“Jack’s right,” Powell agreed. “Work up a new schedule.”
“But we’re still going to need Alisha’s involvement in training,” Logan protested. “There were several valuable skills she could teach the troops, even if they can’t get beyond the wind tunnel.”
“Then you teach them,” Powell snapped. “All you do is soak in that tub all day. If you think they’re important, then work with Jack on your own training schedule.”
The colonel was in no condition to be teaching anything, so Alisha spoke up. “Colonel Logan hasn’t been taught two of them yet, so he can’t teach those, and the other one is so easy, it’s really not a good use of his time. When Jack and I work up the new training schedule, we’ll include moving up those skills. I’m quite certain I can teach any of the good flyers those three skills in an hour, and then they can teach the others.”
“To a brave new Corps, gentlemen!” the general shouted and raised his glass.
Alisha raised her glass, wishing they would all just wait before celebrating. So far, her training skills didn’t seem that impressive: two out of three hundred and thirty-four.
***
Logan raised his glass and toasted Alisha. She never ceased to amaze him. How could she possibly have known that hidden in the bottom dwellers were twenty-eight flyers showing tremendous promise? God Almighty, had the Corps been driving out talent for years? Had officers forced mediocrity on the flyers until they simply couldn’t break from its bonds?
The general was on the mark when he expressed both amazement and pride for the flyers but shame in his part of a system that forced them to hide their talent. MAC’s purpose was to allow Ryders to rise on merit. However, captains focused on keeping their rank as top flyers evidently knew how to manipulate the system.
Now he understood how an old man like himself had been able to be the highest-ranked flyer on the West Coast. He was only competing against fat and lazy captains who stifled the talented flyers until they either forgot or lost their skills from lack of use.
By the end of the day, Powell had personally called in every captain with a flyer in the bottom dwellers and raked him over the coals. Logan wasn’t concerned about retaliations against the flyers. They were under a new captain who clearly thought protection of the squad was a top priority. As far as Logan could tell, the only order Benjamin had made so far was that the bottom dwellers were not to travel in packs of less than five.
Overnight, the designation of being a bottom dweller had changed from shame to pride. The group vetoed Alisha’s suggestion to rename them ‘Level One.’ They were the Bottom Dwellers and in the new Corps, they were on top.
Logan worried they were grander in their heads than in the air, but they quickly popped out of the tunnel and proceeded through the maneuvers just one step behind Benjamin and himself.
The difference between Logan and Benjamin grew more distinct every day. While Logan kept scraping by on each maneuver, Benjamin excelled effortlessly. He and his little red suits, which eighteen of his squad now donned as well, flew the Mans as if it were child’s play.
Powell hated the suits. “They look like damn hummingbirds.”
Logan did have an issue with the color. It made them too visible in the sky. When he wrote his concern to MAC, he received a terse email assuring him that those were training suits to assist in visibility. For battle, the uniforms would be fourteen colors of blue and gray, depending on the typical color of sky for a region. Logan noticed that for Chicago, the colors were flat gray for winter and haze white for summer. As long as they weren’t hummingbird red, he was fine.
To save Alisha the time of having to test just the two of them on the final performance of all eight maneuvers, Logan and Benjamin agreed to wait for two days and test with the bottom dwellers. For Benjamin, it gave him two more days to guarantee a perfect run. For Logan it gave him two days to heal. Those were two days he desperately needed. He had no doubt if Sandy called him back for a medic exam at this moment, he would be grounded for six months. Besides, he had good reason to wait now. He was going to get half of the bottom dwellers, and while only eighteen of the thirty-three passed the tunnel, they were all good flyers, and thanks to Anna relenting and coming back to train them, there were all first-class marksmen.
This meant the East Coast wouldn’t just receive one pre-battered General. They’d also welcome ten miracle workers and nine excellent soldiers, counting Ginnie. He planned to keep Ben and Ginnie with him in Chicago. The rest he would deploy strategically across the East Coast.
He spent his two days of rest working closely with Jack. For whatever anger he felt toward Jack personally, there was no denying that Jack could plan. He only hoped his planner on the East Coast was half as good.
If not, he would at least have Jack’s attack plans using the new talents of these flyers. The plans gave him certainty that he could turn the battle on the East Coast around. He said as much during one of their sessions.
“Then take me with you,” Jack suggested. “I’ve put in three years here. I’m due for a transfer.”
Logan was stunned by his request, then realized why Jack wanted to go. “Jack, Alisha’s not coming with me. I’m taking Ben instead.”
Jack paused as he absorbed this. “She doesn’t know that.”
“No, and I’d appreciate it if you would not tell her. I’d like to do that myself.”
“When? Right before you take off?” Jack demanded angrily.
“That’s not your concern,” Logan said. Why the hell is he so angry? He should want me out of the picture.
“Well, you’re wrong about that. I care very deeply for Alisha,” Jack said. “And this is going to tear her heart out.”
“I don’t want to have this discussion.”
“Well, we’re having this discussion now, while I can still knock you senseless!”
Jack’s response astounded him. “You’re going to knock me senseless? The only way you could do that is if I were asleep in my bed. And even then, I don’t think you could do it.”
“I’m thinking one blow to your chest would pretty well do the trick,” Jack said. “So sit down and shut up. Because you’re telling her tonight, so you can be here to help pick up the pieces.”
“I’m sure you can handle that,” Logan replied as he sat down as Jack had ordered. For Jack was right. A single blow to his chest would put him out of commission, and he could not allow anything to come between the skills test and him tomorrow morning.
“I wish I could make her forget you, but I can’t. Despite the way you’ve treated her, she will love you for the rest of her life.”
“Yeah, I can see how heartbroken she is. It took her what…three hours to recover from my rejection and find comfort in your bed.”
Jack sighed and shook his head. “We aren’t partnering, Logan.”
“Don’t even start. I saw you in bed together.”
“I try to give her some comfort.”
“Comfort…is that what you call it!”
“You’ve broken her heart. Are you really such a cruel bastard as to resent me for trying to give her what little comfort I can?” Jack yelled in return.
Logan stopped himself. What the hell were they yelling about anyway? “No, I’m not. I’m glad you’re going to be here for her.”
“Well that may not be the case. I still want to transfer out with you.”
“I don’t understand.” How could he want to leave Alisha?
“Things are not well between General Powell and I, and I think it would be prudent for me to transfer somewhere else. While I’m certain I can find other opportunities, I’ve gotten to know you quite well, and I believe without the issues of Alisha between us, we’d work well together.”
“You son of a bitch!” Logan roared. “Was this all just a game to you? See if you can seduce Alisha, even when she’s so clearly in love with someone else? Then once you succeed, just walk away?”
“It’s not like that,” Jack assured
him. “I love her, but there are times you have to look beyond personal feelings and do what’s right for your career. You know this!”
Logan wanted to shut him up with a blow that would send him across the room. But how could he? Jack was right. This was a page from his book.
“Jack, you can’t leave her now. I’m taking away so much from her: Benjamin, her old squad, in truth, practically everyone she knows. I can’t take you too. I’ll do a hell of a lot for the Corps, but I can’t do that. I know I’ve got some nerve yelling at you for breaking her heart, but I can’t undo what I’ve done. The wheels are already in motion. Powell made it very clear he would fight to keep Alisha even if it required dirty tactics, and that is a battle I would lose. So, I need you to stay here with her. At least for the next few months, until she makes new friends and gets herself righted. Do that for me, Jack, and I will owe you whatever you want in return.”
For several long minutes, Logan was terrified that he would refuse the offer, but finally Jack replied.
“I’ll stick it out as long as I can.” With that promise, Jack left the room.
Logan sat back and sighed in relief. He laughed at the irony of him begging Jack to remain Alisha’s lover. He had spent the last two weeks hating the man for that very thing, and now he begged him to preserve this one sanctuary for Alisha as he took away so much.
I have to tell her, he chided himself. Jack was right about that. But not until after the tests tomorrow. Today is as much Alisha’s day of accomplishment as any of the flyers. I can’t take that away from her as well.
Chapter 39
To give the Colonel Logan recovery time, Alisha had lied and claimed all the flyers were light enough for her to carry on her back for Man Three. Actually, they were all good enough that she concluded it was safer to let them go alone, rather than to risk further injury to Logan. Fortunately, her risk proved successful. None of them panicked although a couple looked a bit wobbly in the air at first. Flying beside them and giving them calm advice were all they needed to refocus and take control.
She was so proud of her eighteen, but more than that, she was proud of the entire troop. There wasn’t a flyer in the troop that hadn’t learned at least three of the five skills. And while some had given up ever passing the tunnel, there were several that flew religiously every day, even though they clearly hated it.
As she watched one such Ryder, an idea formed in her head. She snared Jersey and led her to the wind tunnel. “You and Tucker are still partners, right?”
“Yeah…” Jersey said with reluctance.
“Well, put on a suit and go join him for a little play time,” Alisha suggested.
“Excuse me?” Jersey repeated.
Alisha sighed. “You’re always saying you’d like to do it in the air. Well, here’s your chance. I’ll stand right here at the window and make sure no one gets a peek.”
“And we won’t get in trouble?” Jersey clarified.
“I promise. There’s no reg against partnering in a tunnel.”
Requiring no further encouragement, Jersey grabbed a flight suit and stepped into a changing booth. Less than a minute later, she joined Tucker in the wind tunnel.
The first time Alisha heard them smash hard against the wall, she peeked in to make certain she hadn’t killed them both. They were airborne and clearly not dead, so she stopped her voyeurism and continued guarding the window. She only looked on two other occasions but stopped. Watching the two stirred feelings that were best left dormant since Logan was clearly in no mood to satisfy them.
After a half hour, she checked them again. They were obviously done with lovemaking, but she noticed how relaxed and comfortable they seemed now. She’d wait and see how Tucker flew tomorrow, but if he looked this relaxed, he would be on his way to Man 3.
She watched as they playfully rolled and frolicked. She envied them. There was nothing in their way. No war, no age barrier. And yet… Alisha sighed. It wasn’t true love. They simply enjoyed each other. It was nice and fun, but if Tucker left tomorrow, Jersey would replace him in a half hour.
Alisha turned her back to the window. Despite the pain that had accompanied her love, she was very glad she had known the real thing.
***
It didn’t take long for General Powell to hear about sex in the wind tunnels. It was the first issue he raised at the next day’s lunch. “It has come to my attention that certain Ryders are using the wind tunnels for partnering,” he announced just as soup was served.
Everyone immediately looked at Alisha, as if this were her fault, which, in a way, it was. “Is the wind tunnel on or off while they are partnering?”
“What the hell difference would that make?” Powell demanded.
“Well, if it’s off, it’s a waste of tunnel time and should be stopped immediately. But if it’s on, then we’ve got two Ryders training at once, which is more efficient, and at least from the one performance I saw, it greatly improves their comfort in the air.”
Half the colonels around the table choked on their soup.
“You’ve seen this for yourself?” Powell asked, his voice lowered into a growl. It was the one Jack called the “Danger, Will Robinson, Danger!” voice. She had had no idea what Jack was talking about until he’d made her watch an old Lost in Space rerun from the last century.
“Actually, I believe I instigated it,” she admitted. “I, of course, suggested it to a couple already partnering.”
“Why the hell would you do that?” the general bellowed.
“Because I’ve got over three hundred flyers that can’t get beyond their fear of falling. I will try anything to distract them from that fear just long enough that they can start to think being in the tunnel is actually fun.”
The room was dead silence, until Logan spoke. “How’d it go?”
“Very promising. They seemed to be having a great time,” she said wistfully as she remembered flying with Colonel Logan that night.
The general huffed. “I appreciate your intentions, Alisha. But I’m going to put a stop to this.”
“Why? If there’s the slightest chance this will help, why would you stop it?” she demanded.
“Because it’s inappropriate!” the general bellowed in returned.
“It would be if we were ordering them to partner,” she agreed. “But we aren’t doing that. We are simply not punishing Ryders who choose to partner in the wind tunnel.”
“I won’t allow this, Alisha.” Powell declared in finality.
Alisha noticed all the colonels bobbing their heads in unison with the general’s decision.
“Are we so afraid that someone in this camp might actually be getting some good sex that we’ll stop the first hopeful project I’ve come up with to improve their comfort in the wind tunnel? Look, I know that no one at this table is getting any. But they are! Whether you ban sex in that tunnel or not, they’re still partnering. Let’s at least make use of it!”
Jack was either choking or laughing so hard that he had to leave the table. No one else was speaking at all.
“I’m sorry for being so blunt. But I believe strongly that we should leave them alone.”
The general studied the silent colonels for a moment and then locked on to Colonel Logan. “Logan?”
“I agree with Alisha. As long as we neither actively promote or punish, I can see no harm, and Alisha’s right. It could be a sufficiently strong enough emotion to distract them from fear.”
The general sighed and threw up his hands. “All right then. We’ll leave it alone. But if I start seeing a deterioration of morals because of this, I’m coming down on you, Dryer.”
Colonel Dryer looked up in outrage. “Why me? I didn’t say anything!”
“Which is exactly the problem: Alisha and Logan put their necks on the line constantly, trying to make this Corps better, and I haven’t heard a peep out of you. Do you not want to improve the Corps?”
Jack returned to the table, looking very confused. He sat down beside
Alisha and asked her in a whisper why Dryer was in trouble.
“And here’s another one, running off instead of stating his opinion. How do you fall on this issue, Jack?” the general demanded.
“Oh I agree with Alisha. The people around this table are certainly not getting enough,” Jack quipped.
“About having sex in the wind tunnel!” the general bellowed.
“Well, I’d be willing to try it,” Jack said calmly and smiled at the general.
“Dryer, ten demerits for Jack’s disrespectful reply.”
“Thanks, Jack,” Dryer complained.
“I bet I can get you a hundred more,” Jack offered.
***
Later that night as they lay curled together, Jack asked Alisha exactly how a couple could have sex in the wind tunnel.
“Well, since they need to keep those fly suits on, I don’t think it’s real sex. I think they are just—well what we debutantes would call ‘providing hand comfort.’”
“A hand job,” Jack clarified.
Alisha turned and faced him. “Clearly you are not a debutante, because we would never say anything so crude.”
“No!” he exclaimed and repeated her sentence about no one at the table getting any.
“But I never once said ‘hand job,’” she observed.
In response, Jack licked her nose. She squealed in disgust and dried her face with the sheet. He flipped her so her back was to him and pulled her tight against his chest. “I was proud of you for standing up to him,” Jack whispered.
“You had some dangerously snappy come-backs, yourself. Dryer was sweating through the rest of the meal.”
Jack laughed. “That was kind of fun.”
“How do you think General Powell found out about the tunnel sex so quickly?”
“I don’t know. Gunny may have told him, or it could have been a note on the mess room wall. ‘Male Ryder seeks Female Ryder for partnering in tunnel.’”
“Did someone really put that on the wall?”
“I just made it up, but there could be one. You should read that board sometimes. They evidently think we colonels can’t read.”
Scavenger Falters (The SkyRyders Book 2) Page 19