“Thank you.”
“Do you need help?”
“Not yet. I’m not leaving the villagers until I have to.”
“What if you can’t? Gianna, as your friend, I have to strongly suggest you get out even if you have to swim.”
She sent a thumbs-up and then drummed her fingers on the tabletop. She should have been monitoring things better. Immersing herself in the simple lives of these people had been enjoyable. But now she saw the problem of acting as if the outside world had stopped existing.
Gianna sighed. She blamed Dex. Running to the most remote Pacific island she could think of and living in a bamboo hut had seemed like the best way to get over him. Over and over again.
Nope. Hadn’t worked one bit. She pulled up his picture and her heart clenched with an ache that literally hurt.
She fired up her phone. Looked like she needed to talk to someone who knew a little bit more than the local press. She didn’t want to, but she had no choice. The phone rang three times and then her father answered. “Gianna.”
“Yeah. I think I’m in some trouble.”
Chapter 3
The Tandora heat bore down on Dex and his team as soon as they exited his jet.
Ivy, Omar, and Jed walked at his side, their rucksacks slung over their shoulders. He counted under his breath. “One. Two. Three.”
“Yo, dude, this heat. I can’t live like this, man. I’m gonna punch something.” Omar wiped his forehead.
Jed grunted.
“Right on schedule.” Dex shook his head. “It took you all of three seconds to want to punch something.”
Ivy smiled.
“You just need to chill. Like this.” Jed held his hands out in front of him. “Chiiiil.”
“Oh, is that how it is? Well, there ain’t nothing chill on this whole island, in case you haven’t noticed. It’s 100 degrees with at least that much humidity.”
“You worried your hair’s gonna frizz?”
“Okay, that isn’t cool. I’m worried my brain is gonna fry.”
“Alright. Come on. Let’s get inside our air-conditioned car. And move to our air-conditioned training facility.”
Omar nodded.
Their driver took them through the main city—which looked a little bit like Hawaii meets the Philippines—to the other side, right on the beach where a huge hangar and a mini airstrip fenced in with locks and barbed wire greeted them.
All four of them went straight for the hangar. They stood in the open doorway. Jed whistled. “So we’re gonna be flying those?”
“Correction. They’re gonna be flying those. We’re here to teach them how to fly.”
“But we’re gonna be flying them too, right?”
“Yes, Jed. You’re getting back up in the air again.”
He pumped the air with his fist. “That’s what I’m talking about right there.”
“I’m claiming this pretty lady.” Ivy ran her hand along the nose of a fighter plane. “Painted Sunshine” was written along the side.
They moved along. Their guide, Julio Sanchez, pointed out each of the jets and then took them up a flight of stairs. “We have all our classrooms up here as well as a fantastic view.”
One wall was lined with windows. They gave a clear view of the airstrip and the ocean on three sides.
“This is some assignment.” Jed smiled, standing facing the ocean.
Once Sanchez had finished giving them the tour, Dex met back in the classroom with his team. “We start tomorrow at 0800 hours. We are gonna handle this just like any other mission. Omar, Jed, I want you to go over expectations with Ivy. And, Ivy?”
She turned to Dex with a smile.
“Welcome to the team.”
“Thank you, sir.” She lifted her hand to salute but stopped halfway. “Oh, sorry. It feels so familiar, all of this.
“It does. I agree. But no saluting needed. We sleep here on the base. You’re on your own until tomorrow.” He turned to face the view out the window and heard them leave, but he didn’t turn around. He kept his eyes on the airstrip. His mind rushed with memories, and he knew if he didn’t face them now, he’d be haunted the whole mission. The ocean looked the same. The very air felt similar to his time in Malaysia, his time on Panau. They’d been sent to drop supplies. It was a routine mission on their way to Tandora. But one of their pilots saw something. And pretty soon they were having an all-out situation in Malaysia.
An alarm interrupted his thoughts as it sounded across the base. It was so similar to the alarm in his mind, remembering when he’d dropped into Panau, he had to blink twice to orient himself. Then he ran to the hangar.
Men and women showed up and stood at attention. Ivy, Jed and Omar joined him at the side of the hangar.
Ivy breathed. “What’s going on?”
“I don’t know.”
“Mantuk. Betcha it’s Mantuk.” Omar cracked his knuckles. “They’ve been trying to gain some footing over here for years.”
A commander walked out, brisk steps. And to Dex’s surprise, he called them over.
“Here goes.” Jed whistled.
As soon as the four Top Flight pilots were standing in front of the guys, Commander Wilkins shook their hands. “Thank you for being here. We have a situation. I’ll brief you while I brief them if you don’t mind.”
Dex nodded.
He turned to about fifty men and women standing at attention wearing flight suits and holding helmets on their hips. They seemed disciplined and well trained. That would make his and the Top Flight team’s job easier. “Team. We’ve brought in some of the best pilots in the world to train our Pacific Oceanic Alliance Air Force squadron. And we’re lucky to have them right now, because there have been some developments.”
The pause was thick. But his team didn’t budge.
“Mantuk has seized a string of islands in Malaysia, starting with Panau moving South. The country’s leaders have reached out for assistance, and since they are an active part of the Pacific Oceanic Alliance, we are sending aid. This is the first test of our new alliance and we want to prove that we are committed to each other, and to the strength of the island force.”
A couple men brought out a table and some maps.
“We need to send a team immediately to stabilize the situation and let any invading powers know that the islands have protection, not just diplomatic protection, but actual air defense. Then we will reconvene, and the powers can figure out the next move.” He turned and gestured that Dex and his team come closer.
“We need a team to fly the air above this strip of islands right here. Are any of you familiar with the area?”
Ivy, Jed, and Omar looked at Dex.
“I am, sir. I’ve flown a mission here before.”
“Excellent. If you wouldn’t mind flying point, you could even use the mission as a training exercise for some of these pilots.”
“Send up your best, Commander. I would be honored to assist.” As a side note, he added. “Give me a decent copilot, someone who could take over if need be.”
Commander Wilkins nodded. Then he turned back to his team. “I’ll need the following pilots to prepare to leave immediately.” He called out eight names. That was an impressive show of force for one string of islands. Omar’s eyebrows were up, and Jed pressed his lips together.