SUMMER 1943
DARWIN, AUSTRALIA
WORLD WAR II
The flight from the U.K. to Australia had been over eighteen hours with a stop in Gibraltar to refuel. Gunnar had stretched out in the back to sleep. Hale had taken the copilot's seat but had finally dozed off. When they were about thirty minutes out from their target, Shady punched the Private to wake him up.
"I need your help," Shady told him.
Hale stretched and yawned, "Yeah, you bet. You okay?"
She nodded, "Yeah, just ready for a hot shower and to hit the rack."
"Makes it hard on you, doesn't it? Being the only pilot, I mean. Sorry we can't relieve you," Caesar apologized.
Powell smiled, "I figure it all works out. There'll be things you guys will have to do that I can't. But, for now, here's something you can do to help." She pointed towards the radio and a headset, "The tower is expecting a male not a female. So, repeat exactly what I tell you. They've been targeted continuously by unfriendlies so they're touchy about unidentified aircraft." Hale nodded and made contact with the Darwin base.
"Darwin tower, here, please identify."
Shady instructed and Hale repeated, "Tower, this is Lima-Tango Seven-Niner-Niner-Foxtrot, requesting permission to land."
"Roger, Seven-Niner-Niner, need your identifier, please?" The tower responded.
At the request, Hale looked desperately at Shady. She smiled and gave him the answer. "You kidding me?"
Powell shook her head, "No, I'm serious. Now tell them. They're waiting."
And the tower requested the identifier again to which Hale responded, "Yes, tower, identifier is Fishnets."
You could hear the smile in the voice, "Welcome to Australia, Lieutenant Powell." Here, like in the U.K., Shady's rank was pronounced lef-tenant. "You need to use the far runway and meet your party in hangar four."
"Roger that, tower. Thank you. Seven-Niner-Niner out." Hale pulled off the headset. The Lieutenant smiled and taxied their plane to the instructed hangar. Once she cut the engines and removed her own headset, she scrubbed her face.
Hale led the way, dropping the stairs. Shady followed with Gunnar behind. They were met by a man in civilian clothes and a military haircut. As Caesar hit the bottom step, he took the black man's hand, shook it and said, "Welcome to Australia, Lieutenant Powell. I'm Church. You one of our fine pilots from Tuskegee?"
Shady looked up over her shoulder at Gunnar who was standing in the doorway, a goofy grin on his face. Powell shook her head and waited for Caesar to answer. "Nope. South side of Chicago, actually. And, I'm not Powell. I'm Private Hale Caesar. She's Powell." He thumbed back over his shoulder.
Church's mouth fell open as Shady hit the bottom step. She answered, "I didn't study at Tuskegee, either."
The OSS agent laughed uncomfortably, "Alright, this way." He talked as they walked, "We're going to put the three of you up in this hangar. The less people who know of you, the better. The team is going to apply the remainder of your ICRC decals. It'll take about twenty-four hours for them to set up. The last member of your group, a translator, will be here in the morning. In the meantime," they were now in the hangar in a make-shift living area, "here are the people you're going after. Your mission is to rescue two teams – six British, four Americans." The team exchanged glances, as Church continued to speak, "I recommend that you divide the files. No one person will know all the targets. When you get them, you'll fly to Moscow and our Soviet allies will meet you."
"And if we can't get to all of them?" Jensen asked.
"You misunderstand," Church said. "This is not if. This mission is do or die. Succeed or don't come back. Any questions?"
"Yeah, just one," Gunnar stated again, "what's for lunch?"
Shady and Hale smiled.
"Ha, ha," Church laughed humorlessly, "We'll be putting extra clothes and uniforms in your plane. Not just for trade but for the soldiers you'll be bringing back. And, we'll also set up a small armory in a storage area of the hold. Now, Doctor Jensen, if you will follow the Staff Sergeant, he'll take you to the supply depot so you can make sure your medical kit is fully stocked. We'll also add plenty of extra medicine and supplies for barter."
Jensen nodded and left with the enlisted man. Powell gave a signal to Caesar who chased after the doctor, "Hold up!"
Gunnar froze and turned at the voice. He quirked a brow and spoke softly to the orderly, "I'll be fine, Private. I can handle it."
"Never doubted it," Hale answered, "but I was an orderly so I know my way around a medical supply cabinet. Besides, I think our boss wants Church alone."
"Let's go then," Jensen slapped the Private on the shoulder and they left quickly to catch up with the Staff Sargeant.
"Alright, Church, now it's you and me," Shady quizzed after her team had left. "How many are still alive?"
He shook his head, "We don't know. Hopefully, all of them."
Shady sensed his hesitation or was it reluctance. "What is it? What do you want to know?"
"You ready for this?"
"Yeah, I'm ready."
He snorted, "Really? Combat ready?"
She leaned across the table. It was an ugly but pointed tone that marred her response, "Mr. Church, I don't know if I'm combat ready or not. That plane I'm assigned to fly isn't a fighter so it won't maneuver evasively. If I do my job right, I won't have to. All that will be needed is for me to fly straight and true. I know everything that plane and several others can do. I was taught well to both fix them and fly them."
He narrowed his eyes, "Who are you? Who taught you?"
"I'm the daughter of Shadow Powell. One answer to both questions. Anything else?"
At Powell's name, Church bit his lip slightly. "Your dad was killed."
"Question or statement?"
"Don't play games, Lieutenant."
"Look, Church, what do you want? Yes, he was killed in action over a month ago. Is it motivating me to do this? Maybe. Will it affect how I do this? Hell, no. Now, I've been up for almost twenty-four hours straight, flying most of that time. I'm tired and I'm hungry and, if you keep this up, you'll see what kind of bitch I can really be. You want someone else, you've got until we leave, day after tomorrow, to replace me. Otherwise, it's been a pleasure."
If this had been a game of chicken, Church would be the loser. He blinked first. He looked the woman up and down and then gave her a curt nod, "Nice to meet you, Lieutenant Shady Powell. Head's through that door. There's a shower with your name on it and a bunk over there. Whatever happens, believe this – I wish you good luck." He put on a hat, touched the brim in salute and left the building.
