it hit him.
Mercenaries.
"Hallo there. Ya on, Ugly?" the southern voice called out over the intercom.
"Yes. Who should I thank for saving our asses today?"
A laugh sounded over the handset. "Ya'll welcome. We work for White Pine Aviation and Security. We were headin' home when we heard your radio call to the base. Sorry for butting in, but ya sounded desperate."
"Desperate doesn't describe it. What's your name?"
"I'm Cowboy." A chuckled followed. "The pilot is the Ghost. The guy back there with you is Gunner." McGrew nodded thanks at Gunner who was listening.
"Where can we drop you boys?"
"We're out of Sierra Echo One Base. It's also the closest."
"Uh, can't do that, pardner. See, we gettin' low on fuel and that little maneuver took most of our reserve. Best we can do is meet up with your folks somewhere in the middle. Think you can arrange that?"
"Can you hook me into the right channel?"
"Shore can. Give me a minute." The radio went dead.
Suddenly a slight squawk came from the handset. McGrew could hear communications from various units moving into position for their rescue. A huge smile lit his face. "Momma Duck, this is Ugly Duckling."
"Where the hell are you, Ugly? What the hell is going on?"
"Some White Pine Aviation guys flying by picked us up, but they're low on fuel and can't deposit us back in the home nest. Where is rescue support so they can drop us to them? Can you comply?"
"Affirmative, Ugly. Air support is approaching that part of the city."
"Hey Momma, this is Famine of White Pine," Cowboy interrupted, "I see another beater rapidly approaching. Hey, Tinman, that you?"
"Famine," Tinman replied from the military Black Hawk over the radio. "Are you the one needing to drop your load?"
"That's us, man. We smoking our last fumes here."
"Tinman to Momma. Permission to retrieve personnel?"
"It's in your hands, Tinman. Momma out."
"Follow us, Famine. We need to get to a more secure area."
"Lead the way, cowpoke," Cowboy intoned and began singing 'Rawhide.'
McGrew started chuckling as he relaxed still holding the handset, listening to the pilots communicate. His eyes swept over his men again, even Reed looked like he was going to make it now.
Escobar returned McGrew's smile.
It was only two minutes and the helicopter began to descend to a deserted area outside town.
"Hey Tinman, we need to be landing soon if we're making it back to home base. This looks like a good place," Cowboy called to the Black Hawk they were following.
McGrew could hear laughing from the military pilot.
"We'll be right back, Famine. We'll check out the area." The other helicopter quickly circled, then came back to where Famine landed. The camouflaged military helicopter settled close.
As the blades on the military Black Hawk began to slow, the Captain motioned for the squad to exit with the prisoner. A crewman from the Army helicopter was already moving toward them.
The pilot from each Black Hawk exited with smiles and greeted each other as the Captain approached.
With a huge grin, McGrew loosened his helmet and reached out to the tall pilot from Famine. "Thanks for your timely rescue, Cowboy. I'm Captain Jake McGrew."
"Shore thing. Can't let the ol' Red, White, and Blue boys down." Cowboy shook hands as he glanced at his aircraft. The others looked too.
"That was a hell of a rescue," McGrew commended as he watched the two other crewmen from Famine. Stubbs hustled the prisoner to the military Black Hawk, while Rios and Hamilton worked on getting Reed out. Casey grabbed Reed's rifle then waited to help Escobar.
"Taint me, Captain," Cowboy said with a huge grin. His head bobbed to his aircraft. "The Ghost was flying this hunk o' junk."
Captain McGrew studied the pilot in full gear, including helmet and scarf, who was helping his men out. "The Ghost?"
Tinman started laughing. "Best pilot in this sand box, Captain. Now you see the Ghost, now you don't. The insurgents hate the Ghost."
McGrew smiled with Tinman, once
Mercenaries.
"Hallo there. Ya on, Ugly?" the southern voice called out over the intercom.
"Yes. Who should I thank for saving our asses today?"
A laugh sounded over the handset. "Ya'll welcome. We work for White Pine Aviation and Security. We were headin' home when we heard your radio call to the base. Sorry for butting in, but ya sounded desperate."
"Desperate doesn't describe it. What's your name?"
"I'm Cowboy." A chuckled followed. "The pilot is the Ghost. The guy back there with you is Gunner." McGrew nodded thanks at Gunner who was listening.
"Where can we drop you boys?"
"We're out of Sierra Echo One Base. It's also the closest."
"Uh, can't do that, pardner. See, we gettin' low on fuel and that little maneuver took most of our reserve. Best we can do is meet up with your folks somewhere in the middle. Think you can arrange that?"
"Can you hook me into the right channel?"
"Shore can. Give me a minute." The radio went dead.
Suddenly a slight squawk came from the handset. McGrew could hear communications from various units moving into position for their rescue. A huge smile lit his face. "Momma Duck, this is Ugly Duckling."
"Where the hell are you, Ugly? What the hell is going on?"
"Some White Pine Aviation guys flying by picked us up, but they're low on fuel and can't deposit us back in the home nest. Where is rescue support so they can drop us to them? Can you comply?"
"Affirmative, Ugly. Air support is approaching that part of the city."
"Hey Momma, this is Famine of White Pine," Cowboy interrupted, "I see another beater rapidly approaching. Hey, Tinman, that you?"
"Famine," Tinman replied from the military Black Hawk over the radio. "Are you the one needing to drop your load?"
"That's us, man. We smoking our last fumes here."
"Tinman to Momma. Permission to retrieve personnel?"
"It's in your hands, Tinman. Momma out."
"Follow us, Famine. We need to get to a more secure area."
"Lead the way, cowpoke," Cowboy intoned and began singing 'Rawhide.'
McGrew started chuckling as he relaxed still holding the handset, listening to the pilots communicate. His eyes swept over his men again, even Reed looked like he was going to make it now.
Escobar returned McGrew's smile.
It was only two minutes and the helicopter began to descend to a deserted area outside town.
"Hey Tinman, we need to be landing soon if we're making it back to home base. This looks like a good place," Cowboy called to the Black Hawk they were following.
McGrew could hear laughing from the military pilot.
"We'll be right back, Famine. We'll check out the area." The other helicopter quickly circled, then came back to where Famine landed. The camouflaged military helicopter settled close.
As the blades on the military Black Hawk began to slow, the Captain motioned for the squad to exit with the prisoner. A crewman from the Army helicopter was already moving toward them.
The pilot from each Black Hawk exited with smiles and greeted each other as the Captain approached.
With a huge grin, McGrew loosened his helmet and reached out to the tall pilot from Famine. "Thanks for your timely rescue, Cowboy. I'm Captain Jake McGrew."
"Shore thing. Can't let the ol' Red, White, and Blue boys down." Cowboy shook hands as he glanced at his aircraft. The others looked too.
"That was a hell of a rescue," McGrew commended as he watched the two other crewmen from Famine. Stubbs hustled the prisoner to the military Black Hawk, while Rios and Hamilton worked on getting Reed out. Casey grabbed Reed's rifle then waited to help Escobar.
"Taint me, Captain," Cowboy said with a huge grin. His head bobbed to his aircraft. "The Ghost was flying this hunk o' junk."
Captain McGrew studied the pilot in full gear, including helmet and scarf, who was helping his men out. "The Ghost?"
Tinman started laughing. "Best pilot in this sand box, Captain. Now you see the Ghost, now you don't. The insurgents hate the Ghost."
McGrew smiled with Tinman, once
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