Spirit In The Sky

Spirit in the Sky

*****

Northern Mountains of Iraq...

The C-130 slammed into the mountain's lower ridge, a tremendous fireball marking its final resting place. Farther down the mountain's ravine, several parachutes slowly drifted into the rocks, finally coming to rest close to the tribesmen who had hidden from them.

Bullets flew in both directions until there was silence, the tribesmen running away to save their lives as the superior marksmanship of the Americans rapidly cut their numbers.

"Colonel, don't move... you're shot in the back." The officer lay on his side, the pain quickly bringing the darkness to him while his companions used a satellite radio to call for help.

An hour later an H-60 Blackhawk found them and evacuated the crewmen back to their base.

*****

Weilerbach, Germany ...

The colonel had been taken to the new military hospital for his spinal surgery but his recuperation was slow. The damage had been severe to his nervous system and the doctors were hesitant in making any predictions about his future.

Mrs. Smithmore had been flown in to Germany by the Air Force and had camped out in his hospital room for the last month, convinced that her presence would speed up his recovery.

He woke up. His wife screamed in surprise, her prayers finally answered.

A week later, the couple was flown back to the States to his quarters which had been reconditioned to accommodate his new life.

*****

"How are you feeling today, Colonel?" asked the lieutenant who was also his caregiver.

The man under the covers raised his left arm in acknowledgment to the question. As much as he knew her consideration, he was tired of his situation. "Where's my wife?"

"She's down stairs fixing dinner for you. Can I get anything while you're waiting?"

No response was his answer, still having not accepted his situation. He lifted the magazine he had been reading, not really interested in what it had to offer.

"Water?" The lieutenant was getting frustrated and yet she had volunteered for the job. Mrs. Smithmore entered the bedroom with a tray of food, a smile on her face and waited for the other woman to prepare the bed tray so he could eat.

"I brought your favorites: baked potatoes and steak, Sweetheart."

"Thank you," he said, speaking for the first time of the day. "I missed you."

She put the food onto the bed tray and then sat on the edge of the bed, smiling at him."

"James and Mary are coming later this week to see you." She knew that he always enjoyed visiting with his children, both of whom had gone into the Air Force also. His son was a B-2 pilot stationed in the Midwest while his daughter flew an F-35.

He motioned his wife closer and as she bent over, he kissed her warm lips, getting lost in love. He was determined to walk again now that he was home. He refused to give up, his spinal stenosis causing him pain as well as stopping him from walking. It bothered her the most that he couldn't walk without help, either with a walker and someone bracing him. It bothered her.

Lieutenant Melendez started the colonel's physical therapy, moving his calf muscles to keep the circulation going in each leg. An hour later, she was finished for the day and went downstairs to get something to eat. He took his laptop and went to the Youtube site for "It's not unusual" from Glee and turned up the volume, moving his arms in time with the music. He loved that song. The older he got the more he appreciated the cheerleaders.

*****

"Hey, Dad! How are you feeling? I didn't think you would be... you know what I mean."

The colonel looked at his daughter. She came in her dress uniform in respect to him.

"Mary, how are you?" It was just like her father to worry about her. He was a prisoner of his body... and so was her mother. She wondered where her brother was. She knew he had gotten a flight to Los Angeles and should have arrived by now. Where was he?

The front door opened and James, Jimmy to his parents, walked in and hugged his mother.

She was held by him and started crying, embarrassed. He held her as only a son could. "Your father is waiting for you. Your sister is already here."

*****

"Colonel..."

"You know to call me Dad. How's the Spirit?" The colonel was always interested in the B-2, secret for so many years. He struggled to sit up in the bed, smiling at his son, who rushed to help him. The lieutenant open the drapes, flooding the room with the afternoon sun.

"It's fine, Dad, but I can't wait for the B-21." James sat down next to the bed, his hand holding his father's shoulder. "I love you, Dad."

"That sounds like you expect me to die. Not going to happen,"

Just then, two majors entered the room and saluted. "Colonel," addressed the old one, "I'm afraid we come with bad news. You've been medically discharged, effective immediately. Your care will be taken over by the DAV."

The colonel had been expecting it and yet it still came as a shock that his career was over. He looked at the wall where his Medal of Honor was framed.

His wife came over and kissed him, giving him a hug. "I'm sorry, Jim, but now we have time to be together and take those trips we've talked about. Alaska, Hawaii, the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone... we can do it as soon as you're up on your feet again."

"Darling, I'm so sorry," he answered, "that this has happened. Don't worry, I'm going to get well as soon as I can, just you see." He stopped talking and looked at the two visiting officers and asked, "So, what do we do now?"

"Well, sir, the Lieutenant, here, will fill out all the paperwork and go from there. She will be assigned to you as long as necessary."

The other major handed the lieutenant a computer disk. "All the information is there, including your change of discharge so that you are covered by the DAV as well as the colonel, here."

With that, the two visitors left after saluting the man in the bed. The lieutenant opened her laptop and called up the program... "Well," she said, "it doesn't look so bad."

*****

"OK, Colonel, let's get you active so that you can take these trips."

*****

Four months later...

The clump of the heavy cane came down on the stairs as the colonel moved to the living room to watch the Notre Dame -- USC football game. Growing up Catholic required that he root for the Irish even though he had grown up in Los Angeles.

Following the scandal rocking the Church he had fallen away, finding himself a self-taught Christian after all these years. He had gone to LMU as an ROTC student with the Air Force, getting a scholarship.

He soon lost interest in the game and switched to Netflix, finding an 'end of the world' movie to watch, settling on one where the moon crashes into the earth.

"Mary," he called his wife, "would you bring me an A&W, please?" He patiently waited for her.

Soon she came with a frosty mug fresh from the freezer. He had gotten the set of mugs from a roadside A&W stand in Atascadero while on one of his rare vacations. She put the drink down on the end table in easy reach for him. "There you go," she said, glad that he was returning to normal, at least for him.

"Want to go to Solvang? The lieutenant can drive and we can kiss in the back."

"I don't know if she'd want to, maybe not... oh, I don't know."

Just then, the lieutenant walked in from outside getting the mail. She could tell something was afoot as the couple stopped speaking as she approached.

"How would you like to go to Solvang?" the colonel asked. "You can drive," he laughed at his own joke.

"Please call me Eva. You know I'm not in the Air Force anymore. Is Jimmy going to come?" The young woman looked at him, searching for an answer that she would like.

"Well, I'm not sure," he answered the former officer who he could tell was as anxious as he had ever seen her. "What should I know?"

"What do you mean? There's nothing... I just wanted to... er... know, that's all."

Jim, as he was called now that he had retired, looked at her and smiled. "You know his career comes first, what with the B-2 Spirit and all." He turned away from the Netflix movie he was watching and put on "Midway".

"Well," she started to say, "he's thinking of retiring from... you know, he's decided that military life and marriage doesn't go together."

"Marriage?" startled Mary, Jim's wife, walking into the room. "What marriage?" She looked at her husband.

"Looks like we're going to have a wedding... oh, boy." He leaned back into his recliner, not really surprised at the new turn of events. Eva had been in the household for nearly six months now and he thought of her as one of the family.

They heard the rustle of keys in the lock and as the door opened Jimmy walked in. The radiant smile he gave Eva was all they needed to know. He took her hand in his.

"Something to say?" Jim asked.

"Eva has consented to be my wife. It's been a time coming."

"What about the Air Force?"

"I've taken two months off on leave. I'm thinking of retiring... leaving my commission. I want to fly for United."

*****

"...and do you, Eva, take Jimmy to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?"

"I do, oh, yes, I do."

The reception was a sea of blue uniforms as several hundred Air Force personnel filled the church hall quickly finding a place to sit.

Jim was congratulating every one that had arrived, a huge smile on his face as he held his wife's hand in his. Now, he just had to get his daughter married away.

*****

It didn't take too long before the reception had moved into a large dance hall, everyone giving effort into doing the waltz. He held his bride tightly to himself, his right hand around her waist, for once satisfied with his place in life. Flying the Spirit was fun but he always felt something was missing in his life, something that now was full.

*****

John, his best man, took the wedding clothes away so that they could be returned the next morning. Jimmy and Eva came to the hotel room and he opened the door, lifted her up and then kicked the door shut with his foot.

"Please take a shower," she said, slowly taking off her clothes. A minute later, she joined him in the bathroom, rubbing against him as the warm water began to steam the room.

"Oh, my," he said, feeling her smoothness against his back. He took the loofah and began to massage Eva gently, hearing her moan as he moved up and down on her back.

He kissed her, transferring to her breasts as he felt himself harden, her hand taking control of him as she reached down.

When they were done washing, he dried her up with the soft towel and they moved to the bed where she lay down, inviting him to kneel down on the floor so that he could kiss her. He slowly moved up her thighs, his mouth giving worship to her skin as he finally reached her most private of places.

"Oh, Jesus..." she moaned as he entered with his tongue. She began to lift and drop, out of control as he continued. "Love me," she quietly said, "do it now. Please..."

Jimmy moved up and moved into her, her warmth driving him crazy as he began to rise and fall, over and over until he could no long control himself.

*****

The next morning they were at LAX waiting to board the United flight to Paris, something he had arranged when he spoke with the airline. He made up the difference for her ticket and they flew first class, holding hands as they soon fell asleep after dinner.

*****

"Bien venue a Paris," said the flight attendant as she woke them up from their long flight from Los Angeles.

"Merci," Jimmy responded. He kissed Eva's hand, his romanticism at the top. He had no complaints about the flight, as smooth as it was, and a nice landing.

They waited until most people had left the plane and grabbed their carry-ons, finally going to the baggage claim area where they met their driver who had been waiting with his cardboard name plate. "Ritz Paris," said Jimmy, helping the driver with the bags. He had made reservations at one of the most romantic hotels in France.

The driver took the scenic route and Eva had her face pressed up against the glass like a young child in Disneyland. Their life together was just beginning and she couldn't wait. She looked at her husband who was yawning after their long flight. He wasn't used to being a passenger, having been a pilot most of his Air Force career.

*****

They finally arrived at the hotel, tipped the driver, and checked in. He had already paid for the week and reserved a double room for the two of them.

He plopped on the bed, his hands behind his head. Jimmy rolled to his left side and patted the bed. "Come here, Baby."

She put down the carry-on and sat on the edge of the bed. "Yes, what do you want, Big Boy?"

*****

Over the next few days, the newlyweds saw the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, took the boat ride up the Seine river and visited many of the restaurants that Jimmy had made reservations for months before the wedding.

The last surprise was the TGV from Paris to Nice to spend several days along the warmth of the Mediterranean.

*****

Jimmy gave Eva his phone so she could listen to "I will follow him" by Peggy March. They had played the song at the reception.

However, an hour south of Paris, the train was hijacked by terrorists dressed as attendants.

Jim stood in the hallway waiting for his wife to return. "How you doing?" he asked, seeing the group of people standing there to use the restroom.

Eva came out of the restroom straight into the arms of the terrorists.

The knife-wielding female terrorist grabbed Eva and held her down but Jimmy tackled her, grabbed her knife and slit her throat with blood everywhere. He took the dead woman's AK from her lifeless body and aimed it at the man who now held Eva in front of him.

Jimmy quickly looked at the situation, said "drop" in Spanish and as she fell to the floor, shot the terrorist in the head. He wondered whom else there was to look out for.

Eva picked up the dead man's gun and cocked it, making sure it would fire when she needed it. "I think," she started to say, "that they're farther forward."

"I believe you're right," he answered. "Watch out..."

He took the lead into the next car, slowly moving to see who was ahead of them. This honeymoon had taken a whole different mood. The car was empty with no passengers visible. Jimmy wondered where everyone had gone, worried that they were all dead.

They came to the final forward car where the survivors had sheltered, guarded by the remaining terrorists. The people saw them and began to scream, giving up any moment of surprise they might have had.

Jimmy pushed Eva down between two rows of seats and then began to fire against the remaining killers while he still could until the fight stopped with a deadly silence. He moved forward until he saw the bodies laying in the aisle, looking for some sign of life. The bullets had torn up the seat that Eva was hiding behind and he, for a moment, was scared for her but then saw that she was moving forward and then sitting up, looking at him. The inside of the car had been destroyed from all the bullets.

He put a bullet into the head of each man on the floor, determined they were not going to fight again. And stood there until a bullet struck him down.

*****

ABC News: "An unidentified American and his wife have stopped and killed seven terrorists who attempted to hijack the French bullet train heading south from Paris to Nice. We will have more as information becomes available"

*****

The honeymoon couple finally arrived in Nice, courtesy of the French government who also compensated them for the hotel Le Negresco and meals as well as keeping their identities private. Eva still was shaking a bit, not having been used to shootouts with terrorists, her time in the Air Force being spent as a nurse.

They had new clothes by the time they left the station and were taken to the hospital by an unmarked police car. They were registered under a false name and shown to the best room available. When Jimmy was finished, they were taken to the best hotel in Nice.

Eva lay on the king size bed, her arm over her face, finally feeling safe for the first time in several hours. Jimmy walked over to the balcony and looked at the Mediterranean.

Instituted in 1802 by Napoleon Bonaparte, the Légion d'Honneur (Legion of Honor) is the highest civilian award given by the French Republic for outstanding service to France, regardless of the nationality of the recipients and Jimmy and Eva had been told they were to receive it later in the week in a private ceremony.

They decided to have dinner in their room's balcony and left it to the chef to prepare what he wanted.

*****

Bouillabaisse, an elevated take on the catch of the day. Tarte Tatin. French onion soup. Escargot. Chocolate soufflé. Crêpes. Salade Niçoise.

Jimmy left the server a handsome tip and sat his bride down. "I'm hungry," he said, passing the serving plates to his wife with his other hand. He was still amazed that his bride had killed the last two terrorists after he had been shot.

"I don't know," she replied, looking at the escargot.

"It's fine. I tried it last year." Each taste was a new sensation for her. He, on the other hand, just gave thanks to God that they both survived. He picked up his fork and offered her some of his puff pastry. "This is some good stuff. Sure beats apple pie."

*****

The next morning they went downstairs to the buffet and were met by the military representative who said that their driver was waiting outside and gave them a black Visa card, courtesy of the French government, and an itinerary of what to see.

Jimmy thanked the man and smiled at Eva. "That takes care of that, I guess."

Waiting for them was a new Citroen C6 Luxury limousine and driver. Jimmy handed the list of stops to the woman and helped Eva into the back.

Their first journey took them along the beaches, divided into private and public sectors but for them it made no difference courtesy of the French government.

*****

The next day they took a winery tour in Provence and although it had been sold out the personal call from President Macron opened the doors, followed by an evening in Monaco. Later that night, they were met by the president who graciously thanked them for what they had done.

"How are you feeling?" Jimmy asked, hoping that his bride would be in better spirits now that everything was over.

"I'm feeling alright," she replied, knowing that he had been worried about her and not knowing what was to come. She came to him and put her arms around him, giving him a friendly squeeze and seeking to have a feeling of ease for the first time since the train.

He put his right arm around her and pulled her close, dancing in the room with her while humming "La vie en rose." He led her to the bed, pulled back the covers, and started to kiss her body. He turned the lights off and sank into her body.

*****

The next morning they took the Molinard perfume factory which allowed Eva to create her own personal fragrance. They took their driver with them and gifted her with her own. By this time they had become friendly with the French officer who told them at a French Air Force Gulfstream had been set aside to fly them back to Paris.

An hour later they were flying back to the French capital. The pilots were had been told of Jimmy's previous history as a B-2 Spirit pilot and invited him to the cockpit. He took Eva's hand and led her to the front of the plane where they let her sit in the copilot's seat and pointed out the various instruments and what they did.

An hour and a half later they arrived at Paris and had their luggage transferred to the late afternoon flight back to Los Angeles.

*****