Scavenger's Mission (The SkyRyders Book 1)

by Liza O'Connor

  No one would expect one small girl to launch from the center of the battle and try to clear out a wall of concussion launchers two miles upwind of her launch site. The possibility was inconceivable. Even to Logan, who knew her skills.

  His desire to protect her overwhelmed him. If he thought for a moment he could save her life by leaving her contained in his rooms, he would disobey this order. Truth was, she’d be dying anyway. At least she would have the opportunity to die in the air.

  He hurried to his private entrance and opened the door to pitch blackness.

  “Alisha?” he called out, suddenly afraid she had managed to escape.

  A flashlight illuminated his face. He protected his eyes from the light until she lowered it back to the bed, illuminating herself. She looked so young and frightened. God, if only he could protect her.

  A moment later he was sitting beside her, holding her in his arms. “MAC has ordered you to duty,” he said, his voice constrained as he desperately tried to hold back his anguish that her life would end like this.

  “I know,” she whispered. “I’m ready.”

  “Do you know how you’re going to do this?”

  She nodded. “Vertical lift from the compound, climb as fast as possible to get out of sniper range. Travel east, perpendicular to the wind for three miles, go two miles into the headwind, and turn back west. As I get to the launchers, I’ll come in low and drop delayed blasters within a hundred feet of each. Get a blaster underneath the mortar tank, then send the signal to ignite them all.”

  Logan held her tighter against him. She made it sound simple, but everything she’d just said was impossible. It was a string of impossible feats put together into an impossible mission. “You sure you can do this?”

  “No, but it’s better than the alternative,” she admitted, looking for a moment at the loaded gun lying on the bed. “I don’t want to die, Colonel, but I’d rather die flying than putting a gun to my head.”

  He kissed her. He hadn’t planned to. He didn’t even know he was going to do it until his mouth crushed onto hers. When he pulled away, he held her beautiful face captured in his hands. “Just in case you’re in doubt, I do love you with all my heart, and this is the hardest damn order I’ve ever obeyed.”

  She smiled, but it was a smile of resignation, not joy. “I’m glad you told me,” she said. Then she crawled off the bed and grabbed the flashlight. “Better get on the job now,” she said, and walked to the door, waiting for Logan to let her out.

  ***

  Her catcher lay bundled for a fast takeoff in the far corner of the courtyard, but the colonel made her wait. When a mortar exploded a hundred feet from her, she shivered in terror. All she wanted to do was roll into a small ball and hide.

  Hold firm! You’re going to die no matter what. At least make him proud of you! The colonel had added the smoke cover to her initial rise above the concrete walls. Theoretically it had sounded like a good idea, but now she discovered she couldn’t breathe or see in the smoke.

  Just do it! You don’t need to see anything. Just feel the tethers. She threw the small catcher into the air. A second later she felt the tethers tighten, followed instantly by her feet lifting off the ground. The moment she was airborne, her confidence returned, pushing out the debilitating fear that had terrorized her for the last hour.

  With her eyes still closed, she concentrated on obtaining a straight vertical climb. If she drifted downwind while climbing, the snipers in the meadow would take her out. She feared she had failed when she felt her slats hit the compound wall. She tightened her control of the front panels and prayed for lift, all the while expecting to feel the sharp, piercing pain of a laser shot.

  After a minute, the air grew cold and light, and the sounds of the war diminished below her. She still couldn’t see a thing…

  Your eyes are closed, she reminded herself, and opened them. After a few blinks, they cleared enough for her to see. How the hell did I get this high? She looked down and saw the battle raging below her. No wonder Denny had been so upset when he saw the ground force moving toward them. God Almighty! The cartel must have bought up every professional army in the world. This wasn’t just a retaliation; this was a massacre.

  They had an excellent battle specialist. From this height, she could see the concussion launchers set up in a long line, every two hundred yards: ten of them in total. The mortar tank was safely parked between the launchers and the compound, close enough to hit its target but far enough away to avoid retaliation. They had only one tank, but in its current location, it was invincible. With time, it would have the same effectiveness as ten tanks.

  Alisha frowned as she saw the tent set up in the meadow near the tank and within the protection of the launchers. Their damn command center is right in the middle of my escape path. She sighed. Well, I’ll worry about it when I get there. Right now, she needed to fly the impossible.

  ***

  Logan was furious. Alisha had successfully escaped. MAC should have recalled her to Broadtown and saved her. It should never have sent her on a suicide mission. The Broadtown fort was doomed, the mortar shots relentless. He understood the cartel’s goal now. They didn’t want to storm the half-patched walls. They weren’t even aiming at the walls anymore. The snipers were only to keep the Ryders and ground soldiers contained while the mortars from a single tank ate away the fort piece by piece.

  His squad had requested to join the ground soldiers. It was a death sentence, but Logan granted it. Five more rifles wouldn’t change the conclusion, but at least they’d die as soldiers.

  He stood in the guard tower, despite the last two mortar shots had tried to take it out. He didn’t care. His life was pointless now. Everyone in this compound was going to die.

  With his night vision binoculars, he studied the dark, smoky sky, looking for his beautiful deity. Finally, he saw the dim white of her catcher hanging in the sky. Anyone else looking would think it a reflection of the moon, for the soft shape was too still, too motionless to be a catcher.

  “Call her back, MAC. Surely you can see it’s hopeless,” he whispered.

  His heart chilled as he realized MAC couldn’t call her back. She wasn’t carrying a comm unit. With a sinking heart, he watched her, wondering if she might disobey the order and break off on her own.

  Not after I taught her to always obey orders.

  ***

  Tacking perpendicular to the south-bearing wind went without a hitch. When Alisha was far enough out, she collapsed her catcher, and with her slats pressed hard against her chest, she soared downward. When she fell below five hundred feet, she engaged the catcher and held tight into a vertical climb. It took two additional dives to place her where she needed to be: to the east and slightly behind the launcher line.

  She held her position for several minutes, resting and settling her mind. The next two minutes would go quickly, and she had no margin for error. She needed to hang in the air at an impossibly flat line on a crosswind. She sighed and shook her head. It just wasn’t possible.

  The explosion of another mortar bomb reminded her why it had to be. Adjusting her sack of delayed blasters so she could reach them easily, she pulled the release of her catcher and let it slip from her shoulders. Holding tightly to the bag of blasters, she began her death run, for she saw only one way to achieve her mission, and it didn’t include a catcher or a happy ending for her.

  The crosswind immediately threatened to roll her off her slats, but with a quick adjustment lowering her left slat slightly, she steadied out and headed silently to the earth. Without the catcher to drag her progress, she moved on a flatter line, but her speed was much faster than she’d anticipated. In fact, she came upon her first target so quickly she almost failed to drop a blaster within the hundred-foot radius. No time to check if she’d succeeded. The targets moved by as fast as she could throw the blasters.

  She took no chances with the tank. She threw three of the blasters, praying one of them made its way underneath t
he carriage. Her peripheral vision saw only dark green grass now. She knew she’d be making contact with the ground at the same time she needed to drop the last device. Coming down at this speed, there was no way she could land and toss, so she threw it forward with all her might and braced for the landing.

  Her slats slammed down hard into the marshland. She fought to keep her balance as the cottontails slapped painfully against her chest and face. Somehow she’d survived the landing without crashing, but she still moved forward at a frightening speed. She had no idea where she was and when she would slow to a speed she could control. One thing she knew for certain—somewhere in front of her was the Cully River.

  A flash of white appeared to her right. Instinctively, she reached for a blaster and tossed it. The tent had been no more than a hundred feet from the Cully. A moment later she broke from the high grasses and sailed toward the water. What a way to go, she thought as she tossed the bag holding the remaining blasters and pressed the blast igniter just as her slats soared off the bank and into the river.

  She had expected to break through the water for a painful tumble, but for a brief second, the slats carried her forward on the water’s surface. Then all hell broke loose as the water exploded behind her, sending her and a tidal wave of water soaring through the air.

  Chapter 57

  Logan watched with night binoculars Alisha perform an impossible descent. He lost sight of her when she landed. Only the trail of bent grass behind her proved she still moved toward the Cully. How could she remain upright going across the uneven terrain, smashing through the grasses? All hope sank as he watched the line reach the end of the meadows. Turn, Alisha. His heart broke as she headed straight into the Cully.

  Suddenly, the whole field exploded as if enraged by her senseless death. She must have still been carrying some of the blasters when she set them off. Her body soared through the air and then fell back into the black Cully River. She disappeared beneath its surface… Gone…just like that.

  A cold numbness settled in Logan’s chest as if his heart had sunk into the Cully River with her. His binoculars swept the massive devastation she had wrought with her sacrifice: all launchers destroyed, and only a black hole remained where the mortar tank once stood.

  The cartel army floundered in disarray because its leaders, who’d been safely tucked away in their tent, out of reach on the meadowlands, were now no more than tiny little bits of fertilizer for the plants.

  The success of her mission provided no consolation for him, nor would it for Daniel Kane. What they’d lost today was greater than any single battle. It would have made more sense to save her and sacrifice us, he realized as he climbed down from the tower and resumed his duties as commander.

  With the sonic barriers destroyed, the skies filled with SkyRyders from Capital. Fire squads swept down on the meadowlands setting them ablaze, letting nature find and destroy the hidden snipers. Even the hired mercenaries who had been keeping the Broadtown soldiers penned in the compound knew the tide had shifted the moment the launchers blew. Like rats, they tried to scurry away. Not this time, you bastards!

  To prevent the enemy from reaching the town and blending in with the populace, the Ryders cut a mile-wide fire line to prevent their escape. None would escape the wrath of the SkyRyders tonight.

  Logan watched the massacre. He thought it would make him feel better, but it didn’t. Nothing could make him feel better. The price of winning had been too high.

  The battle was now in the hands of the Capital squad, so he turned to the care of his wounded. Counting himself, he had three medics in the compound. He assigned cleanup and recovery to his ground major and placed himself under the command of Colonel Culp, their chief medic.

  Chapter 58

  Alisha remained conscious even as she hit the water and sank beneath its surface. The current caught her slats and pulled her under. She struggled to kick them off, even though she knew her efforts to be futile. A meat-eater would soon rip her body into bits. When she freed herself from the slats and broke the surface, she stared about in confusion. Nothing looked familiar.

  You’re downstream, stupid. Just swim to the shore and worry about where you are later.

  A waste of good effort, she observed as she swam toward the west bank. Any second now… Wonder what it will feel like to be eaten alive. They say you can’t feel anything once your backbone is severed. Hope they’re right…

  Her gloomy thoughts continued until her hand struck land. In confusion, she stopped and stared for a moment. Why am I still alive? She didn’t know. Nor did it matter. She lacked the strength to pull herself out of the water.

  Then she remembered Logan’s kiss and declaration of love. Logan wanted her, and her Gramps needed her! With a last burst of energy, she pulled herself onto the bank and collapsed in utter exhaustion.

  ***

  Alisha awoke, choking from the thick stench of smoke. With a sinking heart, she realized her daring and impossible feats had only occurred in her dreams. She hadn’t saved anyone. She’d simply fallen asleep while the compound fell to rubble and burned around her. Her colonel and her squad were probably all dead, and all the while she’d dozed on the colonel’s soft, wet, soggy bed that smelled like rotting compost and fish shit.

  She opened her eyes and pushed herself up. She was definitely not in the colonel’s bed. Where was she?

  Could be Hell. A raging inferno burned on the other side of the river. The black silhouettes of men ran toward her. They seemed to be in slow motion, but she knew it was just an illusion created by the backdrop of fire. As they came closer, a thin white line swept across their torsos, and like a tear in a photo, they fell apart.

  Alisha stared in horror as their upper bodies separated from their running legs and both tumbled to the ground. She studied the smoke-filled sky: Ryders, hundreds of them, sweeping the meadowlands, killing everyone in sight.

  As a Ryder swept near the bank, Alisha flattened herself back on the ground. She did not wish to be sliced in two with a laser sweep—not after surviving so much, not when there was a chance her colonel still lived.

  She slowly crawled deeper into the grasses and farther away from the bank. The river once again seethed with meat-eaters. A couple of men had managed to make it to the water, but neither made it more than two feet across before they were set upon by a mass feeding frenzy. Alisha had heard stories of meat-eaters leaping onto shore and actually dragging bodies back into the water, which encouraged her to move farther away from the bank.

  Once she was better hidden and a safer distance from the shore, she lay quietly and watched the horrific battle from her ground view. She knew she was downstream from Broadtown, probably just a few miles above Doakestown. What she didn’t know was how on Earth she was going to get back to her fort without being shot on sight by a Ryder. They clearly were not taking prisoners.

  Her despair grew worse as the ground soldiers replaced the flyers. They weren’t taking prisoners either. Their job was to make certain everyone was dead. The sound of short bursts of fire, over and over, left no doubt that, despite all her amazing feats, she still wasn’t going to get out alive.

  It isn’t fair! The colonel loves me. I’ve flown an impossible mission. I even swam the Cully, for God’s sake. And now I’m going to die at the hands of a Corps ground soldier?

  Her tears welled, drawing the mud on her lashes into her eyes. The burning sensation was intense, and she tried to rub the mud away.

  A moment later, she heard the crack of a stick. Resisting the temptation to curl into a small ball, she called out, “I’m Captain Kane, SkyRyder.”

  “Say again,” a voice demanded.

  “I’m Captain Alisha Kane. Call Colonel Sparkes. He’ll verify my identity.”

  “Stand up slowly,” the soldier ordered. Alisha did as requested. Seven soldiers surrounded her with guns ready to fire. The one soldier handed off his gun and approached her.

  “If you’re a SkyRyder, where’s your catcher?”


  “Somewhere on the east side.”

  “We don’t have a report of anyone down,” he said as he reached out and felt her suit. “You’re a little wet.”

  “I swam the Cully,” she said, and then realized that just made her look like the enemy.

  The soldier reached up to the back of her neck. She wanted to pull away, but she didn’t dare. Any quick move would be answered by one of the six guns still pointed at her.

  “This ain’t regulation gear,” he said, and turned her collar neckline so he could read the tag. “D Kane…who’s that?’ he asked.

  “My grandfather, General Daniel Kane.” She could see he didn’t believe her. “Please call Colonel Jack Sparkes. He’ll vouch for me.”

  The ground soldier gave her a slight smile. “Well, if you’re not Captain Kane, you at least have good intel. Roger, see if you can get through to the colonel.”

  “You want me to call Colonel Sparkes?” the soldier asked.

  “Yeah. I’m an old-fashioned guy. I don’t like shooting ladies unless I have to,” he said, and his expression softened. “Sit down while we wait for the colonel’s response. You look beat.”

  “Thanks,” Alisha said, and sat down on the ground. “What’s your name?”

  “Sergeant Bryant Bears.”

  The soldier returned. “They say the colonel ain’t available. He’s in a battle right now.”

  Bryant rolled his eyes. “I know that, Carter. He’s in charge of this battle. Did you have a lobotomy during your last leave? Call the field commander’s tent.”

  Bryant noticed several of the soldiers snickering. “And did I tell any of you to stop guarding the prisoner?”

  “Well, you don’t seem to think she’s dangerous,” one of them replied.

  “That doesn’t mean I couldn’t be wrong. I’d like to think you guys would have my back before she slit my throat.” He returned his attention to Alisha. “New crew. First battle. It’s why I asked for the west side. I figured they’d have less chance of screwing up over here.”