With Walter's hacking portal Happy found it simple, with her skills, to infiltrate the US Satellite Command center and commandeered the closest surveillance satellite. She quickly isolated the satellite so no one could regain control over it. She spun the satellite's high gain imaging system away from Taiwan and directed it towards Ivuhos. At first the cloud cover was annoying even as she continued to zoom in closer and closer. She flipped on the infra-red optics and they cut right through the clouds.
The northern edge of Ivuhos wasn't even a mile wide as she scanned along the water's edge. A little more than halfway across the northern edge she saw something warmer than the rest of the area on the southern edge of the satellite's image. She adjusted the imager to the South and zoomed in more. Slowly the relatively large heat signature broke apart. She grinned seeing six distinct heat signatures, one of which was extremely warm and another might have been two people together. The extremely warm one was most likely a controlled fire of some kind.
"Found them!" Happy screamed.
"What?!" Ralph, Veronica and Toby all shouted.
"Are you sure?" Ralph demanded.
"Unless you have a different explanation of six, possibly seven heat signatures of people and a campfire on a deserted island." Happy grinned.
Ralph pulled out his phone and quickly pulled up a contact and hit the dial icon.
"This is Ralph Dineen, Priority, Baker, two, eight, Foxtrot, Tango, twenty one, Delta. Connect me to the Ambassador." Ralph said.
"Mr Ambassador, it is Ralph Dineen. I need a favor sir. Can we get a recon jet sent from Clark Air Base along with a rescue copter sent to the Northern edge of Ivuhos island?" Ralph asked. "The 7th Fleet isn't that far from there? I had thought they were ordered off the search?" Ralph listened for a moment. "Thank you sir for managing to keep them looking for our children. We discovered a group of people on the island and we believe our children are among them." Ralph explained. "Yes sir." Ralph told him. "Yes, I can get you their GPS location." Ralph said looking at Happy.
Happy quickly rattled out the GPS as Ralph held the phone out to her.
"Did you get that sir?" Ralph asked. "Thank you sir." Ralph said, closing his eyes after hanging up. "The Ambassador is good friends with Admiral Greenert who is in command of the 7th Fleet. They were already in the Louzan Strait, and ever since it was reported, they were looking for them. As a friend, the Admiral has been keeping the Fleet on station searching. He's also been staying in close contact with the Ambassador. He's sure as a favor to himself, the Admiral will order a search of the area. He'll get a fighter jet sent in to do reconnaissance as well as a rescue helicopter sent in immediately." Ralph said as he grabbed Happy from behind and hugged her tightly.
Reluctantly Ralph ordered Happy to disconnect from the satellite after returning it to the control of the Air Force.
It was fifteen minutes later as they sat in the family room wondering what was happening when Ralph's phone rang.
"Ralph Dineen." Ralph answered. "Yes sir, oh yes, absolutely sir, thank you." Ralph said gratefully even as he put his phone on speaker. "They've already launched the jet and the helo. The Ambassador has got us tied into the communications channel so we can hear what they discover." Ralph grinned at his family who all became excited.
Toby pulled out his phone and called Louise and explained what was going on and informed them about the communications channel. He told her they were currently waiting to hear what was reported.
Ralph got his charger out and plugged his phone into it, so battery life wouldn't be a problem. He sat it on the table while they waited. They occasionally heard miscellaneous traffic.
It was about ten minutes after calling Louise that the O'Briens arrived with William driving them all over so they could be with them. They were all huddled together listening for any news. Suddenly the silence was broken.
"Whiskey-13 to control." The pilot of the recon jet radioed finally.
"Control to Whiskey-13 go ahead." The airboss told him.
"Whiskey-13 to control, I have seven people in sight at the GPS coordinates given. And they are all waving enthusiastically at me." The pilot reported as the Dineen-O'Brien family began cheering, hoping that Paige and Walter were among them.
The pilot grinned even as he tipped his wing for a moment and then began a holding pattern about the small group.
"Whiskey-13 is on station and maintaining vigilance." The pilot reported as his eyes were watching for any possible threat or assistance for the people.
The rescue helicopter had left shortly after the jet was launched from the USS Kitty Hawk and it took another twenty minutes to arrive on scene.
"Helo-Eight to control." The pilot called out.
"Control to Helo-Eight, go ahead." The airboss told them.
"Helo-Eight to control, we are on station." The pilot reported.
"Control to Helo-Eight we copy." The Airboss called back.
"Helo-Eight to Control, I am pleased to announce we are currently boarding Paige and Walter O'Brien, along with three Secret Service agents, one with a gunshot wound and two stewardesses both with a gunshot wound." The pilot announced cheerfully.
The Dineens and O'Briens began yelling and cheering in glad tidings as they hugged and patted on each other.
Once on board the USS Kitty Hawk they were all evaluated medically and while most of them were fine, other than the gunshot wounds, the wounds were cared for quickly.
Walter had brought a sample of the stream water and asked that it be sent to be tested. He explained that along with agent Todd, they drank the water to ensure Paige had enough bottled water to protect her and the baby.
A phone was given to Paige as the doctor was examining her and she cried happily talking to her family back home. She finally gave the phone to Walter who was there with her and he spoke briefly but emotionally with his family before they ended the call.
Walter and Paige along with agents Todd and Makle were launched from the carrier the next morning after getting medical clearance. They landed at Clark Air Force base in the Philippines. If not for base security closing the base gates before it was announced, they would have been swarmed by local reporters trying to get any information about what happened.
Walter and Paige agreed to be interviewed by one of the Air Force journalists from the base as they were flown from Manila International Airport back to Dublin. Agents Todd and Makle were reinforced by several military police while on flight to Ireland.
Their interview was broadcasted live across the world on CNN by the team that accompanied them. As CNN was the only world news provider who was in the Philippines at the time, trying to gather information on the "Garci tapes scandal". The whole world, it seemed, was clamoring to know about what really happened and how they survived.
Agent Todd and Makle were both interviewed as supplementary. Based on their stories to their superiors, they were given permission to speak about it by the head of the Secret service. Normally their reply would have to be to decline comment. They both gave complete credit of their survival to Walter. Explaining how cool he had been in the face of threats and came up with a plan to get them off the plane quickly and safely. That the only life that really hung in the balance had been Walter's. Since Walter and Paige didn't go into detail about what happened to him. Agents Todd and Makle both did their best, not to make the story sound even more amazing than it was.
Nineteen hours later the plane touched down at the Dublin Airport. The pilot came on the speaker system shortly after they came to a stop and announced there would be a short delay before they could reach the gate to disembark. About one hundred yards from the terminal the plane came to another stop and a stewart opened the door and deployed the airstairs. A moment later more Secret Service agents boarded the plane. Walter and Paige thanked their military escort profusely before they were escorted off the plane. Cheers went up as word was passed over the plane's speaker system of who had just disembarked the plane.
Walter and Paige climbed into the SUV that was waiting for them along with agents Todd and Makle and then they were driven away before the plane proceeded to the gate.
The SUV pulled up to the side of the building that was normally for VIP travelers. Their extended family had been allowed to wait there while keeping everyone else away. Ralph couldn't wait another moment as he saw the SUV stop and he ran out the door. He nearly ripped the door of the SUV off and pulled Paige out of the SUV. Crying happily, he wrapped his arms tightly around her.
As Walter came out other members of their family were beginning to come out of the building but before anything else could happen Ralph grabbed Walter and pulled him into the hug with Paige.
It took nearly twenty minutes before the family had a momentary feeling like they could stop hugging. The family moved back into the building and sat down on the comfortable couches and talked about everything that had happened.
Walter's skin was beginning to peel from the damage of the cold so he looked a bit odd but that didn't seem to bother anyone.
"Was there something you meant to tell the rest of us before you left for your honeymoon?" Veronica looked pointedly at Paige's stomach.
Paige blushed a little but stood her ground.
"Sorry, I didn't feel like I could tell everyone, but I had to tell someone so I told Happy. I guess she forgot she promised not to say anything." Paige grinned at her.
"Well I was under emotional duress at the time." Happy shrugged.
"Walter and I are expecting. And according to the doctor on the ship, our baby is fine. My OB said the baby should be here in December, around the 7th." Paige told them while holding Walter's hand.
"How did you stay so calm while falling without a parachute?" Sean asked Walter.
"What choice did I have?" Walter grinned. "I knew if I panicked I would die. The hardest thing was trying to maintain control over my body's natural response to such extreme cold and wind. And for the most part I wasn't too worried until the first attempt to save myself failed."
Everyone kind of gasped as that part of the story hadn't been shown by the news yet.
Walter explained how his muscles refused to hold on to the agent's hand and he had spun away from him.
"Luckily though I was sent flying straight towards Paige." Walter smiled at her.
"Yes, but he was losing altitude so fast I knew we'd miss. So after a quick prayer I reached up and pulled my main chute lever which severed me from the main chute." Everyone gasped again at Paige's words. Paige just smiled as she continued. "I'm not sure how far I fell before the backup chute deployed but it was enough that Walter crashed into me." Paige told them.
"I've still got some puncture wounds from how hard Paige dug her nails into me. She was very determined not to become a widow so soon. Not that I'm complaining. I'm very happy to be alive." Walter smiled and kissed Paige.
"You would have fallen about thirty meters by the time the reserve chute began to slow your fall again." Happy told her with a smile.
"How could you have risked that?" William asked Paige.
"The same way I would have risked it for you." Megan told him softly as everyone nodded.
"How did they find us?" Paige asked. "The sailors said something about getting a call from an Ambassador with the GPS coordinates."
"Happy." Everyone said, looking at Happy.
Happy blushed rather prettily.
"And Sylvester for fine tuning where you most likely jumped from. But if not for Happy we'd have never known you guys had possibly escaped." Toby told them.
Happy explained her thought process and how she had used Walter's laptop and hacking portal to get the data files and then took control of the satellite to locate them.
Richard was there and even though he was happy and celebrating with everyone else he was very apologetic with them.
Paige shook her head even as Walter agreed with her. Neither of them blamed Richard. The men had obviously planned this pretty well. Walter said other than they made a big mistake leaving them all together. If they had separated Walter from the group they might have gotten what they were after.
They found out that the authorities had finally been able to figure out the rough area the plane went down and search teams began finding some wreckage from the plane. Walter surmised that at some point the door to the service area must have given way to the pressure differential. Most likely when they went back to get him to hack the Taiwan government. The act of them opening that door from the main compartment to the flight crew area changed the internal pressure so much that it resulted in the door giving way and causing the complete decompression inside the plane destroying the plane and killing the three men.
Once the Ambassador got there and congratulated the four people on their daring wit to escape and live, they got into the three SUVs waiting on them to take them to Callan.
As he had left for the States shortly after they left for their honeymoon, Walter and Paige spent about a half hour of the trip on the phone with Cabe. Reassuring him that they were both fine and he could stop worrying.
As the three SUVs crossed the river and into Callan there was a large handmade banner stretched across the road. "Welcome home Walter and Paige O'Brien!"
Walter and Paige grinned at each other and then kissed as their parents watched with smiles from the other seats. Their siblings, friends and extra agents rode in the other two SUVs.
As requested by the town council they stopped at the school's gymnasium to be welcomed back. Many of the adults they went to school with as kids were standing outside as they pulled up. Front and center was Thomas and Conner. They both were so happy that Walter and Paige had survived. It looked like the entire town had turned out for it. They were ushered into the gym and given seats of honor in the center by a small stage. After nearly an hour they made it through the entire line of congratulations and well wishes. Walter was teased about his skin, but he really felt that it was simple teasing and not what he was used to when he was young.
Father Patrick as the head priest had been called upon to give a benediction over Walter and Paige and then to pray over the meal. After dinner the head of the town council stood up on the stage and gave the official position of the town, on how happy they were that Walter and Paige had survived their ordeal.
Happy recognized him instantly as her first shop teacher in Callan.
And then he called Happy up to the podium.
"Happy Dineen, the town was so very proud to have you become a member of our community over six years ago. You have demonstrated, to our amazement, time and again just how special you are. I am as amazed by you today, as I was the first day I met you. When I thought you were just a girl trying to get into my shop class, now we stand here because of the intelligence and skills you not only demonstrated that day, but now for also giving hope in a hopeless situation. You used your remarkable abilities to actually locate and facilitate the return of other beloved members of this community." He read from his speech. "It is with great pride and privilege that I get to award you for these acts." He told her as he handed her a brass plaque.
Happy fought against the tears she felt by the honor of the special award by the town for her action.
"And by a special request, and with Sean and Louise O'Brien acting as 'in loco parentis'. The government has granted you Irish citizenship." He grinned at the stunned expression on her face.
Happy ran out and into Sean and Louise's arms.
They were there for nearly three hours before Paige yawned and Ralph called it quits and they left for their home.
Not wanting to be separated, Louise and Sean stayed at the Dineen home that night so they could all be together.
Richard told Walter he wanted him to take July off with full pay, in part to make up for what happened. He also told them to pick anywhere they wanted to take their honeymoon and he would cover it all. But this time they'd keep it secret instead of letting it be known where they'd be going on a honeymoon.
Paige found herself being pampered by both of her Moms and her Father. Walter actually felt a bit put out by it. He definitely felt like they were robbing him of his honor to be doing things for Paige. Paige just winked at him as he complained while they were in bed.
The next day Paige easily persuaded Walter that they could stay home until the next Sunday and then they could go on their honeymoon. Much to Ralph's joy they opted for a different destination.
Greetings! I hope this finds you all well!
Railman - lol Well she does like to keep us on our toes. lol Thankfully they were able to discover and reason out where they were! Glad you caught up! Sly did a good job for sure! And as you know now, it definitely caused a loss of life and craft. My Muse thanks you! hehe
LouBe - Sly was definitely on his 'A' game! I had thought to stretch it out a bit further but the Muse was pretty adamant that it be delivered this way. hehe She says, "You are welcome". Thankfully as far as food goes, they didn't need a lot. As for their mistake, like Walter said, if they had just taken him up front with them it might have ended differently. Leaving them together and thinking there was no where to go/hide at 35,000 feet was a big mistake. lol Paige couldn't believe it either. lol Glad you enjoyed it so much you had to read it twice! lol LOL I'm not sure anything is as unreliable as Paige's BC! lol Walter said there wasn't much of use for his frostbite but that thankfully it wasn't too bad. She said "Thank you." Funny you should ask if Ralph had called everyone...he certainly knew the right one to call! lol
Chipbass - Thank you brother! Indeed, they had a lot of good loving family and community waiting!
Pearliegirl - Thank you! So glad you enjoyed it!
To the Adventure! -Tim