Stories_update_instafreebie

by Autumn Birt

  “Careful,” Jared said automatically. Female soldiers made up just over half of the Guard, but Arinna was different. She was his best friend’s wife, his dead best friend. It still hurt.

  “The sun is behind us. Anyone looking this way will see a black building, not us,” Arinna answered, misreading his caution. Jared pushed down his regrets and moved carefully to join her.

  Outside, a sleek charcoal grey machine dangled above a flatbed rail car. Slowly, the crane lowered it until the cable lines fell slack. Shouts filled the air as it was unstrapped. Jared leaned forward, tracing the angular outline with his eyes. They were sleek and armored, three mechanical beasts perched like sleeping predators. It took his mind a moment to make sense of what they were. When it did, the air caught in his chest.

  “What the hell?” Jared glanced at Arinna.

  Her fingers clawed into the soft wood of the window frame. The paleness of her face made her blue eyes seem that much larger. He knew her though and knew the look.

  “You knew about them?”

  “They aren’t supposed to be here. I didn’t think ... that they existed.”

  Jared stabbed his thumb back to the safety of the hallway. Arinna scurried back, but kept walking until she reached one of the more intact central rooms. There she paced, right hand pulling at the tips of her shorn curls.

  “How did the FLF build such advanced aircraft?” Jared asked.

  “They aren’t FLF,” Arinna said, ceasing her frenetic movement. “They are ours.”

  It took Jared a moment to respond. “The Guard’s? When ...?” The pieces did not make sense.

  “No, the USA’s during the martial law of the early fifties.”

  “Then how are they here? What do you know about them?”

  “You know I was a military tactician. I’d seen blueprints. It was all theoretical. I knew that a few experiments were being run in Europe. It was safer here even then. But I didn’t think any had been built, much less three.”

  Jared leaned against a wall, feeling the decayed wood and plaster give under his weight. He shifted back to his feet. “How the hell did they wind up in Sofia and unharmed after the bombing that place took?”

  Arinna shook her head. “I have no idea. An underground bunker and testing facility beneath a hangar probably. There were dozens of those scattered around, but I didn’t know there was one here.”

  Jared tossed her a sidelong look, but Arinna’s gaze was lost in the dust at her feet. “I guess you weren’t told everything.”

  “No, I’ve been left out of a few things.” Her voice was bitter, the words sour.

  “You think they are prototypes or just mock-ups?” he asked after a moment of silence hung in the room.

  “They look complete.”

  “We can’t let the FLF take them.”

  Arinna rocked back on her heels, arms crossing as she gave him a cool look. Tension rose in the room.

  “We could use them. After Kiev, we need planes, especially armored aircraft.”

  “Are we here to take out the tracks or steal weaponry? Cause we can’t do both.” He wasn’t backing down from her challenge.

  She smiled at him. “We can use the planes to take out the tracks.”

  Arinna was decidedly more infuriating than Michael.

  “You don’t know if they are functional, much less have fuel.”

  “If they are the designs I saw, they don’t need gas.” Jared’s stony glare bought the answer to the question he refused to ask. “Either hydrogen or nuclear fuel cells,” she said.

  “You’re not sure?” he asked, keeping any sign he was impressed out of his voice.

  “Like I said, I didn’t know they had been built. Jared, we need one. Imagine if we can copy the design.”

  “I thought we needed time.”

  “What if we can take both?” she shot back.

  “Dammit. Look, I’m sorry for Kiev. I’m sorry about Michael. I should have been there with him. I ....” The words burned a hole through his chest. No more would come. Arinna spun away from him, facing the corner so that he could not see her face.

  “We are all angry,” Jared said with a quieter rasp. “But revenge is no reason to be here. It is no reason for you to be here. We are grasping at straws with no clear plan. It will get us killed.” He resisted the urge to shake her, afraid to feel the warmth of her shoulders under his hand. Instead, he ground his teeth.

  “The Guard,” Arinna said, her voice choking. He had to move to see her face, but no tears glistened on her cheek as she stared unseeing into the hall. “They weren’t supposed to be there.”

  Jared’s anger faded, replaced with a deeper cold. “What?” he growled.

  “The agreement was for another plan, not trying to retake Kiev. That was discussed, but never approved. Michael, the Guard, never should have been there. Whatever regret you carry, Jared, mine is worse.”

  “Misinformation? A spy?”

  “I almost wish. No, idiocy I think. One Secretary’s blind hunger for glory killed most of our armed forces. That is why I’m here. Not revenge, but to make sure that it doesn’t happen again.”

  “You don’t trust someone in MOTHER to relay the target to the Guard?”

  Arinna snorted, finally glancing over at him. “More than that, I didn’t tell them what we were doing.”

  Jared paused. Arinna didn’t look away. She wasn’t lying. “Anything?” he asked.

  “Nothing. And I don’t intend to. I’m done with asking permission, done with damn politicians and their games. I’m done with losing.”

  “That should go over well,” Jared said, amused despite where her actions had placed him.

  “I think the only way they won’t have me killed is if we succeed in something here.” Arinna wasn’t smiling.

  The desolate room ate the tension of a moment before, leaving behind a grim weariness.

  “It would be nice to have new planes,” Jared said, sweeping his arm toward the door. “We were running out.”

  —

  “What is it?” Tanja asked as she dropped her position covering their return.

  “Planes,” Jared said.

  “Here?” Gabriella asked.

  “Well, it is an airport,” Kirkpatrick told her.

  Gabriella rolled her eyes. “More like was.”

  “They are three experimentals being loaded onto rail cars. High tech, former USA developed.”

  “Shit. How did the FLF get them?” Cameron asked.

  “Is that the real reason we came?” Gabriella asked, her gaze on Arinna. “You work for MOTHER. Did you know they were here?”

  “No. I didn’t even know they’d been built,” Arinna told her.

  “How high tech?” Pietre asked.

  “Sounds like very,” Jared said with a nod to Arinna.

  “From the designs I saw, they run on fuel cells, either hydrogen or nuclear waste,” she told them.

  “They’re nuclear? Fuck,” Cameron rocked back on the crate he’d pulled up.

  “Spent nuclear waste, not actual fission,” Arinna replied.

  Cameron rubbed his fingers across his eyelids. “Great, what else?”

  “Let me guess. Fancy weapons of some sort? The USA loved blowing shit up,” Kirkpatrick asked.

  “Yeah, some traditional weapons, but the plan was for lasers,” Arinna replied.

  “And the FLF is taking them home? No way. We’ve got to blow them up,” Pietre said.

  “Actually, we were hoping to take them home ourselves,” Jared replied. There was a pause during which a crisp thud of something heavy and metal settling resounded through the broken terminal. The FLF had placed the second plane on a railcar. Only one more to go. They were running out of time.

  “How do you propose to do that?” Gabriella asked, calm despite the doubt on her face.

  “We’ll fly them,” Arinna replied.

  Cameron’s gaze jumped between Jared and Arinna. “Do you know if they are operable? I mean, you said you
didn’t know they’d been built? They might not be finished.”

  Arinna leaned forward, a smile flirting with her lips. “We’ll have to get close, even if we are going to blow them up. It’ll only take another minute to see if they can fly.”

  Jared suppressed his doubts. “Do you know enough about the system to be able to tell if they’ll fly?”

  “Yes, the interface is fairly standard,” Arinna replied.

  “Aren’t you forgetting something?” Tanja asked. “The runway isn’t exactly stellar. I don’t think you’ll get anything off the ground.”

  “Not a problem. They take off like the old Harriers,” Arinna said, unconcerned.

  Cameron gave a low whistle. “Vertical? Spectacular.”

  “Unless they changed something or didn’t finish it in the first place,” Kirkpatrick snipped. “What about the railroad tracks. Isn’t that the mission? Going after the planes will use up the last of our ammo.”

  “If the planes are operational, we can use them to take out the tracks. If not, we use what we have left to blow them up and we fail on both counts,” Jared ordered.

  Arinna shifted next to him, but said nothing.

  “If the planes are a no go, we’ll have to make it back to rally point Alpha with no ammo, passing through at least one outpost of FLF,” Gabriella said quietly. “Those aren’t good odds.”

  “Hell with that, I’m not sure I like the option with the planes. You said there were three? There are seventeen of us, in case you lost count. Three fighters won’t hold more than six,” Kirkpatrick pointed out.

  “They aren’t just fighters. Each should hold six additional people in the rear. They were meant to transport small forces,” Arinna replied.

  “That still means we need pilots. Most of us ... aren’t,” Pietre said, his gaze slipping to the shadows.

  “We only need a pilot for one plane. Jared is qualified and I can handle the onboard systems,” Arinna said.

  “One plane? Why?” Gabriella asked.

  “They were designed to recognize each other and even follow if commanded. The other two should follow the first.”

  “Should again,” Kirkpatrick grumbled.

  “Do you have a problem with the mission?” Jared growled.

  “No, Captain. I’m concerned we are dealing with too many unknowns.” Kirkpatrick’s voice was crisp.

  “We’re going to go look at some planes and either steal them or blow them up. I think you should be able to handle that. Now follow orders.”

  “Whose, Captain?” Kirkpatrick said, a hint of rebellion in his eyes.

  “Mine and Arinna’s while we are on this mission. Is that clear?” Jared eyed everyone to be certain they understood.

  “Is there any good news?” Cameron asked.

  “There aren’t many FLF soldiers near the planes,” Arinna said with a shrug. Jared chuckled as they broke up to prepare for the assault.

  —

  It was difficult watching Gabriella launch the surprise attack. Every instinct in Jared was to be in the thick of it with her. Next to him, Arinna shifted, her eyes darting between the Guard and the planes. There were perhaps twenty FLF working on loading the strange aircraft. Despite the attack earlier, the number of soldiers hadn’t been increased.

  Of course, that assault had been on the other side of the city and the small band of Guard had been driven back to Vitosha. It was just as likely that the FLF thought the Guard had come on a foray for the planes. It would make sense, after losing the fleet in Kiev. The operation to load them was prudent in that light. Perhaps the lack of soldiers had more to do with repelling the Guard while workers loaded the planes behind the front line.

  Cameron was being cautious with his fire, conserving the few bullets he had. A ricochet tinked off the plating of a plane, causing Arinna to hiss. The FLF was being far less cautious with its ammo. Of course, it had access to the old USA stockpiles. It would probably take another decade of war for them to burn through that supply.

  The FLF soldiers increased pressure. The fire from the eighteen still on their feet was continuous. Sweat trickled down Jared’s spine as he watched his unit take the beating, hiding behind overturned railcars and debris. Jared didn’t see the signal, but the Guard contingent broke, scattering backwards along the tracks to the north. The FLF took the bait.

  “Now,” Jared told Arinna, without needing to. She was already on her feet.

  “How long do you think we have?” she asked.

  “Fifteen minutes before backup arrives,” he told her, expecting a curse for the lack of time. Arinna gave a curt nod.

  He covered her as she climbed onto the one plane remaining on the ground, her fingers finding a hatch in the armor plating where he never would have expected one. The front cockpit window slid back, revealing two side by side seats and an array of computers and controls that made him dizzy.

  “What is this thing?”

  Arinna smiled at his tone caught between doubt and desire. “Hopefully functional, that’s what.”

  She slipped inside, while movement caught his eye. The soldier wasn’t expecting resistance and walked into Jared’s line of sight. Arinna looked up at the sound of gunfire.

  “Keep working,” he hissed at her. “And give me your gun. I’m nearly out.”

  “Backup arriving already?” she asked.

  “No, returning soldier. You have five more minutes,” Jared told her as he checked her rounds. More than he had, and she’d been dropping targets the whole day too. He’d have to give her credit for being a decent shot. If she hadn’t just gotten them killed with her desire for the planes.

  Two more FLF soldiers returned and were dispatched. Still no sign of the Guard. Jared’s throat was dry. He turned to tell Arinna it was time to plant the bombs when he felt the plane vibrate under him. It hummed to life.

  “Will it fly?”

  “If you can work the controls,” she retorted.

  Jared jumped inside, scanning the bank of computers, screens, and controls coming online. Fortunately, it made more sense than it had looking at it from the wrong angle outside. He slid into the left-hand chair. “You can’t fly?” he asked her.

  “Nope. I work the computers,” she said without apology.

  “What about the other two,” he asked, glancing behind him. Through a narrow door there was a small cabin with two bench seats against each wall he saw with relief. If the other planes would run, they really could get out of there. Assuming everyone else hadn’t been killed by drawing off the FLF.

  “Systems are coming online now. I’m programming them to follow this one.” As she spoke, the two planes on the railcars dropped their back hatches.

  “Get back here now. Split up between the three planes,” Jared ordered into his comm. Gabriella’s “Yes, Captain” was nearly drowned as the engines began to power up.

  “Okay, the planes run. They’ll follow each other. Do we have weapons too?”

  “Geesh, you just want everything don’t you?” Arinna snapped, but her eyes were dancing when she tossed him a glance.

  “Well?”

  “Not much on traditional weapons loaded, but the lasers are online and warming up. It should be fun to see what they can do.”

  It was the first time that day that he couldn’t argue with her. Kirkpatrick came back at a run. He slid to a halt, face stunned as he took in the humming planes.

  “Get in!” Jared yelled. It spurred Kirkpatrick enough to send him scampering toward the closest on a rail car. Gabriella was next, followed by Tanja, who was limping but moving on her own. All came back, two with bad wounds. But they were alive. The Guard scrambled into the two planes perched on the rail cars. They had planes. Shit, it was a good day after all.

  Arinna puffed out a breath. Her nervous expression dampened Jared’s optimism.

  “Problems?”

  “Nope. You ready to try this thing out?”

  There was movement across the tracks as the beginning of the FLF backup edge
d from the cover of buildings. “Yeah, get us out of here.”

  “You’re flying,” Arinna said.

  Jared gritted his teeth and looked over the controls again. Throttle he could find, but the controls for takeoff were unfathomable. Flap positions, wing angles, engine pitch, Jared stared at the mess of options without understanding any of it.

  “Um, Captain?” Arinna asked.

  “Straight up, like a Harrier?” he asked. Arinna nodded. “Shit,” he grabbed the yoke and pulled, praying it would be that easy.

  The engines roared, the plane shimmying up and sideways. But it wasn’t gaining enough altitude. It was seeing the tiny wings on the other two planes that made him understand some of what was happening. Jared slid the control for wing surface to full. The two planes before him unfolded dark wings. They started gaining altitude. Jared grinned.

  The plane responded like a simulator designed by alien aficionados. Even the helicopters he’d flown hadn’t been as steady. Jared swung the cockpit to face the oncoming FLF from a height just above the crane.

  “Want to see what the lasers can do?”

  “Do I need to answer that?” Arinna asked, reaching for the controls.

  It wasn’t like the movies he remembered. No beam of red or green erupted from the plane. Nothing was visible until the dust from the first building disintegrating filled the air. Then the red laser beam showed in the broken haze. Mostly, it was more like what he’d envisioned hell-bending telekinetic destruction would look like. Buildings, people, debris, anything in front of the plane vaporized. And it was eerie to not feel or hear recoil. Only a slightly higher vibration to the engines signified a strain.

  “That should take care of the tracks into town nicely,” he said as Arinna paused. She was as cautious with the laser fire as she had been with her bullets.

  “I love this plane,” she said with a grin.

  “Why aren’t the other two in the air?” Jared asked, sharing her sentiment but still carrying concerns.