Chapter 59
As Saber One started up on the far side of the tarmac, Saber Two was pulled out of its hangar and into the night. The ramp outside the hangar remained dark, illuminated only by a smattering of flashlights and the glow of orange marshaling wands in the hands of the ground crew.
In the dark and tense moment—with their immediate duties and ultimate fates competing for attention—none of the crew took notice of two additional men in green coveralls and ear protection walking slowly behind the plane.
Kurt and Joe had found the rack of uniforms at the back of the hangar, not far from where the briefing had occurred. The coveralls were either actual American flight duty uniforms or extremely accurate copies.
The big aircraft came to a halt ninety feet from the hangar. An auxiliary power unit was started up, providing juice to the aircraft’s lighting system. The tail ramp was lowered and tempered lighting came on inside the fuselage.
As Kurt and Joe walked casually toward the open ramp, the second tug came rumbling out of the hangar, towing the baggage train of cruise missiles. It approached the tail ramp and then climbed it slowly, pulling the cruise missiles into the plane link by link.
A group of crewmen checked the missiles as they were loaded, working diligently in the dim space to lock the carts down, ensuring that the missiles were properly held in place until they were needed.
Kurt saw no sign of an advanced launching system.
He noticed that the tug remained on the aircraft.
It seemed as if they planned on simply shoving the missiles out the back of the plane when the time came for launch, a crude but effective way to get a significant load of ordnance airborne in a short amount of time.
As ground and aircrew moved in and out of the aircraft, Kurt and Joe pretended to inspect the underside of the tail. When several members of the ground crew lumbered down the tail ramp on their way back to the hangar, Kurt spoke.
“This is our chance.”
They eased toward the fuselage and walked calmly up the ramp and into the plane. They passed a trio of crewmen who were struggling to secure one of the bulky carts, and then a technician who was securing a new battery pack to one of the missiles. No one looked up.
A few seconds later they arrived near the front of the cargo compartment, where they hid in the darkness behind a stack of survival gear, including two large containers holding inflatable rafts.
From their hiding spot, Kurt and Joe heard the work progressing. Before long, the hydraulics kicked in, raising the tail ramp. The engines began to wail shortly after, and the Starlifter began to move.
Kurt had hoped they would be alone in the cargo compartment, but a group of four men in charge of the payload had remained on board, strapping themselves into a set of folding seats along the fuselage wall.
By now the plane was moving, rumbling, and juddering as it rolled over the cracked, uneven pavement. It reached the far end of the runway, turned awkwardly, and then paused.
With the wheel brakes on, the engines wound up from a scream to a howl. With the brakes released, the jet began to move. It picked up speed slowly at first and then gained pace more rapidly. Finally, it tilted skyward and raced into the dark night.
It turned north toward China, leveling off at two hundred feet, where it could fly fast and low while remaining under radar until the rendezvous with Saber One.