Chapter 48

Flashback – Ben – In the HIND 24 headed to the hospital

After I confronted Masha about her lie to me about Tatiana's injuries, she finally confessed but I suddenly wished like hell she had continued the lie. She haltingly clarified the situation, "Ben I hate to tell you this but Tatiana's injuries were caused by shrapnel from one of your grenades."

I swore, taking a page from all the Russian women, "Tвойу мат! How in the hell did that happen?"

Jack interrupted and tried to smooth things over, "Come on Banzai, it's not like your aim was perfect with your grenade bat."

I was not appeased. In fact it further inflamed my anger, "Of course the fucking hell my aim wasn't perfect! But what the fucking hell was Tatiana doing on the son of a bitch battlefield? She should have been back at the hospital where she belonged..."

Masha immediately stood up and yelled...

Flashback – Masha – In the HIND 24 headed to the hospital

Ben's recent statement and Jack's earlier statement about how Tatiana and I needed to 'be in the places' they fucking thought we should be were too much! Who in hades did they think they were! They were certainly not Gods who could command us where to travel with a wave of their hands!!!

I stood up and yelled, mainly at Ben but also at Jack because he also needed to understand (I thought and made sure to say it in English so Jack would comprehend), "Bennie Blaine and Jack Reynolds! Just who in the hell do you think you are!!!"

I purposefully paused and waited until Ben and Jack naturally began to defend their indefensible position. Then I rudely (especially for a Russian woman) and boldly interrupted, "That was what you would call a 'rhetorical' question so do not bother trying to answer the question to attempt deflecting my greatly increasing anger! Tatiana and I are Russian women and Russian women are not anything like your American women counterparts. Immediately remove your heads from your anal orifices and learn our truth!!! We are taught from a very early age to take care of our men – not just our men but also the worthless as hell Russian men who hardly deserve the respect we give them because they return our show of love for them by finding younger mistresses!"

"Tatiana and I have been blessed by God to find the love of two wonderful American men who are totally different than the typical Russian man. Unless I am incorrect, you respect us, cherish us and have no plans to find younger consorts! However!!! This does not mean that we are your slaves and it certainly does not mean that you can command us where to go or tell us where to stay! Ben, Tatiana was here because you were in harm's way - the same reason I was here for Jack!!! Yes, she was slightly injured in trying to stop the attack of the BTR80! You need to accept that and concentrate on comforting her! She did it for you, not for herself. And Jack! You need to realize that I will always be here for you even when you are in harm's way and even though I might be carrying your child."

Flashback – Jack – In the HIND 24 headed to the hospital

After Masha read us the riot act I was truly humbled. However, my feeble brain finally settled on her last statement. To settle my troubled mind I humbly asked, "Masha, are you telling me you're pregnant?"

She gave me a flummoxed look and answered, "Jack, I was taking all the normal precautions, however I am late."

Like a fool I continued digging the hole deeper, "Late like a day or two?"

She swore that Russian saying I didn't understand, "Tвойу мат! No Jack, more than a week and I am very worried."

I looked at Banzai for support. He nodded his head so I know I had his support and offered the only solution I knew was right, "Well then Masha, we need to get married immediately."

I guess what I said was for this time correct because Masha ran into my arms, hugged me and began to cry...

Flashback – Ben – In the HIND 24 headed to the hospital

Well, that was certainly a short but intense reminder of the character of Russian women! However, it was still and always would be upsetting as hell to me that one or more of my grenades injured Tatiana. That was the last thing I wanted but I did learn that if I was in a battle, I needed to make sure Tatiana wasn't with me. Yeah, Masha might say she and Tatiana's place were beside us in battle, but hell, I was old school and a woman's place was any place except a battle. I hesitate to say a woman's place was in the kitchen because that would start a new fight which I could never win (and I probably didn't want to win in the first place).

But if Masha was knocked up with Jack's baby (the lucky as hell old fart!) I needed Tatiana more than ever to help me arrange the wedding before Masha couldn't fit into a wedding dress. Because my earlier attempts to contact the wedding planner without Tatiana's help failed miserably, I needed her help more than ever...

We landed at the hospital after what seemed like a hell of a short flight so I asked the pilot, "I've ridden in many helicopters before and for the most part they are slow as hell. How the hell did you get here so fast?"

Before the pilot could answer Elena interrupted by doing her primary job as she opened the side door, jumped out and stated, "I will transport Tatiana to the helicopter, please do not leave the helicopter."

After the interruption, the pilot answered, "Unlike your American helicopters, we do not overload our helicopters with weapons and other things! Our transmissions and airframes are overdesigned to handle the loads we carry. In fact for many years a modified HIND 24, piloted by women, held the straight flight speed record for helicopters."

The gunner swore with a passion, "Yes, our speed record was valid and set by the female crew of Galina Rastorgoueva and Ludmila Polyanskaia. On 21 September 1978 their modified A-10 set the absolute speed record for helicopters with 368.4 km/h (228.9 mph) over a 25 km (about 15 mi.) course. The record stood until 1986 when it was broken by the current record holder, a modified Westland Lynx. However the British cheated."

Since I had to wait for Elena to bring out my girlfriend and I needed a distraction, I questioned further, "How in the hell did they cheat because it sounds to me like you loaded up the A10 with lighter female pilots?"

The gunner very proudly informed me, "We know the Lynx was the world's first fully aerobatic helicopter. In 1986 a specially modified Lynx set the current official airspeed record for helicopters however it was never produced. In the 21st century, a modernized military variant of the Lynx, designated as the AgustaWestland AW159 Wildcat, was created but was not as fast. Therefore the airspeed record of the A10 stands since it was made by a standard production model."

I considered for a very brief moment countering the claim but I glanced at Jack and he shook his head so I replied, "Well, it sounds to me like the British once again cheated."

I made the correct decision because both the pilot and weapons officer confirmed, "Hell yes they certainly cheated!" Then the pilot answered the question that bothered me, "Yes, we used female pilots but that was to prove that our female pilots are more proficient than male pilots of other nations."

Thank God Elena arrived with the gurney carrying a very obviously stoned Tatiana. The gurney swayed and rattled with each bump. She began to load the gurney into the Krokodil and I unwisely questioned, "What the hell is wrong with Tatiana?"

Jack helped Elena tie down the gurney and the pilots questioned, "Is everyone secure?" We all replied affirmatively and the Krokodil took off like its ass was on fire (I was sure the pilot was showing off). Once we in the air Elena gave me a funny look and answered my previous question, "An FSB agent stated that she should be sedated and the hospital staff in fear of their families more than complied with her directive. And now, unfortunately Tatiana is totally unresponsive other than occasionally muttering gibberish."

I was pissed as hell because Tatiana was stoned out of her head so she wasn't responding to anything! I tried to squeeze her hand but got nothing. I even gave her a hell of a kiss on the lips and there was still no response. I demanded, "Just who the hell was this FSB agent because I want a word with that fucker?"