by Chris Hechtl
“Wolf to lair. Wolf to lair,” Dom said over the radio.
“Lair here, Wolf 2 speaking,” Jo replied instantly. Just about everyone was in the lair's radio shack listening intently for news. Dom wasn't supposed to break radio silence until the mission was done. By Jo's estimation, it was too soon.
“We're aborting. The Lady is proving a bit more temperamental than we'd expected,” Dom said. “We've got …,” he hung on as the aircraft was buffeted with turbulence and seesawed back and forth, “a problem here with the engines overheating. We're going to have to set it down,” he said.
“Damn it. And soon,” Kate said over the intercom. “We're pushing her too hard. It's not like we've got a lot of spare parts.”
Jo looked at Diamond and Corgi in concern. Her small hand gripped the microphone stem. “Wolf, this is lair; should we send a rescue party?” she offered.
Diamond's ears went back, but she nodded. Corgi's eyes were concerned; his ears back as well.
“There are two dozen minimum, Dom. If they come, they'll be outnumbered and outgunned,” Kate said urgently.
“No,” Dom answered, clicking the radio transmit button. “We've got this. This place has a lot of hunters around—not the good kind. I don't want any of you getting mixed up in an old man's screwup,” he growled as Kate popped the bird up over a ridgeline and then set her down on a flat spot in a canyon.
“If you don't hear back from us in a couple hours, then send help. We're over the ridgeline from them. We took her down into a canyon to keep her out of sight, but there are no guarantees. There is a source of water a half kilometer away in the opposite direction of the hunters. Kate said she saw about two dozen people wandering around the hills, possibly troops.”
“Dom, we can get people moving in your direction now. You know, just in case,” Jo urged.
“If we can get the radiators patched and the bird back in the air, it won't matter. I'm not having anyone risk their neck on my account. We'll get this sorted out.” Dom insisted.
“All right, but if I don't hear from you in two hours, Uncle Dom, I'm sending the cavalry in whether you like it or not,” Jo insisted.
He sighed as he signed off. He knew she was going to come now anyway and abort if needed. He was forced to admit privately it was a smart move. Just as long as she didn't expose the lair in the process.
They were forced to land outside two squads of Horathian troops with some locals. Dom managed to patch the radiators with a bush fix while Kate scouted the squads of troops as well as the water source. She came back to him with mixed news.
“I put all our water in there, but it's not enough. We need more,” Dom said, shaking his head. “She's good as is for a short hop.”
“Should we go?”
“This is the nearest source of water for kilometers, other than the spaceport,” Dom said, pointing to the distant lights. “Something tells me it wouldn't be wise to walk over and ask for a couple gallons,” he said snidely.
“Good news is it looks pretty pure. We can filter it,” she said. “Bad news is, this place is crawling with troops, and we've got maybe a half hour before they come this way. They definitely saw us land.”
He grunted. “It figures. We'll figure something out. How do we filter the water?”
“Easy peasy,” Kate said, taking his hat off.
“Hey!”
She turned it upside down to hold it like a funnel. “We run the water through this,” she grunted as she pulled one up her pant leg to expose a sock. “And one of these,” she said, pointing to her sock. “I've done it before. If we had time, I'd say make a fire, then let the coals cool and use that too.”
“But that'd be like sending up a signal flare,” Dom said, snatching his cap back and putting it on his head. “I'll hold onto this,” he insisted, pulling out his holster. He handed the spare to her and then strapped his own on as she did the same. He checked to make sure it was loaded and the safety was off, then pulled out the kit, a mylar sleeping bag, the two canteens followed by the spare magazines and handheld radio. “No flashlights. We'll have to do this quick and quiet like,” he said.
“Just don't stub your toe and shout something,” Kate said dubiously, leading the way.
>}@^@{<
Dom and Kate quietly hiked to a river to try to get water for the radiators. They filtered the water through Dom's hat and her sock into the canteens and bags. When they came back, they were dismayed to find the Horathians had beaten them back to the bird.
“Son of a bitch!” he snarled as they watched and listened to the bird spool up and take off. “My baby!”
“We'll get her back, Dom. I think,” Kate said, “first we've got to get out of here before their friends find us. They have to know we're around here somewhere,” she said, looking around.
“Damn it,” Dom muttered.
“Let's go, Dom,” Kate urged quietly, pulling on his arm. “Live to fight another day.”
“Yeah,” he grunted, still looking over his shoulder to the departing bird. “How the hell did they get her up?”
“Probably saw you left the radiator cap off, dumped their own canteens in, and then took off.”
“With who at the controls? Tell me that?” he asked peevishly, looking over his shoulder again.
“Does it matter?” she demanded.
Her raised voice got the attention of the Horathians. Flashlights started to turn and sweep the area.
“Now you've done it,” Dom muttered quietly, using the blade of his hand to point in the direction of the march. “Road is this way.”
“But the lair …,” Kate whispered.
“Is the other way. I know. But I'm not leading them back there,” Dom said, abandoning the water in his haste to get clear of the area. Kate followed suit.
>}@^@{<
They got to the gravel road in time to see a distant jeep approaching. Dom and Kate were winded. “We play wounded? They'll fall for it. I can lay in the road, and you jack them,” Kate whispered.
“And if they don't see you at the speed they are going?” Dom demanded.
“Frack,” Kate mumbled.
Dom's radio crackled. He squeezed the trigger on it. After a moment, there was a return two clicks. He stared at it, hope dawning. “This thing has a four-kilometer range,” he said.
“Do you think …”
“It might be. It'll be the first break we've had in this damn night,” Dom muttered. He raised the radio to his lips. “Wolf One to Wolf Pup. If you hear me, blink your lights,” he murmured.
The jeep slowed and then the lights blinked.
Kate sighed in relief. Dom was still wary. “Wolf Pup, mind the hunters in the area. Pull up to the rock two clicks ahead of you with the big pine and wait,” he said.
There were two clicks on the radio. He frowned but then took off at a trot for the jeep with Kate on his heels.
>}@^@{<
“You are nuts,” Jo growled as they met her, Ed, and Corgi at the jeep. “What possessed you?”
“The Lady got jacked. We've got to get her back,” Dom said, panting. He brushed past Corgi to climb into the driver's seat. “Well? You comin or not?” They couldn't have gotten far!” he growled, hitting the start button to the electric motor.
“Hell,” Jo muttered. She climbed in the back with Kate and Ed as Corgi took the passenger seat. The small Neodog had a rifle nearly as big as he was, but he seemed grimly determined to hang onto it. “Do we even know what we're doing? Where we're going?”
They heard a distant shot. Instinctively they ducked. “Does it matter?” Corgi demanded, pointing to a group of dark figures coming in their direction before he used the jeep’s side mirror to steady his rifle to get a shot off in return. “Anywhere is better than here right now!” he said urgently, triggering a second shot.
“Don't have to tell me twice!” Dom said, spinning the tires in a rooster tail of rocks as they took off. The others clung to the sides and roll bar for dear life as he took off, not
in the direction of the lair but towards the spaceport and their purloined bird.
“They better not have torn her up,” Dom snarled, craning his neck to look to the skies.
“Here,” Jo said, leaning forward between the seats to show them her tablet. “I triggered the bird's remote tracking to find you. Here she is,” she said.
Dom glanced at it and then his frown deepened. His eyes cut to the night road. “She's stationary.”
“Yeah,” Jo replied. “I noticed that and not far on this road,” she said.
“They may have been forced to land,” Kate said.
“So, they didn't get far,” Dom growled.
“Apparently not. Dom, are you seriously considering …”
“There are two of them. Can you use that thing to access The Lady's systems?” he demanded.
“Yeah.”
“Then shut her down. Remote lock down.”
“Okay,” Jo drawled. She sat back and typed at the keyboard. “Telemetry feed says she's now offline. Left engine was heavily stressed.”
“Damn it!” Dom snarled, pounding the steering wheel.
They saw the shadow of the bird on a hill near. Dom flipped the headlights off and then turned them back on. The bird's running lights blinked. “I thought you said she's off?”
“She is. Her computers are shut down I meant. They've got emergency power.”
“Oh.”
“So you want to just walk up and take her?” Kate asked dubiously.
“They think we're here to help them. So? We help,” Jo said, catching on. “Ed, Corgi, you'll need to get off and circle around. Dom, you and Caitlin are too conspicuous in your flight suits,” Jo warned.
“We'll switch places,” Dom said as Kate shucked the top of her suit and tied the sleeves around her waist like a sweater. She primed her top to make her flat chest look a bit better, then pulled a rag out, ripped it in half and then stuffed it up under to make her chest stand out more. “Better?”
“Maybe,” Jo said dubiously. “I'll take the driver's seat. Dom, get off with the others.”
“Um …”
“And don't argue with me!” Jo scolded quietly as he pulled to a stop.
“Right. Nice night for a walk,” Dom muttered as the trio of males climbed out and the women took the front seats. “Don't do anything stupid,” he growled.
“You know me,” Jo said with a grin in the dark as she took off.
“Yeah, that's what I'm afraid of,” Dom muttered. He looked to the dogs. “Come on fellas, we've got a damsel in distress to save,” he growled.
>}@^@{<
Jo smiled coyly as she pulled up to the bird, illuminating the side with her headlights. The pilots were out; one put his hand up to shield his eyes as he turned away. She flipped the lights off high beams and then turned the jeep slightly to give her partner a better shot.
“Fellas, got a problem?” she asked.
“Yeah, the bird overheated,” one of the guys said.
“Really? You don't say?” Caitlin asked, getting out of the jeep and making a show of stretching. Jo felt alarm until she realized the sleeves around her waist were covering the holster at the small of her back.
“Yeah.”
“She's a beaut,” Jo said, eyes on the craft.
“Yeah. We're lucky we found her. Someone's going to be pissed,” one of the guy's laughed nastily.
“You stole her?” Jo asked, eyes wide in mock surprise. “Really?”
“She's ours now. We radioed back for help,” one of the pilots said as Kate put her hands on her hips and then her back to stick her chest out a bit. The first guy came over to her licking her lips. “You are pretty,” he said.
“No offense, you don't look like a pilot,” Kate said, looking at him. “I got a thing for them. But they are flighty; they keep taking off and never coming back. Pity, I like pilots,” she said, voice turning into a flirty husky contralto.
“Really?” he asked, grinning. “Well, as it happens I've got flight training. So does Dorner over there. We …”
That was as far as he got. Caitlin's left hand found her pistol, and she pulled it out, flipped the safety off with her thumb, and pulled the trigger. He went down.
Caitlin didn't have a clear shot at the second pilot, Dorner. He froze at the sound of the shot. He was staring at his partner's crumpled body when Jo pulled her weapon out and pointed it at him.
“I think we'll be taking our bird back,” Jo said. He turned to her. When he saw the black pistol, he gibbered, hands instinctively clawing for his own weapon.
She fired once, and he howled, dropping as the round tore into his kneecap. She crunched through the gravel over to him as he clutched at his knee, sobbing. When he looked up, he saw the pistol in her hand. She smiled coldly and pulled the trigger.
>}@^@{<
Dom panted, winded as they arrived on the scene. He stared dumbly as Caitlin put her pistol away as Jo kicked the body of Dorner and then looked at the arriving men. “You're late,” she said simply.
Ed stopped and stared with Corgi. “Remind me to never get that lady pissed at me,” he muttered softly. Corgi nodded over and over.
“You two, get the water containers. Caitlin, get topside and play lookout. Dom, get the panels off the engine; we need to get this battered damsel out of here before the real hunters arrive,” Jo said.
“Right,” Dom said. “You heard The Lady,” he urged, waving to the others. He kept doing double takes at his niece, but she seemed oblivious. Instead, she stripped each body of ID, weapons, and gear, tossed them into the back of the jeep, then grabbed an arm and pulled them off to the side of the road to roll into the drainage ditch there.
“You okay?” Dom asked as she passed him as he worked on the panels.
“I'm fine. Focus on what you are doing and let's get out of here,” Jo said tightly as she worked. He nodded once and went back to his own job. The Neodogs got the water to him as he got the panel off. He instantly moaned.
“What?”
“They fried the hoses. She's got some serious problems,” Dom said, flashing a light inside to take inventory of the damage. “She won't fly. Not like this. We need parts.”
“Damn it, Dom …”
“Hey, it wasn't my idea to fly her like this!” Dom insisted, still rooting around the hot engine compartment. He swore as he touched something hot. He withdrew, shaking his hand and blowing on his scorched fingertips.
“Tool kit in the back. We've got a couple spare hoses and fittings but …,” Corgi shook his head as he ducked under the engine to look up inside, then around to the back side. “Stinks. We've got some serious overheat issues here,” he said.
“Damn it,” Dom muttered.
“The first guy said they radioed for help before they landed. I don't know how long it will take for help to get here,” Caitlin said from her perch up on the spine of the bird.
“Not too long if we're talking about the local guys,” Jo said. “But did they radio them or the spaceport?” she mused.
“Or both?” Dom added. “Knowing how Murphy's been helping us so far, it's both,” he said in despair. “I won't let them have her again. I'll blow her before it comes to that,” he growled.
“Okay, so we need to do three, no, four things,” Jo said. “First, we've got to distract or delay the people coming here.”
“I can do that,” Ed said. They turned to look at him. He went to the jeep and pulled a hunting rifle out of the back. He checked it and then checked the scope. “I can snipe them to keep their heads down. That'll slow them down.”
“Okay. That's one. The other is, we've got to ambush or take out the group coming from the spaceport.”
“If they are coming now,” Dom said. “They might wait until first light,” he said.
“Would you? You've got your people holding a military gunship nearby and it's unsecured?” Caitlin asked.
“Yeah,” Dom sighed. “Damn it, you are right.”
“Damn right I
'm right,” Caitlin said.
“We need to get the jeep past, then block the road and buy time. Dom, work on the bird, get her as ready to fly as soon as you can,” Jo said.
“What are you planning to do?” Dom asked warily.
“Kate and I are going to head to town and get the parts you need.”
“Parts … damn it, Jo …”
“Give me a list. Corgi, sorry, but I'm going to need you to come along part way. I'll need you to cut down some trees to block the road and then hike back to Dom to help him out. Can you do it?”
“No problem,” Corgi said nodding.
“Good boy. Okay, we can do this,” Jo said, climbing into the jeep. She pulled out her tablet, set it to notepad, and then looked up to her uncle expectantly. “I don't have all day. Bush fix just enough to get you out of here, hopefully back to the lair,” she said.
Dom stared at her for a moment and then nodded. “Okay,” he said, sticking his head into the bird. “We need a spot welder, oil, rags, two titanium number six fittings, an SN oil filter and patch kit from the Santini storage. Damn it, I hope they didn't push her too hard and chewed the bearings up! Um … a number five copper line will work as long as I've got fitting tools.”
“Which we do and fittings,” Corgi said.
“Maybe we can work that out. Get me …”
>}@^@{<
Michael “Arkangel” Coldsmith-Briggs the XXX heard the radio call over his tap into the Horathian radio network. That they found an aircraft was of some mild interest, a datum to add and perhaps exploit. But that they were so worked up about such a find made him pause in just filing the thought aside.
He'd worked for the Horathians out of fear more than the assumed greed that most credited to him. He was also far more than the mobster they also attributed to him and his profession. He thought of himself as a facilitator on such a situation. In truth, it was far more complicated than that, and he even shied away from thinking about all the aspects of his life.
It was safer to just say he was a complex man and leave it at that. He'd come back to Protodon and settled in just shy of two years before the Horathian invasion. Now they were his new masters, and he was dead set to be as helpful as he could with them. As helpful and invaluable, so they wouldn't discount his services or … well, him. It was dangerous work, but he kept reminding himself of the old axiom, “keep your friends close and your enemies closer.”