Part 40 (1/2)
”What's going on.
”Got me. George is at the controls.” ”What's he doing?” ”You wanna talk to him? Here.” ”Kinda busy here, Mac. What's up?” ”You can see what's up! What're you doing?” ”Waiting for clearance.”
”You're clear! Go! Go now! Angle to your right! These guys are hung up and I've got one of their tires blown.
They've shut down their engines.” ”waiting for you, partner.”
”Don't be silly. I'd run right into their line of fire. Go to the other end of the runway, and I'll meet you there. But if they come after me, just keep going.” ”Yeah, I know, and you'll see me in heaven.” ”Exactly now quit being stupid and go!” ”I'm not being stupid, Mac. I'm obeying.” ”You're supposed to obey me, so do as I say.” ”Sorry. You've been superseded.” ”What? ” ”You're supposed to put down your weapon and walk this way.” ”You got GC on that plane!?” ”Negative. Come unarmed, and you will be safe.”
”Have you lost your mind?” ”G.o.d is telling you to come.” Mac shook his head. ”Ah, stand by.” ”Come now.” Mac sighed, his eyes darting back and forth between the jet door and his own plane. He pushed the transmit b.u.t.ton. ”Lord, if it is you, command me to come that way. ” ”Come.” The voice had not been George's.
”Unarmed?
”Come.”
Mac waited a beat, then unstrapped the Uzi and laid it on the ground. He turned off the walkie talkie and jammed it into his pocket. He walked past the car and stood directly under the c.o.c.kpit. He felt exposed, vulnerable, indefensible. If that jet door opened now, he was a dead man.
He heard nothing above him, saw nothing beside him. Mac stepped out from under the plane and headed directly in front of it. He kept imagining he heard movement behind him the engines roaring to life, footsteps from the cabin to the door, the door opening, weapons firing.
He prayed urgently as he strode along, ”Lord, save me!”
Immediately he felt as if G.o.d's hands were upon him, and he barely felt his feet on the ground. ”o you of little faith, why do you doubt?”
The voice was clear as crystal, but the walkie talkie was off and George had his engines roaring. Mac broke into a trot, then a run. Every step sounded like a gunshot. Hannah was lowering the door when he got there, and he leaped in.
”Flyin' or backseat drivin' ? ” George said, unstrapping as if ready to take the copilot's chair.
”Here is fine,” Mac said. ”I don't think I could ride a bike right now.” Chang was relieved to hear from Rayford and eager to meet Naomi even if only on line. He was tempted to scold her for scaring him, and so decided to wait until the next day to try to make contact. Meanwhile, he checked in on Mac and his team, fearing the worst despite all the praying that had been going on.
Mac answered his phone, sounding exhausted.
”I need to meet this Michael someday,” Chang said, after hearing the story. ”You guys get all the fun.”
”I could use a little less fun, frankly,” Mac said. ”And you might as well know, Sebastian here doesn't call him Michael anymore. Calls him Roger.”
”Roger ? ”
”Says he told him he a.s.sumed he was Michael, and the guy said, 'Roger.”'
”So Stefanich and those guys are just sitting on the runway with a wounded plane?”
”Yeah, and they're gonna need some repair work before they can take off again.”
”Why didn't they shoot you?”
”I thought you could find out. What was going on in that c.o.c.kpit when I strolled out from underneath, unarmed? ”
”I'll let you know.”
Within half an hour the rest of the Tribulation Force had heard the good news out of Greece, and Chang had paved the way for George to land south of Rome for the refuel. They were on their own for getting back to the safe house without going through Kankakee, Illinois, and without arousing more suspicion. That should be the easiest part of their ordeal.
When Chang was finally able to hack back into the Ptolemais GC system and find transmissions between the plane and the Kozani tower, he could only shake his head. The pilot had reported seeing the plane at the end of the runway, putting down, and seeing a car approaching. But at the same tine Chang figured Michael had instructed George to turn on his landing lights, the pilot reported a light so blinding that ”we have lost visual contact with the plane and the auto. ”
A few minutes later the pilot reported being struck by what, he did not know. His jet was being jostled and the front end lifted, but no one aboard could take his hands from his eyes because of the intense light. They heard shooting and feared for their lives, heard one of their tires blow, and shut down the engines.