by Alan Austin
Sam considered dragging the conversation out a little longer just to see if he could push the man’s buttons, but there was no good reason aside from his desire to exert more control. “We do,” he said confidently.
“Outstanding!” exclaimed General Adams. “Have a drink with me.”
He pulled two glasses from a drawer and poured a shot in each.
“It’s not even noon yet,” Sam laughed as he took the glass.
“And we’ve already made so much progress,” the General said with a grin. “To victory,” he added, holding his glass out toward Sam.
“To victory,” Sam echoed before they each downed whatever it was he’d poured.
“Now,” the general said, setting his glass back down, “we need to get right to business.”
Sam set his own glass down, not quite sure what to think of the sudden turn in conversation.
“To say that you got the Empire’s attention with that raid of yours would be an understatement. It’s hard to get clear word from London these days, but we’ve heard that they are already mobilizing a massive force to better defend the coast.”
“Let them,” Sam said indifferently. “We’ll just go over their defenses.”
“That worked for one airship, but if we want to work in larger scale, that could be a problem, mostly because we lack the resources required. But… if they are sending tanks, airships, and more armament than we’ve seen before and we were able to apprehend it all… then we’d really be able to raise some hell.”
“You want us to hijack the whole train? That’s not possible,” Sam declared. “We’ve looked at that before. We can get into the rear section of the engine car, but there is no way to get past the doors to the piloting controls.”
“After everything I’ve heard about you, I have to say that I’m surprised to hear you give up on an idea so quickly,” General Adam’s said with a smile.
There was something about him that gave him an arrogant look. His demeanor was softer and helped balance Sam’s impression of the man, but his picture-perfect smile, strong chin, and piercing eyes made him look like he was born to be the general of an army. Even his short brown hair, just long enough to be brushed to the side, was perfectly placed at all times.
“I take it you have a plan?” Sam asked suspiciously. “I won’t risk my men for something that I don’t understand.”
The general nodded. “I understand. We do have a plan, but I am not the man to explain it to you. Our engineer will need to meet with yours to make the modifications, but there is no time to waste. They are loading up the train in England as we speak. If your engineer signs off, do we have your support?”
Sam felt cornered and pushed back on his heels all of a sudden. He hadn’t expected this kind of a rush after agreeing to partner with the resistance, but here he was having to make a decision to take his team right back out after very little rest since their last mission.
“I suppose so,” he agreed, sounding just as tentative as he felt.
Adams gave no indication that he felt it was anything less than a full commitment. “Excellent!” he shouted. “Let’s get our men together.”
With that, the two men marched back out of the mobile command center and Adam’s waved a group over. There were five men and one woman. Something about the woman looked familiar to Sam and he tried to place her, wondering if she’d been a past conquest of his. He’d seen his fair share of one-night stands during his brief stint in the army, and never shied away from getting a military girl in the sack even as a wanted man. That wasn’t it though. He wasn’t great with faces, but he could always remember what a woman looked like naked, and this one was still a mystery. She was gorgeous and a mystery he would’ve been more than happy to solve.
“This is our team, Colonel Rosecrans,” the general announced, using Sam’s new rank for the first time.
“Nice to meet you sir,” each of the soldiers said as they shook his hand.
The general continued, “We have our own airship that we will launch in conjunction with yours, but still very much under your command. It is our firm belief that you will encounter more resistance after your last attack and our craft will serve a supporting purpose with their armament, but they are not equipped to land as yours are.”
Sam nodded. All the information was coming so quickly that he was struggling to keep up. He was normally the mastermind of operations and schemes and it was strange to find himself on this side of the idea. That being said, there was nothing yet that was raising alarm bells, aside from the inability to take control of the train itself, which the general had already assured him was resolved.
“When do we need to launch?” Sam asked.
“That depends on your ship speed,” replied the general.
“We need to talk with DaVinci,” Sam announced and turned to lead them back toward the inn.
The sudden twist aggravated one of his bruised ribs and Sam almost doubled over in pain.
“Are you alright?” the general asked, reaching out to help him up.
“Yes,” Sam said while getting up on his own and waving the general’s hand away. “Just an injury I picked up on the last operation. Got a little more shaken up on the train than I had expected. Nothing to worry about.”
With that, the group followed Sam back to meet the others. As they marched down the street toward the inn, the rest of the gang all came out to meet them. Some, or perhaps all of them, had been on the lookout for Sam’s return, and they appeared very eager to find out what was going on.
Just before the two groups came together, Sam noticed Ticks’ eyes light up and he ran out ahead of the others, but he wasn’t looking at Sam, he was looking past him. Sam turned and saw the lone woman in the group with a big smile on her face.
“Navada!” Ticks shouted.
The two embraced and Sam immediately put his earlier recognition together with his friend. Navada was Ticks’ sister. Sam had never met her, but Ticks talked about her all the time, and he could see the similarities in their faces. After their first embrace, they pulled back and just looked at one another with tears filling both their eyes. They gave each other one more big hug while the two groups came together.
Sam introduced the other members of both teams and started walking them through the proposed operation as he understood it so far. Each new component of the plan brought more and more concern to the eyes of his gang, but the soldiers seemed completely unphased by the responses.
“Are you crazy?” Sam’s brother Ben shouted out. “We can’t take control of a trans-Atlantic train. You know that Sam!”
Sam nodded. “I told the General the same thing, but he has assured me that he has a plan for that which DaVinci will understand.” Sam looked to the engineer whose eyes were now as wide as saucers. “If you tell me it can be done – I’ll believe it.”
The older man nodded and looked over to the other group where a younger man stepped forward, holding some papers to show him. They stepped to the side and dove right into the discussion. Meanwhile, Sam let the General walk the rest of the gang through more of the specifics to his plan, including the airborne firepower that his team would bring to support their landing on a more well-defended train since their last mission.
“What’s in this for us?” Boomer asked. “I thought we were going to keep doing what we were doing and loop you in, but this sounds like us doing your heavy lifting. I’m not hearing anything about a heist that would normally get our attention.”
Boomer wasn’t normally one to speak up, but in the craziness of the morning, Sam appreciated the question and looked back to the General with the rest of his crew.
“He’s not wrong,” Sam added. “What exactly is our angle here?”
“This is still very much a heist,” the general replied. “The tech on that train will be worth more than the last haul you brought in. You are entitled to half that haul, but in the end the Resistance would like it all, so we will buy it back from you.”
“With what money?” Sam nearly laughed in response. “Everyone knows you’re just barely scraping by. No offense, but our tech is more advanced than yours.”
“Consider it an investment. When the tide turns in this war, finances will no longer be an issue and you will reap your rewards then. Or you can let them fortify their positions and lose this opportunity.”
Sam looked back to his gang and saw Rosalyn coming out of the inn. “Give us a minute,” he said, looking over his shoulder at the General.
With that, he led everyone back into a little huddle and called Rosalyn over. Ticks started to object, but Sam whispered in a hush to avoid her hearing, “she needs to think I trust her.”
There was something Ticks still wished to say, but she was too close and he kept it to himself. Sam felt bad for blowing him off for the second time that day. Next to his brother, Ticks had become the closest thing to family Sam had ever known.
“I’ll fill you in on the details”, Sam said to Rosalyn as she joined them, ignoring the cold shoulders from everyone else.
Sam looked around the circle and appreciated that the other’s reactions would help sell the story. “We need all the help we can get on this and I want her on this with us. If anyone has a problem with that, speak up now.”
Rosalyn seemed the most surprised by his position and everyone else stayed silent.
“Good,” he said harshly. “Now I know this all seems very sudden – and it is. The truth is that we might not get paid on this one, but I see the value, and we all want this side to win the war, especially now that we’ll be free. We are banking on that with this, and if we can play a role in that victory, and help make ourselves rich in the process, that is a gamble I am willing to make.”
“I still don’t see how they expect us to take control of the train,” Grease said.
“WHAT!?” Rosalyn shouted, having missed that part of the conversation. “Everyone knows that’s impossible.”
“Not entirely,” DaVinci said as he stepped into the circle, the other team’s engineer having returned to his own group. “It can be done.”
“How?” Sam asked, surprised even despite the General’s confidence.
“Not in the way you’re thinking,” DaVinci replied with a twinkle in his eye that Sam had seen before. It usually meant trouble – but the very best kind.
Chapter 8
Under Fire
Seeing how quickly the ship could be readied with all the extra hands was nothing short of astonishing. Over one hundred soldiers had arrived at the barn and were working with a precision that Sam had to admit he and his crew lacked. With teams charging each of the divers, and a few engineers working on repairing the damaged ship from the prior night’s operation, they’d be ready to launch in less than two hours. Mac was working with the other team’s lead pilot, Ticks was soaking in the time with his sister, and DaVinci was reviewing the plan to hijack the train and overseeing the modifications to the carrier. The rest of the gang was off getting food and supplies for the journey.
General Adams had offered to provide some additional personal firepower, but Sam assured him that the gang was more than adequately armed for whatever they might face.
Sam and Mac jumped in one of the smaller tow carts and pulled the reserve diver out of the back since Sam had lost his on the last operation. This diver was a prototype and had never been properly tested, but DaVinci assured them that it was safe. Unlike the other divers, this one could seat two comfortably. That would allow Sam to take Rosalyn down with them and provide her first chance to deliver misinformation to the British. General Adams had the same thought.
“May I speak with you, Colonel?” he asked, approaching Sam as the prototype was being lifted to its position on the airship.
“Of course,” Sam replied.
“How do you plan on managing Rosalyn?” The General asked.
“What do you mean?”
“We need to keep tabs on her, even when we are making her feel like she is in control. Do you have a plan for that?”
“No,” Sam admitted. “I was just going to give her a job that would allow her to do what she needed to do without me needing to act suspicious.”
“Might I make a suggestion?” Adams asked.
Sam didn’t like the look on the man’s face and knew that he was about to suggest something he thought Sam would not like.
“Given that our teams have not worked together in the past, could we arrange to swap two members to better introduce how each operates? I believe you have a very gifted pilot who would be an excellent member of the support strike team. Navada, meanwhile, could very well be a spy with her skills. Take her on your team and let her keep tabs on Rosalyn while the rest of you run the operation.”
It wasn’t as unpleasant as Sam had imagined, but he wasn’t thrilled at the idea of breaking the team up like that. Pushing his discomfort aside, he was able to appreciate the benefit of having Mac more familiar with their team and how they operate. He was also more comfortable with the idea since it would be Ticks’ sister joining them and not some random spy. Ticks would appreciate the time with her, and Sam wondered if they might be able to get even more information out of her. Sam extended his hand and Adams smiled as they shook on the proposal.
Ticks was excited when Sam shared the news as and Navada seemed quite happy as well when she brought her equipment over.
“Have you flown before?” Sam asked her.
“Several times,” Navada replied. “Are you going to let me take one of those tin cans of yours down to the train?”
“That’s where Mac would’ve been, so if you’re filling in for him, we could use you there.”
“I’ll get her up to speed on the controls,” Ticks said with a big smile.
Sam hadn’t seen Ticks as happy as he was today in all the time they’d spent together. He was still wearing his after-sex glow from his first night with Grease, and by the way the two of them had been stealing glances at each other all day, she seemed just as enamored with him. On top of that, he’d been unexpectedly reunited with his sister. Today was likely the single best day of the man’s life and Sam couldn’t have been any happier for the man.
As Ticks and Navada started walking away, DaVinci came running down the boarding ramp to the airship. “We’ll be ready to go in twenty minutes,” he shouted. “These boys really know how to get a job done!”
“Boys?!” several women, including Grease who was charging one of the divers as it was attached to the airship, shouted out at the same time.
The old man cowered a little and waved an apology as he sheepishly made his way back up the ramp.
Mac passed him on his way down the ramp with his bag and it was clear that he was the one person not-at-all thrilled with the change-up that Sam had agreed to.
“I still don’t like this,” he said as he passed by.
“It’s just one job,” Sam said. “It’ll be good intel for us if things don’t go well in the future. Learn as much as you can.”
“Just don’t crash without me leading you down,” Mac said, finally letting a small smile cross his face. “And pray I don’t like them better!”
Mac jumped into the back of a wagon that was headed for the Army camp where their airship was set to launch any minute. It hadn’t been assembled when Sam was there this morning and he wondered how capable a vessel it would be if they could build the whole thing in a matter of hours for launch. He’d find out soon enough, but in the meantime, he needed to get the crew readied for the mission.
He boarded the airship and gathered everyone to the table while DaVinci continued prepping the equipment and readying for launch. They had a fraction of the time that they normally took to prepare for a mission, and this one had more moving pieces than any before it; there was so much to go over. As Sam worked the details through his own mind one more time before trying to articulate the full plan to the others, he couldn’t help but wonder if this had been a serious miscalculation. He’d insisted on
autonomy and then accepted the first rushed mission that Adams brought him. Hopefully he wouldn’t regret it in the end.
Everyone held their focus on him as he walked through the entire operation that he’d worked out with the General. The other airship would travel out ahead and engage the train ahead of their arrival. The army’s airship did not have the same kind of small vessels that the gang’s did, but they had smaller gliders that were capable of engaging with firepower and trying to neutralize as many of the defenses as they could to give Sam and his team a shot to land.
The assault team would still be engaged when Sam and the others dropped in and they would likely be flying through some crossfire, but they had to hold course and trust their support to keep them alive and airborne. There was clearly some tension, specifically with Grease and Boomer, but Navada spoke up and assured everyone that she’d flown with that team a number of times in training and in one raid on a group of British tanks. There was no doubt in her mind that they could handle this.
Sam continued with the plan to board the train and neutralize the guards that would be much more aware of their presence than last time. Grease would be piloting the carrier which had been modified for the current mission and would land right on top of the engine car. Sam and Boomer would meet her there and take the control cables down the sides of the car with Ticks and Navada on Sam’s side to provide him cover with Ben and Rosalyn on the far side covering Boomer. Ben hadn’t been thrilled to get paired with Rosalyn, but Sam insisted that he could handle her better than the others. Navada would be stationed at the rear of the car and would be able to see if Rosalyn tried anything. If she was as good as Adam’s insisted, she’d find out exactly what was being shared.
Sam would be sharing some agreed upon information with her on the journey out that should give her plenty to offer her contacts. The resistance army had no intention of trying to capture all of the passengers onboard. They would take a few high value targets, but with Navada’s intel, they could accidentally let Navada’s contact go as an oversight.