Stealth and patience were more important now than in almost any other time in the mission, but after the helicopter attack Lobato's men were really anxious to get out of the country. No sooner had Lobato reached the monument than the seven other members of the team came in-the last, Corporal Butler, practically sprinting. Lobato took them back into the forest and set up a security watch. Except for a few serious-looking scrapes and one possible broken wrist from a fall, the rest of the team members appeared well.

The arrival of the CV-22 a few minutes later was like watching an angel descend from heaven. Four Marines guarded the front and rear of the landing zone and two others carried RAGANU up the cargo ramp. Ladybug was on the ground less than thirty seconds before lifting off again and tree-hopping away back to the Baltic. RAGANU was given water, a life vest, and careful medical attention by the team's corpsman.

He had received a deep, six-inch-long gash in his right bicep, and a three-inch piece of metal was embedded in the wound-one last chilling reminder of what would probably be his last moments in the CIS.

The CV-22 took the long way back to the Valley Mistress this time- giving the Gagarin-class research vessel a wide berth and avoiding all large vessels and shore radar sites, it took twice as long to get back to the salvage ship as it did to reach shore. As soon as Ladybug touched down on the helipad, crew members were on deck doing an engines-running refueling, checking for damage, and removing the weapons pods from the aircraft. All possible evidence of the incident had to be erased.

Paul White was on board as soon as it was safe to approach the aircraft. He saw four Marines surrounding a smiling young man. White went over to the newcomer, extending a hand. "Lieutenant Fryderyk Litwy?"

The young man nodded enthusiastically, shaking White's hand with both mittened hands. It was the first time Lobato had realized that this guy might have a real name.

White had been studying Lithuanian phrases for a week just for this moment. "Labas vakaras. Glad to see you. Welcome to America." To the Marines surrounding RAGANU, White said, "Excellent job. Bring him inside and get him something to eat."

As the Marines escorted Lieutenant Litwy out of the CV-22 and into the pressure chamber, White met up with Lobato, who pressed the briefcase into White's hands. "Mission accomplished. We checked it over and swept it for bugs and transmitters. Clean. Pretty good-quality set of photos in there. Definitely a worthwhile trip, I'd say."

"Fantastic," White said gleefully. "I'll make copies and uplink them to HG, then send the package with a destruct mechanism with you to Norway. Good job, Gunny. Pass a well-done to your troops."

The fuel lines were being retracted and the assault team was returning back to the plane as White crossed through the pressure chamber to the first MISCO trailer and turned the briefcase over to the technicians waiting inside the darkened room. The CV-22 was not going to stay on the Valley Mistress-the ship needed to be transformed back into a salvage vessel as quickly as possible. The CV-22 would take the Marines, the photos, and Lieutenant Litwy to U.S. Embassy officials in Oslo as quickly as possible so formal political asylum proceedings could begin. Litwy would be yet another American intelligence success story.