Games Countries Play

By Frank E. Gibson Jr.

Mike Johnson, a recent United States Air Force recruit, is smuggled into Russia as a spy during the Cold War of the 1960s. His contact is Cathy Pushkin, a nineteen-year-old Russian girl, who is part of an underground group attempting to bring democracy to her communist country.

Together, their involvement in obtaining Russian top secret information for America is a fast-pace journey of espionage.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: May 5, 2017
• ISBN: 9781524599348

Frank E. Gibson Jr.

This is my first published book. An idea that has been floating around in my brain for over 40 years. After serving in the United States Air Force for 4 years in the early to middle 1960's, I received an honorable discharge and became a police officer for three years. I left the police department to become a claims adjuster for a property and casualty insurance company for 35 years. I was able to take an early retirement at age 60 as assistant vice president. I reside in North Carolina with my wife, Carol. We enjoy international and domestic traveling, golf and just hanging around together. I hope that you enjoy my book. Frank E. Gibson, Jr.

Book preview

Copyright © 2017 by Frank E. Gibson, Jr.

Library of Congress Control Number:        2017904269

ISBN:                      Hardcover                978-1-5245-9936-2

                               Softcover                 978-1-5245-9935-5

                               eBook                     978-1-5245-9934-8

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Rev. date: 07/24/2017

Xlibris

1-888-795-4274

www.Xlibris.com

755055

To my beautiful wife of over fifty-three years, Carol—

the love of my life, my soul mate, my best friend,

and the mother of our two sons, Frank III and Steven.

Without her, my life would be nothing.

Contents

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

32

33

34

35

36

37

38

39

40

41

42

43

44

45

46

47

Acknowledgements

1

June 3, 1956

M ICHAEL MIKE ELLIS Johnson was fully awake in his bed thinking that he had just completed the eighth grade. It was early June, and school was out for the summer. He listened and waited for his mother to walk up the stairs and come into his bedroom. It was the same every morning. His mother would walk into the room saying, Up! Up! It’s going to be a beautiful day. Mike, thirteen years old, knew better. The weather may be nice, but the day would not be. Today he had to pull weeds in the yard. The weeds had to be pulled out by the roots and placed on a newspaper to prove to his father that the roots were there. He had to do this all day, and when his father came home and found one missed weed or one pulled without the root, he would take his belt off and beat Mike with it.

Pulling weeds was just one excuse for his father to take the belt off. The same with mowing the grass. One blade of grass missed, the belt came off. It really did not take much for his father to use the belt. He just enjoyed doing this to Mike. The days that he did not get beaten, he was ordered to sit in his room the entire day. Very seldom was he allowed to go outside to play with the neighborhood kids.

This was the only life that he knew, and nothing that his father did shocked him. It was just normal living with him.

Mike was at the top of his class. He enjoyed learning and excelled in all of his school subjects. He thought that good grades would make his father proud and treat him better. Did not happen.

His father, Fred Johnson, allowed him to play baseball at school. His father was never very good at sports and having his son play would allow him bragging rights.

Mike’s mother, Mary, was a small woman. She usually wore the expressions of sorrow and sadness. When she smiled, it changed her whole appearance. She had a beautiful smile; it was just not used much.

Mary walked into the bedroom dressed in basically what she wore daily. A cotton dress of pastel colors and cloth shoes. Her hair was combed and neat. No makeup. She only ever applied light-colored lipstick when the family went out, which was not often.

As she got him up, she told him that his breakfast of cereal, toast, and milk was waiting for him. Mike, wearing only pajama bottoms, walked to the bathroom. His mother saw the welts and cuts from his fathers belt on his back. She walked out of his room and back to the kitchen, crying. She just could not understand how her husband could be so mean to his only child.

Mike looked in the mirror in the bathroom, made faces, stuck his tongue out, smiled, and got dressed. He was a good-looking boy, and his voice was starting to crack.

While eating breakfast, he said to his mom, I’m going to pull every weed in the yard today, as I always try to do, and maybe he will let me play baseball with the neighborhood kids.

She said, Just do your best, and maybe he’ll let you.

She knew that no matter how much Mike tried to please his father, it was not enough.

Mike was on his knees all morning pulling the weeds. He did not even stop for lunch, and by 2:00 p.m., he was finished. He inspected the entire yard and saw no weeds left.

His father came home, looked at the yard, pulled him in to the house, took his belt off, and beat him. Nothing he did would satisfy his father.

One morning, he learned that his father was going to be out of town all day. He looked over at his mom and said, Dad has to go to a meeting in Raleigh this morning, doesn’t he?

His mom replied, Yes, he does, and he said that he will not get home until seven or eight tonight.

Can I go to the movies with Keith this afternoon?

His mom said, Your father will probably call today, and if you’re not here, you know what will happen when he gets home. You’re supposed to mow the grass.

Mom, I’ll mow this morning. If he calls, tell him that you can’t find me, tell him that I may be helping Mr. Howard next door. Whether he talks to me or not, he’ll still beat me when he gets home. That’s what he does.

She said, "I don’t know why he treats you the way that he does. You have always been a good boy. You try so hard to please him. You make A’s in school and obey him.

He just doesn’t like me.

Well, you know that he has a lot of pressure at work, and his teeth are always hurting him.

So he takes it out on me. I’m his whipping boy. Mike asked, Why do you stay with him, Mom?

She responded, I love your father and take my vows seriously. I will love and cherish him through sickness and health, until death do us part.

Mike just looked at his mom and didn’t say anything. There was really no need to.

His mom said, You go to the movies with Keith and have a good time. He’s a good boy, and I enjoy talking with his mother at church. She reached in her purse and pulled out a dime and gave it to him.

This was the happiest Mike had been in a long time. He called Keith, told him that he could go to the movies and would meet him at his house at noon. He almost ran getting the grass cut. He probably missed a couple of places, but it really didn’t matter because he knew that it would not be good enough and the belt would come off.

At around noon, Mike started walking to Keith’s house which was three houses from his. He was glad that he wore shorts and a short-sleeved shirt. It was a hot June day in Greensboro, North Carolina. There was no traffic on his street except a 1955 Chevrolet convertible passing by. The car was beautiful. It was white with red interior. The top was down, and the male driver had a smile on his face as he drove by.

Mike saw Keith standing on the front porch and walked up to him. Both he and Mike were the same age and about the same height and weight. They met at Sunday school when they were five years old and did not like each other at first.

On this Sunday, Mike’s father had a new outfit for him to wear. A white shirt, purple bow tie with little light gray circles, a purple corduroy sports coat, and light gray trousers that perfectly matched the little gray circles in the tie. He looked like a clown and begged his father to not make him wear the outfit. His father just looked at him and told him that he was going to wear it.

The ten children in Sunday school were seated in a circle and listening to their teacher, Mrs. Murray, talk about Jesus touching some blind guy and making him see again. This was fascinating, and she had Mike’s attention until he looked over and saw Keith.

Keith was looking at Mike, smiling at him and nodding his head up and down. There was going to be a fight.

After the Sunday school class, the kids got up, and Mike walked over to Keith, and they both bowed up at each other.

Mike looked at Keith and said, You got a problem?

Keith started to say something when Marty King, the sissy, pushed between them. Both Mike and Keith grabbed Marty and threw him up against a wall. They didn’t push him hard, but he started crying anyway.

Keith looked at Mike and said, I can see right now that we are going to be best friends.

Mike looked at him and said, You got a problem with my clothes?

Keith said, A lot of things should be purple with pretty little circles.

They giggled and became best friends.

Keith started walking off the porch, and Mike couldn’t believe that he was wearing a heavy military field jacket. Mike couldn’t believe that on such a hot day he would have it on. He then thought that maybe he was catching a cold and his mother made him wear it so he wouldn’t get a chill. It did not matter because they were going to the movies to see Roy Rogers.

It was about a ten-minute walk to town. When they got to the middle of town, only a half block to the movie theater, Mike said. There’re a lot of people in town today.

Keith responded, Yeah, I’m going to work on them a little.

Mike looked over at Keith and realized he was gone. He had dropped onto the sidewalk, lying on his back with his eyes closed and shouting, I can’t see! Someone help me. This child is blind. Lord, I can’t see.

People started gathering around him, and Mike thought they wouldn’t be seeing Roy Rogers.

A man was working his way through the crowd, saying to let him through, that he was a doctor. People got out of his way, and he finally dropped to his knees at Keith’s side.

Keith stopped rolling around, opened his left eye and then his right eye, and said, I can’t see ’cause I had my eyes closed, and put that smile on his face as he got up. People were quiet and just looking at him.

Keith looked over at Mike and said, I worked on them pretty good, didn’t I?

Mike just stared at him and then bent over laughing. They got to the movie theater, and Keith walked up to the window where Popeye’s girlfriend, Olive Oil, sold tickets. He handed her a dime and instructed her to give him a ticket and his penny change. She gave him the ticket and penny while just staring at him like he was crazy.

Mike got his ticket and penny, and they went inside. He immediately walked up to the concession stand and bought a cherry sucker for a penny.

He looked around the lobby and saw it was full of screaming, yelling kids. He saw the usher going up to the kids and, with authority, telling them to find their seats, stop running and screaming, or he would make them leave.

Mike looked over at Keith and heard him say, Let’s go to the balcony.

As Mike was saying that there was a big sign stating that the balcony was closed, Keith was halfway up the stairs. Mike looked for the usher and saw him running around the left side of the theater, threatening to make kids leave. Mike darted up the stairs.

When Mike got to the balcony, Keith was already seated in the first row directly behind the railing. Mike sat down next to him, leaned over, and looked at the kids below. He observed an older woman directly under them. She was wearing a big green hat.

He told Keith, Look at that woman with the green hat. No one behind her will be able to see the screen. She shouldn’t even be here, the movie’s for kids.

Keith leaned over and looked at her, looked at Mike, and said. Everything will be OK.

Mike said, It just isn’t right.

The lights dimmed, and the projector cut on. A Mighty Mouse cartoon started. The kids approved with screaming and clapping of their hands. Mike started unwrapping his sucker and observed Keith reach in his military field jacket and pull out a can of vegetable soup and a small manual can opener.

Mike was convinced that Keith was catching a cold. It was obvious, because his mom was making him eat the vegetable soup.

Keith started opening the soup, and Mike started on his sucker while watching Mighty Mouse kick some butt.

Keith got the can opened, leaned over the railing, made a loud vomiting sound, and poured the soup on the hat.

The screaming started. The projector cut off, and the lights cut on. Keith looked over at Mike with his smile. The smile didn’t last half a second as he looked up and saw the usher staring down at him while grabbing his shoulder and Mike’s shoulder. He looked at Keith and said, I know who your father is, Keith Reynolds. He looked at Mike and said. I don’t know who you are, but I’ll find out, and you both are going to pay for this. He pulled them out of their seats and marched them out of the theater.

When they got outside, Keith looked over at Mike and, with his smile, said, I bet she never wears that damn hat again.

Mike kept saying that he could never go home again. My father is going to kill me, and I didn’t do anything. If he doesn’t kill me, he will rip all my limbs off. Maybe he won’t rip my arms off, maybe just one leg. I will still be able to play baseball, hit the ball and hop to first base. I’m dead.

Keith looked at Mike and said, Your dad beats you a lot, doesn’t he?

Mike said, Yeah, almost every day.

Why?

He just doesn’t like me.

Keith said, Someone ought to kick his butt. He looked at Mike and told him, No one is going to know you were here. I’ll tell my dad that I acted alone and that I met someone here, don’t remember his name, went to a different school. I promise you, your dad will never know.

Mike said, Will you get a beating?

Keith responded, I’ve never had a beating. I’ll just have to give up my allowance and do jobs to earn the money to pay for that stupid hat. Everything will be OK.

By then, they had left the downtown area and were heading for the woods. The small wooded area was a private place where kids hung around. Climbing trees, looking for snakes, and playing hide-and-seek. This was only the second time that Mike had been there.

They entered the woods, and Keith immediately went over to a large maple tree, put his back against it, and started pacing off steps. He said, One, two, three. Turn left. One, two. Turn right. One. Turn left again. One, two, three, four. He dropped to his knees, moved leaves and twigs away, and dug a hole with his hands about six inches deep. He reached in and pulled out a small glass jar, unscrewed the metal lid, removed the folded waxpaper, and unfolded it, revealing the pack of Camel cigarettes and matches. He removed one cigarette, lit it, wrapped the cigarette pack and matches back in the waxpaper, screwed the cap back on the jar, and buried it.

As he was completing this, he heard Mike say, Mrs. Pearson is sunbathing in her backyard. She has the strap untied on the top of her bathing suit.

Keith hurried over and saw that she was lying on her stomach with the strap going down each side of her back.

For a couple of minutes, they just looked at her. Keith then said, I wish she would roll over so we could see those breasts.

They’d be the first ones that you have ever seen, Mike said.

Keith responded, I’ve seen breasts before.

"Yeah, in a National Geographic magazine," Mike said, smiling.

No, I’ve seen real breasts, Keith said with authority.

When?

Keith took a puff from his cigarette and then spat on it, making sure that it was out. He looked at Mike and said, I opened the bathroom door a while back when Mom was taking a bath, and I saw both of them.

Your mom? That doesn’t count!

They looked at Mrs. Pearson for a few more seconds and decided that she wasn’t going to roll over, so they walked away.

They got over by the large maple tree, and Keith reached in his field jacket and pulled out a pamphlet.

He looked at Mike while holding the pamphlet up. I sent off for this, cost 50 cents, but it’s worth it because it teaches you kung fu. Better than judo. You learn this, and you can cause bodily harm on people. I’m already on page 14. Watch.

He faced the maple tree, raised his arms to the side, and started making some high-pitched sounds. He checked the book again, got up on his toes, more high-pitched sounds, lifted his right leg as he rotated his body around to the left, and then made a hard impact with his right calf to the tree. Impact knocked him to the ground, and he started yelling in pain. I think I broke by femur or something.

Mike said, You tried to kick down a maple tree, stupid, as he was helping him up.

Well, the pamphlet doesn’t say that you can’t kick one down, Keith said in pain.

But you’re only on page 14, Keith tossed the kung fu pamphlet on the ground saying that he wasted 50 cents.

Mike asked if he could have it, and Keith said, Didn’t you just see what that book did to me?

Mike promised not to try and knock big maple trees down as he picked it up and put it in his pocket. He helped Keith take a few steps, and Keith said that he thought it was getting better.

He asked him again if it hurt, and Keith responded, It hurt real bad, and I could have cried, but I’m a big boy.

They arrived at Keith’s house and said they would see each other. Keith walked in to his house, and Mike walked home.

When Mike got home, he told his mother that they had a good time and thanked her for letting him go. She smiled and was grateful that his father didn’t call. Mike went into the attic and got a duffel bag and stuffed it with old clothes. He tied a rope to the bag and then tied the rope to the rafter. He hit it a couple of times with his hands and feet, and then read a few pages in the kung fu pamphlet. He would then practice again on the duffel bag. He would do this daily.

His father had not come home yet, so Mike went out in the yard and inspected his lawn cutting. It looked good, and he thought that his father just might approve of it.

His father came home later, looked at the yard, and then went inside, yelling for Mike.

Mike approached him as he was removing his belt.

2

June 1961

T IME MOVED ON. The beatings and punishments from Mike’s father continued until he was eighteen years old. His father took out all his anger on him.

Mike graduated from high school near the top of his class. His few friends at school were going off to college. He had no idea what he was going to do. His father told him that he would not go off to college, that he would get a job. He told him that he would be home every night and would do nothing but work and do chores for him.

On a sunny Tuesday morning, Mike’s mother asked him to take a letter to the post office. She told him that it was a letter to her aunt, and that she did not get it out in time for the postman. Mike was glad to get out. He took the letter and started walking up his street to the post office. When he passed by Keith’s house, he saw him sitting on the front porch. Keith, at eighteen years old, had filled out. Nice-looking young man. He and Mike were both around six feet and two inches tall. Mike was a little more muscular than Keith.

Mike called out to him, and Keith walked up to him. Where you going? Mike told him he was going to the post office for his mother, and Keith said, I’ll walk with you.

How have you been doing? Mike asked.

Good, he replied.

Mike said, I heard that you were going to Duke University.

Yeah, I’m looking forward to it.

Mike asked, What are you going to major in?

Premed.

That’s great! What kind of doctor do you want to be?

OB-GYN.

You and your breasts.

Yeah, women are going to pay me to look at them. Keith looked at Mike and said. What are you going to do?

I guess I will be at home doing my father’s chores and getting beat until I am thirty-five years old.

Keith said. I wish you were coming with me.

Mike smiled. Yeah, they would kick us out after a week.

They got to the post office and walked inside. Mike walked up to the window and handed the clerk the letter and thanked him. They took the long way out and walked by the military recruitment offices. An air force staff sergeant was standing in the hall looking at them. As they approached, he said, You men thinking about joining the military?

Keith said, No, just mailing a letter. I’m off to Duke this fall.

The sergeant looked at Mike and said the same to him.

Mike responded, My father would never let me join the air force.

The sergeant Asked, You just graduate from high school?

Yes, sir.

You eighteen?

Yes, sir.

Your parents can’t stop you. Your government says that at eighteen, you’re a man and don’t need your parents’ permission.

You mean I can join and my father can’t do anything about it?

That’s right.

Keith looked over at Mike and was shaking his head and said, Don’t do this.

What am I supposed to do, be his slave and whipping boy for the rest of my life?

Keith just looked at him for a moment with a sad expression on his face and said that he had to get home, and walked away as the recruiter showed Mike into the office.

He was given a series of tests, and later on it was determined that his scores were the highest ever. The recruiter handed Mike a bus ticket and told him to be at the bus station to leave for Raleigh at 8:00 a.m. the next day. He was told that in Raleigh, he would have his physical, get sworn in, and then leave for the Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, for basic training.

When he got home, he told his mother what he had done; and she said that he had to tell his father when he got home. She was sad and worried, but relieved that he would be getting away from such a terrible environment.

When his father got home, Mike walked up to him and said, I joined the air force and will be leaving tomorrow.

He turned his back to his dad and had started walking away when he heard the belt being pulled off. He struck Mike across the back with the belt, and Mike hardly felt it. He decided to put a little fear in his dad as he fell to the floor while his dad was still striking him and yelling for him to get up.

Mike rolled over on his back and said, I can’t move my legs. You must have hit a nerve or something, I can’t move.

Mike really played this up as he observed the look of fear in his father’s eyes as he paced around Mike, pleading for him to get up. Mike was having a good time with this, and after a few minutes, he said that it was better now and got up. He walked up to his dad, stared him in the eye, and said, That will be the last time that you ever lay a hand on me.

His father started to hit him again with the belt, but Mike grabbed his wrist and twisted it, almost breaking bones. His father yelled in pain as Mike stared at him, saying for him to not try that again.

His father said, You get out of my house now!

Mike looked at him for a few seconds and then released him. He went to his room and got a small suitcase and filled it with a change of clothes, underclothes, a small notepad, a pencil, and toiletries. He opened a dresser drawer and removed a sock. He took the one hundred seventy dollars he had been saving for years and put it in his wallet. This came from birthday and Christmas gifts and small jobs he did for neighbors. He saved every dime.

He heard his mother weeping in another room and walked in. His father was not around. She looked at him and said, You have had a bad life, and I am happy that you are leaving, but it is tearing my heart up. Please stay in touch with me.

With his eyes tearing up, he hugged her and told her that he loved her.

He started walking up the street with his suitcase. When he got to Keith’s house, he looked toward it, but he did not see anyone. He continued walking as Keith was looking out of a window at him knowing what was happening and felt that they would never see each other again.

Mike had no idea where he was going to go until 8:00 a.m. the next day and decided to go to the bus station for the night.

He arrived at the bus station, walked in, and saw the place was deserted. The clerk behind the counter looked up at Mike as he was walking in. Mike walked over to a wooden bench and sat down as he placed the suitcase beside him. The clerk asked him what he was doing, and Mike said, I’m taking a bus tomorrow morning and will just wait here because I have no place to go.

The clerk said, You can’t stay here. Leave and come back tomorrow.

Mike got up and walked out, not knowing where he was going to go. He thought for a second about going to Keith’s to see if he could stay there. He was sure that Keith’s mom and dad would let him stay there, but decided against it.

He walked to the woods where he and Keith hung around and had so many laughs. He sat down against a large oak tree.

He looked over toward Mrs. Pearson’s house and smiled, remembering the bathing suit. He looked at the maple tree that hurt Keith’s calf and smiled. He walked up to it, made the same basic move as Keith had done, and made solid contact with his calf. The impact was so strong he could faintly hear leaves hitting together.

He went back to the large oak tree and sat down against it again. He started silently weeping as he thought about the unknown he was facing.

He woke up early morning as the sun was shining in his face. He was confused for a second about where he was, but this lasted only a moment.

Mike walked over to the tree and walked off the necessary steps until he dropped to his knees and dug in the ground until he uncovered the glass jar with the cigarettes. He reached in his suitcase and got out the pencil and a piece of paper from the notebook. He started a letter to Keith saying that he hoped that one day he would remember the jar and return here and uncover it. He continued by saying that he was the best friend he had ever had and would remember him forever. He went on to write that he hoped that life was good to him and that all his dreams and wishes came true.

He signed the note, dated it June 1961, and then folded it and placed it back in the jar. He capped it and buried it. Mike put the pen back in his suitcase. He got up, looked around, and then started his walk back to the bus station.

3

H E ARRIVED BACK at the bus station, walked in, and noticed there were not many people there. He saw that there was a different clerk behind the counter. The clerk was a large woman. They exchanged looks as Mike realized how hungry he was. He walked into the men’s room and walked over to the sink. He opened his suitcase and removed a razor and shaving cream. He shaved and then took a sponge bath using a wet paper towel with soap. He used another towel to dry himself off. Then he walked out of the men’s room and walked into the restaurant. He was the only customer. He walked up to the counter and sat down on a stool. A waitress came over and asked him what he wanted. He did not want to spend a lot of money, so he just asked for a bowl of cereal and a cup of coffee. He was starving and wasted no time eating the cereal.

The lady behind the counter asked him what he was doing at the bus station so early, and he told her that he was catching a bus to Raleigh to join the air force. She looked at him, realizing that he was hungry, and said, I’m going to fix you some eggs and bacon as a gift for joining the military.

Mike said, That isn’t necessary.

She responded, I want to. She went over to the grill and scrambled two eggs, fried a strip of bacon, and made two pieces of toast. She returned with the food and refilled his coffee. He thanked her, and she smiled at him.

He finished up and offered to pay again, and she again told him that she was happy to provide his breakfast. He thanked her again.

He walked out of the restaurant and over to the ticket agent. She asked if she could help him, and he handed her his ticket. It was obvious that she had seen many of these one-way tickets to Raleigh. She stamped it, and as she was giving the ticket back to him, she told him that the bus would leave on gate 2 at 9:00 a.m. He thanked her and went over to a bench and sat down. It was 7:00 a.m. when he noticed that people were starting to enter the bus station.

Time passed very slowly. At 8:45 a.m., an announcement over the loudspeaker advised that his bus was loading and to go to gate 2. He entered the bus behind a few other passengers, walked halfway back, and sat down.

The bus continued to fill up, and he noticed a girl who appeared to be around his age walk down the aisle. She looked at Mike and asked if she could sit next to him. He told her that she could, and she sat down.

They introduced themselves to each other, and Mary Jackson told him that she was a nursing student in Raleigh and asked where he was going. Mike told her, and they had a quiet conversation during the trip.

As they were arriving in Raleigh, Mary looked at Mike and offered to give him her address in case he just needed a friend to write to. He accepted the address, thanked her, and placed it in his wallet.

He told her that he had no idea what his address was and promised to write her and give it to her.

The bus pulled up at the designated parking lane and stopped. Mike and Mary told each other that they enjoyed the company, and as they were saying good-bye, Mary again asked him to write. He told her that he would. It never happened.

His instructions were to go to the military facility located a block from the bus station. He arrived there and was greeted by an air force sergeant. There were approximately twenty other recruits already there. The sergeant had them follow him to a medical exam room, told them to remove their clothes for a physical. A medical doctor and two assistants entered the room, and the doctor ordered that all the recruits bend over and spread their cheeks. All of them did this but one country bumpkin. He bent over and spread the cheeks on his face. He finally understood what was meant and spread the correct cheeks. The exams were completed, with each one getting their blood pressure, temperature, eyes, ears, and heart checked.

After each recruit completed the exam, they dressed and entered a second room. The sergeant told them that they would then be fed, asked to fill out forms, get sworn into the air force, and be placed on a bus to be driven to the Lackland air force Base in San Antonio, Texas. The bus trip took twenty hours.

There was no sleeping on the bus, and when they arrived at the base at 1300 hours, all of them were very tired. The door to the bus opened, and a very loud and mad staff sergeant yelled that everyone had two seconds to get off the bus and form a straight line. Sergeant Wilson and his assistant, Sergeant Thomas, were their drill sergeants and would try to make their lives miserable for the next eight weeks.

They spent the days marching, running, doing calisthenics, and getting classroom instructions. They were in bed by 2100 hours and up the next morning at 0500 hours. A good night’s sleep, unless you had fire watch or something else that they would think of to keep you up for most of the night.

***

Captain Robertson was sitting in his office looking out of his window, which overlooked all the recruits involved in basic training. He was a short man with thin hair and wore horn-rimmed glasses. His back was to his door when it opened and First Lieutenant Franklin entered. The lieutenant walked up to the captain and said, We lost another one, and Major Hayes wants him replaced now. The lieutenant went on to say that this was the second one lost this year.

The captain said, I don’t care how many we lose. My job is to keep Hayes happy. He looked at the lieutenant and said, Get me a warm body, now!

Lieutenant Franklin looked at him and said, I have been reviewing all the current recruits, and I believe that we have an excellent candidate to send Major Hayes. This young man was at the top of his high school graduating class, aced the SATs, had colleges offering him scholarships, and is an excellent athlete and got some of the highest air force test scores ever. I don’t understand why he didn’t go to college.

Lieutenant Franklin went on, Because of all this, the FBI was requested to run a background investigation on him, and this has been completed. He now has a top-secret security clearance.

Captain Robertson said, I don’t care about any of this. Get him up here now. I don’t need Hayes on my case.

The lieutenant acknowledged the order and left. He got into a staff car and started over to where the recruits were.

Sergeant Wilson had his recruits sitting in a circle around him and Sergeant Thomas. Wilson said that today he was going to teach his little girls self-defense. He asked for a volunteer, but no one stood up. He looked over at one of the less manly recruits and shouted, Front and center! Airman Baker!

Baker approached, and Sergeant Wilson handed him a large knife and told him to try to stab him. Baker apparently thought this was a little game as he started swinging the knife very slowly with a smile on his face. Quickly, Sergeant Wilson disarmed him and almost broke his arm.

Sergeants Wilson and Thomas grinned. Wilson looked over at Mike and said, Get on your feet, boy.

Mike got up, and Sergeant Wilson walked over to Baker, who was weeping, and took the knife from the ground as he called him a worthless little girl.

Sergeant Wilson then turned to face Mike. I’m going to cut your head off, sissy, and there is nothing you can do about it. He started after Mike, looking at him, saying, I am going to whip you, boy.

Mike felt that this was his father saying this as Wilson approached swinging the knife. Mike, in very quick motion, and with an open hand, chopped down on the arm carrying the knife, sending the knife to the ground and breaking the sergeant’s forearm. Mike then delivered a powerful blow just under Wilson’s nostrils, turned, and kicked his ribs. The sounds of the broken ribs was heard by all. Wilson dropped to the ground, knocked out cold.

In the meantime, Sargeant Thomas came charging over to Mike, yelling as he took a swing at him.

Mike swept his legs, and as he was falling, struck the center of his forehead with his open hand. He hit the ground hard and was motionless, but breathing.

Lieutenant Franklin was pulling up to them as it ended. He walked over and said nothing, as he had seen most of it as he was approaching. He walked over and asked for Airman Mike Johnson. Mike approached him, saluted him, and said that he was Mike Johnson. Lieutenant Franklin asked him to come with him.

As they walked to the staff car, Franklin saw both sergeants moving some, but it was obvious that both were hurt.

As they got in the car, Mike said that he certainly would be punished for this. The lieutenant said that he wasn’t there for him for this situation, and that he was certain that nothing would come of it. He looked over at Mike and smiled, without Mike knowing.

They walked into Captain Robertson’s office. Captain Robertson did not look up, but continued reading some papers. The expression on his face reflected that what he was reading was very important. Mike snapped to attention and saluted Captain Robertson. The captain was slow in returning the salute, without ever making any eye contact. He told Mike that he could stand at ease.

He looked at Mike, leaned back in his chair, and asked him if he was a patriot; and Mike said without hesitation that he certainly was. He said that he loved his country.

Captain Robertson said that was good and told him that his basic training was complete, and that he was going on a special assignment for his country. He went on to say that he would immediately be flown to a remote location and would meet with a Major Hayes. He was to leave the next day. He then excused Mike.

He was escorted out of the office by Lieutenant Franklin, who looked at Mike without his knowing it. He finally told Mike to pack his belongings, take care of any personal matters, and to report to the base motel. He would be given a room, fed, and flown out at 0800 hours the next day.

4

A T 0600 HOURS the next day, Mike was at the runway hangar. A few planes were being worked on. Mike kept to himself. He walked outside and watched a few planes land and take off.

At 0800 hours, the pilot, Captain John Turner; the copilot, First Lieutenant Robert Adams, and the crew chief, Technical Sergeant Charles Oliver, arrived. The lieutenant and the sergeant walked out of the hangar and made their way over to a Boeing 707 with the markings MATS (Military Air Transports). Beautiful plane. Four engines on the wings. The plane had only cockpit windows. No windows in the passenger section.

The crew chief approached Mike and told him that he, along with other air force personnel and their dependents, were to be flown to Frankfurt, Germany. The crew chief looked at Mike and said that he understood there was other transportation in Frankfurt to pick him up.

Mike asked him where he was being taken to, and the crew chief said he did not know—nor was he interested. He just told Mike that they would be carrying passengers to Frankfurt. He did say that he was sure that he would have instructions or orders presented to him when they landed.

People started arriving at the hangar. Women and children mostly, with a few air force personnel. There was a crew of air force enlisted personnel asking for their luggage, which they were placing in the belly of the plane. Mike handed him his duffel bag.

Captain Turner was telling them to board the plane and get strapped in. There was no assigned seating.

The 707 taxied and was given clearance for take off. The pilot gave the big plane full throttle, and they quickly accelerated down the runway. Liftoff was easy, and as the plane gained altitude, the pilot turned to the right.

The flight was tiring but uneventful. They arrived in Frankfurt, pulled up to a hangar, and stopped. The engines were cut off as the crew chief was opening the door. The ground crew was already placing a mobile stairway against the door. The passengers got off and waited as other air force–enlisted men were getting the luggage out. Passengers got their luggage and started leaving.

Mike got his duffel bag and looked around to see if anyone was approaching him with orders.