Roger Ellis - AK-239

Jennifer looks a bit guilty to Vasili who nods his approval.

“Also, zero casualties from your birds, general. Repeat zero casualties from the birds.”

I can clearly hear the cheering all this all the way over here on the beach.

We look at each other and start cheering too.

Peterson AFB

NORAD

Command Center

There is a party atmosphere in the control room.

General Norton puts about as big of a grin on his face as you’ll ever see from a general saying, “Great job, commander. Great job.”

The general looks over at the nerdy little airman who stopped the bombs from exploding.

“I think we can call our EXACTO override test successful.

Great job, son!”

The nerdy little airman weakly says, “Thank you, sir.”

TK-20

Jennifer and Captain Vasili are on the conning tower of the sub.

Jennifer says, “I couldn’t have done it without my partner, former Navy SEAL, John Denning.”

“This country owes you two a great debt. Destroyer escorts will be with you from Carrier Group 7 shortly. Sit tight.”

Jennifer looks at Vasili and shrugs her shoulders, “Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.”

General Norton, “In the meantime, you have a few of your friends dropping in to say hi first. Norton out.”

Vasili and other Russians all look confused as to what that might mean.

Jen knows exactly what he means as she looks to the clouds breaking as the sun rises.

She whistles to me, pointing in the air.

As the light begins to barely crack through the heavens for another day, I see the greatest sight a military man can see:

The cavalry!

The FBI HRT Gold Team looks to have done a HALO (High Altitude Low Opening) jump and they’re coming in fast.

The rigid hull inflatable boats (RHIBs/RIBs) are dropping in with the team. I trained most of these guys so I thought,

Let’s see how they hit the water.

It’s a beautiful sight to behold.

The sun starts to peak over the snow covered Alaskan mountains which adds to the picture perfect scene.

These guys silently hit the freezing water. For a split second I actually felt a bit sorry for them.

Why am I feeling sorry for these guys? I was in that freezing water yesterday for over ten minutes. These guys have on proper gear and are already in their boats!

In no time, they’re heading for us.

Spectacular! I’m proud to have trained them!

I hand signal to them and one of them breaks off toward me, guns drawn.

As soon as they near me they realize who I am. Their team leader is John Smith. That’s right that’s his real name. I did an FBI FBC (Full Background Check) on John A. Smith. Believe it or not, that really is his real name.

John’s nickname is: Skull.

I think, I’m probably the only guy in this bay that knows how he got the name.

As a former SEAL, on one of his first jumps, he somehow became tangled in his own parachute.

He ended up hitting the ground headfirst.

After he came to, his first words were, “My head kinda hurts.”

Back here on the beach I smile at him and say,

“Hey Skull! What took you so long?”

Skull drops his weapon and with his game face on saying,

“I was pushin’ for an ROE kill order on you, Bones.”

(Don’t ask. I’m not telling anyone how I got the nickname: Bones.)

Skull and his Gold Team partner pulls all four of us into their boat and we head for the sub.

As we pull to the sub, there looks to be a problem.

Jen yells down to me, “SEC DEF just ordered the boat searched. The captain has some conditions.”

I’m worried.

“Permission to come aboard, captain?” I yell to Vasili.

He answers, “Permission granted. But just you.”

I look at Skull and he says,

“Go for it, Bones.”

So I hop off our small inflatable boat and onto TK-20’ s hull.

I climb the steps built into TK-20 until I’m on top of the hull. I enter the center tower door that leads me to the conn. As I pop out of the conn hatch I ask,

“So what’s the problem?”

Vasili looks at me long and hard and says, “I want asylum in Nebraska.”

I look at Jennifer and say, “Okay that shouldn’t be a problem.”

Jennifer says, “There’s more.”

“Oh, okay,” I say, “What else?”

Vasili says without hesitation, “I must have your word that you will give all 120 of my men asylum too. Anyone that wants can return to Russia.”

I’m speechless. “Well I, you see, our courts will decide on a case by case…”

Vasili, “They will fight right here and right now if I don’t have your word.”

I’m supposed to be SEAL, FBI, and now judge and jury for 120 people? I think to myself.

But there’s something about this guy that’s honorable and trustworthy.

“I suppose if you vouch for all of your men, I could say, yes.”

Vasili immediately salutes me. “Thank you, commander.”

“But I’m not a commander and…”

“You’ll always be commander to me!” says Vasili.

There’s such honesty, sincerity and childlike wonder in this man that either I’m a fool or I just saved the world from nuclear war.

To this day, I still prefer to think the latter.

I look at him with wonder and curiosity. “So what will you do now captain…”

“Retire! Retirement sounds really good.”

Vasili hands me his top-secret operational file saying, “The boat’s yours, commander.”

I’m not a commander but, again, all I do is shake his hand and say,

“Thank you, captain.”

Stone, meanwhile, is still trying to pull his large soaked self onto TK-20 ’s steps.

“Damn it. I need some exercise!”

Tony and Jimmy are trying to help his immenseness by pushing him onto the hull.

Looking around I say, “I suggest we get inside the Typhoon as radiation from that explosion has to be falling all around us.”

All of us tough men look at each other and cannot believe any of us thought of this.

We all quickly scramble onto the sub.

I grab the phone from Jennifer,

“John Denning to NORAD , general are you still there?”

General Norton says, “Go for Norton.”

“General, there is radiation all around this area. Please tell your people that the boat is now yours.”

General Norton says, “Thank you, Denning. Notifying now.”

The sun has now gracefully ascended above Mt. Lazaro on nearby Duke Island.

Stone has managed to get on top of TK-20 ’s hull as a floatplane lands right next to the sub. Out pops a 400-pound Eskimo with another old, long, Winchester one-shot hunting rifle.

“You need me pops?”

You’re a day late and a dollar short, son” says Stone.

“What?”

“Never mind. Get in the plane and go home. There’s radiation everywhere.”

“I fixed the radiation at work, dad!”

Everyone looks puzzled.

Stone says, “That’s great son, now go home.”

“Okay, popsie,” says Stone’s son.

The kid has already closed the door and is heading away as Stone shakes his head.

“Ever since he was little he always called a radiator, radiation.”

Everyone now gets it, slowly saying, “Ahh.”

The Northern sky near Mt. Lazaro is lighting up the water, trees and snow as the FBI HRT Gold Team boards TK-20 , weapons drawn and pointing at all the threats.

“We’ve been given orders to search your boat. Do we have your permission, captain?” asks Skull.

Vasili, “Yes. My men will co-operate with you.”

Skull says, “Thank you, captain.”

While the sub is being boarded by Skull, he listens on his headpiece,