89
“Welcome to Rock City, ma’am.” Kady Jones had been flown directly from Washington to Ramstein Air Base in southern Germany. She’d been briefed on the way. There was reason to believe that another one of the Russian bombs had been uncovered in Kosovo. She would be making a determination as to whether it was genuine or not. The tone of the briefings had been urgent, but routine: nothing to worry about. After they were over, she’d received another message, requesting details on her height, body measurements, and shoe size. The moment the cabin door had opened, she’d been led straight to a military transport, already laden with a full army explosive-ordnance-disposal team and its equipment. Another dozen men sat silently and impassively in futuristic black uniforms. Before she’d even strapped on her belt, the wheels were already rolling. Once they were in the air, one of the men in black came over.
“Major Dave Gretsch,” he said. “Just wanted to introduce myself, let you know my men and I will be securing the area for you tonight. There’s a chance we may be seeing some action, but just do what we ask, and we’ll make sure you’re fine. Meantime, anything you need to know, just ask.”
“Who are you guys?” Kady asked.
Gretsch gave an apologetic smile.
“I’m afraid I can’t tell you. But we’re the best, is all you need to know.”
“Oh… Well, where are we going, exactly?”
“Can’t say that, either. They haven’t told me yet. Fact, I was kinda hoping you might know.”
“So I can ask, but you can’t answer…”
“Sure looks that way, but that’s the army for you.”
Now it was ten at night and she’d just arrived at the Tuzla Air Base in Bosnia. As the soldiers got to work unloading their weapons and equipment, she’d been greeted by an air-force corporal, a woman, who was leading her toward a waiting Humvee.
“We call it Rock City ’cause of all the crushed rock everywhere-place was like a sea of mud till they laid that down,” she explained. “Any-ways, they got a room set aside for you in the officers’ quarters, though I don’t guess you’ll be getting much sleep.”
Kady was led to her room, little more than a cubicle with a camp bed, inside a basic, prefabricated structure. The corporal politely instructed her to get changed and wait for further instructions. On the bed were arranged a set of combat fatigues, a T-shirt, a flak jacket, a pair of boots, and a helmet. Now she knew why they’d wanted to check her size.
But what kind of battlefield was she heading into?