最后一段啦,任务就完成了!

Meanwhile,theairplanes,loadedonaflatbedrailwaycarandescortedbyKirlin’smen,weresenttoP’ot’i,Georgia,wheretheyweresupposedtobetransferredtoaship.Instead,thegovernmentofGeorgiathreatenedtoconfiscatethem.

Kirlinforkedover$40,000andhadtheFulcrumsbroughtbackintoKyrgyzstan,escorted,asalways,byhisagents,whothencharteredaSoviet-eraAN-124-thelargestcommercialairplaneinthesky-toflytheplanestoTallinn,Estonia,theclosestfriendlyNATOport,wheretheywerequicklyseizedforanotherthreemonths.

Afterthreeyearsandmorecashoutlaysrequiredtosealthedeal,theyarrivedinQuincy.Despitetheirlowflyingtime,theyneedcompleteoverhaulsbeforetheycansafelytakewingintheUS.

SomedoubtKirlincangetthemairborne.Hescoffs:“I’vegotallthemanuals,”hesays,everconfident.“It’sjustamatteroftimeandmoney.”