Chapter Seventeen
Tracy and Sam were reviewing all the seating arrangements and other details which they’d planned for the big wedding banquet now less than a week away.
Tracy said, “Thanks for helping me with all this. When Missy and I decided to have a dual wedding in West Point’s Chapel, I overlooked the fact she would be immediately joining her Special Forces team right after we graduated and I’d end up doing so much of this. ”
“What about your mom and her mom?” asked Sam. “Aren’t they helping?”
“Oh, they both would love to be helping but Missy and I agreed it was better if we did everything without them. They know and like one another well enough, but still. We wanted to avoid any hurt feelings and after Missy booked everything for this at the Thayer Hotel, we figured we had it handled.”
“Well, I know that banquet which you two had there on the night we graduated was a huge success. From what you’ve been telling me, many of the same people will be at your wedding.”
Tracy nodded and said, “True, only we didn’t worry then about flowers and centerpieces and decorations and all this other stuff. There wasn’t any band playing music or any cake ceremony or photographers or other wedding tradition stuff to deal with.”
“Well, since you’re not wearing bridal gowns, at least there’s no garter ceremony. You two have opted for military traditions instead for a lot of things.”
“Yeah, we loved the idea of wearing our Dress White uniforms and having all our military guests wearing their Dress Blues. Captain Bonomo will be organizing some of the male and female officers for that Arch of Sabers ceremony at the end when we exit the chapel.”
Sam giggled and said, “Will one of them really be tapping John and Mike on the ass with their sword when you guys walk through that?” It was tradition for the non-military spouse to receive a “sword swat” pat on the back side symbolizing a playful welcome to the military family as they walked under the saber arch formed by raised swords.
“Absolutely! Missy was going to maybe give Mike a break and omit that but I made her change her mind. They’re both getting swatted and that’ll be recorded on video in addition to the photos.”
“You two always seem to end up getting on the same page, despite how different you each are from one another. Now you’ll be sisters-in-law which is pretty cool.”
Tracy said, “Yeah, it sure will be. That’s one of the many reasons we wanted the dual wedding. We each are the other’s maid of honor while John and Mike are each the other’s best man. Not having bridesmaids or groomsmen made things simple. It’ll just be the four of us up there.”
“Well, my mother is in charge of everything for my wedding. Thankfully, I’ll have you and Sally as two of my bridesmaids. Three of my cousins will be my other bridesmaids and then my sister will be my maid of honor.”
“When I told John I’d be one of your bridesmaids, he laughed and said he’d just agreed to be Trevor’s best man but hadn’t had a chance to tell me that yet.”
“The two of them have gotten really close these past two years in law school,” agreed Sam. “Trevor told me how it was John who made him realize how being a lawyer and also being with me could work.”
“John decided to become a lawyer like his dad after the two of us got together. Before that, he was thinking he’d merely get an MBA. Having a spouse in the military isn’t something everyone can handle.”
“When Trevor told my family how he planned to follow me around to wherever the Army might send me, that was when I knew in my heart that I loved him. That feeling has only grown stronger and stronger ever since.”
Tracy smiled and said, “Assuming they both pass the New York Bar Exam next month, that should make things easy for them to practice law wherever they go. John tells me Alabama grants reciprocity so he won’t need to take another exam down there.
” She, of course, would be there for eighteen months after reporting to Fort Rucker July twenty-fifth.
“Missouri also grants reciprocity so Trevor is already interviewing with some law firms near Fort Leonard Wood. He knows I’ll probably get sent somewhere else in a few months once I finish my branch course but he figures getting some experience there will help him nonetheless.”
They continued talking about their fiancés while they went over all the plans for Tracy and Missy’s wedding.
Sam of course had a spreadsheet which was now filled with entries.
They eventually were satisfied that all was done that needed to be done.
Thanks to the wedding fund which Missy had established for this, no expense had been spared and “all their plans were coming together”.
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Missy enjoyed spending time with her team and they reviewed how the war was going in Ukraine.
According to their Ukrainian sources, the Russian personnel casualties were approaching one million killed and wounded, with total fatalities greater than all other Russian and Soviet wars combined since World War II.
The equipment losses had also been substantial.
There was intense fighting in the eastern Donbas region with a grueling battle for Sievierodonetsk which was not going well.
While there had been some initial gains, the Russian forces were now advancing.
Major Grimes advised it was likely the Ukrainians would need to withdraw in another week or so.
It also appeared as though the neighboring city of Lysychansk, the last major city in Luhansk under Ukrainian control, would soon fall to the Russians.
The Ukrainians were seeing some success in their southern counteroffensive in the Kherson region. Several villages were liberated and the Russian positions were pushed back. However, the country was facing heavy Russian shelling in cities like Kharkiv where Missy and her team had recently been.
Sergeant Major Hernandez said, “There does not seem to be anything much that we can do right now. Once Missy returns from her honeymoon next month, General Hingham will have some more missions for our team inside Russia. He says the damage we did at that manufacturing plant in Bryansk proved how effective we can be making surgical strikes. Go in, damage and disrupt something which might make a difference, and then get back out. Provided Missy is with the team, everyone agrees there’s little risk the Russians can accuse the U.S.
because there simply won’t be any way they can prove anything. ”
Missy said, “I’m happy everyone agrees on how effective my presence can be on such missions but after what happened to me in Beijing, maybe some of those people might want to reconsider. I almost got myself killed.”
Master Sergeant Town said, “The fact that you survived has only reinforced everyone’s belief in how invincible you are, Missy.
First it was that tunnel in Mount Derak and now you’ve crawled away from yet another explosion where anyone who wasn’t a supernatural would certainly have been killed.
While we know how close those events were for you, here you are.
They don’t know all the details but they do know you come back from these things all healed up and ready to go.
You’ve made them all become true believers and they are willing for you to lead us on any missions you say you can handle. ”
Missy could sense that all those around her were feeling the same way and it made her feel very grateful.
Of course, she credited the Fabulous Fates for having saved her time and time again but if her country now was willing to place that much faith in her, she could only strive to continue going forward, doing her best and trusting that would continue being good enough.
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Friday, June 17, 2022
Missy teleported back to Moscow in the morning and then packed her bags for the vacation in Cyprus she was telling everyone in Russia that she was taking.
There had been some text messages and emails during her absence but Lisa and Marie had answered those with appropriate responses.
She knew that would continue for all message traffic during the next three weeks with those responses coming out of Cyprus rather than Moscow.
With her phone in her purse and her laptop in her carry-on bag, Missy went out into the hallway and asked the bodyguard there to help with her bags.
After locking up her apartment, she went with the bodyguard down to the lobby where Alek was waiting for her.
There were several paparazzi there as well since she had made no secret about her taking this vacation.
After posing for some photos and exchanging pleasantries with the paparazzi, Missy and Alek went out to the waiting limo. Soon, they were headed for the airport.
Alek said, “I can only say how all of Yury’s business associates are wishing you well on this vacation, Missy. We hope you can return feeling somehow restored, putting this ordeal behind you and going forward in a good way.”
Missy smiled somberly and asked, “Have the police learned anything more about Yury’s death? Do I need to worry about being a target?”
“The case here in Russia is pretty much closed now and no, you’re not considered a target. The Chinese were responsible and while the search will continue over there for those responsible, you should have no worries.”
Missy sighed and said, “In other words, it wasn’t personal, it was merely business, right?”
“It really looks like that, I’m afraid. I can meet your flight when you return, if you would like. We don’t plan to provide bodyguards, however, as that no longer seems necessary.”
“That’s fine, I think I feel safe enough.
I won’t need anyone meeting me when I get back.
I’ll be in contact with Gavriil and whoever else might need me for anything while I’m in Cyprus.
” Since they were pulling up to the terminal, Missy added, “Thanks for everything, Alek. I look forward to seeing you again whenever out paths cross again.”
Forty minutes later, Missy’s plane took off. She was settled in her first-class seat and watched as they climbed high into the sky. She was satisfied that she had played her role in Russia well enough and she knew she could continue doing that in the weeks and months ahead.
Upon landing in Cyprus, Missy cleared customs and immigration and strolled out into the main terminal area.
She had her bags in a cart which she pushed along ahead of her.
She had no problem locating Lieutenant Colonel Grady, General Hingham’s aide, since she had sensed him soon after she’d gotten off the plane.
Lisa had texted that he would have her new identification items which they’d managed to create for her in Germany.
Without acknowledging him in any way, Missy maneuvered her cart such that she passed by the lieutenant colonel on her way to the airport exit.
He, in turn, managed to add an envelope into her cart without that being obvious.
He then headed for his return flight to Germany while she continued outside and found a taxi to take her to the bank where she had her funds.
After making a withdrawal of one hundred thousand euros, Missy took another taxi over to a different bank where, using her new identity as Missy Mendoza from Spain, she opened an account and deposited most of that.
Since her new name was derived from the Basque word mendi for mountain, she considered Lisa’s choice very appropriate.
Finally, she had yet another taxi bring her to the quaint cottage which Lisa had booked for her to stay at.
It was expensive since it had a nice view of the Mediterranean Sea but it was also somewhat remote.
She was met there by a nice woman who escorted her through the place and then, after accepting the full rental payment in cash, she left Missy to herself.
Missy placed wards all around, plugged in her phone and her laptop, unpacked her belongings and then after locking up the place, she teleported back to be with Team Twenty-Two in Turkey.