As the sun settled over the strait, the U.S. Navy was allowing the damaged Chinese warships to limp back to their ports without sinking them. Many ships had sunk, others were either dead in the water, still burning out of control, or listing badly as they made their way through the oil slicks and floating debris.
The carrier Stennis was providing air support so the crews of Roosevelt and Kitty Hawk could regroup and rest. Many of the aviators from Roosevelt flew by helicopter to Kitty Hawk to join the rotation of round-the-clock BARCAP pilots. After transferring many assets, including two helicopters to the Hawk, the badly damaged Teddy R began the long voyage home.
The Taiwanese people and their democratic island nation had been badly bruised and bloodied during the short but ferocious battle, but their spirits were high. With the help of a trusted friend and ally, Taipei had rebuffed a major assault on their freedom and sovereignty. What China might do next was anyone's guess, but the Taiwanese citizens, with the help of the United States, had sent a strong message to Beijing—"Stay out of Taiwan!"
Chapter 28
The rain was light but steady as Scott and Jackie trudged back toward the airport after dark. Although they were still registered at the nondescript hotel, they had all of their belongings with them. In shock after finding out about the savage and deadly battle in the Taiwan Strait, they were on edge.
Hartwell Prost had given them the go-ahead by 6:00 P. M. Chengdu time, but he had made it clear that it was up to them to proceed or cancel. The Chinese were not in a good mood, and that meant an even higher risk if something went wrong.
"Scott?"
"Yes."
"What do you think?"
"I'm not sure at the moment."
"Should we ditch this operation — before we get in over our heads?"
He talked quietly as they approached the airport. "We're here, so we might as well try to accomplish our objective."
"What if we are successful and we make it back here with Dr. Cheung — and find the airport closed and our Lear impounded?"
"I don't believe that's going to happen."
"You can't be sure."
Scott thought about the possibility. "The Lear isn't a warplane and we aren't soldiers — we're civilians."
"But we're going to be dressed like commandos."
"Let's just stick to our plan and see how things go."
"Okay," she said reluctantly. "But I don't have a good feeling about this deal — especially now that we're in an undeclared war with China."
"I know what you're saying, but the risk factor is the same, at least the way I see it. Besides, now that we're in an all-out shooting war with China, there's even more reason why we need to know what Cheung knows."
"Yeah, no kidding." She watched a commuter airliner take off and disappear in the rain and low clouds.
"Have you already filed?"
"Yeah, it's in the can."
She had used a handling agent specializing in international flight operations in order to obtain a weather report and file an instrument flight plan to Chongqing, China, the Double-Blessed river port at the confluence of the Yangtze River (long river) and the Chialing River. The intended destination was in the opposite direction from Mianyang.
Hartwell Prost was at the White House having a working breakfast with the president, Secretary of State Brett Shannon, Defense Secretary Pete Adair, and air force general Les Chalmers. They were closely monitoring the provocative situation in China and waiting to see what Beijing would do next, if anything.
The president's press secretary was keeping the media informed of the events taking place in the Taiwan Strait. Macklin had instructed her to be completely open and honest about the explosive crisis, whether the news was good or bad.
While keeping an eye on the Chinese campaign the president and his team of advisers were anxiously awaiting news from the operatives who were about to embark on the precarious mission to Mianyang. If the operation was a success, Dr. Richard Cheung could provide extremely vital information about China's laser weapons, and he could furnish further proof about Beijing's deadly secret.
The parking ramp was dimly lighted and quiet when Jackie and Scott reached their helicopter. They quickly unlocked the Agusta and climbed inside to get out of the rain. Working in the dark, they unloaded the two canvas bags and donned their apparel.
Dressed in a black jumpsuit, body armor, helmet, and jungle boots, Jackie stepped outside and performed a thorough walk-around on the Agusta while Scott checked all of his gear and weapons. She also removed the engine covers from the Lear in order to save time when they returned to the airport.
Satisfied that everything was in order, he tested the pair of small, lightweight wireless headsets that would provide hands-free two-way communication between them.
While Jackie brought the helicopter to life, received her IFR clearance to Chongqing, and then strapped on her 9mm Glock, the Smith & Wesson .357, and the H & K 9mm, Scott liberally applied camouflage to his face, neck, and hands.
Dressed in specially made black-and-green fatigues, full body armor, helmet, and jungle boots, he carefully checked his 9mm Sig Sauer, the S & W .357, the H & K 9mm, and his extra clips of ammo.
Next, he placed the Sig Sauer in a holster on his right hip, the .357 on his left hip, and the H & K in a slot near his lower back. Finally, he filled two compartments in his fatigues with extra ammo and a waterproof flashlight, and then hung two grenades in straps on each side of the H & K He capped off his outfit by strapping on his K-Bar knife, a sturdy and deadly weapon for those intimate moments in hand-to-hand combat.
"Are you ready?" Jackie asked.
"All set." Scott secured the rest of the grenades and the two H & K MP5 compact submachine guns.
After calling the tower and receiving permission to take off, Jackie eased the Agusta into the rainy sky, raised the landing gear, and set a course toward the southeast. She contacted the departure controller and climbed slowly as they rapidly distanced themselves from the airport.
Finally, after flying into conditions that were solid IFR, Jackie called the controller and said she was in visual flight conditions and canceled her instrument flight plan. The controller acknowledged the cancellation and gave her a different code to squawk in her transponder, the avionics device that emits a discrete signal from an airplane or helicopter and allows the controller to identify a particular aircraft. She turned the volume down on the radio, turned the transponder off, and then concentrated solely on flying.
The controller would lose their transponder return before the helicopter changed course and disappeared in ground clutter on the controller's radar screen. Without a primary return on the radar — and no information from the transponder — the Agusta became a stealth helicopter.
"We'll have to fly lower and slower because of the rain." Jackie began a shallow descent and turned off the exterior lights. Seconds later, she leveled the Agusta.
Even though Scott continued to have doubts about the mission, he remained quiet and concentrated on the instruments.
She turned the helicopter to fly parallel to the ridge on the west side of the long elevation of land and then squinted to see lights on the ground. She needed to fly lower and began a gradual descent. Off to her left, she could see the soft glow of the lights from Chengdu. As the altimeter slowly wound down, her pulse began to increase.
After trying to suppress her nagging doubts, Jackie breathed a sigh of relief when she began to see lights on the ground. "Ah, yes — we'll fly this heading until we cross the railroad tracks extending east from Chengdu. When we get there, I'll make a fortyfive-degree cut to the left until we pick up the tracks leading to Mianyang."