8

Would you like fries with that?

"It's the only explanation," Branson said thoughtfully with a nod to Le's suggestion.

From the Comm's room on the RV Dolphin, Le had been given dispensation to use Airwolf as an amplifier for the tracker's signal to the Satellite.

It came from deep below deck not far in front of the wheelhouse of the Roosevelt and not too surprisingly, from where the approximate location where ship's medical centre was situated.

That could only mean one thing.

One of the four bodies that had been transferred to the Regan, was carrying the chip.

The two remaining DFO's were quickly ruled out and after running the scanner over Dr Huan's body, it was revealed that a chip was indeed imbedded in her arm.

After being questioned again by the Master at Arms, Mei explained that she didn't knowingly harbour any sort of tracking device but did say that she had a plate fitted to a broken arm when she slipped and fell in a Lab ten years previously.

Still in some shock she asked, "do you think they planted it at the same time? " and chastised herself for asking the obvious.

Separated by the plexiglass panel in her isolation room, the interrogator nodded before standing. "Looks that way, but what surprises us the most is that it's still operational after all this time," he said before turning to exit the room and leaving Mie to wonder what would become of her.

Back on the RV Dolphin the Project Guardian and Santini crew were in discussions over when Airwolf would be released and flown back to her home ship.

From high above, the Airborne Early Warning Grumman Hawkeye's had picked up activity from some of the sea based Chinese military sources.

In the pilot house of the Roosevelt, the Chief Officer was on the hotline with the Secretary of Defence who was giving the order to keep the visiting helicopter on the deck. When he asked why it wouldn't be a better idea to allow it to leave being that they were only a couple of hundred miles from the Philippine coastline, he was promptly advised that it was for its own safety and given no further explanation.

The man again cast his ever-keen eye over the details of the deceptively unassuming black helicopter sitting on his flight deck and was further convinced that the machine was not all it seemed. But he had his orders and didn't ask any questions for the time being.

From the Whitehouse, President Tobias had consulted with Project Guardian's front man and commissioned them to surreptitiously use any means possible to surveil the offending Chinese military bases with more detail.

The Airwolf crew had taken advantage of plug in power and had left all of The Lady's systems including scanners at the ready. Unbeknownst to anyone, Le had already managed to hack into the ship's technical systems when he was given clearance to use Airwolf to assist in finding the chip.

Any information the ship received, was automatically sent to Airwolf and her crew had been glued to the monitors and screens while the ship's on deck activity was noticeably increasing by the minute.

So too, Le was privy to that information and was just about to announce the new developments when from his base in Las Vegas, Ayden Chapman had just joined in on the conversation with those on the RV Dolphin and had caught the last part of the exchange between his operatives and the others on the vessel.

"Airwolf's not leaving anytime soon." Ayden informed with an authoritative tone, beating the tech genius to the punch.

"We've just received word that both carriers are scrambling fighters. The President has given us the go ahead to play with his new toy, so I've got my people working on NROL-44, the most recent and powerful American surveillance satellite.

"We happen to have a sort window where it will be off line for maintenance in the next thirty minutes and we're gonna jump on that and do what that bear did when he went over the mountain."

Back on The Lady, Saint John and Nash were following proceedings as the minutes unfolded.

Project Guardian only had to make short work of utilising the undercover exploitation of the Governments latest spy satellite. They had to hack into the system and then program it to home into the current communications from the hotspots deep within the China complex.

Further to that, they needed more detailed photographic evidence of the bases to assess their level of engagement.

Within the next twenty minutes, the activity on the deck around Airwolf snowballed as, the boys received the same information as the mighty carrier, the RV Dolphin and those others involved with Project Guardian.

Military instillations throughout Mainland China and those dotted around the South China sea were all a hive of activity rivalling the Flight deck of an aircraft carrier and fighter jets were being deployed to all bases within easy reach of the American fleet.

The runways on the Carriers were like a conveyor of comings and goings as the systematic squadrons of jets were deployed in anticipation of a battle and others came in to refuel, lock and reload from their training schedule and their crew briefed on the new mission.

In Washington, the POTUS had received a cryptic call from his Chinese adversary asking him how he liked the thought of being responsible for sinking one of his precious Aircraft Carriers.

That thought was chilling. Darian Tobias knew that China had been developing and bragging about the capabilities of their D21 and D26 ballistic anti-ship missiles, but as yet there had been no proof that they could carry out their alleged impressive credentials.

President Tobias could often be brash in his affectation and it took everything he had to refrain from using the colourful words he wanted to use to describe the man on the other side of the call as to not antagonise him any further and it would be preferable if China's missiles didn't use the biggest vessels in Americas Naval fleet as target practice.

He was also reminded that there was just over an hour left for him to hand over the Doctor and the Helicopter if he was to call off his dogs.

That Li Chunglung had taking it upon himself to threaten the POTUS meant that the Dictator somehow knew that the Wuhan mission was off the books with the Department of Defence.

Clearly the Chinese dictator was playing the same game, not that the man ever followed any rules in the first place.

It was only by a stroke of luck that China's threat could be veiled as retaliation for the even tougher trade sanctions imposed on them by The President's America First policy.

That didn't change the fact that it still put the DOD up to their neck in it, it was just that they didn't know the real reason. President Tobias was up against the ropes and if any of those missiles hit United States interests, not only would he be ultimately investigated, but it would likely lead to impeachment and or gaol time if Operation Alpha was ever uncovered.

It wasn't just his ass on the line. It could also be the start of something far bigger. Something that the opposing political party had always expected he would be the instigator of. Something he always insisted would never happen on his watch.

Another endless war.

With everyone except the Airwolf crew watching the wide screen in the Comms room on the RV Dolphin, the emergency conference ended with the President's last words, "Ok, Let's get the job done." He said before the link was severed and the screen went to static before it turned blue.

Michael turned to scan the room and noted that the others were all deep in thought. It appeared that this time they may just have bitten off far more than they could chew, but they all agreed that there was no choice in the matter.

"Well?" he asked the others, gaining their attention. "You heard the man! Let's get the job done!"

With almost an hour to go before the deadline, they had to keep the wool over the eyes of both DOD and China if they were going to pull this off and as of right then they were going to start with Nash using his assigned flight suit as a disguise and the chaos on the Roosevelt as a cover to sneak below deck .

Le had sent through a mud map through with the coordinates of the Medical Centre. Nash crossed the flight deck via a route that gave him the cover he needed to hide in plain sight and Le helped guide the pilot through any possible tricky spots below deck.

Meanwhile, Saint John was checking systems and getting Airwolf ready to fly.

Nash had made it two decks down, keeping his gaze averted from making eye contact with the busy crew, he casually nodded his greetings to the occasional team member if he couldn't avoid it.

With everyone focused on a real emergency situation, he remained fairly unrestricted and briefly made a stop at the Ship's Laundry. Peeking in, he found it almost deserted and as luck would have it he spotted some fatigues and a blue jersey for Dr Zuan to wear up on the flight deck.

He stuffed the items into a laundry bag and further made his way towards the ship's hospital situated not too far away.

Le helped guide him past the quieter section housing the medical wing, and luckily the quarantine station was set away from the hospital itself and he didn't have to get past any medical staff.

With Le guiding him to the Doctor's room, he remotely unlocked he door and Nash stepped inside.

Startling from her prone position on a narrow cot, Mei jumped to her feet and asked, "What are you doing here?"

"We're busting you out. Here." Nash said, digging the cloths out of the laundry bag and throwing them at Mei's chest, "put those on, leave the blue shirt till were get up to the flight deck.

Nash turned around and Mei did as she was told, stuffing the shirt into one of the deep pockets of her fatigues.

Running his eye over the tiny woman, he frowned at the sloppy look of the uniform that was at least a few sizes too big. Dr Zuan had to roll the hem up on the pant legs and shirt sleeves, "It'll have to do," he said with a sigh handing her a matching peaked hat.

"Stay on my six and keep your head down" he ordered before he stuck his head out from the room to check if the coast was clear and they headed back the way he'd come.

"Hey!" a voice called from behind them only a minute later. "Are you meant to be down here?"

Nash pushed the Doctor's small frame behind him to conceal her as he turned to face the man walking down the corridor towards them. He stayed quiet, allowing the low-ranking Seaman to approach and had to give it to the kid - for he wouldn't have been twenty if he was a day older - he had guts to call out what he would have assumed to be a Higher ranking Airman who likely should have been airside in the situation the carrier was currently under.

The nosy young serviceman tried to peer around Nash to see who he was hiding. His eyebrows drew together and he grinned sheepishly, "Oh man, you flyboy's have all the luck." He said trying to appear cool but was clearly blushing at what he thought he was witnessing.

"Yeah," Nash nodded agreeing with a smile, trying to put the guy - who was clearly still wet behind the ears - at ease "Can I give you a tip?" he said slinging an arm around the young man's shoulders and walking him away from Dr Zuan.

"Yes sir."

"What's your name Seaman?" Nash asked not unkindly, further drawing the hapless youngster into his trap.

"Eugene Simmons. Sir." he answered in a southern accent.

But that's all that Nash let him say. Quick as a whip Nash had the Seaman in a choke hold and he was knocked out cold in no time.

Gently, he placed him on the floor and hurried Dr Zuan along letting her know the at he'd come too fairly quickly and headed back through the intricate maze of corridors and stairways until they came one of the lesser used exits to the flight deck. Reminding Dr Zuan to add the blue shirt before helping her with the compulsory head gear, they easily made it back to The Lady.

Unplugging her from the ship's power grid, Nash noted that Saint John had already initiated start sequence and let Le know they were all on board before the other two had even strapped themselves in.

Airwolf's blades began to rotate catching they eye of a number of the colourful crewmen on the flight deck, who were forced to notify and change their procedure.

At the exact same moment on the bridge, the Chief Officer had just put down the receiver of the EC Service Telephone after getting news that one of the quarantine rooms was discovered unoccupied and a crew member had been knocked out. Likewise, his Navigator brought his attention to the movement of the blades on the sleek black Helo.

"Ah Shit." He said through clenched teeth systematically ordering the flight deck to make adjustments to their course of action. He followed by engaging the ships weapons to lock onto the machine, then he radioed the offending Chopper and asked Nash what the hell they thought he was playing at.

"Let's just say that something came up," Nash said, with The Lady hitting revs before lifting off.

"You can't go, I have orders to keep you from leaving. Don't make me knock you out of the sky." The captain said fully prepared to follow through with his threat as the ships guns put The Lady in their crosshairs.

"They've got a lock on us. " Saint John said, confirming what the Chief was saying while Airwolf's sensors identified the two deck mounted 20mm Gatling guns following her movements.

Airwolf rose ominously and made her way to the bridge so that Nash could see a clear path right to the Captain, The Lady's howl could be heard through the expanse of glass surrounding the wheelhouse.

Chief Officer Goldstein's gut was right, there was definitely more to this helo than met the eye.

"We've got our orders too Sir," Nash said politely and ordered Saint John to deploy their weapons. "So, you might want to reconsider that since we're trying to save your ass right now," Nash said with Airwolf showing off her arsenal.

The captain's eyes grew wide and he swallowed heavily knowing he was looking straight down the barrel of an extraordinary weapon.

"Standdown." He ordered his gunners before talking to Nash. "I hope you know what you're doing up there."

Nash smirked, "I'll call you if I need you," he said before tipping Airwolf forward and flying her over the top of the Pilot House, leaving the entire crew to follow The Lady's path out to sea, wondering what the hell they'd just seen after Nash called for Turbo's.

Saint John punched in 9.904395 115.529750, the coordinates to a small atoll in the middle of the Spratly Archipelago only about a hundred miles southwest of the mighty carrier and her posse.

"Where are we going?" Dr Zuan finally asked now that they were flying straight and level

Streaking over the ocean towards the next part of their mission, Nash answered, "We're gonna save the World," he said only half joking. The doctor looked at him questioningly and clearly wanting more information.

Saint John took the honors. "What we're supposed to do, is hand you and this helicopter over to the CCP."

"What?" Mei asked in horror. "We're going back there? Are you crazy? You know It'll be a death sentence." She said her voice pitching, she looked panicked and like she was trying to find a way to leave The Lady's cabin. "Or worse! And not just for me, but for all of us!"

The undercover agent had been through the wringer already, so her emotions had gotten the best of her and she couldn't control her eyes from tearing up. She couldn't go back to that and she didn't want to die under the CCP after living under them for so long. Not after being rescued and now for it all to be undone.

"Now hold your horses Doc," Saint John said in an attempt to calm her. "Before you go thinking it would be better throwing yourself out of a perfectly good helo, 'supposed to' are the operative words here. There's no way we're actually going to go through with that, but we're going to let them think we are."

Mei stared at him blankly, "Oookay? So, what are you going to do?" She asked only feeling marginally relieved.

"Well." Saint John thought for a moment, "we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. It all depends what we find." He said with a carefree smile.

"If that's supposed to make me feel more at ease, you're doing a lousy job." Mei said with a scowl before staring out the window to ponder her fate some more.

As Airwolf closed the miles between her and one of the many controversial Chinese military bases, Nash slowed and called for Saint John to Engage rotor's as they coasted through three hundred knots and the atoll came into view.

It wasn't until that moment that the RV Dolphin picked up the signal on the tracking chip in Dr Huan's arm.

Those who planted it had questioned where their transaction had disappeared to when the tracking signal disappeared not long after leaving the Carrier. The Carrier who's location was so generously exposed by their technology not more than half a day previously.

As a further assurance for American compliance, China sent their substantial People's Liberation Army Airforce into the air earlier than the deadline and the opposing squadrons would be dancing around each other with a face off in no time.

Much to their delight and intrigue, the Chinese also got a read from the chip, confirming that it wasn't a glitch in the system when they lost the signal from Wuhan overnight. Relaying the news to their leader who had sent his Vice President to oversee the arrival and acquisition of their new game changing tool, they were all proverbially rubbing their hands together in anticipation.

Coming into view at fifteen miles, Airwolf's various sensors were put to work to give the boys a better idea on what they were going to contend with.

The military base was built along the rim of an ancient volcano, the expanse of concrete and gravel was held in place by a modular seawall that went on for miles.

There was three-mile long runway that could take any sized aircraft and a Boeing 737-800 Airliner was currently parked on the apron.

"Looks like we've got a VIP welcoming committee," Saint John called out before passing on the intel.

The American made passenger liner was surrounded by a number of Chinese military jets and other protection vehicles and was overseen by an Air Traffic Control Tower.

Further impressive infrastructure including fuel tanks, acres of accommodation, a sports field and a protected inner harbour with a dozen or so ships either moored or tied alongside a number of piers as they offloaded goods and more building material.

But by far the most interesting feature was what looked suspiciously like a multi-use launching site on its own island, built on a natural high point of the crater rim and separated by a dredged shipping lane on either side

"And looks like we're also getting the red-carpet treatment and an escort," Saint John said as a pair of J – 11's scooted down the runway to join the Airwolf team in the air.

On the RV Dolphin, Le and the others had been watching The Lady's progress with trepidation, both through her onboard scanners and the images that were sent from the helicopter's onboard cameras from the time the crew left the Carrier Strike Group far behind.

Michael's cell buzzed, startling most of the group in the Comms room.

"Michael," he answered .

After a series of Uhuh's yep's and nup's, he stopped the call, took a long breath through his nose and with a clenched jaw, he uttered, "Bastards!" under his breath.

"They've sent their PLAAF towards the Strike Group." Michael said, running his hand over his moustache, while explaining the latest unfolding crisis.

Le received the latest satellite radar images that were sent though from Project Guardian of the South China Sea, where almost a hundred assorted military aircraft had been deployed from the numerous locations and were closing in on the American Naval fleet.

All eyes were on the big screen watching the multitude of blips surrounding the flotilla.

Dale had been out of the room. It was her turn (again) to make the latest batch of strong coffee and a good cup of tea for Uncle Bran. She had been well schooled by Wings in the art of being a Barista and missed him terribly.

She couldn't wait to have more experience with Airwolf, and go on missions with her beau, but that was a while off and right now all she could do was pray he'd come back to her.

She'd been very quiet throughout the last day or so because she knew almost everything about this mission, courtesy of the blow by blow observation of the unfolding events. She, like the others was exhausted and often her focus waned and she ceased to see the forest for the trees.

Stepping away from the intense Comms room was just what she needed, and Dale walked back into the room carrying the tray of caffeine concentrate just as everyone was intensely scrutinising the big screen in silence.

"Did I miss something?" she asked, placing the beverages in front of their respective consumers. She was distracted by the chaos the graphics made on the screen and it didn't look promising.

Turning her full attention to the display before them and with fresh eyes she noticed a secondary blip coming from one of the larger boats.

'What's that Le?" she asked the man in front of the computer console, while pointing to the offending marker.

Everyone was quick to focus on the dot. Le's fingers flew over the computer keys as he tried to enhance the information.

Branson narrowed his eyes and even in his utterly depleted state, he couldn't help but make a correlation. "Another tacking device?" he asked without another thought.