“Baghdad, I reckon,” Jack said. “Ain’t you heard one damn thing I said, Sora? They took everything!”

“Oh no.” Sora howled. How many more shocks could she take? “What happened to it? Tommy told me the Vixen was disabled. How could the Iraqis have taken it?”

“Hell, it was only scratched and nicked. I slapped some bondo on it right after me and your father got it off the apron. Might have got it painted, too if there had been enough time. There, wasn’t. Hell, there was war going on here, Sora. We couldn’t hold out against cannons and machine guns.”

“You’re telling me they just pirated the plane and took it? How the hell did they start it?”

“How do you think? You father started it for them. ‘Course it helped that one of them put a gun on my head.”

“Oh, God!”

“For all the good I’ve done the company right now, they could have shot me and been down with it, but you father thought otherwise.”

“I guess so.”

Sora shook her head. Suddenly, she jumped and grabbed the strap on the door of the cockpit, yanking hard as she dropped back to the ground. The inboard steps crashed onto the concrete beside her, inciting Ceasar to bark and howl.

“Quiet Ceasar!” Sora reached for his leash and yanked him back to her side. She waved the guards towards the big hangar doors, motioning that she needed them to open now.

A couple of scorch and marks blurred the lettering under the goose’s belly. On the ground two feet from the burn, a crater of powdered concrete marked where a shell had impacted the floor. Sora pointed at the square of freshly welded metal on the plane’s belly.

“What caused that?”

“Mortar fire.” Jack said. “Took a couple of shots on the interior when your father and I were getting the Vixen inside the hangar. Boy, that was close. Damn glad you didn’t land the other plane. We’d have lost that one, too.”

Sora moved to examine the rivets and the patch. It looked solid enough, the bead on the welding smooth. “Is the patch going to hold?”

“Now, what do you think? Have I ever had one come out loose?” Jack scrambled up the steps and turned, offering her a hand.

Raising her skirt. Sora took his assistance for the steep climb. Ceasar was a bit skittish, not liking climbing the steps one bit. She hauled him in, anyway, and shoved him into the cabin and closed the door, then opened it and looked back at the gutted cabin.

“Good Gad, nothing is sacred. What are they going to do with those old seats? I’m flying out babies and children and women first.”

“You got me on the first question. As for passengers, I guess you’re just gonna have to fly real steady and careful.” Jack shrugged as he tossed the shopping bag containing the disks and book under the console and dropped into the pilot’s seat. Jack handed her a ring of company’s keys.

While she waited for the soldiers to open the hangar doors, SOra sat thinking. No Vixen. She closed her eyes, unable to confront the betrayal she’d dealt Leeteuk. “Is this damn crate gonna start?” she said finally.

“Yes, it’s gonna start. The only thing wrong with this baby is its paint job and lack of creature comforts. She’s raring to get us out of here.”

“She’d better.” Sora reached for the ignition. One turn and lights came on.

Ceasar clawed on the cockpit cargo-bay door, woofing.

“I gotta tell you something, Sora.” Jack said as he sank onto the seat beside her. “This hasn’t done a lot of good for my old ticker.”

Just then the hangar doors parted and a stream of bright sunlight slid into the cockpit, blinding them both. Ducking her head, Cora concentrated on the engines, listening as each started, idled and hummed with power. She couldn’t look at Jack for a minute or so. When she did, she saw the pasty gray color of his skin, the pain showing around his eyes. tightened grimly.

Not wanting to retire just because he’d had two heart attacks, Jack had opted to take this peaceful assignment in Kuwait, tending the telephones, minding the planes when they came in. It was supposed to be a vacation.

“Don’t worry Jack, I’ll get us out of here. The Saudis have good doctors. I’ve even seen one, myself.”

She didn’t elaborate and Jack didn’t probe. It took too much concentration to drive the goose out of the hangar safely and start maneuvering it around the barricades, potholes and bomb craters. She waited while the soldiers shut the doors and boarded via the passenger door at the back. They came forward and Ceasar bounded out of the cockpit the moment they opened the door.

“Issaeyaedea Haaris, there are no seats for the children,” Captain Nassif said in English.

“I just found out, captain. I guess it’s the Iraqi millitary’s idea of renovation. We’ll just have to do the best we can to pillow the little ones, and I’ll be very, very careful. I am sorry.”

“We’re damn lucky we still got these seats to sit in,” Jack grumbled. “But don’t worry, Sora’s gonna treat this old lady like she’s made of blown glass. Nice and easy, right Sora-girl? Nice and easy.”

Jack motioned to threatening muzzles of field artillery that had been aimed at the hangar. “That’s what we were facing, and the main reason they got the Vixen One.”

“Looks like they meant business.” Sora admitted.

“That’s putting it mildly.” Jack pointed to the crater on the taxi lane she needed to avoid. “It sure wasn’t fancy tea-party reception your poor old man pulled into, like it was gonna be. Sheik Haaris had even brought his wife and daughters. I dragged them out the crystal bowl and had caterers all line up for the party. Hmmph!”

That bit of news raised one of Sora’s eyebrows. “I thought the planes were for his sons?”

“Well, yeah, there were a passel of them hanging around, but them girls was real pretty things. Sweet, lordy, every one of them is a living doll.”

It was Sora’s turn to snort a hmmph and she did as she stopped the plane.

What are you stopping here for?” Jack asked.

Sora pointed at the four jeeps and the Iraqi officer barring access to the runway. “The plane has to be inspected before we can load the children from the embassy.”

“Don’t tell me that. Oh, no.”

“What do you mean?”

“Park it, Sora, and you’d better come with me. Is that dog as mean as I think he is?”

“He’s a cupcake.”

“Well, kick him to make him madder n’hell.”

“Jack!”

“Either that or you better have a hell of a lot of mordida to pay those vultures. They’re bloodsucking thugs, ever-last one of ‘em!”

Jack was out of the co-pilot’s seat, reaching for Ceasar’s collar. The dog took instant offense and bared his teeth. “Well, that’s just what we need. Who’d you get the dog from?”

“My husband, Leeteuk Park Haji Haaris.”

“The haj’s son? I’l be a monkey’s uncle. I always knew you’d aim high, Sora-girl. Come on, there ain’t no time to waste.”

Sora clambered out of her seat and followed Jack. Something had Jack in a stir, another silent signal to her that things with the goose weren’t what they seemed. She trotted down the steps on his heels, ducking under the tail. Jack stopped at the first cargo bay, unlocked it and swung it open.

Her guards wouldn’t allow the Iraqi into the plane until Sora was off it. Nassif stuck to her side like glue. Ceasar ran the point, barking and snapping at Jack’s heels until the door of the cargo bay was opened. Then Ceasar went wild.

The huge dog bound into the lowered bay and clambered all over the first aluminium storage container. Normally, the containers held luggage or goods to be shipped, but for this trip, Sora wasn’t loading any luggage or cargo. All the weight she was taking on board would be human.

Still, the dog acted as if he’d found a live rabbit and sniffed the seams of the container, clawed at it and wagged his long scraggly tail excessively.

“Ceasar!” Sora scrambled after the animal, grabbing his leash, dragging him down. “Heel!” she ordered. Immediately he crouched on all fours and turned appealing eyes up at her, thumped his tail and whined. “Stay,” she commanded. To be certain he would stay on the floor, she knelt on the metal floor and tied his leash to a cleat. He bared his teeth and growled viciously when the Iraqi soldiers came near.

Afraid that the mean-looking soldier pointing a rifle at them might shoot the dog for the hell of it, Sora wrapped her arms around the animal’s neck. The dog strained at his tether, barking ferociously at the soldier peering into the cargo bay.

“Lae!” Thank god for the Saudi who intervened with a heated excited spate of Arabic on both Sora and Ceasar’s behalf. A vicious, fang-baring growl backed everyone away. Jack grinned broader than a Texas mile. The Iraqi snarled just as viciously, cocking his gun, as if he was about to put an end to the dog’s challenge. Jack proffered a wad of American money, bargaining for the dog’s life.

Soldier snapped a killing look at Ceasar, added a dismissive scornful one for Sora, then he took Jack’s cash and sauntered down of his tarmac, looking the old plane’s riveted metal plates.

Exhaling with relief, Jack shut off the cargo door. Ceasar continued barking furiously. Jack hurried down the next bay, ing it open, inviting the soldiers to inspect it. He banged on several shipping containers, proving they were hollow and empty.

The Iraqis inspection was cursory, a lazy once-over. They spent more time in the cabin, searching cubbies and galley as if the empty refrigerators might contain food. Not until they were finished and off the plane did Sora’s guard allow her to return to the cockpit.

Sora watched the ranking Saudi hand over to the Iraqi officer a payoff that was equivalent of blood money. Only then did Nassif motion that she could return to the plane.

Sora’s heart hammered. “Mordida, what did I tell you? The damn vultures.”

Sora nodded her head and looked under the console for the shopping bag she’d dropped there before starting the engines earlier. “Thank god, it’s still here.”

“What’s that?” Jack’s seat creaked as he leaned toward the shield, craning his neck to watch a convoy of Saudi embassy vehicles roll up the tarmac. Sora snatched open the bag to make certain that the boxes of disks and book was still inside. They were.

“Nothing, just my stuff.”

“Them kids are here. How many are we cramming into this crate?”

“I don’t know. Nobody gave me a number.” Sora looked out of the window. Leeteuk emerge from the first Sedan. “Hold on Jack, there’s trouble.”

“What now?”

Sora gulped and tried to hide behind the windscreen support. “My husband is here, Sheik Leeteuk.”

“What?” Suddenly, Jack grabbed his chest; the shock of her words had obviously upset him. Sora panicked when she saw how pale his lips had gone.

“Where’s your medication?”

“I got it, I got it.” He said crankily, fumbling in his shirt pocket for the vial of medicine. His hands were trembling as he opened the lid and slid a pill under his tongue. He took several deep breaths before calming down. That very effectively kept Sora’s attention riveted to him, not on the tall man escorting children from cars onto the gutted goose.

Jack finally caught his breath, then said painfully, “Haaris shouldn’t be here. If the Iraqis recognize him, they’ll mow him down and won’t give a damn how many kids they shoot to death with him.”

“Why would they shoot him?”

“Money, power, what else?” The Haaris family is connected to the bank of Kuwait. You got no idea what assets of this country are. We’re talking bucks, Sora-girl. On a scale little people like you and me can’t even comprehend.”

A fine sheen of sweat dotted Jack’s upper lip. Sora reached across and smoothed his rumpled hair. “You okay?”

“Better.” Jack leaned against the seat back, resting. “How much longer?”

Sora looked out of the windshield. Leeteuk pulled her eyes like a beacon. She sighed, watching him lift a squalling child from the arm and wait for an old woman to take his arm. He walked at her pace to the plane.

A queued had formed, herded by the Saudis, children of all ages and women whose expressions were hidden behind concealing veils. Conspicuously absent were the husbands, fathers and sons. There were no teenagers.

Sora willed Leeteuk onto the plane. Ten cars, one diplomat to each one, all returned to their vehicles. Everyone opened a door and sank into the air-conditioned sedans. Except for Leeteuk, who stood by the flags wagging in the wind on the fenders of the lead car. His military bearing was as obvious as he stood straight and tall, precisely, in silent concerned study of the old Kang workhorse.

“Jack,” Sora whispered without taking her eyes off the man on the tarmac. “Tell me the truth. Is this plane in good enough shape to get these children across the border?”

“Mechanically, this old bird’s a Rolls-Royce. Just ‘cause she looks like a tramp doesn’t mean she is.”

“I just have to be sure,” Sora told him. Besides her concern for the children’s safety, she was also anxious about Leeteuk’s opinion. If anything happened to these babies… well, that thought didn’t merit contemplating. As for her private battles with the man, they had to wait until this war was over.

Apparently feeling steadier, Jack got up and looked into the cabin, making certain everyone was seated on the floor, holding on to something secure. He came back and closed the cockpit door softly, took his seat and leap out deep breath.

 “I don’t know, Sora-giirl. All them babies got their eyes bigger than saucers. They ain’t never seen no plane that looks like this one. I think you’re going to have to forgo the barrel rolls this time.

That was clearly the right touch Sora needed. With the last longing look at Leeteuk, she raised her hand in a salute and turned her attention to the task at hand.

Jack flipped switches, called off readings on the dials. He adjusted pressure gauges and set the fans to cycle full blast. Back in the cabin, the Saudi guards led the childr3en in a song, helping them channel fears that are any minute could break into hysterics.

“Come on, Sora, do your stuff. Get this crate the hell out of Kuwait.” It was what he didn’t say that had her scared half to death. Those containers hadn’t been empty. Ceasar didn’t go crazy without just a cause.

“Okay, Jack, buckle up.” Sora yanked the veil from her face, taking a deep cleansing breath. “Let’s go.”

The goose engines accelerated, deafening her ears to the pounding of her heart. Sora cast one look back to the tarmac. The embassy cars tolled rapidly away.

Leeteuk remained in Kuwait.

The goose lumbered forward. Sora turned it square at the end of the runway. With a mile of cratered surface stretching before her, Sora wasn’t as confident up full power, looked to Jack for the go-ahead. There wasn’t a controller on this decimated air field. Sora didn’t see any Iraqi MiGs parked on the tarmac, which meant they weren’t taking any chances bringing in the airplane without radio communications.

“Don’t worry about them craters,” he told her. “You’ll have this baby off the ground in five hundred meters. Go on, Sora let her rip.”

No radio, no control. They were on their own. The responsibility for the cabin of full children sat like a rock on Sora’s soul. Her hands were slick with sweat.

“Go on, Sora,” Jack urge.

“One question.”

“Don’t ask.” Jack nodded his head in the direction of the field artillery pointing their deadly barrels straight at them. His eyes warned, no questions.

Grimly, Sora jerked her chin down once, released the brakes and tightened her grip on the wheel. The old plane lurched forward, its wheels bumping over pits, rocks and chunks of blasted concrete.

“Keep to the left.” Jack cautioned.

“We better do this together.” His hands were on the dual wheel, helping hold the critical front tire on course.

“I have one question,” Sora said through her teeth, straining her shoulders to hold the front wheel bouncing through divot after divot. “Is my dog gonna be all right in that cargo bay?”

“Now, honey, do you think I’d risk a life if I hadn’t already taken care of the pressure?”

“It’s a dog, dammit,” Sora snarled.

“That ain’t all that’s in there,” Jack said so low she could barely hear him above the whine of the engines. “The man who signs my paycheck is cramped up in one of the crates.”

“What?” Sora gasped. She froze. Looking at him, her jaw sagging.

“Come on, Sora, get this er airborne, now!”

Swallowing a million questions, Sora hauled back on the throttle, shifting all her weight on the brakes until the engine whine was so shrill it could shatter glass. She released the brakes and the goose shot forward.

Old Jack was right about the pits in the runway. The goose was off the ground before the craters were under its wheels.

“They ought to fix that.”

“Keeps from landing the MiGs the way it is,” Jack muttered. He sat back against the seat, breathing harshly.

Airborne and climbing steadily over Persian Gulf, Sora took it slow and easy as she banked south. Jack pulled on a headset and the minute they crossed the border he made contact with Saudi control at Dhaharan and was given coordinates for their landing site.

“What the hell?” He jotted down number grumbling. The Saudis are sending us to the middle of the damn desert.”

Sora nodded, looking at the coordinates he showed her, “Yeah, I’ll bet I know exactly where we’re going.” To the spot in the desert she was very familiar with. She was right, too. They weren’t airborne an hour.

Landing was a piece of cake compared to taking off. She set the goose down without a shudder and taxed over now-familiar road to the stretch of under-the-sand-dune hangars. This time, a flagman brought her to a berth populated by Red Crescent vans and medical technicians as well as Saudi soldiers. Yellow school buses were lined up beside the taxiway to evacuate the children to safety.

The moment Sora brought the plane to a final stop, Jack was out of his harness, struggling to get to his feet. “Come on, girl.” He was hurting now. Sora could see it. “Let’s get that dog unpacked.”

“I’m going back, Jack”

“What?” Jack turned in the narrow door to the cabin. “I said, I’m going back. There’s a thousand more people where these kids came from. I’ve got about nineteen hours left before the Iraqis close the border.

“You can’t go back. Kid, those Iraqis don’t care who they shoot or . Dammit, Sora, your father’s toting a bullet in his right leg. I gotta get him out of the cargo bin. I got Sheik Haaris there too, his wife, a passel of his kids. They all need doctors and care.”

“What?” Sora shouted.

“I sad, I’ve got the old sheik stuffed in one of those crates. His sons and daughters and his wife, too.. Now, come on. I’m gonna need some help.”

“Well, that tears it. Jack, why the hell didn’t you tell me? We’ve been in the air an hour!”

“I wasn’t risking their lives, not for nothing. You think the Iraqis wouldn’t have blown us out of the air? They would have. Sheik Haaris is a marked man. They been trying to kill him from day one of the invasion.”

“And you let me leave his eldest son standing out there in broad daylight on the runway like a sacrificial target? I’m going back Jack. He’s risking his life in Kuwait to find his father and rescue his family. I’ve got to go back and tell him we just brought them here.”

“You ain’t going back, Sora. What about your father?”

Torn, Sora didn’t know what to decide, then she did. “How bad is Appa hurt?”

“Hell, we were both hurt worse in Vietnam, but we ain’t as young as we used to be. Now, get up, you’re going with me.” Jack reached out a hand to take hold of her and pull her along if necessary.

“Nope.” Sora dodged him, swinging down to snatch the shopping bag off the floor. She stuck that in his hand. “I’m not leaving this plane Jack.” Sora regained her seat and stubbornly fastened the harness over her chest. “You’ve got a job to do, Mr. Winslow. So do I. I’m the only pilot on this bird. You get Appa and Sheik Haaris and his family off this plane. Have them check by doctors down there. And you get in line to be see and treated too.”

“Your father ain’t gonna like this.”

“My Appa’s incapacitated. That makes me ranking official in charge. Now get off this plane. That’s an order!”

Jack’s weather-wrinkled face reddened. “Ha!” he snorted. “That’s a mutiny, girl. I got a paper that says I’m CEO of Mideast operations and I can out-order you any day of the week.”

“No, you can’t, Jack,” Sora said, softening her response. 

“I’m not forgetting that you dusted my britches more times than I want to remember when I was a kid. But right now, I’ve got to do the most serious job I’ve ever been handed. You give the bag to Sheik Haaris and tell Appa not to worry about me. I’m a big girl. I’ll be back in two hours with Leeteuk.”

“You’re asa stubborn as that cantankerous old man of yours. Hell’s bells, I’ve wasted enough breath arguing. You know the boss is gonna have my head for this.”

“And a good slice out of my head, too, but I’m in this too deep to chicken out now. Jack, don’t forget to give the sheik the bag.”

“What’s in it?” Jack ripped the plastic sack.

“Some cd’s and his son’s little black book.”

“Ha! Ain’t that a kicker.”

“Just make sure the sheik gets it.”

“I will. You be careful, y’hear.”

“Yes, sir.” Sora saluted smartly and grinned.

Jack was gone. Sora chewed on her thumbnail watching the children fan out toward the soldiers. On the other side of the plane, an attendant capped off the goose’s tanks with fuel. The heavily accented voice of the controller chatted on the radio. Distracted, Sora heard the man tell her another pilot and a navigator were coming on board. Jack had help opening the cargo bays. Ceasar jumped onto the ground, barking and leaping. Medics scrambled forward pulling stretchers.

Straining to see, Sora’s heart lurched when she finally saw her father laid onto a white sheeted stretcher. He was alert, wincing in pain, his leg bandage thinkly around his thigh. He was still dressed in his blood stained flight suit.

She closed her eyes and bit her bottom lip, staying the sudden urge to jump ship. How she wanted to bury her head against her father’s warm chest. She jerked her chin up and allowed herself to look her fill. Her heart was in Kuwait. She had to go back.

A dark-haired little girl clutched his hand, refusing to leave his side. Two boys who with the same features like Kyuhyun and Sungmin helped a Korean woman who was having trouble walking on the ground, then a silver haired man. Ceasar bolted for the older man, his hands, running circles around them, until one of the youth got hold of his leash and quieted him.

The older man spoke to Jim Kang, then looked up at the plane and smiled. When he did that, Sora knew who he was, Sheik Wali Haj Haaris.

The doors where closed, the bays shut. The two-member Saudi flight crew joined her in the cabin. It was four-fifteen in the afternoon. There’s still time for eight, possibly nine round trips. Nine hundred people. It wasn’t enough.

Going back seemed the most foolish thing she had done yet. Wanting to know what the news was, Sora asked for an update, then regretted it when she heard both Saudis estimation of crisis. On the brink of global war, and she had just taken off, flying into the ignition box.

“Are the Russians involve?”

“Everyone is involve,” said the older pilot who sat in her co-pilot’s seat. His English was pretty good. He’d told her that he’d done his flight training at Randolf Air Force Base.

Sora relinquished the pilot’s seat right after they landed again in Al Kuwait. From the vantage point she could see an eleventh car had been added to the embassy’s caravan, a beautiful Rolls-Royce.

“Wow,” she said admiringly. “Somebody with a lot of rank is in that one, right?”

The Saudi major grinned. “His highness, the ambassador.”

“Bail-out time,” Sora mumbled to herself, searching the emptying vehicles for the man she’d come to retrieve. He wasn’t there. She double-checked, looking over each robed official wearing an embassy badge.

A knot of fear sickened her. What if Leeteuk had been taken prisoner? What if… a hundred possible reason for his not being here rushed through her at once. If he wasn’t here, he had to be taken back at the embassy. She had to know for certain.

She carefully shut down all the plane’s vitals, going over the goose’s temperament with the major. When she gathered up her discarded veils, Sora noticed how badly her hands were shaking. She swung the abba over her shoulders but almost didn’t get the frogs fastened. Trying to calm herself, she twisted the plain band of fold circling her ring finger. She made up her mind quickly.

She smiled at the major and the navigator. “Now that you guys know where all the chug holes are, I’m giving this plane over to you. Just remember, throttle it had at the start of the runway and get the engines up to maximum before you release the breaks. And don’t forget, this baby need all the rooms she can get to stop.”

The Saudi major studied her for a long moment. He didn’t say she couldn’t go, for which Sora silently blessed him.  

“No problem. Good luck lady.”

“Lady, huh?” Sora shut him a grin and dropped the gauzy cloth over her face. She was beginning to like the Saudis. Smoothing down the material over her dress, she fussed with the garment for a moment. “Do you think I’ll pass muster?”

“You already had, issaeyaedea.” The major gave her a sharp salute.

Squaring her shoulders, Sora marched through the empty cabin. No matter what, she was going to make certain Leeteuk Park Haji Haaris left Kuwait before the border closed.

She tied to imagine the look on Leeteuk’s face when she told him his family has been hidden at Kang Air. They were now safe due to crafty wiles of old Jack. Her smile beneath her veil was brilliant. She waited with Nassif and the other guards for the door to open.

That smile vanished when an Iraqi soldier swung aside the hydraulic door. Panic swamped her. She had no way to explain who she was, why she was back. The man pointed his Uzi at her and Sora dropped her gaze, intimidated. Captain Nassif voiced a sharp complaint, gently moving her aside so that the Iraqi could see the plane contained no other occupants. Abruptly, the Iraqi signalled they could go down the steps.

steps.

Gripping her abba against the tug of wind, Sora followed Captain Nassif on the beasty tarmac. On the ground, she stood apart from the milling soldiers as they searched the plane, opening bays, dragging out the empty aluminium containers. They checked every inch of the plane before signalling that the embassy cars could advance and unload.

Sora watched the performance with a keen eye, knowing that this show was all for the ambassador’s benefit, to impress him and milk the Saudi government for another exorbitant fee.

It worked, too. Another briefcase full of cash was handed over to the high ranking Iraqi. The thug was making a killing.

The ambassador boarded first, and Sora figured he was in for a rude surprise. The rest of the passengers hurried after him. Leeteuk was not among them. When all the cars emptied, she walked to the flashy Rolls, looked inside and wondered what it would be like to ride in such a luxurious car. But she went past it, moving to the familiar sedan. That driver recognized her, jumped out to swing open the back door.

Settling back against the vinyl upholstery, Sora reminded herself she was a Ford, not a Rolls. The seat was hot. The air-conditioning didn’t work. Her guards took the remaining seats in the same car.

Almost at once, all the drivers returned. Iraqi soldiers actually closed the doors all down the line of cars. No questions had been asked of Sora.

She scooted to the middle of the back seat. The convoy departed before the goose did.

There was no turning back.