Freedom Forged

by Alan Austin

  The general offered a small smile and said, “Obviously, I know you won’t be here if that is the case, but I just want you to understand that I am not here to trick you. I will be completely transparent about our intentions. We want to use you and your gang to aid us in our own ambitions. This is not an act of kindness, but of mutual benefit.”

  Sam nodded and shook the man’s hand once again. With that, he returned to the bar where Ben and Grease were both waiting near the door. Neither said a word, but Sam gestured for them to follow him back across the road and the rest of the gang, less Rosalyn, who clearly understood her place – even without knowing that she’d been outed – all rose and followed him as well. Once all of them were in a room together, Sam shared the entire conversation. He’d considered holding back the info about Rosalyn, but quickly dismissed that idea. The gang had been loyal to him without question and likely had their doubts about his ability to see her clearly. He needed them to know that he saw through her and knew exactly what was up if he was going to play her. They also deserved the truth.

  Grease nearly lost it at the news, and Sam had to stop her from marching back over to kill the woman right where she sat. When he explained the plan to use her for misinformation, everyone was quickly on board. Despite some shared misgivings about the potential for a trap of some kind, most quickly agreed that the benefits that were being offered were worth the risk. Ticks was the lone holdout, and Sam could sense that the gears in his head were turning as he considered all the potential pitfalls of working with the army.

  “I just don’t know,” he finally said. “How do we know he is who he says he is?”

  “That’s fair,” Sam replied. “What can we do?”

  “Is he staying in the hotel?” Ticks asked.

  “I doubt it,” Ben answered. “They set up a camp and the upper members are likely housed in their own armored vehicles.”

  Ticks smiled a little – a mischievous smile that was unusual for the man. “Why don’t we go take a look around?” he asked.

  Sam’s expression began to reflect the one scrawled across Ticks’ face. He knew that Ticks could get them in so long as they wouldn’t be spotted.

  “We’ll need a distraction,” Sam replied, a hint of excitement in his voice.

  Chapter 6

  Breaking In The Plan

  It was already late, and there was no telling how much time they had to complete this impromptu mission, but Ticks felt like he needed this last assurance. He was far from level headed, but it was normally anxiety that plagued him at every turn. When they left the inn and saw Rosalyn coming back out of the bar, it was a little shocking when anger crept up inside of him, making him want to lash out at the woman for all the pain she’d caused his friends. That was the only thing that could really anger Ticks – betrayal, and especially that of his friends or family.

  Sam ran over to the deceitful whore and the rest of the group just made their way down the street away from her. Seeing him talk to her more on his own would have been concerning to the others, but Sam was at least now fully aware of just the kind of woman he was dealing with. No doubt he was being overly kind and giving her all the hope in the world that she could earn his trust, and perhaps even his love back, but now it was him playing her. Ticks felt another smile cross his lips at that thought. It was another non-characteristic response, but he thoroughly enjoyed this one. Sam soon caught up, and the gang split into their two teams.

  Grease moved to the right with Ticks while Sam led the others off to create the distraction that they’d need. With Boomer on the job, it was sure to be quite a distraction. He wasn’t known for his subtlety, and Ticks just hoped that it wasn’t anything too dangerous – and of course that it was on time.

  Flipping the cover of his watch open, John “Ticks” Parker took a mental note of the time they had left before snapping it closed and tapping it three times. He felt the familiar pull on his vest when he dropped it back in his pocket. It was heavier than a typical pocket watch thanks to some of its hidden features. It was a watch that had been custom made for his father, and when he died, it was the only thing that Ticks had wanted. It was also his father’s death and the gift of the timepiece that had cemented the man’s most self-defining ‘tick’ – his obsession with time.

  John’s father had been his hero growing up. There was no man stronger, wiser, or more capable than dad. When John was picked on in school for being smaller than the other boys, his father took care of it. When he felt small, the big man put him up on his shoulders and made him larger than life. If John had a question in life, his father always had the right answer. John couldn’t imagine a better father.

  When he was fourteen years old, his father had gone to take care of some of his business and promised to be back by six for dinner. With his mother having passed when he was too young to really remember her, it was just him and his twin sister Navada at home that day, and when his father didn’t return on time, John spent the next 12 hours just staring at the translucent clock that hung on their wall, waiting for his hero to come home. He watched as each gear turned the next through the seconds, minutes and hours, and had all but lost his mind before the police arrived with the news. British patrols had mistaken his father for a rebel and shot him on his way home.

  For days, John couldn’t close his eyes without seeing those turning gears and the ticking second hand. Everything in his life came to the beat of that rhythm and he obsessed over time from that moment on. When he received the pocket watch back from the police, it became something of a connection back to the comfort of his father. When his anxiety rose, the man was no longer there to ease the stress, but the ticking seconds on the face of the watch were enough to get him by. The added need to tap or tick along with the second hand after he looked away developed over time, but now it was a part of him too.

  Sam had named him Ticks the first day they met. It was meant as an insult at first, but the two men were as good as brothers now, and Ticks wore the name as a badge of honor. Everyone in the gang had their own nicknames including Sam, but no one really called him Gears all that much. Everyone else had their names though and apart from the brothers, the whole gang never used their given names.

  Grease grabbed Ticks by the back of his vest and jerked him back just as he was about to leave the alley and step out into the road. When his mind snapped back to reality, he heard the sounds of the soldiers talking around the corner and was keenly aware that he’d nearly blown it. He looked back apologetically at his friend; her expression told him she clearly thought he’d lost his mind. They tucked back against the wall of the alley and waited for the men to move off. It would be ideal if they did so sooner, but if nothing else, they’d be on the move once the distraction was set.

  Grease leaned over and peered around the corner to try and see how many were there. While she was looking away, Ticks allowed himself to steal a glance at the woman whom he’d been pining over for the past six months. She was everything he wanted, and everything he was not. As much as he tried to control himself and maintain his own self-image of being a more cerebral man who was not impacted by the desires of the flesh, he could not deny her appeal. Underneath the rougher exterior and frequently dirty appearance was an indescribable beauty. At the moment, she wasn’t even all that hidden, having cleaned herself up after their last mission. Now, in her shorts which had extra pockets on the legs, but still hugged her body so nicely, and her tight-fitting top which was yet to be covered in oil and grease as she worked on the equipment, she looked almost angelic by comparison to her usual self. Ticks loved her no matter how she looked. And he did love her. No one knew it, but he was more certain of that than anything else in his life.

  When she turned back to him suddenly, he feared that his eyes may have given him away, but she gave no indication that she’d noticed. The men she’d been watching were moving away and she was telling Ticks that it was time to move. For someone so typically obsessive about a task, Ticks was letting his mind
wander way too much tonight. He ignored the stirring in his body at the sight of hers and tried to focus his mind.

  As he wrestled to control his thoughts, Grease bent straight over at the waist to pull her gun from her boot. Ticks’ mind was everywhere but the mission as he wondered whether or not she’d just given him that show on purpose or not. It was far from the easiest way to reach the gun, and he still wondered if she’d just caught him staring down at her ass. She also seemed to linger just a moment in that position and then looked back past her leg and left no confusion about the fact that she’d caught him staring at the material of her shorts pulled tight across her hard, round cheeks. Her smile set his mind at ease and she rocked back up with her back arched in the sexiest way possible. She was playing with him and he knew it now.

  Ticks wished he was a bolder man. Sam would swat her ass playfully in the same situation, but Ticks lacked confidence with women. Still a virgin, he only prayed that one day he would be able to come out of his shell enough for a real relationship. He blushed and smiled bashfully at her as she held his eye, but the moment passed in an instant when she looked back around the corner and whispered, “It’s time.”

  With that, Grease was running out of the alley and across the road to the last row of buildings that separated them from the army’s camp. Ticks ran behind her, turning his head at the last minute to make sure they weren’t seen. He turned back to his front just as he ran into Grease, who had stopped just inside the alley. She nearly fell forward from the impact, but Ticks acted quickly and reached out to grab her. It wasn’t intentional, but one of his hands ended up cupping her breast in the process and when he pulled her back up, he let go, flushed with embarrassment and the excitement of the accidental contact.

  Never shaken by anything, Grease just turned around with a big grin and said, “If you wanted to grope me, you didn’t need to knock me over for an excuse.”

  Was there more to her teasing than he’d realized? Ticks was starting to think that Grease had abandoned all subtlety because she might actually like him, but self-doubt was quick to interrupt that thinking and remind him that he’d seen the men she’d dated in the past, and he wasn’t anything like those guys. She liked strong, muscular men – the kind who don’t tend to do a lot of thinking. It bothered him to see her throw herself at such men, feeling like they were beneath her, but if that was her type, he very clearly was not.

  Grease returned her attention to the fields past the alley they were now standing in, and she pulled some binoculars from one of her pockets. They folded open and she dialed them in to see if there was anyone in the distance.

  She continued adjusting them as she said, “We can head out a few hundred yards before they’d see us. That’ll give us more time to work.”

  The two rushed out into the tall grass, stopping every hundred or so paces for Grease to check what was in front of them. Ticks pulled the watch from his pocket and slid something out from underneath the timepiece itself. A small glass lens rolled out and he was able to look back the way they’d come. The lens wasn’t as powerful as the binoculars, but with the small dial it did adjust slightly as two smaller lenses inside moved to focus. He could see some men moving along the edge of town, but they were not soldiers. Some light also caught his eye, and he found that it was a second story window. From where he stood, he was able to see right into someone’s bedroom. It was empty, and he was about to scan over when a woman’s naked form sat up as she looked down at what he imagined was a man beneath her.

  Her hips were just below his view, but he could see the way her body rocked back and forth and knew full well that she was riding a man and she looked to be enjoying it quite a bit. Ticks had seen nude women before in the brothels, but to see one in the middle of the act was more exciting than anything he’d witnessed before. He could feel his trousers getting tighter as he kept his one open eye fixed on the scene.

  “That’s hot,” Grease purred next to him.

  Shaken from his trance, he looked over and saw that Grease now had her binoculars pointed back at the building, likely getting an even better show. Ticks had been staring for a minute or so, lost in the scene, and he’d been busted again. He groaned inwardly. How much more sexual frustration could he handle in one night?

  She lowered her binoculars and looked his way, saying, “It’s your lucky night tonight, isn’t it? Wonder what else it has in store for you.”

  She gave him a wink and turned back toward the camp that was now coming into view in the distance.

  “That should be his vehicle there,” she said pointing to the largest of the armored monstrosities.

  Ticks looked it over and recalled the last time he’d seen one of those vehicles in action. The gunner turrets lighting up the night sky with tracer fire as bombers laid siege to the town they were trying to hold. That had also been the last night he saw his sister.

  Women were not expected to serve in the army, but Navada had volunteered, and Ticks had initially wondered how much of that decision had been about trying to protect him. Navada had been hit hard by their father’s death too, but what drove Ticks to recede into himself and his compulsions had driven Navada down a different path. She was stronger and took on a more motherly role for him than anyone her age should ever be required to do. When he decided that he’d had enough and needed to leave, Navada had refused to come with him and had stayed in the army. He was capable enough on his own by then and realized that she was there for herself and not for him. The army was her path to seeking the revenge she needed against the British for killing their father. A final hug amidst nearby explosions had been all they were afforded, and all of their communication had been by letter since.

  When they reached their final position, Grease lay down in the grass. They’d hold here until it was time. Ticks pushed the lens back into the pocket watch and turned a small wheel on the side which sparked and held a glow for a moment so that he could see the time.

  “What are you doing?!” Grease admonished in a hushed voice. “They’ll see light in the darkness.”

  “Sorry,” Ticks apologized. It wasn’t something he’d even thought about. It hardly ever was – he just needed to see what time it was.

  What Grease did next completely shocked him. She scooted closer in the grass, wrapped her hand around the back of his neck, and pulled him into a long, deep kiss. Ticks hardly knew what to do, but his body seemed to go on autopilot as his lips met hers and opened slightly to receive the full kiss she was offering. Grease pulled away and he could see the sweet smile on her face in the dim light of the stars.

  “I think you need a distraction to keep you away from that watch for a few minutes,” she whispered before diving back into their lip lock once more.

  Ticks could feel his body responding to the kiss. It was the most intimate experience of his life, and he feared that she might feel his excitement, but she took that question away when her hands slid into the front of his pants. It was more than he could process and he allowed everything to just happen. Giving up control was normally impossible for him, but this experience was so foreign that he found himself more able to let go. Before he knew it, his vest and shirt were both open, Grease’s top was over her head, and he was exploring her body in ways he’d only fantasized about before.

  “Wait!” Ticks exclaimed when Grease began working his pants off. “What about the mission?”

  The woman never stopped working them down his legs as she replied, “We’ll see the distraction. Let’s just hope it doesn’t interrupt us.”

  That was enough and as soon as she had pulled his pants to his knees, she slipped her own shorts off and threw her leg over his body. He knew what was coming and looked down to watch it happen. It must have been his stare that gave him away.

  “Is this your first time?” Grease asked in shock.

  Ticks looked back up at her and but did not reply. It was answer enough. She leaned forward, letting the softness of her exposed flesh drag slowly up his chest, an
d planted another, slower, but more passionate kiss to his lips. Her taste was intoxicating. His eyes were closed as he savored both the taste of her lips and the lavender scent of her body. With his senses overwhelmed, it was a shock when he felt their bodies truly come together. His eyes shot open, but hers were still closed. Her face was soft and sweet and he could see that this was more than just fun for her. Grease felt something for him and was being softer and gentler than before as she became his first.

  When her eyes did open to see him looking back at her, she smiled and ruined the kiss with a little giggle.

  “I didn’t know you were a virgin,” she whispered. “If I had known I would have waited to make your first time more special than this, but I couldn’t stop myself that close.”

  The soft-spoken, shy Ticks didn’t know what to say. He was so consumed by the sensation of her body on top of his and the intimate contact that sent shivers up his spine each time she lowered herself on top of him that words didn’t seem possible.

  Grease seemed to understand and kissed him again before saying, “I’ve wanted this for a while now, and I thought you wanted it too. You gave yourself away tonight and that was all I needed to see. I hope I was right.”

  “You were,” Ticks managed to respond.

  He wanted to tell her that he loved her, but that was too much. He just needed to savor the moment that he had with her now. She continued to rock on top of him, eventually pulling away from the kiss and sitting upright. Her head went back and she began to moan softly at the pleasure building in her own body, and Ticks wondered if they might finish together. Beyond just what he was feeling now, the sight of her body on full display as he watched her move sensually atop him was taking him to the edge much faster than before.

  Her quickening pace continued faster and faster until Ticks felt the muscles in his leg tense and his toes curl in his boots. At that very second a series of loud explosions erupted with bright flashes of light off to the east and he heard Grease begin screaming out as her movements lost their rhythm and became erratic. The two reached their peaks together and despite the mission, Grease lowered herself back over him again for one last kiss before rolling off and beginning to get dressed. There was no more time to enjoy what had just taken place. Things were now in motion.