It took Nancy a moment to realize that Nathan was joking. But instead of becoming angry, a hint of a smile managed to curl the edges of her lips. This was a good sign. While he might not approve of what she had just done, Nathan wasn’t rattled by that or the entire action. He would do well in the coming days. “Okay, Lieutenant, let’s stow that wit and get rid of these bodies. We have work to do.”

Nathan nodded. “Yes, ma’am.” Then he turned to his mother, who was glaring at him.

“You’re just like your father,” she snapped.

Nancy looked over to Jan. “I’m glad he is.”

CHAPTER 23

CHAPTER 23

WEST OF BLACK MESA, IDAHO EARLY MORNING, NOVEMBER 11

The storm that had been threatening throughout the early evening finally broke shortly after midnight. It wasn’t a particularly vicious storm. But it was more than enough to make the pitiable existence of soldiers on both sides more miserable.

For the air assault troopers of the 11th Division this was especially true. Strapped into their seats, they were lashed by the wind and pelted by the rain it carried through the open doors while their Blackhawks zipped about just above the ground. Within minutes all were beaten into near despondency, until all thoughts of where they were going and what they would face once they got there all but disappeared. Some longed to hit the ground if for no other reason than to end this wretched journey. Others saw their arrival at their objective as an opportunity to strike out at someone and make them pay for subjecting them to this sort of suffering.

In the cockpits the pilots were quite literally flying on the edge of their seats. Taking an aircraft into enemy territory was in and of itself a nerve-wracking experience. Doing so at night, through a storm, as part of an elaborately synchronized plan, only adds to the already considerable stress. One pilot in each Blackhawk wore night vision goggles in order to keep an eye on what was going on outside of the cockpit, both on the ground and in the sky around them. He not only had to fight the physical elements that conspired to blind him and the terrain he was skipping over, he also had to resist the urge to slow down or put a few extra feet between his aircraft and the ground racing by before him. The other pilot monitored the conditions of the aircraft itself. Hunched over he watched the instruments in front of him. In silence he prayed that none of the warning lights he kept glancing at would flicker on. Together they did their best to ensure that they delivered their human cargo at the appointed time and place.