Chapter 89

When we got back outside, I was surprised to see it was sprinkling a little. The General went to his Jeep saying he would send my Jeep back to me, and that the Director and company would be landing on the runway behind me. He also told me he would have them taxi to within a hundred yards of where the guns were stored. He wished me good luck and drove away. I walked back to the Whisper, sitting in the open troop door to wait.

"I have the tower traffic on, Harry, if you want to listen in. Do you mind if we go over to the Officers Club and get something to eat?"

"If you hang on a few minutes I will drive you. I have a Jeep coming for my use."

"Hey thanks! That will save us a lot of walking."

I started to say something else when a Jeep came barreling around the end hangar, headed in our direction. This must be mine, I thought, and I also noticed they had put a rag top on it to at least keep the driver halfway dry. When he pulled up, he asked the pilot which one of us was Harry Hanson?

"I am soldier, and I think you forgot something, didn't you?"

"I don't think so, Sir."

"Seems to me like you're supposed to salute an officer when you approach one, aren't you?"

"Sorry Sirs," he said as he came to attention and saluted the two pilots like he was supposed to.

When his salute was returned he came to parade rest, awaiting further orders. I could tell he was thinking I was an ass, but to me it was a respect thing. I had to do it for eight years and I knew I had been higher in rank than what he was. I motioned my pilots to get in and turned and asked the driver if I could drop him someplace as I climbed behind the wheel.

"Yes Sir. You can drop me back at the motor pool, if you don't mind. It's right around the hanger where I came from."

I told him to climb in and headed back the way he had come. When we came around the corner, I mentally marked where I was in relation to the Whisper, so I could come back to wait on the Director's plane to arrive. I dropped the driver at the motor pool and drove both pilots to an officers club that was about a mile from the runways. I told them they had about two hours to kill and not to drink too much. I got two smiles as they climbed out of the Jeep.

I turned around and headed back to the Whisper. I got about a hundred feet from the chopper when the Air Police put the lights on me. I pulled over and waited on one of them to approach. It was a female officer and when she came up, her attitude immediately pissed me off.

"This ain't no race way, sir. Show me some ID and explain why you are in a military Jeep without an escort."

"I don't mind showing you my ID, and will be glad to explain my having this Jeep. I will tell you though, if you don't curb the attitude, I will have you brought up on charges."

"Mr., I don't know who you think you are, but I could arrest you right now if I wanted to. Now don't give me any more crap and show me your ID."

I reached into my outside pocket and handed her my folder. She grabbed it out of my hand and opened it. As she read it, her face turned three shades of white. I could see she was regretting how she acted, but she didn't know how to get out of the hole she had dug herself into.

"Now, if you still want me to explain why I have the Jeep, I would be glad to call General Hamilton and let him explain it to you for me."

"I'm sorry Sir, that won't be necessary. Sorry we bothered you and have a good day. I hope you enjoy your visit."

She handed me back my ID and almost ran back to her car. I could see her telling her partner who I was, and he wasn't smiling when she explained it to him. I wondered then if she was new, and if the man next to her was her training officer. I started the Jeep up and pulled away, chuckling to myself about what her report of the stop might say when she turned it in at the end of her shift.

I must have timed it right, because a large white plane with the Presidential Seal on the vertical stabilizer was landing. I waited in the Jeep by the Whisper and went through my moves in my head. The plane taxied up to the area where the General said they would. There was a large crowd waiting for them to deplane, and I wondered if this would make it harder for me to get my man off by himself. When I drove up close to where they would come out the door, I didn't get out of the Jeep, just waited in plain sight. I knew I could easily be seen by all the passengers as they came down the steps.

When the ground crew rolled the steps up to the door, it opened immediately. Two men came out who were plainly Secret Service Agents. Their ear radios were in plain sight as they came down the steps. The next man to come out must have been the Secretary of Defense and the Director was right behind him. When they got to the bottom of the steps, there was a mad scramble as the reporters jockeyed to get pictures. I thought a couple of them were going to tumble down the steps, as fast as they were moving to get in position.

When everybody got in position, the handshakes and introductions were made. The whole crowd moved toward the large building that I figured was a VIP greeting area or something. The last man off the plane was General Brown, and when he noticed me sitting in the Jeep, he gave me a smile and wave. He was unbuttoned and looked like he was half asleep as he came down the steps. When he got to the bottom, instead of following the crowd, he came directly to the Jeep and climbed into the passenger seat.

"Well Harry, I heard you found another cave and hit the jackpot. I wondered why you needed so many trucks and guards. What all did you find in there?"

"If you're not in a rush to get a free meal, I have something to show you."

"Hell, Harry, you know me, I hate being around all those ass kissers I have to put up with. Drive on, and I will explain my absence later if anyone should ask."

I started the Jeep and headed back to the hanger by the Whisper. When I pulled up to the door, I was immediately accosted by one of the guards. He looked at my ID then saluted General Brown and asked him for his ID also. When he was satisfied we matched our pictures, he waved us on. I walked to the hanger and opened the door with the General right behind me. When I switched on the lights, I heard his sharp intake of breath when he saw what was in front of him. I stepped to the side to give him a good view of it and waited for him to speak.

"I thought you were supposed to have this brought by truck, Harry. When did all of this arrive?"

"We decided to have it flown in by Chinooks since we were worried about it being hijacked again. The only things left at the cave are some tanks and some outdated anti-aircraft guns from the forties. This is almost all of the Miami loot and a lot of the stolen stuff from different base armories. Pretty nice haul if it had gotten into the wrong hands again. How long have you been running Global Enterprises, General?"

"Harry, I have always liked you, but this time you dug too deep and stuck your nose into something that you shouldn't have. I can't let you report this to anyone or let anyone know these weapons are here until I can have them disappear again. You have cost us a lot of money and manpower, Harry. Dammit, why didn't you just let my MPs handle the transport like we planned?"

When he pulled the little stubby thirty eight from under his jacket, I was expecting it. He had always carried that same gun when in dress uniform, even when he was in Nam with us.

"General, did you sell out the teams in Nam too? Now it makes sense why a lot of them were ambushed when they went into the Delta and Cambodia. How long have you been playing both ends against the middle and how many of our men did you give up?"