Jake sighed and went back inside the shack. When would the radio open up and tell him when and how he was to use the pilots and planes? The obvious target was Pearl and its rebuilt fuel depots. If that was the case, what were they waiting for? The British carrier and the American pilots had run tremendous risks to get to him, and those efforts should not be wasted.

He shuddered when he thought of the danger. Not only had the pilots run the risk of getting lost or being discovered but they had made the trip with extra fuel and bombs strapped to the lower sides of the wings of their F4Fs. Like most people who don’t fly warplanes, he hadn’t given a thought to how the bombs would arrive. He hadn’t known that no pilot in his right mind-which was damned few of them-would try to land a plane with the bombs hanging below the wings. The smallest bump as they landed and they would have blown up, taking plane and pilot with them. No, bombs were always ditched in the ocean before landing.

Instead, Ernie Magruder and his cohorts had flown their lethally dangerous devices across the ocean in the night and had landed safely-bombs, fuel, and all. Now the pilots were hiding near their planes, doubtless playing cards and drinking the homemade booze that Jake tolerated for those off duty.

Another plus was the fact that they’d not yet been detected. Despite an apparent change in attitude, Japanese foot patrols still hadn’t come close to them. It was as if the Japanese garrison in Hilo was holding back and waiting for something to happen. Jake wondered if this Japanese reluctance to act had anything to do with the arrival of the planes. He had no idea what it might be, but he did feel there was a pattern of activity developing.

This stalemate could go on forever unless the Japs at Hilo were heavily reinforced, which Jake concluded was inevitable. The American presence would have to be eradicated sometime.

If the Japanese did begin sizable sweeps of the island, it would be a disaster for Jake’s men and women. They would be on the move in a harsh land and separated from their food sources. Death or capture would be only a matter of time. They could run and hide, but they had to eat. They would have to abandon the radio, which would leave them alone as well. It was a miserable thought.

He lay back on the twin bed that someone had found and put in the shack. The bed, mattress, and pillow were other reasons to take a turn waiting for the radio to hum. It was a strong and honored tradition that whoever slept in it was responsible for cleaning the sheets and pillowcase. Jake thought that was getting off cheaply.

So what would happen if their efforts failed and they were discovered? He would have to kill himself to keep the secret of Magic from falling into Japanese hands. He also felt that a number of others, Alexa included, would take their own lives as an alternative to what would happen if they were captured. After all, hadn’t the men on Lanai been prisoners who’d been executed because they were considered outlaws? As more and more was found out about conditions in Japanese prison camps, there were those who thought the victims of the Lanai massacre had been the lucky ones.

On the positive side, Brooks and Hawkins ran their respective units well enough, while the new guy, Charley Finch, seemed competent enough to help out coordinating supplies. Hawkins was a jewel, and Brooks had shaken off his depression caused by the massacre in Hilo.

Jake didn’t quite trust Finch yet, and Alexa seemed to dislike him, but there was nothing they could hang the guy for. Maybe he was one of those unlovable people who just did their jobs. After all, since when had this become a popularity contest?

Alexa had volunteered to observe Finch, and Jake had accepted her offer. This was something she could do without being obvious because she was a civilian, and because she was in charge of those supplies unique to women problems. Jake chuckled when he thought that his command had to be concerned with sanitary napkins. There were only a dozen women in his group, but they had to be cared for, Alexa was perfect for the job, and it got her close to Finch. Sergeant Finch got his ass all puckered up when either Jake or Brooks came by, and he almost ignored Hawkins. Alexa watching Finch removed one problem from Jake’s plateful.

Jake was satisfied that the Charley Finch problem would resolve itself, presuming that there even was a Charley Finch problem.

I’m getting paranoid, he thought with a yawn. He pulled the top sheet over his body and closed his eyes. If anything came in over the radio, a bell had been rigged to ring and wake him. The mattress felt like the lap of luxury and reminded him of a world long gone. It was so comfortable he wondered if he would be able to sleep.

He grinned in the night. If he did fall asleep, maybe he would dream of Alexa. She and he had grown remarkably close since her arrival, and he wondered what direction the relationship would ultimately take. He hoped to find out before too long. Or too late, he thought grimly. Damnit, let something happen.

Commander Joe Rochefort strode into the conference room and plopped a stack of papers on the table. As usual, he was the antithesis of a smart-looking officer. He looked like he’d slept in his uniform, which had often happened. At his own office, he frequently wore a robe and slippers.

“Morning, Jamie,” he said genially. “Catch up to me yet?”

Lieutenant Commander Jamie Priest grinned back. “Not yet, sir, but I’m working on it.”

Despite many more years of devoted service to his country, Rochefort was only one grade higher than Jamie, and very likely to stay there. If it galled him, however, he didn’t show it. Joe Rochefort had more important things to do.

“You’ll be at the meeting?” Rochefort asked.

“Yes, sir.”

Jamie had only recently been cleared to get Magic information. His new rank had nothing to do with it; a number of people with far lower rank, even enlisted men, had Magic clearance because, as Rochefort said with a sarcastic laugh, “If they didn’t, then a lot of damned admirals would actually have to do some work.”

He was right, of course, and there were many admirals and generals who hadn’t a single clue that Magic existed, while sergeants and petty officers, possessors of knowledge that could change history, passed them in the hallways.

Having the information provided by Magic had been both a blessing and a curse. It had been a blessing because Jamie now knew so much more about what was going on with the Japanese. It was fascinating to read not only their minds but their mail.

The curse part was twofold. First, it further hammered home the fact that he would never get into a position where he might be taken prisoner and the information extracted from him. Only a handful of key people with Magic clearance had been permitted to leave the States, and none into positions of danger.

The second part of the curse brought him back to the nightmare of the Pennsylvania. He’d found and read the intercepts in which Yamamoto had tried to stop the execution of the American survivors. The Japanese admiral had apparently failed, and that meant Jamie truly was the only survivor of that disaster. The knowledge brought a numbing feeling, and he wished Suzy was there for him to talk to.

But she wasn’t, and it was something he had to resolve by himself. Jamie’d received a handful of letters in the short while she’d been gone and sent some himself. They loved each other and missed each other.

He also found that Suzy had received Magic clearance. She’d never even hinted at it. It did mean that they could talk about the Pennsylvania and other things when she finally returned to him. Magic clearance also meant she wouldn’t be supervising a mess hall after she finished training.