. Carlin closed rapidly on the UFO and launched his missiles. The alien spacecraft exploded in a ball of flame.

"UFO destroyed, returning to base."

Straker flipped up the mic, "Good shooting Peter," said Straker. He walked back to his office planning to check through a few reports and run out for an hour. But he had a phone call to make first.

"Lt. Paulson, contact Lt. Lake and patch her through to my office. Use a secure line," Straker ordered.

"Yes sir," came to reply. A few minutes later Ed's secure line rang.

"Straker," he said.

"Good morning Commander," said Lt. Lake, "you asked for me, sir."

"Yes, but this is a personal matter."

Lynn was fairly certain what this meant. "If this is what I think it is then someone owes me dinner."

Ed was sure there was an inside joke somewhere in this but he didn't bite.

"The reason I called is I would like to ask Virginia to marry me, and I would like your blessing."

Lynn smiled to herself. "I was right, tell Ginny that she owes me dinner, and of course you both have my blessings. When are you going to ask her, Ed?"

"Later this morning as soon as she gets back from the check ride," he said to her.

Ed's curiosity got the best of him, "What's this about dinner?"

Now Lynn laughed out loud. "I bet Ginny dinner at the Registry that she would have a ring on her finger by the end of June," she said adding, "In this case it was a win, win scenario."

Straker chucked to himself.

"Any word on that sailor they pulled out of the drink?" he asked switching gears.

"Not yet sir, I would expect him to be conscious by morning."

"Alright have Colonel Blake keep me posted."

"I will, goodbye sir," she said as she hung up. Straker got up and headed out to control.

"I should be back within the hour. Mind the store Colonel," he said to Paul Foster as he left. Paul watched him leave, a bemused expression on his face.

Virginia was on final approach for the last landing. She felt much better having climbed back in the cockpit. This landing was going to be absolutely perfect she thought. As she expected she put the aircraft down just past the numbers, Alec was impressed.

"I don't see any trepidation here Colonel, I would say you've got it down."

"Thanks, Alec. I knew I just needed to get back in the cockpit before too long. That landing was quite a scare," she said then continued. "So what is Ed up to this morning?"

"What do you mean?" Alec asked innocently.

"He looked like the cat that ate the proverbial cannery this morning. I know he's up to something, and I know it's something good, but I can't quite figure out what it is."

"Well we'll back to HQ in thirty minutes or so you can ask him," said Alec hopping she wouldn't push the matter further. He was never good at fooling those who knew him well. And Ginny had his number.

Ed pulled up to the store around 10:30 in the morning. He got out of his car and walked to the door. The door latched buzzed and he walked in not noticing the car pulling up behind him.

"Ah Mr. Straker, I was expecting you last night," the jewelry store manager said to him as he walked up to the counter.

"I flew in from the States last night, my flight ran into some trouble," Ed said.

"Well no matter, are you still interested in the ring?"

"Yes I am, as a matter of fact I want to pick it up today."

"Very good sir, I'll be back in a moment. As the store manager walked into the back, Ed looked around the store. A young couple was at the other counter being waited on by another member of the staff. Another staff member was busy cleaning the counter. A few minutes later the manager came back out with a small box in his hand.

Ed opened the box and made sure the ring was the correct one and asked, "You sized it as well?"

"Yes sir, it should be fine. Let us know if there are any issues."

"Thank you," Ed said as he finished the transaction and placed the box in his pocket. He turned to walk out of the store. As he opened the door two men rushed him with guns drawn.

"Back inside, Now!"

The first gunman pushed Straker back into the store, and pointed his gun at the man cleaning the counter, while the second one ruthlessly killed the manager before he could trip the alarm.

"You four, down on the floor!" the second gunman said pointing to Ed, the young couple and the employee helping them.

Straker was concerned for their safety but he was also angry, these men had just killed a man in cold blood, and he was sure they would not hesitate to kill all of them. They were worse than the aliens he battled every day.

Ed was the closest to the gunman, lying slightly on his right side. He looked at the young couple, a few feet away from him. The young woman was quietly sobbing and Ed saw fear in the young man's eyes. He looked at the store employee, who was laying next to one of the display cases, facing away from him. He noticed a mirror in the display case that allowed him to see their captor.

Ginny was riding back to HQ with Alec when a cold foreboding feeling came over her.

"Alec, Ed's in danger."

"Are you sure?" he asked concerned now.

"Yes, I can feel it, I just know he's in danger," she said. Alec saw concern in her eyes. He picked up the phone to HQ.

"Colonel Freeman for you sir," said Lt. Paulson to Paul Foster.

"Alec what's up?"

"Where is Commander Straker?"

"He said he had to go out and would be back in about an hour, why?"

Foster was locating the commander's car while he spoke.

"Find out where he is."

"His car is parked at 110 Pierce Place."

"Okay thanks Paul; I hope this turns out to be nothing."

He gave Virginia the address and she looked at it. "I know where this is; take a right up here, its two streets up."

In the store one of the gunmen had gone in the back with one of the staff to open the safe. Ed discreetly observed, through the mirror, the man who had been left to watch them. He seemed to be paying more attention to the back room than the people he was supposed to be watching.

They had not bothered to search him, assuming none of them would be armed, and he still had his Glock. Ed timed the gunman's intervals looking for a pattern. Once my jacket is open I only need a few seconds to get my gun, he thought as he formulated a plan.

Lake and Freeman pulled up across the street from the jewelry shop. As Alec went to get out, Ginny stopped him. "Let's not rush into this," she said as she grabbed a pair of binoculars. She looked at the store adjusting the polarization to allow her to see inside.

"It's a robbery, and Ed is mad as hell."

"I'm going to call security," he said.

"Wait a minute Alec. Ed is going to try something. I'm not sure what it will be, let's just watch him closely." She could sense a feeling of determination from him.

"Ginny, what can he do? He may not even have his sidearm."

"Alec, I trust him. Please trust me."

Reluctantly Alec cooled his heels.

One, one thousand, two, one thousand, three, one thousand, four, one thousand, five, one thousand, five seconds, more than enough time, Ed thought. He waited for the man to look away again, and then shifted his body to free his left arm. He carefully opened his jacket to expose his shoulder holster while watching the gunman. Ed rolled back on his belly having pulled his jacket out of the way.

It's going to have to be a head shot, this man has already killed once, Ed was thinking as he waited for him to look away again. When he did, Ed rolled to his left side and pulled his Glock. He quickly took aim and fired just as the gunman looked back. Straker's aim was true as the man now had a hole in the center of his forehead, but the force of the bullet blew the back of his head off.

The young woman screamed as Straker quickly jumped to his feet. The first gunman came out of the back room holding the employee around the neck. The gunman had his pistol to the staff member's head. He looked and saw a man with a look of fierce determination in his vivid blue eyes, holding a gun aimed at his head.

"Drop it!" ordered Straker.

"No, you drop it or he dies."

"Are you sure you can pull the trigger before I kill you?" asked Ed.

Ed watched the man very carefully looking for the slightest bit of hesitation. The conflict had just become a war of nerves.

"I mean it mister; I've got nothing to lose!"

"You have your life. The only way you are going to get out of here alive is to drop the gun. Look at your friend."

He looked down at the lifeless body of his accomplice, seeing the hole in his forehead and the destruction caused by this man.

"How do I know you won't kill me anyway?"

"You have my word," Ed said.

The face of the gunman was ashen as he dropped the pistol, and released his captive.

"Turn around, place your hands behind your head and stand against the wall."

Straker looked at the store employee and said, "Get the police down here."

The staff member quickly complied motivated by Straker's command parlance.

"Yes sir."

As Ed watched his prisoner, he saw Alec and Virginia running to the door.

"And let them in."

The employee buzzed Alec and Ginny in.

"Ed, are you alright?" exclaimed Virginia as she came up to him.

"I'm alright. Alec, watch this guy."

"I got him covered, Ed."

Ed holstered his weapon and reached to help the young couple off the floor asking, "Are you two alright?"

"Yes, who are you people, Scotland Yard or something?"

"Something," Ed said.

Ed looked at Virginia, "How long have you two been watching?"

"Long enough to see you get out of trouble."

"The police are on their way, sir," said the store employee.

They left the police to deal with the paperwork and questioning. The SHADO high level security passes were sufficient to get them on their way, without answering any questions.