Stories_update_instafreebie

by Autumn Birt

  “Outside.”

  “Really?” Relief filled her voice, making the insane drive worthwhile with one word. “I’ll come down. Give me a minute.”

  He’d have given her hours. Hadn’t he already waited two years? Within five minutes, she was out the main door, launching herself into his arms.

  “I could have been there. It is selfish. But I’m just happy that I wasn’t there, that we stayed.”

  “I know,” Byran said. “I’ve been thinking the same thing.” He waited until she pulled away before he released her, though he kept a hand against her back. “Do you have time?”

  “Yes,” Arinna answered, wiping her eyes. “Everything is chaos. Let’s go get coffee. Lunch? What time is it?”

  “I’m not certain,” Byran admitted. “We’ll figure it out.”

  It was after noon. They ordered food and sat together as if it were a normal visit except for the lack of noise or people.

  “Everyone must be watching the news,” Byran said as the glanced at the empty tables. One man sat in a sunny corner, nose in a computer. Besides that, the café was empty.

  “Not that there is much the news is saying,” Arinna replied.

  “No. They are not sure of much. I left as soon as I heard. What’s happened or at least what do you know?”

  “Simultaneous explosions across the US in almost a perfect grid. Nothing will be untouched. I knew the FLF had weapons, but not like this. Or this level of planning.”

  “But why? Why destroy a whole country?” Byran was holding his coffee cup too tight. He put it down, the smell of it reminding him of Isabella. She drank her coffee strong. He felt lightheaded.

  “To set an example? To say ‘this is what we can do and what you face if you don’t listen.’“

  Byran shivered. Arinna rubbed her eyes. “How long have you been locked up in there?”

  “I don’t know. Hours?”

  “Will NATO offer a response?”

  “No,” she said, pausing. “No, we moved beyond that in the first few minutes. Byran, this changes everything.” She reached across and took his hand. “We thought the FLF wanted to take over the United States. They destroyed it. We think they’ve moved their base south, somewhere between Mexico and Brazil. But there are factions here. NATO is on high alert to protect Europe.”

  “Why come here?” he asked, sitting back heavily in his chair.

  “The same reason the US maintained ties to Europe: agriculture and industry. You are better prepared for the future. This is why the attacks were different. The FLF used the US to gain weapons, but never meant to control it. Europe, they have been very careful not to destroy.”

  “I hope you’re wrong,” he said.

  “So do I. Though, my guess is we’ll find out soon. They won’t disappear for long after this spectacle.”

  He watched her for a moment. “Are you really alright? Your country has gone up in cinders and you are talking strategy for Europe. I wouldn’t have imagined ...” He didn’t finish, not sure what he had thought as he’d just raced across several countries to make sure she was okay.

  “It doesn’t feel real, honestly. I saw the fires on the monitors, though there is too much smoke during the day to see anything clearly. But ... I can’t see it in person. And I’ve been here for what, two years now? It doesn’t sound like much, but this has become my home. Now it has to be. I don’t want to see Europe make the same mistakes.”

  “We are lucky then.”

  Her phone buzzed. Arinna glanced at it but didn’t answer.

  “Eldridge?”

  “No. I thought it might be Michael.”

  The name struck Byran’s chest. “Really? You haven’t mentioned him lately. Where is he?” Byran asked, voice grating his throat raw.

  “He is a trainer pilot with the RAF over at the NATO component base. I thought I told you that?”

  “You know you didn’t,” Byran said. He’d meant to say, “No, you didn’t,” but it came out differently. Arinna blushed.

  “You are right. I didn’t tell you. It’s stupid. I enjoy you coming to Brussels and appreciate everything you’ve done for me. So I never mentioned Michael,” she said, her gaze resting out the window.

  She turned back to face him. “Byran, I care about you and I know you ... have feelings for me. But we’ve talked about this before. It won’t work. Go and find someone who doesn’t care who you spend your weekends with and is just happy you come home. But that isn’t me.”

  “I have found someone, I think.”

  Arinna gave him a startled glance, expression flickering with too many emotions for him to catch them all. Relief? Disappointment? Both and more maybe.

  “Really? Then why are you here? You should be with her.”

  “I will be. But when I heard the news, I thought of you first.” Tears shimmered in her eyes as she reached for his hand. “When will Michael be home?” Byran asked, trying to put to right a year of ignoring her husband, ignoring that she was married. It seemed it was going to be a day for facing big things.

  “I’m not sure. I’ll check with him later. He is flying recon over the Atlantic. NATO wants to know what types of bombs were used and if they were nuclear. It will give us an idea what we are up against here. Not to mention the fallout.”

  “The RAF you said? Don’t you need to be a UK citizen for that?”

  “Technically, but the VISA I was given to work for Eldridge was broad enough to cover Michael. And once the threats started, and they moved fighter planes to the NATO base, well, they were happy to get him. I think they would have found any excuse to get him flying for them.”

  “It explains why you’ve had so much free time,” Byran said. “You don’t mind he is flying?”

  “No. He loves it. I knew it was a part of him when we married. What is her name?” she added.

  “Isabella.”

  “I don’t know her?”

  “No. I met her after you left.”

  There were tears in Arinna’s eyes again. “Good. No, that’s good. You should be with someone.”

  “Yes. Well, I’m with you right now and plan on staying until Michael is back at the least. He should seriously learn not to leave you unattended.” Byran gave her a slow smile. She coughed a laugh.

  “Especially with you around.”

  “Someone has to distract you from all the depressing news.”

  “Distracting me ... that is something you are very good at. I’m more annoyed you have a girlfriend I didn’t know about than I am my country was just annihilated.”

  “You’re in shock.”

  “I’m scared,” Arinna admitted, blue eyes wide. “Byran, I’m really frightened by what is coming.”

  He pulled her against him, kissing her hair and realizing it was the first time he’d done that only after he had. It felt so natural to hold her. Arinna settled against him, their meals forgotten in a need for contact and comfort.

  “I’m frightened too,” he whispered in her ear.

  Beginning of the Guard

  May 2058

  He didn’t know how to tell her.

  Michael drove the two hours from the Component base to Brussels in a slow fret. Arinna would understand why, he had no doubt. But why him ... that was the explanation he was missing. He hadn’t found it yet when the lock clicked on the flat door.

  “You’re home!” Arinna’s delighted surprise as she bounded into his arms set his heart pumping. Now he realized why he couldn’t find a way to tell her. He wasn’t certain he was ready for this either. “I thought you wouldn’t be back tonight?”

  “There was a change of plans. You get me for the weekend.”

  His answer led to a kiss, which made him feel guilty for the part he didn’t say. He was being given the time so he could move out. She pulled away just when he started to lose himself in her lips and the feel of her body pressed against his. For a moment, he’d forgotten why he’d come home to his wife other than to be with her.

  “Some
thing is wrong.”

  Why was she so damn perceptive? Michael would have been happy with a normal evening, just one more. But ready or not, the conversation had already started.

  “I’m moving to base. I’m going active duty.”

  Arinna sat down in the nearest chair, staring at him without blinking. He waited.

  “What? Why?”

  He swept his hands through his buzzed hair. “The war is coming to Europe. We both know that. They need the fighters. I have ten years of experience with what was the most militarized country on the planet. Over fifteen of flying. I know what we stand to face.”

  Michael said the words, but they weren’t his. His new Squadron Leader had said them that morning while handing over the paperwork. It made him feel needed even while he knew that was exactly the man’s job. Michael was only one of hundreds, perhaps thousands, getting orders that day. Every soldier would be told they were needed. Europe was preparing for war.

  “Fine. How then? We aren’t even citizens of any bloody country!” Arinna was angry, ready to fight with any argument she could dredge up.

  “Yes, we are. The UK claimed us as citizens. Eldridge put the paperwork in right behind the VISA to hire you.”

  “I wasn’t aware of that,” she said, voice trembling.

  “He didn’t tell us. I didn’t know until they handed me the paperwork this morning. They expedited it after the US fell.”

  “To get you enlisted.”

  “I’m not sure,” Michael admitted. Arinna’s anger had died faster than he’d expected. Michael knelt in front of her, taking her hands. Moisture filled her eyes.

  “I thought we stayed to help guide decisions here and to be involved in the politics of it, not enlist!”

  “It isn’t a suggestion. I have to join,” he told her, wiping a tear from her cheek. “But you, you will stay in the planning of it. You’ll stay out of the fight,” he said, pulling her against him. “I’ll keep you safe. And our children, when we have them. There is nowhere else to run. We must stay and fight.”

  She stopped his promises with a kiss as if she could swallow the dreams they’d shared as they built a new life here in Europe. Part of him regretted his need to fly that had led to becoming a training pilot at the Component base. But it wasn’t a large part. He belonged in the air.

  “When ... when do you start?” she asked, breath warm against his cheek.

  “Monday.”

  “You’re here to get your things,” she said, pulling back enough to read his eyes.

  “Yes. I’m being ordered to move to base. But I’ll come home whenever I get leave. It won’t be that different from now, maybe a little less time together, but ...”

  “No.”

  Michael’s thoughts and emotions hit the floor as if he’d been shot down. He hadn’t thought this would end things between them. After everything that had come in the last few years, the end shouldn’t arrive because of war.

  “I’ll move to base with you. You’re married and hopefully getting something above cadet with your ten years of service?”

  Michael was too stunned to do more than answer. “Flight Lieutenant, a direct transfer from US Captain.”

  She huffed a laugh at his automatic tone, gently touching his face. His skin tingled under her fingers. “So that should warrant private quarters roomy enough for a wife, right? I can commute to Brussels. And they don’t always need me in person. Perhaps I can telecommute. And they’ll need a NATO liaison on base. I’m guessing this isn’t just you they are picking on?”

  “Huh, no. They are gearing up and creating a centralized force. Which I believe was your idea?”

  “Damn Eldridge, damn you, and damn me too.”

  Michael laughed, resting his forehead against hers. “You’ll really move to base? You’ve never ...”

  “I want to be with you. I love you, Michael. Really, haven’t you figured that out yet?”

  “Well, perhaps you should remind me?”

  He was happy when she took him up on the suggestion, kissing him hard enough he forgot everything but his need of her.

  —

  Michael looked across the table at his First Lieutenant, Flying Officer, or whatever rank the country the former South African was flying for called it. If there was going to be a centralized military, they were going to need a common protocol for officer class or things would get too complicated quickly. Either way, this man with messy red-brown hair was his new wingman. Michael wondered if Europe even used the term ‘wingman?’

  “France,” Jared said, arms crossed as he returned Michael’s stare.

  “Excuse me?”

  “I’ve been flying for France. Not that it should matter. You don’t have a country anymore either.”

  Jared’s green eyes were suspicious if not a little hostile. He wasn’t going to easily accept Michael’s authority. Michael liked that.

  “True. Guess we have a lot in common. Must be why they paired us up.”

  Jared’s standoffishness faded a degree. “Or skill. I hear you’ve racked up a lot of flight time.”

  “In the F-35? Over three thousand hours. Unless you mean total aircraft?” Jared looked like he’d swallowed something in his coffee. “You?”

  “Less. What the heck did the US have you doing?”

  “Flying, mostly. They liked to monitor hot spots. We had a lot of hot spots.”

  “I guess. Not that monitoring did much good.”

  “Hah. No kidding. So you want to go have some fun?”

  Jared grinned. One thing common to any airman was that they would fly rather than talk. In the air, Jared could keep up, Michael would give him that. They tested each other, flying tight maneuvers with brief warning. But when they were done with it, Michael had high hopes that within a few more practice runs they’d make a good team. The wicked smile on Jared’s face when he pulled off his flight mask indicated he felt the same.

  “Get a beer?” Jared asked as they stowed their gear. Michael felt pulled in two directions. “What, don’t drink?” Jared’s look held a bit of distance again.

  “Worse, married,” Michael said with a grin that said it wasn’t worse one bit. “But she’ll forgive me if I’m not gone too long.”

  “The way you fly, I wouldn’t think you’d have time for a wife,” Jared said as they walked across base.

  “She’s quite a woman. You’ll meet her. How about you?”

  “Married? No. I joined under the French Foreign Legion, even if they transferred me to the regular Air Force once they realized I could fly and all this crazy shit broke out. Either way, they are keeping with the ‘no marriage in the first five years’ rule. I have a girlfriend though.” Jared glanced at him, continuing with a shake of his head. “Just watch, the one damn rule they’ll keep in this new combined military will be that one: no marriage!”

  The base alarm sounded before he’d finished half his beer.

  “Shit. I haven’t even unpacked yet,” Jared cursed.

  “Well, it’s why we’re here,” Michael answered, pulling out his phone as it buzzed to life. “What happened?” he asked as he and Jared headed out the door.

  Jared snapped him a sharp look as Arinna answered. “An explosion at the UK Parliament. Shit, hold on.” Jared kept pace with Michael as they crossed the runway. Planes were being fueled.

  “Arinna?” Michael said, anxious.

  “Your wife?” Jared asked.

  “Works for NATO.” Michael answered as the line clicked back. “How bad?”

  “France, Germany, Poland, Austria ... I can’t find a nation not reporting an attack on their government offices. Shit, Michael, they were all in session!”

  Michael realized he’d stopped walking when Jared hauled on his arm. Michael picked up his pace to a jog.

  “How did we not know ...”

  “I’m not certain. I’ll see you on base in five. NATO asked me to brief Command.”

  Michael didn’t see Arinna outside as the pilots were swept in
to their briefing room. Jared stayed by his side as talk buzzed around them. No one knew what had happened. The few whispered words Michael had shared with Jared outside they kept to themselves as they sat amid the tumult. At some of the more outrageous theories for the alarm, Jared cast Michael a quick glance before leaning back in his chair, arms crossed. Michael really liked the man.

  When the door opened and base Command swept in, Arinna was behind them, remaining in the background as the news was given.

  “That your girl?” Jared whispered.

  “Yeah.”

  “You got that many flying hours how?”

  Michael ducked his head to keep from laughing. In the end, they were given a recon flight over London. Michael didn’t get a chance to track Arinna down as the other pilots dispersed. He let the urge go, needing to focus on the mission. He’d believed those decisions were behind him when he’d agreed to join the embassy in Madrid. But war had come.

  The sun was setting as he and Jared flew a loop down the Thames. Fires glowed in the shadows while smoke obscured much of the destroyed hulk.

  “I keep looking at it, but it doesn’t seem real. It’s like we are at the movies,” Jared said, voice buzzing over the comm.

  “This ain’t a simulator,” Michael answered as they swooped in formation, turning to backtrack over the city.

  “Shit. How did no one see this coming?”

  “Don’t know. Come on, we have a grid to search. We’ll be grounded tomorrow. Come over. We’ll talk.”

  —

  He and Jared were grounded, but he couldn’t say the same for Arinna. Michael felt fortunate that she wasn’t called back to Brussels. Though despite his late arrival home, they’d stayed up sharing enough information that Michael could have filled Jared in with a lot of details. It was nice though, having Arinna there. And not just because of the news that rolled in.

  “They want us to surrender?” Michael repeated.

  “And who is this group?” Jared asked.

  “The FLF – Freedom Liberation Front,” Arinna answered.

  “They’re American?”