Savage Son (James Reece #3) - Jack Carr Page 0,116

surprised Reece was how quiet this aircraft was, its engineers obviously spending far more time and effort on passenger comfort than those who designed airliners. As soon as the plane took off, every operator went into their own world, listening to music, reading, or sleeping. Eli went into the crew rest compartment and began laying out medical gear in case the Gulfstream became an air ambulance. IV drips were prepared, bandages arranged, and various medications were lined up on the nightstand. Satisfied that things were as ready for an emergency as they could be, he returned to his seat and opened a Russian-language app on his iPhone. Reece couldn’t sleep. He spent his time deep in thought, going over the jump, the contingencies at every phase of the operation. With no backup, there were only two words to describe what they were about to attempt: suicide mission.

* * *

Those who were sleeping were jolted awake as the plane touched down in Anchorage and slowed to turn off runway 7-Right. The operators peered out the windows at the unique array of aircraft; everything from balloon-tired Super Cubs to various floatplanes were visible in what seemed like every direction. Due to Alaska’s size and the remote location of many of its cities, towns, and wilderness areas, it has the highest per capita rate of aircraft ownership in the nation.

The Gulfstream taxied to Signature Flight Support, one of the field’s fixed-base operators, where the engines were shut down. The window shades were lowered, and Liz opened the cabin door to coordinate refueling. All five of the rescuers stayed on board and out of sight; no sense arousing any suspicions about the nature of their journey or cargo. The cold air blowing through the open door was a warning of the temperatures they’d be facing when they eventually exited the aircraft. Eli made a comment under his breath about these being “sub-Hawaiian” temperatures as he pulled a stocking cap over his head.

Once the plane was fueled, the pilots used an iPad application called ForeFlight to file their flight plan electronically. According to that plan, they would travel from Anchorage to Haneda Airport in Tokyo, Japan, via Bethel, Alaska, and onto route R220, which passed almost directly over the Commander Islands, though they had no intentions of following that route all the way to Tokyo. They also filed an eAPIS report with the Department of Homeland Security, a requirement when filing an international flight plan. Only the pilots’ names were listed on the report since the five commandos in the back would not be aboard when the plane made its next stop.

Since they had so recently landed, the pilots performed a “rotor-bow,” motoring the engines for thirty seconds to thermally stabilize them before the start sequence was initialized. All systems read normal as the engines idled and the takeoff procedures began. They were wheels-up within the hour and, once airborne, Liz announced they were three hours and twenty-six minutes out from the drop.

Reece leaned back in his seat. Next stop, Russia.

CHAPTER 69

AS THEY FLEW OVER the Alaskan Peninsula, Reece warmed up dinner: piping-hot bowls of venison chili and freshly baked corn bread, all prepared by Caroline Hastings in advance of their departure. They devoured what they knew could be their last meal.

Reece pressed his head against the window and looked down at the lights of sparsely populated villages. He wondered how many Americans remembered that the only land battle of World War II fought on American soil took place on the barren volcanic islands 30,000 feet below. The Battle of Attu was all but forgotten these days. Five hundred forty-nine U.S. troops lost their lives defending home soil from Japanese invaders in May 1945; 1,148 were wounded, and 1,814 were taken out of the fight for cold injuries and disease. The battle marked one of the largest banzai charges of the war. Of the 2,379 Japanese troops that began the battle, only twenty-eight survived to be captured. The battle also drove the military to improve cold weather warfare gear, innovations that continued to evolve into what Reece and his men would use on Medny Island.

One by one, they hit the lavatory and began dressing for the mission. When exiting an aircraft at this altitude, temperatures could be -50 centigrade. Without protection from the cold, they would freeze to death in minutes. These extreme temperatures required them to wear several layers of synthetic clothing specially designed for arctic warfare. The clothing system, known as the Protective