Chapter 13

In an AWACS plane flying high behind Allied lines, the commander received the message. He opened a secure line and said, “ACME, this is RED CONTROL. We have a MAYDAY from CAVALIER, over.”

“RED CONTROL, this is ACME. Let’s do it! Out.”

“AJAX, this is RED CONTROL. We have a MAYDAY from CAVALIER, over.”

“RED CONTROL, AJAX, what is present status?”

While the AWACS commander was communicating with headquarters, other officers were checking forces available for immediate response. The commander was handed a slip of paper. “AJAX, wait one. CAVALIER, this is RED CONTROL. Help arriving nine-zero seconds. Keep your head down, over.”

“RED CONTROL, I’m trying! Out.”

“AJAX, two A-10’s are due over in nine-zero seconds. More will be arriving about every one-five seconds thereafter, over.”

“RED CONTROL, AJAX, good work.” Ned Carlson put down the radio. The breakthrough was moving without a hitch. Three divisions had already broken through the Russian line and the other three were following. As Kelly had suggested, one peeled off north and another south, while the remainder raced straight ahead.

He picked up a field telephone and called Jim Ames at the 82nd Airborne. “Jim, it’s Ned. I need help!”

“Ned, come on! We’re extended to beat hell. What’s the problem?”

“It’s CAVALIER, Jim. We need help.”

There was silence on the line for a few moments. Then Ames was back. “Why the hell didn’t you say so? My first units will be in the air in nine-zero seconds. It will be an assault platoon. Ned, I have an idea. Kelly said there’s a landing zone behind her. I propose to commit the full division. We can use it as an anvil for your armor to smash the Russians against.”

Ned said, “That’s affirmative, Jim. Go to it! How soon can you be there?”

“It’s a matter of transport, Ned, but we should be pretty well there within four hours.”

Kelly put down the radio and concentrated on the Russians. She used a larger sniper rifle to pick off an officer 300 meters away who looked like he was trying to organize an assault on her position. She fired at any unbuttoned tank. The controller had said in ninety minutes. She didn’t think she could hold out that long.

Seconds later, the ground in front of her exploded. There was a hail of 30mm rounds from airborne Gatling guns in an A-10. She smiled to herself as she realized she had misunderstood. The controller had said seconds not minutes ... and they were on time.

She decided she had a remarkable vantage point. The A-10’s were followed by helicopter gunships that floated in using their miniguns to make mincemeat of anything that moved. She figured that the antiaircraft had been suppressed by this time and the Allies had complete supremacy in the air.

She used the respite to check on Mike. He was still unconscious. She removed the battle dressing and started to examine his shoulder and arm. There were some ugly shrapnel pieces imbedded with most of them in or near the shoulder. She took the first-aid kit and cleaned the wounds, then put large gauze pads in place and set up a plasma bottle. Mike had been bleeding like a stuck pig, but his respiration was normal, and his pulse felt strong. When she held his face and kissed him, his lips felt cold. When the plasma bottle was drained, she replaced it with a fresh one. As he took the fluid into his body, she thought she could see his color improve.

Kelly went back to her vantage point. Again, she could see the Russians grouping in the woods across from her position on the ridge. She picked up the radio that she was now thinking of as a friend. “RED CONTROL, this is CAVALIER, over.”

There was an instant response. “CAVALIER, go ahead.”

“I’ve got more company in the woods across from my position. Do you have any woodcutters handy? Over.”

“Sure do, CAVALIER. ETA three-zero seconds. CAVALIER, I’ve been told by the Supreme Commander to tell you, quote, Keep your shiny golden head down! We need you around here! End quote.”

Kelly grinned and said, “Tell ACME, yes sir, your honor, sir! His wish is my command. And add, I’ll ask my secretary to send him a confirming letter. Over.”

A moment later she got a call from RED CONTROL. “ACME says to tell you he had almost forgotten how mad he was at your stealing his secretary. ‘Why in hell did you have to remind me?’ Over.”

Kelly’s laughter could be clearly heard in the AWACS plane. The commander said to his deputy, “I don’t know who in hell CAVALIER is, but she certainly has powerful friends. When was the last time you heard someone surrounded by the whole damned Russian army cracking jokes? And with the supreme commander yet!”