And then there was Rachel Dodge. She had a sexy confidence about her that was irresistible. Rachel had a long, angular face with prominent cheekbones and full, pouty, blood-red lips. Her dark brunette hair was accented with subtle blonde highlights. Her figure was thin but muscular and unnaturally curvy. She’d been an exotic dancer in college. Fifteen years later she still had the body of a centerfold.
Maybe it was because he was the only one there who just wanted to defend Boston and was not trying to win some national rebellion, but far from inappropriate, he found her playful spirit dangerously attractive. Dangerous because he was in a committed relationship with Alison. An emotionally and logistically important relationship. Not one he wanted to endanger or damage. So, while he would have liked to get to know her better, even if it was just to be friends, he felt he needed to keep his distance. No need to play with fire.
And that was too bad, because outside of Bailey, Rachel seemed to have made few friends. She and Sophia had already sparked plenty of friction. Two very different kinds of women. Leslie was too much of a leader to be close friends with—sometimes everyone's den mother, sometimes just simply the boss, and other times she was easily the smartest person in a room full of geniuses. But best friend? Only Revolution could count someone like her as his best friend—which he seemed to.
But Rachel was smart, too. She tried to hide it, and Ward had been around plenty of women of privilege who tried to hide their obvious talents under a facade of trophy-wife triteness. Same thing here. Rachel always downplayed it when asked, but she had helped to make invisibility a reality—something the intelligence community had given up on.
No, he liked Stealth; he didn't care what the others thought. She clicked and clacked on the wooden floor as she strutted to her seat in stiletto heels and a plunging neckline, but she was draped by the black cloak that gave her the ability to disappear at will. She shot Ward a sweet smile, and he felt himself blush.
CHAPTER 37
The Suns were asked to be seated.
Leslie spoke first. “We will call this meeting to order. You have all been briefed on the proposal. You've each had a chance to meet one-on-one with the team members.”
Ward smiled at the memory of meeting with the members of COR. They had done their homework about his life, and yet they had each been careful not to push any buttons. It seemed the whole gathering today was just a dog and pony show. He'd heard “If the General has confidence in you, I have confidence in you,” or some variation of the theme, so many times he had lost count.
“Are there any final questions you have for our candidates?” she asked.
The scarlet-haired representative from California leaned into his microphone. “Director Bailey, you have been the man on the inside for the Resistance since before there was a Resistance. Are you certain you want to step out of the shadows at this time?”
Bailey smiled at the double entendre “step out of the shadows.” But when he wanted to, Bailey could speak with an authority few others could match. Maybe it was the gravel in his voice, or the slow menacing manner in which he leaned into the microphone to speak. “I am, Congressman.” The congressman didn’t ask a follow-up. No one did.
The members of COR sat silent, confident in what they were about to do. “By a show of hands then,” Leslie continued. “All in favor of the creation of the Suns of Liberty?” All fifty members raised their hands.
Ward marveled at Leslie's command of the room. The Revolution stood and bowed slightly, then returned to his seat. Amazing how formal everything is, Ward thought. They really took it all very seriously.
“We will now hear from the leader of military operations on the first planned use of this team,” Leslie said.
Military operations? Ward felt himself shake his head. Then he glanced around to make sure no one had noticed. Rachel was grinning. She made a quick glance at him out of the corner of her eye and then dropped a poker face.
Revolution rose and strode forward to his normal chair and punched a few buttons on a side panel near one of the armrests. Video monitors on all four walls blinked to life as the overhead lights in the room automatically dimmed. “Lantern has identified three decoy destroyers anchored in Boston Harbor. We believe these ships are there to discover the base of our operations in the city and represent a major escalation of their activities there.” The COR representatives were all opening a report on the proposed operation that they had all clearly read ahead of time.
“Is this in response to our rumor?” asked the representative from Idaho.
“Yes, we believe so.” Revolution zoomed in on a close-up photo of the ships with Lantern's digi-sphere image superimposed. “The nighttime security crews are surprisingly light. We propose an attack on these installations that will result in no casualties and maximum publicity for the new team. Specifically, Saratoga’s defection.”
“How can you guarantee no casualties?” asked the rep from New York, pointedly.
“Because of Spider Wasp.”
Lots of eyes turned toward him, and Ward felt himself blush again.
“He has the unique ability to take out the guards on each ship before they will even know what hit them.”
Several of the members seemed to nod in agreement to this—more signs they really had done their homework on the members of the team. “Helius will provide air cover, while Hunley attacks from below. Lantern will lead the way and show us exactly where to strike. Stealth will gather as much internal data as we can find. I can provide the muscle on the ships themselves, and Saratoga will be our escape route.” Revolution stepped back out to the center table and awaited their decision with the rest of the team.
Leslie rose again and peered about the room, letting the members gather their thoughts. Finally, she said, “Is there discussion?” The members of COR glanced about themselves. Several shook their heads. They’d come here with their minds made up on this matter as well.
“I think this a momentous day. I move we make a motion to approve,” said the rep from New York.
“I second,” said the rep from Idaho.
“All in favor?” Leslie asked. Their hands all flew up. Leslie paused for a moment. She looked out at the members of the Suns of Liberty “For too long we have depended on the actions of one man to represent us. To protect us. It was always an impossible task.” Ward glanced over at the Revolution, who did not react at all. “Now,” Leslie continued, “you are his reinforcements. The people cannot defend themselves. The Republic has no champions, other than you. I can’t tell you how important this is. We have already lost so much. Paid so high a price.” Ward noticed that tears had formed in Leslie’s eyes, but her voice was still strong. It wavered only slightly. And suddenly Ward wondered about Leslie. He’d been told she had no children. But what of a husband? Hadn’t she been married? He tried to remember what he had known about her prior to the Purge and her disappearance. Maybe she did have children and a husband. And maybe they had been taken from her or killed. Or both.
“You have all been chosen because you are the best of the best,” she continued. “Your country needs you.” Ward felt a shiver run down his spine. Leslie could really say what needed to be said in just the right way. “We need you,” she finished. “To work together. To make us proud. To protect us. To free us. To give us back our Republic.” She paused one last time. Then looked them dead in the eyes. “God bless you, and God bless the United States of America.”
And with that, the Suns of Liberty were back on their way to Boston.
CHAPTER 38
“Get in!” Bailey yelled at Ward over the roar of the rotors, his native New Jersey accent barely discernible. “And put your helmet on. Been a while since I flew one of these things, ya know? Could get kinda hairy!”
Great. Ward snapped on the Spider Wasp helmet and stepped up into the bay of the helicopter.
Once he was in and looking for a place to sit with his bulky jet wings, Bailey leaned back, smiled, and said in a quieter voice
, “Just kidding. I fly 'em all the time.”
“Got my own wings, just in case,” Ward said.
“You need some breasts to go with those wings, chicken legs?” Rachel. He turned. She was behind him, looking right at him, so he had to smile. “Gonna help a lady in?” She extended her hand to him. She smiled her seductive grin. Did she have any other? She was more than capable of getting into the chopper bay on her own. This woman was trouble.
“Have you seen the pecs on Bailey up there? I think we have all we need already,” Ward quipped. Rachel just made a face as she took his hand, and Ward noticed Saratoga staring him down in the reflection off the windshield.
Not amused. He'd clearly not figured out Bailey's sense of humor yet.
The chopper banked hard from its turn, and the lights from the harbor glimmered on the horizon. It was a Sikorsky Zebra Wing Raider 1100. Sleeker, smaller, and more angular than those that had come before it. The main body looked a lot like a jet. The CIA used them routinely, and Bailey had stolen this one a long time ago. Amazing what you could do with a few accounting errors. “Midnight to moon pies, boys, time to bail out!” Bailey yelled back at them. Ward was pretty sure that meant it was time for him and Sophia to fly on their own. It was hard to tell with Bailey sometimes.
“You can stick your boys up your ass, Bailey!” Sophia snapped back at him, but her smile sounded in her voice. Bailey just smirked back, and Ward saw Sophia Lihn suppress her grin as she strapped on the black glider’s helmet. Even Sophia must have had some history with Bailey. Was he the only one that didn't then? As he prepared to fling himself out of a fast-moving helicopter, praying he would not be sliced up by any of the whirling blades, he thought he would ask about Bailey's history when they made it back to base. If they made it back...
Sophia dove out, and Ward saw the night turn cobalt as the concussion of her propulsors pounded in his chest. His exit would be considerably less dramatic. He grabbed the sides of the bay door and leaned out...
And panicked.
All he could see was black. He couldn't see the ground, or the sky, just black. He could feel the roar of the propellers above him. His heart was thumping in his chest. Sweat began to roll down his forehead. Shit, if I'm this scared by just jumping out of an aircraft, what the hell good am I gonna be taking out a destroyer? Ward took one last glance over at Revolution, who gave him a reassuring nod, told himself it was going to be just like hang gliding, and dove from the diving board. He piled out so close to the chopper he nearly clipped the landing gear. He could feel the sweat on his skin, running down his cheeks, taste it in his mouth. He hit full ignition on his jets immediately and was jolted out into the black night.
Ward marveled at Sophia. She hadn't even hesitated. And she was so fast. She was already just a small blue dot on the horizon.
It was the only thing that told him where the sky was. He had let himself get completely disoriented.
And then his visors gleamed to life. A brand-new Heads-Up Display, a new toy courtesy of Lantern. Every structure he saw now had a digital outline. The ground, the sea, the buildings, even Helius—and labeled as such. The black no longer mattered. He's a light in the darkness, Leslie had said. How right she had been. His nerves began to calm. He thought back to Lantern's instructions about the mission.
They all sat in the situation room, now outfitted for the Suns. Leslie was there as well. A great round table befitting a superteam had replaced the original furniture. Video and computer monitors still lined the outer walls. Their own miniature version of COR at the Boston HQ. The energy in the room was electric. They were proud to be there. None of them missed the historic significance of this first meeting. Though that wasn’t how it had started. They had just assembled because that was what they needed to do. COR wanted the operation to happen fast, and so they had hurried into the conference room. But looking around, they had realized the Suns of Liberty were a reality. Ward felt like they were about rescue the city. The others had even loftier ambitions.
Revolution had explained the goals of the mission and then handed the logistical portion of the meeting over to Lantern. Lantern had explained that he was creating a virtual environment on top of the destroyers. “The scan is a three-dimensional cube,” Lantern said. “You'll be able to see your part of the scan when you fly through it.” He glanced at Hollis. “Or swim through it, as the case may be.” On the room's four screens a three-dimensional cube floated all around the animated graphics of the three destroyers, encompassing them. He explained that the entire team would be equipped with Heads-Up Displays (HUDs) either in their helmets or in specially designed glasses he had made for Rachel and Bailey. Bailey's chopper would be in complete stealth mode. Until the guards on duty could hear it, they would have no idea it was coming.
It had been the most Ward had heard Lantern say at one time.
Ward zoomed toward the harbor and the destroyers. This was a far cry from the jobs he’d done with Alison, but he felt ready to play his part now. He caught up to Sophia after she had slowed her propulsors.
“I guess you're up,” she said to him over his helmet-com.
Shit. “I guess so,” Ward said. He glided forward at low speed, his engines very quiet. In his HUD, the Guardsmen on the first ship suddenly glowed red. Lantern could not have made them easier to find if he'd painted them all in neon. This just kept getting better.
Ward flew low over the ship and opened fire. Even at his low rate of speed he hit the six Guardsmen in a matter of seconds. They were each on a different part of the ship, so none of them knew the others had been struck. In the span of one heartbeat, they all fell unconscious.
Below the waves, Hollis rocketed toward the destroyers’ massive hulls. He’d needed no adjustment to his HUD from Lantern other than the inclusion of the digi-sphere cube. Once he entered range, the cube sprang to life in his visors. Everything he needed to see was brought to life in the see-through three-dimensional display. Lantern had also outlined the exact paths to follow. Hollis zipped up to the first ship and stopped. He was floating fifty feet below the hull. He yanked a small gun-like device from his belt and aimed it at the digital lines that were drawn for him in his HUD. The gun opened fire. A red high-powered welding laser began eating into the bottom of the ship.
Bailey brought the Sikorsky in with no lights. He could see everything in his glasses display. The landing was perfect. They piled out of the chopper just on the far side of the first ship. By this time, Ward had disabled the Guards on the second destroyer as well, and the crew of the third ship was too far away to hear the Sikorsky as anything other than random noise from the city. Revolution, Bailey, and Rachel dashed for the destroyers.
Up top, Ward took out the crew of the last ship. But he failed to notice, just as he shot his dart into the final Guardsman, that the man had pressed a button on his phone. As Ward circled back around looking for Sophia, he also failed to notice the automated gun turret that was now taking aim at him with deadly accurate robotic eyes. Lantern's HUD system couldn't see it either. Even Lantern wasn't perfect.
Sophia rocketed forward, and in a matter of seconds she was over the first ship. The HUD lit up her targets: the large surveillance antennae that rested atop each ship. Her bracelets blazed, and she blasted them at the indicated points. The great spires ripped off their moorings and lanced into the shallow water below. Of the ship's six antennae, four stuck in the mud like makeshift television towers.
She zipped on to the second ship. And then it happened...
The first to be hit was Ward. The gun that was targeting him shot out a metal net. It was designed to ensnare and disable small aircraft, but it worked wonders on Ward's jetpack. He lost control as interference signals beaming off the net made his directional-control system go crazy. The net was supposed to guide aircraft out to sea and down them in the waves for later recovery. But Ward was so small that the net’s AI assumed it had yet to snare its target. So instead of banking off toward the harbor, it pushed him skyw
ard. Up he rose into the night sky. His suit was supposed to be able to deflect the kind of signals emitting from the net, and after a moment, it did. Unfortunately, it had the effect of stopping Ward’s skyward climb, and turned it into an Earthward plummet. Ward was now hurtling through space with large jagged spires of metal from the ships’ antennae directly below him.
Sophia looked on in horror as Ward plunged toward a tower of razor-sharp steel. She raised her bracelets and aimed at the spire directly below him. But just before she could shoot, a net snapped around her and jolted her down toward the ground. She screamed out, “Fuuuuuuck!” and blasted the net full force with her propulsors. The net disintegrated, no match for fusion energy. Sophia regained control and gaped back up at Ward.
He was seconds away from collision. She fired the bracelets, and the explosion took out the spire just as he hit it, the blast sending him spinning off toward the sea, still out of control. Sophia turned her blasters on the gun turret, which was set to unleash a new wave of the metallic nets, and pulverized it. The Council had not seen fit to equip the destroyers with adequate defenses, believing the destroyers themselves would be sufficient deterrence.
Ward hit the water headfirst. His spine screamed in protest. What would have been lethal velocity became mere pain, thanks to the new and improved flight suit made by Leslie's design team. The blast from Sophia’s H3 beam, however, had taken his breath away. He had time for one big gulp of air before he hit the waves, and he lost half of that in the impact. He sunk like a rock and was still snagged in the heavy metal net. As Ward sank to the bottom, his HUD became useless. There was nothing for it to lock onto. He was not Hollis. Lantern had not outfitted his gear for water. His lungs began to ache as the surface grew distant...
“Hunley, come in, this is Helius! Can you hear me?”
The Suns of Liberty (Book 2): Revolution Page 18
