The man behind the wheel glared at his partner, "Keep whining and I'll send you home alright... in a box! Now shut the fuck up, you're driving me loco!" In his anger he drove the accelerator pedal to the floor and turned the ignition key again. The engine roared to life and he sat back with satisfaction. "Hey! What's that?!" He pointed upwards through the windshield.
"What?"
"That!" He pointed more vigorously.
"I don't see anything..." said the passenger with disinterest, his feelings wounded.
"Oh," said the driver, "I guess it's gone now." They sat in silence once again except for the idling engine and the periodic thwip, thwip of the windshield wipers.
■ ■ ■
"Think they saw us?" asked Brian.
Jack shrugged. "Not in this stuff. Anything else, Pappy?"
"Just the houses, Jack, nothing else outside. I don't blame them either, it's a good night to be in bed, this weather sucks."
"Tell me about it," he replied, "I lived here for twenty five years."
There was a city park a block away, with a playground, tennis courts and a football field. He angled for it. Rotating the ship over the ball field to face the way he came, Steele reduced the power to the anti-grav system and the ship descended. Brian extended the landing gear, adjusting its height and sensors for flat unbroken terrain. The Invader settled silently into the snow that covered the darkened football field.
"Take a blaster, Jack." Paul held out a hand blaster in a shoulder holster. It was about the size of a 9mm automatic, but almost silent when fired, compared to the noise of a normal handgun.
"Thanks." He slipped the rig on and donned his old leather bomber jacket over his uniform. If someone saw him, he didn't want to look too out of the ordinary. The ship's door hissed as it released and a cold blast of Chicago winter swirled through the door, snowflakes and all.
"Ooohhh!" squealed Alité, shivering. "What is that?"
"It's snow," said Jack laughing. "Haven't you ever seen snow?"
"No..." she said sheepishly.
"Snooowww!" shouted Fritz as he raced past Jack. He dashed headlong into the whirling flakes and dove head first into a two foot snowdrift. He popped out the other side and zoomed across the field at a speed that would have surprised a greyhound. Throwing himself down, the Shepherd slid on his back with his feet kicking in the air.
"I think it's time for a rubber dog kennel," said Mike, watching in amazement.
"Nah," said Jack casually, "he does this every time he sees the first snow..." He zipped up his bomber jacket and hiked the collar around his ears to block the wind.
Brian handed him a portable comm headset. "Keep in touch."
"Right." Jack kissed Alité and headed off. "C'mon dog," he called softly. The Shepherd righted himself and bounded back.
The only marks in the snow belonged to Jack and Fritz, the falling flakes quickly filling them. When they reached the street, Jack glanced back over his shoulder but could not see the Invader through the swirling white. He crossed the street and walked on, the fallen snow scrunching softly beneath his boots. He stopped momentarily and listened... it was the most silence he could remember hearing in what seemed to be a lifetime. The falling flakes seemed to make a gentle hushing sound as they landed.
He remembered what Alité had relayed from Voorlak and cut between the houses to avoid the vehicle Paul had spotted on the street. He would cut through the yards and approach his parent's house from the back.
Fritz knew this was no ordinary stroll and walked with absolute silence and purpose alongside his friend. All play had been left at the football field, this was business. He paused momentarily, his enhanced hearing picking up sounds far beyond Jack's range. There was a vehicle with the engine running somewhere... beyond that he heard muffled voices. He decided they were far enough away and posed no threat, so walked on, as did Jack, taking the dog's cue.
"Hup," said Jack. Fritz cleared the back fence with ease and dropped into Jack's childhood yard. Jack followed. The streetlight on the corner in front of his parent's house cast strange shadows through the yard, creating a foreign and sinister landscape. He was suddenly apprehensive, what would he say? What if they didn't live here anymore? It was the first time he'd thought of that.
"How're you doin', Jack?"
The sudden voice in his ear from his comm made him jump. "I'm fine," he whispered. He moved across the yard and up the back steps to the house, the dog at his heels.
Jack stood at the back door with his heart pounding in his ears and the dog stared curiously at him. "Ok," said Jack, staring back. "Give me a second..." He gathered his courage and Fritz wagged his tail.
The knock sounded so tremendously loud he feared it would wake the neighbors. But nothing, no answer. Jack knocked harder the second time, pounded even, and a dog barked somewhere. But nothing. "Damn..." He realized he should have checked the garage to see if the SUV was in it first.
Halfway down the stairs, Jack produced a shadow as the kitchen light came on. He almost slipped and fell scrambling back up the steps to the back door. He fumbled, but quickly pulled the black eye patch from the pocket of his bomber jacket and slipped it over his artificial left eye. "No sense in scaring them half to death," he told Fritz. The dog woofed softly.
The face of his younger sister appeared in the window of the door, her hands cupped around either side so she could see out. Her eyes grew to saucer size and her mouth opened, but nothing came out. Covering her mouth she backed away from the door. Remembering herself, she clawed at the lock and swung the door wide. "Jaaack?" She screeched.
"Hi sis," he replied as nonchalantly as possible.
She threw herself at him, encircling him with her arms. "Where have you been?"
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you..."
She dragged him inside, wiping the snow off her bare feet. "Try me..."
“Ok... well you believe in UFO's right...?
“Very funny...”
■ ■ ■
The Colombian behind the wheel of the Blazer nudged his dozing partner. "Hey, wake up..."
"What..." replied the other, blinking and rubbing his eyes.
"Look." He pointed at the only house on the block with lights on.
"So?"
"So, they just came on, that's what."
"So?"
"So let's go take a look, stupid!"
"Out there? Are you kidding?" He stared at the swirling flakes and shivered. "You're crazy. You go, I'm staying here."
The driver produced a .45 cal. automatic from his belt. "Let's go, you lazy slug, or I'll shoot you where you sit."
■ ■ ■
"Well," said Jack, "it would be easier if I showed you. Where's mom and dad?"
"Florida." Her eyes shifted from his face to Fritz. "What do you mean show me? And what happened to your eye? And what is that thing on Fritz?" Fritz stared at her, his tail wagging, his right eye glowing green.
"Look," said Jack, "get dressed, I'll tell you everything on the way..."
"To where?"
"Florida, where else?"
"Now?"
"Yeah and hurry, Ok? I'm kinda' double parked."
■ ■ ■
"Is it him?" asked the passenger of the Blazer.
The driver peered through the living room window after referring to the photocopy of Jack's photo he kept in his pocket. "Yeah..." He was thinking of the bonus this would bring him. "Let's go get the truck.."
■ ■ ■
Lisa was in her room changing and Jack stood in the living room staring at the tropical fish tank that had been there since his childhood. "How long have they been in Florida?" he called.
"Since
late November," she called back. "I stayed for a couple of weeks then came back `cause I had to work. Y'know you're in a lot of trouble, don't you?"
"So, what else is new? Are mom and dad upset?"
"Upset is not the word I'd use," she called. "More like worried to death..." Lisa appeared a moment later from her bedroom, fully dressed and carrying a canvas duffel bag. "It seems like everybody on the planet is looking for you..."
"Like who?" he wondered aloud.
"CIA," she began, ticking them off on her fingers. "FBI, Military Intelligence, KGB and some drug guy from Colombia named Vasquez."
Jack could understand the CIA, FBI, even Military Intelligence... they'd be looking for Paul and Mike. But... "Why the KGB? And who the hell is Vasquez?"
"I'm not sure," she answered, pulling on her coat. "But those two are supposed to be tied together... something about a missing woman..."
"Who? What's her name?"
"Escobar or something like that..."
"C'mon, Lisa, her full name, think..."
His sister frowned as she moved about the house turning the lights back off. She stopped and stood in the kitchen to pull a hat down over her ears. "Martina..." she said slowly, as she opened the back door. "No, that's not it..."
As they descended the stairs to the yard, it came to her. "Marianna, Marianna Escobar! That's it!" She was sure of it.
Jack stopped dead in his tracks at the top of the stairs. "Marianna, Maria..." he was comparing the names. "Marianna Arroyo Escobar?"
"Yes, that's it!" Lisa frowned again. "Why? Do you know her?"
Jack's face was covered with his hands. "Geeeez! How could I have been so stupid?!"
"You do know her?"
"Yes," groaned Jack. He tromped down the stairs and followed Lisa out the gate followed by Fritz. The trio turned and headed for the park. He clicked on the comm and called the Invader. "I'm on my way back."
"Roger," came the reply.
"Where are you parked?" she whispered.
"In the park," he told her. "Bri, call the Freedom, have Commander Edgars put Lieutenant Arroyo in the brig until we return."
There was a moment of silence, then, "Maria? But why?"
"You'll have to ask Comrade Marianna Arroyo Escobar that question."
"Are you trying to tell me Maria is Russian?"
That was Paul's voice that time, thought Jack. "That is affirmative, Commander. Lieutenant Maria Arroyo is a Soviet... KGB."
"I copy." The reply was soft, without conviction. He would be as stunned as I was, thought Jack.
Lisa looked at Jack and suddenly realized how much he had changed, commanding, evasive, secretive. Not the happy, carefree pilot she used to know. She stopped walking. "What is all this? Commander, Lieutenant? Jack, what's going on? What happened? Are you in the military or something?" She stood with her feet apart and her hands on her hips, something he remembered their mother doing. "I'm not moving until you tell me..."
A hundred feet in front of them, the Blazer slid to a stop in the snow and the doors flung wide, cutting off their path to the park. "Come here, Mr. Steele! We need to talk to you!" The man's voice had a thick Latin accent.
Jack shot a glance at his sister, "You said a Colombian drug dealer, right?"
"Yeah..."
Jack grabbed Lisa's arm and spun her around, "RUN!" His hand was in his jacket for a millisecond, emerging with the blaster. Hazarding a quick shot as he turned to run, his feet slid in the snow, the bright magenta bolt cleared the roof of the vehicle and bore a hole into a tree on the other side of the street.
The Colombian from the passenger side froze in his tracks. "WHAT in the name of Saint Mary, was THAT?"
"Get him!" shouted the driver as he jumped back in. He stomped on the accelerator and the passenger door slammed shut of its own accord, the vehicle fishtailing around the corner, knobby tires kicking up blobs of snow. The first man gave chase on foot.
"Between the garages!" shouted Jack, his long strides bringing him closer to his sister. Fritz cut the corner cleanly but Lisa lost her footing and slipped, falling into the snow. Jack was so close he couldn't help going down with her. He was better for it, as a bullet thwacked the wooden fencepost beside him. They must be using silencers, thought Jack, I never heard that coming. He fired behind him without looking and scrambled to his feet. The Blazer slid by, its brakes locked, as Jack pulled Lisa to her feet. He shoved her toward the space between the garages. "Get to the football field," he told her. There was a soft puh behind him and a tug on his left arm that spun him off his feet.
"Jaaack!"
"Go, go, go!" he yelled. She disappeared in the gap between the garages and he rolled over realizing his left arm was numb. The Blazer slid into a parked car and the driver was spinning the tires in reverse. Jack pulled off the eye patch, half-sighted and squeezed off three fast shots at his running attacker. The blaster had no recoil, so all three caught the man in the same spot just below the ribcage. The sizzling magenta streaks cut him cleanly in half. As the Colombian lay dying in the snow, he knew he should have never left home.
Jack struggled to his feet as the driver of the Blazer worked to turn the vehicle around in the drifted snow. Fritz appeared and woofed from between the garages. Jack followed him as he hazarded a glance back over his shoulder. There was a dark stain in the snow where he had fallen. When he turned back, the Shepherd was gone.
"A little help out here..." The crew in the Invader could hear Jack's labored breathing. "My sister's coming, watch for her..."
"Let's go..." Paul, Mike and Brian, grabbed assault rifles off the weapons rack and headed for the door.
Fritz had run ahead of Jack to catch up with Lisa and guide her to the ship. They emerged from between the houses and raced across the street into the park. She saw three figures running toward her in the white swirls and slowed her pace in fear. Fritz looked back over his shoulder and slowed. "Come!" he barked, and sped up. She hastened her pace for a second then slowed again, confused at what she thought she heard.
"Keep going, Lisa!" Came the shouts from the men ahead of her. "It's Ok, follow Fritz!" She could hear the Blazer behind her, muffled shots and the noise of the strange weapon Jack was carrying. She ran on, past the men with the strange uniforms and odd rifles. One face was familiar but she didn't slow... until she saw the Invader, a bulky gray shadow through the blowing snow. That's when she stopped dead. And stared. Fritz saw this and circled back to get her.
Lisa didn't know much about flying or airplanes, but it seemed abundantly obvious to her, this hulking, vicious looking thing, was not from her planet. Light glowed from what appeared to be the cockpit and further down the hull, an open doorway. Curious, she cautiously ventured a little closer. A woman appeared in that doorway at the top of a short boarding ramp, waving and calling to her in a strange language. Lisa's legs seemed to turn to stone. It's just a bad dream. I'll wake up soon, she thought.
Fritz butt her in the thigh with his head. "Go, Lisa!"
She whirled around. "Stop that! Dogs can't talk!" He grabbed her by the sleeve of her coat and dragged her along. She fought but he refused to release her.
■ ■ ■
Jack slid to a stop in the driveway between two houses as the Blazer slid to a stop in the street right in front of him. He saw the muzzle flash out the driver's window and flattened himself against one of the houses, mashing his left arm. He felt a flash of pain and saw stars. "Ow," he breathed. "That really hurt..." Lights were coming on in neighboring houses. The Colombian swung the door wide and took another shot. Jack dropped to the snow and heard the slug strike the garage behind him with a hollow thwunck. He wanted to fire back but his vision wasn't clear. He squeezed off two blind shots, flattening the f
ront tire and breaking the back, side window of the Blazer. The Colombian froze in place and snapped off another shot, striking the wall near Jack's head. "C'mon guys..." he groaned, blinking away the stars. He squeezed off a shot that hit the snow at the foot of the driveway with a great hiss. Great shooting, Jack, he thought, no driveway is safe with you around.
Jack's vision began to clear enough to see the Colombian advancing up the driveway. "Give up, Mr. Steele..." hissed the voice.
A mass of rapid, neon blue streaks, passed through the falling snow, striking the Blazer. It exploded in a giant fireball, breaking windows in both the houses on either side of the driveway. Then, except for the burning Blazer, there was silence once more. Jack blinked hard, trying to erase the image of the flash.
Half blinded again, he searched the driveway for the Colombian with his limited vision. He pointed the blaster at the advancing shadow.
"Jack!" Brian's voice was a strained whisper.
Jack lowered the blaster. "Yeah... I'm here." He began to see and got to his feet, the driver of the Blazer lay just in front of him, naked, blackened and smoking.
"Come on!" insisted Brian with a wave.
Jack started down the driveway, "I don't know what you guys are whispering about, I've heard tanks make less noise." He joined Brian at the foot of the driveway and they ran across the street past the burning Blazer and into the park. "If that didn't wake these people, nothing will." The four men headed back to the Invader as lights came on all over the neighborhood. There was a siren in the distance somewhere.
"Get us off the ground, Bri," prompted Jack as he dropped himself into a passenger seat.
Wings of Steele - Destination Unknown (Book 1) Page 48