SUMMER 1943
DARWIN, AUSTRALIA
WORLD WAR II
It was 0-800 and Shady was still asleep. Hale and Gunnar hated to wake her knowing she had flown the entire trip from the U.K. to Australia but the translator was due in by nine and they knew she would want to be ready. Hale volunteered to do reveille and walked to her cot. Shady was on her stomach, snoring slightly. He touched her shoulder, thinking to shake her lightly. However, the minute she felt contact, Powell rolled to her back, her hand Hale had not seen, suddenly possessing a knife that was aimed for his throat. Caesar grabbed her armed wrist, stopping her from accomplishing her goal.
"Nice reflexes," he said.
"Damn it, Hale, you scared the shit out of me," Shady relaxed as he released her wrist.
"Hated to wake you but it's about 8:15 and the translator…"
"Is due at nine. Crap!" She threw back the blanket, "Thanks, Private. Give me ten minutes and I'll be out."
True to her word, ten minutes later, she was standing with the other team members, dressed as they were in olive-green t-shirts, camouflage pants and heavy boots. Only difference was Shady's wet hair. "Sorry for oversleeping, guys. Won't happen again," she apologized.
"No worries, Powell. Like you said on the plane, things will balance out," Hale commented.
She laid the files that Church had given her on the desk. "Here are the four Americans," she divided the folders between Caesar and Jensen.
Gunnar quizzed, "You taking all six British?"
She shrugged, "Well, I am technically a British officer."
"I could take half," an unfamiliar and accented voice spoke. The man was dressed in a light linen suit, white shirt and dark tie with a hat the same color as his suit. His Asian heritage, visible in his features, he added, "I am your translator, Mister Yang."
Shady was the first to speak, "Welcome, Mister Yang. I'm Lieutenant Shady Powell. That's Doctor Gunnar Jensen and Private Hale Caesar." She pointed to each man as she made the introductions.
"Please, call me Yin," he removed his hat and jacket, setting them aside. He reached for half the stack in front of Shady, "Shall I take the top three?"
"Sounds great. Let's get a good handle on who we're looking for since we can't take the files into camp. Spend a couple of hours and then let's get back together for lunch and review where we're headed." Shady gave orders.
The four team members retired to different parts of the building to study their service men. The males on the team worked quickly and efficiently through the files. For them, these were soldiers doing their job; comrades in arms as it were. For Shady Powell, it was a totally different experience. These men were husbands, fathers and sons. The more she studied them the more visceral the tie became. It bothered her that these men may have been injured…tortured…or worse, that they could be dead. The last folder, especially. Royal Air Force Captain Lee Christmas was single. He had no family – no one that would miss him if he didn't come back. The picture she had was haunting. It was his military I.D. and yet it was as if her were standing in front of her. Like Lee, she was alone. If she didn't come back, who would miss her? She pulled the picture apart from the identification card and held it up, "I would miss you, Captain Lee Christmas," and, against orders, she put the photo in her personal belongings.
The team regrouped around a large table where Mister Yang had spread out several aerial shots of their destination, Batu Lintang. He began pointing out the different landmarks, "These are the prisoner barracks, closest to the parade ground. As you can see, there are a couple of airstrips and several other viable places to land. We are going to be one of four teams on site. There will be a group assigned to the Australians and Canadians; one to the Dutch and other groups; one for the internees and we will handle the British and Americans…courtesy of Mister Church."
"Wait," Shady interrupted, "internees?"
"Yes," Yang nodded. He pointed towards similar barracks on the far side of the compound, "Civilian internees…residents of Kuching who were rounded up when the Japanese took over the island."
"And kids?" Shady continued to question.
"Yes, children. The men and women are segregated. Priests take care of the boys; nuns, the girls." Yin answered her questions patiently, all the while watching the emotions play across her face.
But he wasn't the only one watching. Both Hale and Gunnar had observed their female lead. Since studying the files and listening to Yin's briefing, the change was subtle but there, nonetheless. The two men exchanged glances and an imperceptible nod of agreement. It was Hale that spoke, "So, why don't we take a break. Maybe you and Yin could go get our meals?"
Gunnar led and Yin, taking the hint, headed for the door. Powell narrowed her glance at Hale, "Nice job clearing the room, Private. You could have just asked to speak to me confidentially."
"It wasn't meant to be covert," Caesar said.
She braced her hands on the edge of the table and looked down, "Say it." She spoke quietly.
"Can you handle this?"
With her head still down, she responded, "I honestly don't know. I wasn't expecting kids."
"Kids aren't your assignment," Hale said, edge to his voice, "they are." He shoved the ten folders into her line of sight. Shady jerked her head up, glaring at the Private as he finished, "Now get your head out of your ass and do your damn job."
Shady started to speak but stopped. Instead, a small smile played across her face and she answered, "You enjoy that?"
Caesar returned the smile, laughter in his tone, "Yeah, actually, a little."
"I thought so," she nodded, "Thank you."
"Don't mention it," Hale slapped her shoulder and they waited for the rest of the team to get back.
When the doctor and the translator returned, they ate their meal and got to know each other better. They reviewed a few more details; including their passcodes that would confirm their identities to the men they were being sent to rescue. After a couple more hours, Shady called it to an end, "Alright, guys, we're as good as we're going to get. Let's get some rest and be ready to fly by 0-430. That will put us in Kuching by eight."
They nodded their assent and hit their bunks. As Shady stretched out, her thoughts, for some reason, returned to Captain Lee Christmas. She pulled the picture from her go-bag and turned her body away from the other guys. She ran a hand over it, in an almost caress. "My dad taught me to set goals and then work to meet them. You're my goal, Captain," she said to the picture, "I will bring you home. Or, as Mister Church so delicately put it, die trying. Hold on a little longer."