Shinbafu Airport , 20 km from Tokyo
Breakfast here only consist of mashed potatoes, baccon and cheese. A long line of frustrating men stood impaitently, waiting for their turn. The cook's hand used the big-ass spoon to scoop the food into the tray then shouted :
"Next. "
And with every single time he shout, the line quietly moved forward, just like production lines in the factory. Somewhere. She heard a sigh of disappointment from the back of the queue, in the creaking of boots that clung to the gleaming ceramic tiles and the chaotic sound of two hundred mouths trying to sallow their terrible breakfast.
Kayle stood between Chris and Cooper. The pilot was a fat man with a clean shaved head in baggy flying suit. Cooper was also very tall, but at the age of twenty-eight, his bustling chest always made her cheeks blush when looking at it. The Air Force's standard height must have been different from the ground forces because she looked like a dwarf among these men.
The four quickly recieve their meals and took the table at the corner of the wall, next to the window, below the great American flag.
"You should complain about the food here!"
Kayle instantly scowled after putting a spoon of mashed potato into her mouth. It was cold and she also tasted the preservative chemical in it.
"That's the last thing we want to do." The fat lieutenant said.
At the surprised look of the young major, Chris slowly explained that the place they were sitting in was not owned by the US military. Twenty years ago, a Japanese investor had poured a ton of money to build an airport, hoping to sell it to another investor and earn some more money.
"An economic crisis. The house bubble burst so bad in the early 90s and nearly destroyed Japanese stock market . Do you remember that Major?"
"How could i?" Kayle shook her head. "I was only four or five at that time."
"A lot of people went bankrupt because of it. The unlucky investor finally found himself hanging on a tree, leaving a huge debt to the poor wife."
"And because the bank couldn't find a buyer for the airport so it was abandoned since then, right?"
Her farther had told her about a similar case before. A man by the name of James Mulligan tried to sell his farm to General Wilson to pay the debt of the bank, but her father shook his head in disagreement. He said the land was too barren, had no natural clean water and that price was too expensive for a farm too far from the nearest town. James ulligan committed suicide four months later, letting ten square kilometers of land purchased with an unbelievably cheap price in Kayle's inheritance.
"Not really." Chris pointed his fork at her. "It was never abandoned."
Not that again. Kayle wouldn't be surprised if Uncle Sam's hand was embedded here. Many Americans found it unfair that the United States often got blamed by everyone for everything, but there was a reason for it. You couldnt make people less suspicious of you by continuing to do shady shit like Spectre or this and hoping not to be get caught.
"Yes, that's right." Chris nodded. "Not many people know about this and I just accidentally figured it out a few months ago. Cooper here discovered a strange black paint stain in the hangar. It wasn't normal paint, Radar absorbing paint no doubt. Stealth aircrafts had been here for a very long time before this place offically became U.S air base. Cooper was trained as a maintenance worker for the F-117 before being my co-pilot, so it was impossible for him to mistake such thing. They must repaint the outer shell after a few mission or the anti- radar capability would be reduced greatly "
This means that reconnaissance squadrons of F-117 and BlackBird have gone in gone out Russia or China from here all these years undetected. It would be diplomatic turmoil if this story was leak out to the public and it also explained why they got this shitty potato on the plate.
According to Cooper, The Japanese government was afraid of getting axed by public opinion and the press for helping America spy on neighboring countries but unfortunately, they had no legal and convenient ways to kick their lovely ally out of Shibafu for good and that how the ludicrous concept called flying limit was born. Each day, the base was only allowed to receive up at best ten aircrafts, regardless of whether it is jets, cargo planes or choopers. With such a bizarre limit, maintaining daily activities became so difficult that eating was no longer main priority in the mind of base commanders.
"It must be said that they've almost succeeded their goal . The United States was so tired of this foxy move and began to withdraw some squadrons to the states but suddenly, that crazy gate suddenly appeared in the center of Tokyo."
"How much do you think the press will pay to get the information, I wonder?" Chris gleefully told Cooper "A nice story like this don't pop up often so it shouldn't be cheap" .
" And I think you should give up that idea right now!" Kayle shook her head. "They will throw you and the newspaper in a hole then throw the hole away."
An entity capable of pulling down a whole country wouldnt mind crushing some random individuals like Chris, Harvey or Cooper to the as bugs and they would do that in the literal way if that was the case. She sincerely hoped he was just joking. An innocuous idea
"Don't worry, Major. I have been in the military for almost ten years." Chris brushed into laugh. " And the lesson I learned from all those year is never test your luck with Uncle Sam."
They continue to eat and chat. The rain had no sign of stopping, and the pilots had to keep their feet on the ground until they could see the sun behind those grim dark clouds. The Black Hawk was not damaged much after the previous incident, Chris was sure of it because if it had been, they wouldn't have been able to sit here.
"After things like that, I just want to quit this damn job" Said Chris. The old fat man sadly crossed his arms "Go home, fix the fence, find something safe and less stressful to do for living, good food and hot tub."
"Don't be pessimistic, Lieutenant." Cooper said. "You have four more months while our enemy now are seagulls. How about you, Harvey? As I remember, you just signed up last summer"
"Two year and four months." The young man answer with a grin "No reason to talk about the future right now but I don't think I will quit the air force soon!"
They did not mention Kayle's plans for her future because it would not be unusual for those who climb to the rank of Major choosing to bind their life to the army. Sometimes she missed her civilian life but her memories of it were sporadic and messy and whenever Kayle tried to remember them, she found herself playing a jigsaw puzzle. Recently, she couldn't even remember Anne's middle name even though they were best friends for thirteen years. It was only eight years but somehow it feel like a century had passed in front of her eyes, like that girls who cried over Dylan invited Jess to the prom instance of her was gone forever.
Kayle was afraid that she might have PTSD for being in combat that long, but it was unlikely so because in every routine health check, doctors always diagnose her physiological health couldnt be better and they even told Kayle to keep an eye on the soldiers under her command in case someone started to have unusual behaviors.
"When will we be deloyed, Major?" Havey suddenly said " I'm tired of waiting."
"Deloyed?" Kayle confused by the question.
"What he mean was when will we break through that gate and blow some shit up" Cooper said in a bored voice. "It was so painful to hear he chewed it over and over again for months."
"Honestly, I don't know." Kayle dipped her shoulder and shook her head. "I just arrived in Okinawa a few weeks ago and they called me and told me to show up here. That's all."
"That's suck. I thought you would have more info than us." Havey looked disappointed. "We have to hurry up, otherwise there will be no fun left. I hear they said that JSDF has already killed hundred thousand of those bastards and at this rate, we will have nothing to do . "
She didn't understand what was inspiring Havey like it had been urging her to go out there and get slaughtered like cattle. The early stage of the war was some kind of grand holiday, young men with the most beautiful moment of their life marching to the battle with flowers on the barrel, leaving behind lovers with teary eyes, crying if they unfortunately fell to enemy's guns. That beautiful image was crushed by mortar shells and swept away by the hot desert wind, leaving only tired souls covered in dust and blood.
War burned everything on its path, and worst of all, it poisoned people. Those who had lived on the front would never be the same. They could still there in front of us but something in them had forever gone. After seeing bad things happen to so many people, Kayle didn't know how to answer Havey properly. Should she tell the truth or encourage his enthusiasm because an officer's responsibility force her to do so?
"Enough already, Harvey. Don't bother the Major" Exasperated the big fat lieutenant "We are soldiers, when they tell us to fight, we fight. When they tell we die, we die. Why do you keep minding on something that you have no control of?"
"But I just ..."
"This is the last time I warn you"
Chris slammed his fist down on the table, his face was as red as a tomato. The puffiness under his eyes vibrated. This was probably the first time she saw Chris had a proper behaviour of an air force officer and Havey's superior because from the time she arrived on the chooper, he acted more like a good drunken old man that love playing Santa to raise money for the children in the orphanage when the snow began to fall down on old ash-gray neighborhoods of Brooklyn (She thought he was a New Yorker due to the accent) than a US Air Force lieutenant.
"Go get some coffee."
Chris whipped the young man's ass with an order. Frightened and confused, Havey immediately got up and ran to the cafeteria at the corner of the room. Kayle did not know if Chris did it intentionally or not but he had just saved her from a awkward situation.
"Forgive Harvey, Major. He's a good guy but doesn't know when to shut his mouth."
She felt a little sympathy in his voice.
"I don't mind it." Kayle smiled except "I wasnt smarter than him at that age either."
"Who doesn't have a naive time? I joined the Air Force after watching Top Gun. Is it hard to resist the prospect of flying in the sky and wearing a leather jacket? What about you?"
"Family."
"Ah. It is the best reason and sometimes the most silly one."
Not ! It was she who screwed everything up and pushed herself into the current situation. If that day as if she was not stubborn, it would be different.
"Can I ask you a question, Major? You don't have to answer but I… ."
"I will answer."
Kayle did not want to hide anything from this man . Lying in the name of the country and the unit made her too tired to do it again. Every time someone in the team killed in action, Kayle had to brainstorm a heroic story for their relatives back home. How could she tell a ten-year-old boy that his father was like Al Capone's goons in many people's eyes and he was killed by a bomb under the carpet. The explosion was so horrible that they had to scoop up the rubble just to find some burned pieces.
"Do you know what's going on, Major? Havey may ask because of curiosity, or because the hot blood in his veins drives him to do so but I'm different." Suddenly his voice was choked with discomfort "I have a wife and two kids. To me, it's very important."
While in Iraq, Kayle wondered how the people at home would react if she finally met her fate. Mom and Louie would probably cry a lot, while her father would not a drop a single tear, at least in front of others. Kayle did not remember why but when she shared this story with the Commander, he immediately scolded her.
"Honestly, I don't know anything more than you do but you are well aware of who I am, where I come from so there was little of chance they definitely drag me from Okinawa to this place to attend some random conferences with the Japanese "
Is almost two-thirds of the truth considered as the truth? Since Kayle was still not sure what the Gate had to do with this unusual order, she didn't think she said she was lying to him.
"Just like I thought," Chris sighed. "Hopefully there will be no crazy shit happen in the next few months."
They put the topic aside when Havey returned with four cups of coffee. The taste is not bad compared to breakfast. Before entering the army, Kayle remembered that she did not have a habit of drinking coffee. Women of higher class often used tea or juice for the morning while coffee was inherently reserved for men. The war overturned all old habits, and her mother would be terrified to find out her daughter eating turkeys without using single knife or fork.
An F-16 is landing on the runway. The sound from the engine was like thousands of pieces of metal rushing straight ahead at superhuman speed. In a November rainy and windy day, it looked like a speedboat with long water splashes splashing behind its back.
"Look at it." Cooper plucked his tongue. "You know? I'll trade everything to sit in it's cockpit once."
The F-16 Falcon, the symbol of America's authority for three decades, a weapon designed to counter the Soviet Migs in the cold war. Although plenty of sophisticated types of fighter which flow faster and farther was currently in service , the Air Force had no intention to let these relics retired, especially when the defense budget was severely reduced. Kayle was quite familiar with this mare because they often air support for her team in Iraq although she rarely saw them at close range.
However, Kayle was also shocked and when she saw that the fuselage was covered by strange naval blue color with a circle as red as blood under the cockpit. The limited knowledge of aviation didn't make her forget how standard camouflage of the United States Air Force looked like.
"Japanese?"
"That's right! They are fighter of Japanese air force." Chris replied "And look! There are more to come."
Three other fighters landed on the second runway one after another. From nowhere, four yellow raincoats came out with beacons in their hands, guiding them into the garage.
"I thought you had a flying limit."
"The law only applies to us and not to them. Uncle Sam gives a lot of favor to the Japanese."
Many times the United States had to step down to get what they want, but this wasn't precedent. Even the UK, the closest ally, is unlikely to receive the same privilege as Japan. That Gate must have a tremendous attraction to the U.S.
"I don't like these guys." Havey sniffs. "You have no idea how disgusting they are. Remember Phil? The guy stations at the post near by the shore? He swore that he saw fishermen eating the fish that just got caught in the net. Unbelievable, they were eating a raw fish. The concept of putting food in a pot doesn't seem to exist in this country. "
"It's called Sushi, idiot." Cooper desperately facepalms. "Don't tell me you didn't read the instruction manual."
"The only book Harvey ever touches is Playboy." Chris laughed loudly and patted his shoulder. "I tell you, kids nowaday don't know what reading is anymore. Letting them snicking their nose into Iphone and iPad for ten more years and I bet my grandchildren will be asking me 'what is your books'. Well, put that aside, Harvey do makes some sense, there is a lot of weird shits in this country. "
Kayle's knowledge of Japan was probably no better than these three but it didn't bother her that much. These days, there wasn't many thing worth to bother unless it meant to kill her. Kayle remembers there was a day when she was thirteen or fourteen, a man from the land of the rising sun came to visit her family in Vigirnia. That was the peak of summer but during the whole morning, the Japanese didn't once take off his jacket or loosen the tie on his neck. General Ronald decided to take the guest on a tour around his estate, a thing her father would do every time as if telling people what great grandfather Tom Wilson had done to build such a massive fortune was extremely important.
For a person who was only five feet five (1,65m )tall, catching up with the Lieutenant General's long paces was real torment. Poor Japanese could hardly breathe while her father was so into the battle of Gettyburg and did not realize that his audience who was about to faint.
"You should took off your jacket, sir" she remembered Louie saying that, that year, he was just seventeen, young and elegant and thin like a tree. "It's so hot."
The man smiled, bowed his head and replied that he was fine. Louie felt a bit confused and both of them couldn't stop wondering why he treated Louie with the same respect he did to their father.
"You should listen to what the boy said" Lieutenant General Ron now returns to reality "A dying man look better than you."
And the process of smiling, bowing and thanking was repeated. Seeing that, the General snort :
"For those who turn themselves into living missiles, you're somewhat polite. I wonder if Kamikaze did bow when they sank ?"
"If the cockpit was large enough, I think it might be possible." Answered the Japanese.
And then both of them laughed like mad men, leaving Kayle stood there and didn't understand how that was funny joke.
"Major Wilson, please come to gate 3, Major Wilson please come to gate number 3"
The speaker repeated the message two more times before going silent. All four looked at each other for a few second and said nothing. Eventually Kayle realized she should be the one who break that silence.
"I think it's time to say goodbye" she lazily stood up "Thank you guys for the breakfast. Good luck"
"Good luck, Major" Chris shaked her hand, his was as rough as hand of manual worker "You need it more than i do."
You need it more than I do?
That was what he had told her , but she had deliberately forgotten them. The deaths were like shadow in the infinite mist of war and nothing was good when you got too close with them because that same person also constantly reminded her :
You really don't want to join them, my dear Wilson.
Kayle suddenly felt a shiver across her spine. This feeling was the same as when she killed the first enemy in her life. Everything around her looked like a slow-motion film and she could hear her breathing. Though it was only a brief moment before the gunshot got her back to reality, Kayle knew it was real and more real than the people sitting here.
Something touched her, warm and soft. Kayle looked up in surprise and saw Cooper's hand resting on her shoulder.
"Are you ok, Major ? There is something wrong?"
"I'm alright." Kayle shook her head " Nothing to be worried about. Thank you."
Cooper showed no sign of trust but asked nothing more.
"Where is gate 3?"
"This way." Chris pointed to the dining room door. "Go straight down this hallway and turn right to the base headquarters then you will see asignpost. Turn right again and head to the central station."
"Goodbye, Major" Havey said "We'll meet again"
"Yes ..." Kayle hesitated "Goodbye."
Couldn't image that simple word was that hard to say.
Interesting thing was this wasnt the first time she said goodbye. Fisher, Carrick and many others, Kayle had said goodbye in front of their grave. She knew them for years while only meeting Chris, Cooper and Harvey in three hours. But Kayle suddenly realized that she didn't know anything about Fisher or Carrick except their names. War turned them into cold and ruthless machines, ready to destroy anything in the way. Affection always affected the mission, so it was no wonder that the conversations between Spectre members became less and less. These three people were different. They ate, they drank, they breathe and acted more like human than most specter member.
At the end of the boardroom, there was a sign "Gate # 3, this way" so Kayle was quite reassured that she was not lost. It only took a few minutes for her to find herself standing in the vast space of the main station. The army could only use the secondary station because the central station was a huge building with two arches in the shape of brid wings that welcomed natural sunlight through cleverly designed windows.
"What a pity" Kayle regretfully bit her lip as she looked at the sleazy walls, grass growing from the cracks on the floor. "It would habe been beautiful place if it had been reopened."
Due to being abandoned for quite a long time, the area brought alongs with it a characteristic chilling atmosphere. The rusty bars above screeched when the wind blew through, broken glass and rubbish were everywhere, and there were even more creepy graffiti-like paintings appearing in the hallway. The scene looked like a horror movie with her was the main character-victim. Though Kayle was not a coward, her mind did not stop thinking that Jason Voorhees was hiding behind some blind spot, just waiting for her to walk by then swing his long machate. Unlike the precious brother Louie, she fainted right on the chair when Jason bathed himself in his first victim's blood.
Kayle reach her hand to where the holster was and noticed two things. First, she did not carry a firearm. Second, she almost did not carry any type of weapons including daggers since the day Spectre dissolved.
"If I have a Glock, then ten Jason will just be a piece of cake." Kayle mumbled "But everything after the word "if" was usually bullshit ..."
Having no choices, Kayle had to run away from this place as quickly as possible. And while trying to do that, the puddle of rain defeated her. Water splashes on the neck and chest, cold like frozen hell.
"Godamn it "
Kayle exclaimed but she refused to stop until she reached the entry. The guard stationed there saluted her but couldn't help grinning. His whole life seemed to never witnessed an officer appearing in a sleazy, breathless appearance like this. Kayle ignored his mocking attitude and handed him a transfer paper alongside with her military ID.
"There is a car waiting for you over there, Major" He said with a playful tone "Have a nice day."
It would be a nice day if Kayle gave him a punch in the face but now was not the time. The superior is waiting for her. It could be Colonel Hart Sayer whose nickname was "Poker" because of the mission he took always had the risk of a poker game. Or it could be the Eastern Asian Branch of the CIA, where most former Spectre members went to after leaving Iraq. They would give Kayle a team of the toughest son of bitches to undertake missions that the government would deny their existence.
It may be North Korea this time or China, She thought. Could be bad but at least it wasn't Hindu Kush
However, Kayle did not anticipate that they would send a man in a suit to pick her up on a Nissan as black as his jacket. Unlike what decribed in movies, the CIA agent never wear a suit and it was certainly not military uniform either.
"Major Wilson, I'm Patrick Hammer, US embassy agent in Japan." He proudly introduced himself, " But you can also call me Patt."
After that, all Kayle could remembered was she had got into the car and the scent of weird perfumes from the guy named Patrick Hammer or Patt.