Milwaukee Deep

Lieutenant Matt Avery sat quietly in the cockpit of the KC-10 that had just taxied to runway 49 at the McGuire Air Force base in New Jersey. He could hear quite clearly the conversation taking place behind him….

“Yes, Sir,” replied Colonel Frank Evans

“And the paint – has it dried?” Crane asked, his voice coming through loud and clear over the plane’s intercom.

“She’s ready and looking exactly like a passenger airliner should look, Sir.”

“Good. Now that the weapon’s on board, re-confirm your exit strategy.”

“Sir, both the Lieutenant and I will release the weapon over the target area – once that has occurred, we will change our course and head towards the sea.”

“And that’s when you will encounter our fighter pilots.”

“That’s correct, Sir. Once we are off shore and over water, the Lieutenant and I will exit the aircraft and allow the good guys to blow us out of the sky.”

“Excellent, Colonel. Now when is departure?” Crane asked

“Sir, all we are waiting on now are the bodies – two Iranian nationals are already on route – expected arrival time is 1800 hours.”

“Good. Keep me informed of everything, Colonel. I expect to speak to you again before take off.”

“Yes, Sir. Once the bodies are on board and in position, I will contact you for final flight confirmation.”

“I will be waiting, Colonel.”

The screaming had stopped.

Robert Matner began crawling over to the vent by the floor. The cell was dark – pitch black – he couldn’t see his hand as he held it up in front of his eyes. As he crept closer to the wall, the pain in his lower leg overwhelmed him. Ignoring the cold air, the icy floor and the pain that shot up his spine, Matner tried the only means of communication he had.

“Harry?” he whispered, “Harry? Harry, can you hear me?”

There was a long silence.

“Harry? Harry, they’ve gone – are you there?”

Matner’s face was now numb as he lay on the icy floor, his mouth as close as possible to the vent that sat encased in ice on the wall.

“Matt?”

Matner raised his head slightly.

“Harry, I’m here.”

“What’s happening - where is everyone – I can’t hear anyone else?”

“They’re taking them – it’s been happening for days now. Harry, I don’t think they’re coming back.”

“But we always come back.”

“Not this time, Harry – something’s going on. They’re up to something, I know it.”

“What else could they want?” asked the faint voice

“I don’t know. What I do know is that I can’t remember the last time they moved me from this cell – I think they’ve stopped testing.”

There was another long silence.

“They’ll come for us next, Matt, you know that don’t you?”

Matner closed his eyes – his friend was right, it was only a matter of time.

“I wish they really killed us when they could have, Harry – the death penalty was meant to mean death…not this.”