RIYADH AB-DELHI INTL.
Mitchell and I were whisked away into a room which somewhat represented a prison cell. The walls were bare, there was a small wooden table, 3 rickety, old chairs and one ancient looking whiteboard on one of the walls in the room.
There were 4 armed guards in the room. One of them told us to sit down, which we did without hesitation.
We were in the room for about a minute before the door swung open and an Officer came into the room. I could see that he wasn't from the Saudi Arabian Air Force, he was a Sgt. in the USAF.
He adopted a position on the last remaining chair and held out his hand. "I'm Sgt Dee," he said. We shook his hand.
"So, you guys must be the duo going Round the World," he asked us.
"Um...yes," I said.
"Good. I'm here to help you guys," he said. "As a result of the last 5 years, we will be redirecting you to a small airstrip in Iran, ID being 'OIKR.' The USAF has a few regiments there, and they have agreed to have you stop there for a night."
"But--" Mitchell began.
"Don't interrupt. I know as well as you guys that Iran is one of the largest arab countries, so there may be some terrorists based there. That is why we are sending to you OIKR, as it is tucked away on a mountainous plateau, and is very well guarded. Don't worry about crossing the remaining stretch of Saudi Arabia, as you will have a fighter escort and two marines on board with you. And, as one final attempt to make your trip safe, you will be laving at precisly 0000 hours local time. You got 5 hours to prepare," he said as he got up. "Oh, and good luck."
****
It was approaching midnight. "Howie" was warmed up, the two marines boarding now. I looked around to see a military jet fire up, and recognised it as being an F-15 Eagle.
Mitchell, the marines and I were airborne first, soon followed by the Eagle.
Looking back at Riyadh. I was almost glad to go, as we were now making even more progress.
Mitchell heard something on the Starboard side of the aircraft. He pressed his face against the window, and there, afterburners on full, was the F-15:-
Mitchell ad I were listening to the radio, we had it tuned on our local radio to check how everything was back home, when suddenly we heard somebody say "INCOMING!!!"
Then we realised it was the Eagle pilot, who we saw plummet earthward and open fire on....what appeared to be a rocket!!
Suddenly, we heard an explosion, and the Eagle pilot contacted us. "Threat neutralised, let's get going a bit faster."
"That was close," Mitchell and I said in unison to each other.
"Let's hope it doesn't happen again," Mitchell said aloud.
We had reached the coastline. This is where the F-15 pilot told us that our escort was over, and that the mountains around OIKR would provide sufficient cover.
Below us was a large airport. I forgot to check the GPS to see where it was, instead I just kept on going.
Mitchell told me that he was tired, and said he was going into the cabin to get some sleep. I said 'ok', and told him I would fly us there.
By now I had hit the Iranian coastline. I squinted ahead and could just make out the silhouettes of mountains. I had about 400nm of our journey left.
After having flown above the mountains, I saw yet more mountains and...that white, pyramidal shape.
I rubbed my eyes, blinked and saw it was still there. Then, I realised it was the moon, and laughed at my own sheer stupidity.
It was a real calm night, but a few clouds were rolling in from my East. However, I did notice that there was a slight tailwind which had increased.
After having descended, flown through a valley and turned to my West, I finally saw the runway lights. 2At last," I told myself, "I can finally turn on the lights."
The radio crackled to life. "Howard, we have you in sight. Please verify your aircraft by giving us a noticeable sign."
I flicked the lights off and on again. The ground crew responded.
"Thank you Howard, cleared to land when you are ready."
And, after having fought a crosswind, we had touchdown. I taxied up to a barracks, and a group of US marines came out of them, as did the marines on board my aircraft. They greeted each other, and I turned off the engines and awoke Mitchell.
"We're here," I said.
Next leg coming soon!
Nice story line lol
