“Yeah, I’m all set.”
“Know how to use the camera?”
Alisha smiled. “Philly showed me.”
***
Logan didn’t return her smile. Having discovered she had no experience with the camera, he could pull her from the mission. The general would never let her go if he didn’t think she could video. Just flying in a headwind wouldn’t do the trick. She had to shoot readable footage. But if he pulled her, the deaths were guaranteed to be substantial today. And she’d never forgive him. “What you’re doing… is very brave and will save many lives.”
Alisha nodded. “If I’m not seen, I expect it will.”
He gripped her chin, and raised it until her eyes met his. “You are not going to be seen!” he ordered, and then paused before he continued, “However, if you are, use this,” he said, and offered her his gun.
“Thanks, but Colonel Sparkes gave me his.”
Damn the bastard! He wanted to warn Alisha about Sparkes. The guy had moved up too fast, he was too good-looking… but Logan realized how ridiculous he’d sound. In fact, Sparkes was exactly why he had to give her up, so someone younger and more impressive could take his place. Yet every fiber of his body objected. He knew in every way that counted, Sparkes was not his superior. Still, he didn’t have the right to comment on any new lovers she acquired.
Realizing the entire fleet watched them, he wished her good flying and backed away.
“Colonel,” she called out.
Immediately, he returned.
“I don’t want to leave things bad between us. I love you.”
Her words stunned him. Don’t do this, Alisha, he begged inwardly. You’ve got to stay focused. He couldn’t find the words to respond.
“I’m not ashamed of my feelings. And I realize you don’t feel the same, but it doesn’t change how I feel. I love you, and I always will. I’m sorry it didn’t work out between us. If I make it back alive…can we try being friends, like we were before?”
Her request was impossible. No way could they return to an innocent friendship, because it never had been innocent. It had only been the prelude to the passion they’d shared. But he couldn’t risk telling her that.
He took so long to answer that she had started to release the catcher. He could have let her go without answering, but his hand reached out and stopped her. She needed a reason to come back alive. Lie or not, he’d give her a reason to live. “When you get back, we can try friendship.”
She looked as if he’d given her all the hope of the world wrapped up in a few words. For a moment, he feared she would burst into happy tears, but then she grew serious again. “And if I don’t make it, will you make sure Gramps is all right?”
“You have my word,” he assured her without hesitation.
“I’m holding you to your first promise when I get back, colonel.”
He stepped back, and she lifted into one of her breathtaking forward vertical liftoffs quickly disappearing in the sky. He heard the excitement among the troops.
That’s right…show off a little. Let them see there’s no one like you. You’re in a class of your own.
Chapter 34
Logan turned to find Sparkes beside him with his binoculars.
“Amazing ascent! How is it possible to go forward in a headwind?”
Logan didn’t answer. He had noticed the squads were moving onto the landing strip. “Why are your men preparing to fly, Sparkes? The whole reason Alisha is risking her life is to provide us with the advantage of a surprise attack. If your men ascend now, they’ll be seen, and any surprise attack is gone.”
“They’re just standing ready, Colonel,” Sparkes assured him. “The general won’t give the order unless Alisha fails her mission.”
Logan literally growled with anger. “Then I’d best be with him, so he doesn’t mistake her forward flight for falling.”
“That would be a good precaution,” Sparkes agreed, and followed Logan back to the general’s tent.
Powell stood before his tent, studying the horizon with his binoculars. DC was next to him.
Logan wasted no time in addressing DC. “Private, you’re dismissed.”
“I asked him to stay,” the general said. “Where is the damn girl? I can’t see her at all!”
“Private, I said you were dismissed. Do not make me repeat myself,” Logan warned.
DC looked to the general for protection, but when none came, he snapped to and left the area.
“I see her, sir,” Sparkes assured him. “She’s already moving down the ridge at about five thousand feet.”
“You were perilously close to insubordination a moment ago, Logan,” the general observed.
“I had no choice, sir. You were inadvertently interfering with my ability to discipline my squad. If you wish my behavior to be reviewed by MAC…”
“Not necessary. Where the hell is she?”
“She’s beginning her descent to the ridge, sir, and she is unquestionably making forward progress against the headwind.”
“I can’t see a damn thing due to sun glare. How can you see anything?”
“Anti-glare binoculars, sir. I suggested you bring them this morning.”
“Hand them over.”
“Can’t do that, sir.”
“And why the hell not?”
“Then we’d lose track of her. She’s as close to invisible as is possible.”
The general stared at the blank video monitor. “Well, so is her video.”
“Give her a second, General. She’s just coming over the ridge…”
Logan stared at the empty monitor screen, willing video to appear. Come on, Alisha, without the video you’re doing this for nothing.
The screen came to life, and a shaky but in-focus video of the ridge appeared. The general had one of his best spotters in front of the monitor.
“There’s one!” the spotter said, and marked the location on the chart. “There’s two…three… Jesus! Four…five…six. I think she’s about to crash, sir…”
“Give the signal,” the general said.
“Belay that order,” Sparkes said.
“She’s going back up now. How’d she do that?” the spotter asked, and looked up at Sparkes.
“Keep your eye on the monitor, Hankins!” Powell warned. “Seems I’ve got insubordination all around me today.” The general pointedly glared at Sparkes.
“We got eight….nine….ten, and I can see a concussion launcher…eleven… She’s stopped. Is she down?”
“Negative, I can see her catcher. Colonel, can she hold in one place?”
“Yes, with uncanny accuracy.”
“She’s moving back down the ridge, sir, giving me another chance to count. What’s she shooting? Ah, Jeez. They’ve got a heat-seeking machine gun and another concussion launcher.”
“Mark the locations,” the general replied. “You think you might have underestimated their artillery a bit, Colonel Sparkes?”
“No, sir,” he replied as he continued to watch the ridge. “I underestimated it significantly, not just a bit.”
The spotter counted back over the same guards. “Three, two, one… Oops, that’s why she went back. There’s another heat-seeker at the end. Damn, she can move!”
Sparkes watched for a few seconds more, then handed the binoculars to the general. “Mission accomplished.”
“She’s still got to get out of there,” the general replied, but his tone was more worried than pissed now.
“I stopped watching her when she hit five thousand feet. She should be here in two minutes.” Sparkes gave Logan a slight smile. “Colonel, if you’d like to retrieve your captain and return. We’re going to need to change our attack plan, and I’m sure the general would like to have you both involved.”
Logan was amazed at the freedom in which Sparkes felt he could speak for the general. Yet Powell didn’t seem to be even slightly annoyed by the presumption. He just nodded. “You both proved your mettle today. You sh
ould be part of the planning.”
Chapter 35
As Alisha descended, she could see Colonel Logan waiting at the end of the landing pad. Behind him stood every Ryder in the Corps, but all she cared about was her colonel. She came in low and moved up the landing area, stopping and hovering right next to him.
“Stop playing around, Captain. The general wants to see you in the war room.”
His gruff command was hardly a good start to their new attempt at friendship. She landed the windcatcher and stepped out of the harness. Between the two of them, they had the windcatcher folded in two minutes.
“Was the video any good?”
“Good enough,” he replied, his voice not as gruff this time. “However, I think we’ll keep Philly as the videographer.”
Alisha laughed. “Fine with me!”
Everyone stared at her as she walked to the general’s tent. She knew they hadn’t expected her to return. They might even think her a ghost. When the wish to yell “Boo!” and see if they would run away came into her head, she laughed.
The colonel glanced down at her as they continued toward the tent. “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine.” She sighed. “Just thinking silly thoughts.”
“It would be normal for you to feel anxious. It’s not uncommon after a mission.”
“I just wanted to yell out ‘Boo!’”
A look of confusion crossed the colonel’s face.
“Well, they gave me a dead-man-walking departure, and now they’re looking at me like I’m a ghost.”
The colonel relaxed his jaw and let a small smile escape. “First of all, the parting of the crowd was their way of showing respect for someone volunteering to run a suicide mission. And now they’re in awe. I assure you that if an ill-tempered colonel wasn’t escorting you, they would’ve mobbed you with congratulations the second you landed. They’re quite willing to celebrate your victory despite the fact we haven’t yet begun the battle and most of them will probably die today.”
That bit of information wiped her smile away. “The general still plans to attack?”
“Once committed, the general never backs down.”
“Did he see their gun power?” Alisha exclaimed, her voice rising in agitation.
“Lower your voice, Alisha. You’re a captain now. You never let the squad know when you disagree with a battle plan. It only saps them of courage and gets them killed.”
When Alisha entered the tent, Colonel Sparkes left his computer to shake her hand.
“Excellent job, Captain. We’re altering our battle plans based on the new intel. You’re welcomed to join us. The general would appreciate your input.”
Alisha doubted Powell would appreciate anything of the sort, but she joined the others at the table and listened as Sparkes laid out the new plan.
“We now recognize a surprise attack over the ridge won’t be possible. The fortifications are too heavy. So we’ll come from the east in three waves. The first line will target the heat-seekers and concussion launchers. The second will clear out any remaining guards. The third wave will come over the ridge and attack the main force.”
Alisha listened in horror. Sparkes planned to sacrifice two-thirds of his men before the main battle even began. This wasn’t a plan of battle; it was a plan of slaughter.
Sparkes looked at Alisha. “Is there something you wish to say?”
“No, sir,” she said, too angry to dare speak.
Sparkes set down his light pen. “I cannot claim to have known you for long, but I can clearly see you have some thoughts on this matter.”
While Sparkes might show patience, the general did not. “For God’s sake, girl, out with it!”
Alisha looked at Colonel Logan for support. Upon a small nod of his head, she stepped forward. “If you bring the first wave in from the east, there’s going to be heavy casualties. Between the heat-seekers and two concussion launchers, they’ll wipe out everyone within five minutes.”
Sparkes nodded. “I know, but we have no alternative.”
Alisha bit her lip. He was right…except for the reasonable decision not to engage at all. These Ryders had no shot with government-issued windcatchers. She could think of five better plans that she could fly, but they were impossible for the other Ryders.
She was about to admit defeat when an idea came to her. “Maybe there’s a way to do this with fewer casualties.”
“Let’s hear it,” Sparkes said, clearly interested.
“The heat-seekers and concussion launchers are facing outward, so if you come in from the east, they can hurt you. However, if you came in behind them, you could disable them before they could reposition the cannons. If that’s done seconds before the second wave occurs, you might still gain most of the benefits of a surprise attack.”
“Your observations are correct, Captain,” Sparkes said. “Unfortunately, east and south are our only choices. Going west across the wind farm would be suicide, and my flyers can’t fly into headwinds.”
“They don’t have to. All the first wave has to do is drop down vertically onto the backbone of the ridge. That will put them behind the artillery, and they can take out the seekers and concussions with minimal losses.”
Sparkes sighed. “That would be a better plan, but it requires my men to be able to vertical drop, while readying their weaponry, without drifting more than twenty feet. They can’t do it.”
“Not with government-issued gear, but the modifications to make it possible are pretty simple, and it’s easy to pick up.”
“We don’t have the time for this!” the general snapped.
Sparkes ignored him. “When you say easy, are we talking hours, days, minutes?”
“The back tethers have to be shortened—that takes about three minutes. I once taught a friend of mine how to vertical drop in two hours.” Alisha decided not to mention he was a scavenger. She didn’t think that would help her credibility, and Ryders’ lives depended upon her being credible right now.
“We don’t have two hours!” the general assured her.
“Well, he wasn’t a very good flyer. With good flyers, I should be able to teach them a lot faster.”
She could see the general had lost interest in her idea. Sparkes still wasn’t ready to give it up yet.
“Let me pursue this a little further, sir,” he entreated the general.
Powell scowled, but stepped away from the table to allow his colonel more time.
“If my men could learn this maneuver, tell me exactly what would happen.”
“They’d come in at high altitude and drop vertically onto the ridge top at noon.”
“Why noon?”
“The spotters will have switched to regular binoculars, so they won’t scan upward since doing so would give them sun spots for hours afterward. And they’ll want good vision for the afternoon.”
“What happens in the afternoon?”
“That’s when the troublesome customers come. In the morning, they just sell black market niche drugs: lucrative, but generally small dealers, small risks. It gives them a chance to get the lay of the land, discover any blind spots and adjust their men accordingly. Once they feel secure, they radio the large dealers and tell them where to come in. They’ll notify them on very short notice, because they don’t trust the big dealers.”
Sparkes shook his head. “If we wait until noon to attack, we’ll let a lot of dealers slip out of our net with the drugs in their possession.”
Alisha resisted rolling her eyes. That should be the least of his worries. “You’ll only lose the little guys. The major drug dealers won’t arrive until after two o’clock.”
“How can you be sure?” Sparkes pushed.
“These guys are very careful. They know there’s a vulnerability in their position during the morning and noon. By two, the sun will be in the west across the wind farms. Anyone trying to sneak up over two hundred miles of a wind farm is going to lose half his men before they ever get near the valley. An
d glare or not, they’ll see the dealers coming. It’s very difficult to fly in between the turbines, so that leaves you flying above them. Anyone but a fool will fly at least a hundred feet above them, because the closer you get to the turbines, the more likely you are to be snagged. So they’ll come in the way they were told to, or the men on that ridge will take them out with ease.”
Sparkes stared at his charts for several minutes.
“Well?” the general demanded, losing patience with the delay in action.
“If the men can learn this drop, it’s a much better attack plan,” Sparkes said.
“That’s a big if, and if they can’t, then we’ve let half the drugs fly off pissing the morning away.”
Ensuring her voice remained respectful, she replied, “No, sir. You’ll lose no more than ten percent, and it’s just black market medicine. The dangerous drugs will still be there.”
“We could send a squad out to pick up the morning dealers after they buy,” Sparkes offered.
Her friend Denny would be buying in the morning, and if she didn’t do something, he’d probably die out there. She had clearly heard the general give clearance to kill anyone involved. He didn’t want arrests; he wanted eliminations.
“You go anywhere near one of the morning dealers and we’ve lost the advantage of surprise. The little dealers are used to test the lanes and make sure everything is okay. All it would take is one squeak, and these guys would be ready for World War Four.”
“So you’re saying we should just let these criminals fly out of there with their newly purchased drugs?” Powell asked in outrage. “You seem to have an odd idea about what the Corps stands for!”
Matching his outrage, she volleyed back. “I’m focused on getting ten thousand kilos of Phantasia off the market. And the Ryders we’ll save in a surprise attack. If letting a black market dealer selling arthritis medicine slip through is the price we have to pay to succeed, I think it’s a damn low cost.”
Everyone fell utterly silent. She might be the first captain ever to have yelled at a general. It would probably cost her big time, but to save Denny, she had to try.
Powell seethed with fury, but to Alisha’s surprise, he didn’t order her to the brig. “You have one goddamn hour to teach my squad to vertical drop. And if you fail, I will have you in the brig and stripped of your rank. Connor, Jeffries, cull out your best flyers for learning this maneuver—pull twice as many as we’ll actually use.”
Scavenger's Mission (The SkyRyders Book 1) Page 19
