Chapter 16

It took a little to convince the General that they needed the OH-58, crew and Hellfire missiles.

"E'veen, when I was a new two-bar, I had a thing for your mother ... you look enough like her to be twins ... If she and your grandmother were standing here you could be triplets. It's one of the worst moments of my life."

"Meeting my mother?"

"Yes ... only to find out she was 14."

'Uh oh, ' thought E'veen, 'now what?' "Why, thank you, sir ... I miss them both." 'I should, I'm my own grandmother.' That brought on a small fit of the giggles.

While the upper crust were RED phone talking, E'veen was wondering how she was going to be her mother. She looked at the desk triangle... 'General Corcoran ... Corcoran?... ' a second glance at the name bar... 'Edwin Corcoran ... EDDIE? Captain Eddie?' It was all she could do to keep from squealing. 'Oh-my-God.' The years swept away ... what? 1950?... 14 ... her first crush. Captain Eddie Corcoran ... Handsome, tall, thin ... rugged... 26. 'He's so OLD ... I'd be old, too.'

"E'veen?" A light brush with a wet cloth. "E'veen? Wake up."

A man ... white coat ... stethoscope ... Doctor ... Bill standing behind looking really worried.

"How long have you known you were pregnant?" White coat asked. Blackness...

"You have no idea how much I appreciate you two doing this," E'veen said. "Remember, expose the Mast head only. If what I think is down there is really there, get the pictures and get out. I am so glad you can transmit to me."

She was sitting at a console fifty miles to the north of the ranch talking to the OH 58 pilots. Fifty miles is about half way between Alta Vista landing field (used to be Marfa outlier south.) and Johnson's Ranch.

Bill and E'veen had hauled six 55 gallon barrels of Jet A to the flattest spot they could find that was long enough to take off from... 255 feet ... according to manufacturers specs. They knew they could takeoff in 150 feet but there was a helpful breeze. The Brits had done it in three feet but they had a 30 mph wind and someone to pull the chocks after the tail came up.

Bill and E'veen had hauled the Jet A for the helicopter because the 58 could get down to Johnson's but not back ... there and back again is important.

"You've got to be close enough to hit the main hangar with two Hellfires. The first one for the door, the second for the gasoline ... if what I think is there ... is there. Remember ... it's a flattish sliver disk about 45 feet in diameter and ten feet thick ... if that's there shoot and run."

The MIB (man in the back) asked, "Why shoot the fuel ... shoot the disk."

"You can't hurt the disk ... they shot at it with 155 Long Toms and never even dented it."

"Holy Shit!"