Lady Dandy had flown directly in to McGuire with Barbara in the left seat and an excited Maggie as her co-pilot in the right seat. Joe and David wanted to attend as well, and they arrived with Captain Pierce and 20 of his troops in the DC-3. Mike, John, and Pam offered to stay behind to feed the dogs and get to as many people as possible with the Cargomaster, Pilatus, and Cessna 210 working most of the daylight hours. Preston flew up in the P-38 in formation with Martie’s and Carlos’ P-51s on either side of him.
Everyone wanted a flyover for the memorial service, so Preston organized a flyover and the 11 C-130s the general had carefully looked after and returned to perfect condition were all brought in for the short ceremony. Time, unfortunately, was running out.
Carlos had arranged for his uncle and father to be picked up from the Colombian Embassy in another Huey, and Vice Admiral Rogers and several of his naval personnel flew in on an old Coast Guard C-130 they had just refurbished and made air-worthy the day before.
Michael and Grandpa Roebels, as well as the base commanders of Edwards and Hill AFBs arrived from Edwards aboard a C-130 with Captain Jennifer Watkins in the pilot’s seat. In the last four days, Jennifer had visited 30 Air Force bases in the United States and had given out satellite phones. It was the first time since that busy day at Preston’s farm so many aircraft were in one place. Even the three refurbished F-4s had been flown in by pilots of the general’s direct command.
Just to spite the enemy, something General Allen would have done, every aircraft flew in with their transponders on just to piss-off the enemy, if they were still watching.
First, the president said a few words about the man he had only really gotten to know several days earlier. “Pete was an American who put his country first. I don’t even know if the general was married or had any children. He did his job for his country, not allowing anything, or anybody to distract him from saving this land. Thanks to him, the United States of America now has the opportunity to continue to be a free and democratic society for the long term.” He continued, explaining that this memorial service was also a tribute to all the American people, military or civilian, who had died since January 1st. “Don’t let us forget the millions of innocent people around the world who have died for nothing more than someone’s thirst for power and greed.” He silently took his seat.
The Colombian Ambassador stood at the podium and said that Pete Allen was one of the finest men he had ever met. He had helped Colombia overcome the drug war in the early years by providing U.S. aid and Air Force aircraft and helicopters to help with the effort to curtail gangs and drug lords from taking over Colombia. Thanks to Pete Allen, his country of Colombia was also still a free country.
Vice Admiral Rogers said a eulogy for his fallen friend. “I grew up with Pete Allen. We were at a high school military academy together. Nobody could out-think Pete Allen. He was a tactician. He lived for planning battles. Unfortunately, Pete was a straight-talking man and had been passed by for promotion by Air Force generals now long forgotten, when he wouldn’t stand down from verbal confrontation. He was not one to beat about the bush and he called a spade a spade and pissed off many. I knew Pete’s family well. He and I had both courted the woman who finally became his wife, and he definitely won the prize with Marge Allen. Unfortunately, she died of cancer in 1995 and he was pretty lost without her for a while. Marge and Pete Allen had had two sons—Captain Peter Junior and Lieutenant Joe Allen. One died in combat in Iraq and the other in a civilian car crash here in the United States. Both had been active-duty military and both were single when they died. His elder son Peter was shot down in an Apache helicopter in Iraq in 1996, and Joe had been a Navy Seal Team member for several years when he was killed in a car accident driving from Washington to North Carolina in 1998. In three years, this proud man lost his entire family, but he never shirked his duty to his country. He got through the turmoil in his life and moved on to the kind of greatness we saw in him over the past week. Hopefully, he is now reunited with his loved ones in heaven. General Pete Allen, as well as the entire Allen family, should always be remembered for their support of their beloved country, the United States of America.”
An hour later, the jets had been separated from the piston aircraft, and all the aircraft were taking off. A band played as the captured 747 transporter came in very low in formation with the three F-4s, one in front and one on each side. Then the second wave came over as a 21-gun salute was given to the general and his crew by Air Force troops commanded by Captain Pierce. Then the piston-engine aircraft came over low and slow at 500 feet. It was led by Preston in the P-38 with Martie and Carlos in the two P-51 Mustangs, followed by all 12 of the flying C-130s in an arrow-shaped formation. The formation had a hole in it right behind the lead aircraft flown by Sally and Jennifer, with the two gunships next in line. Between them was the hole where Ghost Rider should have been. Behind the hole was the latest addition to the fleet of aircraft—the Coast Guard C-130 of Vice Admiral Rogers.
The band played and the soldiers on the ground stood at attention as the aircraft passed overhead.
Chapter 17
Preparation for Invasion USA
Mo Wang didn’t know what to do. It had been an hour since he had spoken on the phone to America. Even his worst fears about what the Americans actually knew had been surpassed. Carlos Rodriquez had been upfront about everything they had done, how much they knew, and even that they knew where he, Mo Wang, was, he thought—in the middle of the Pacific with ten ships.
Of course they wanted the aircraft. It was the only way to transfer their troops back to American soil quickly. They wanted all the aircraft, but did they know where they were now, in the chairman’s secret military base in Harbin? That must have been where the missiles had come from. Now, Harbin was the most dangerous place to store an army and all the aircraft Zedong Electronics currently had in their arsenal.
Mo certainly wanted to get off the ship, but the middle of the Pacific was not a good place to do that. He also realized that he should not talk to the chairman anymore, or it could become extremely deadly for him.
Comrade Mo Wang knew that he did not want to be a part of this madness any longer, and decided that Panama could be a good place to start a new life. He had the small suitcase full of American $100 bills. All the Politburo members had received the same suitcase a year earlier as a joke from the chairman who said that they should spend it as soon as possible since it would be worthless after Z-Day. Maybe it would be worth something in Panama.
If he could become friendly with this Carlos Rodriquez, he would still have the cell phone and he could still be in contact with the New World after the chairman was destroyed in New York. Mo Wang felt dirty and used. Mo Wang hadn’t killed anybody of his own free will. His termination squads had been trained at a secret location—probably Harbin—by the chairman, and then placed under his control to destroy all the operatives he had found and trained. He was not a killer, and did not like the eagerness his first cousin Comrade Chairman Chunqiao exhibited when terminating people.
Yes, Mo Wang was part of the Chunqiao family. His father was the chairman’s youngest uncle. The chairman knew this well, and that was why Mo Wang had got away with so much. And, it was time to tell Lee Wang that he was also part of the Wang family— a first cousin to Mo Wang by marriage. Mo Wang had always known this. The chairman didn’t, nor did Lee. He had watched as the young Lee, always at the top of his class, had flown through his schooling, always the best in class and getting the highest grades.