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Chapter -23- Minutes to Impact

Sunday December 5, evening Three miles above Europe ...

Rufus drew Rama into a firm hug. He whispered into his son's ear, "It's goddamn beautiful. She gonna love it, I jus' know it."

Rama whispered back, "You're not upset I showed it to Albert first?"

"Nah, brother, not inna least. That-there's how a man gotta do it - you talk to her pop, get his blessin' and then you go for it. I'm right blessed you showed me before her. I don't deserve yer respect for not bein' around all those years."

Rama looked back over his shoulder. Aimee was asleep. He turned back to his father and spoke softly. "Look, it wasn't your fault. It's not like you stayed away. I get that now. Had I learned you'd survived ten years ago, I might not have understood it. But I'm not a kid. I know you've been through a lot."

Rufus ruffled Rama's hair. "I wish I could've been there to watch you grow up. But all I can do now is be there to show you support 'n such."

"I appreciate that."

Rufus stood up from the posh leather seat. "There's a bunk at the back. I'mma go lay down."

"A few minutes ago, you said you weren't tired."

Rue grinned at the young man. "I'm bowin' out to give you two privacy."

"Oh! You think I should do it now?"

"Why wait?"

"Actually," Rama licked his teeth and feigned a smile. "You think I could take the bunk? I'll lay her down back there. She's been so wound up over the Albert thing that I know she's exhausted."

Rufus grinned. "Thinkin' of your girl. That's right manly, right there, brother."

Rama fidgeted. "So it's cool?"

"Hell yeah it's cool. If you decide to do it before we land, good luck."

Rama chuckled inwardly. "I've been trying to do it for months. I've had this thing in my pocket and I don't know how to go about it. I've been waiting for some magical right moment and ... I don't know."

"Shit, son. Ain't no time like the present."

"And what if the rest of the day turns really bad from here on out?"

Rufus shrugged. "Then she'll have had one good thing happen today to make up for all the bad shit. But so far, it's gone all right. Her daddy woke up, you got a blessin', and we're goin' to save your mother."

"I'll do it before we land. Thanks for the encouragement."

"Seize the day, junior." Rufus grinned.

Rama grinned. "You're nothing like I thought you'd be."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. You're not as stiff as my mother. Don't get me wrong, she's mellowed out in the last few years, but you act more like a best friend than a parent."

"I missed my chance to parent you. But I'm hopin' to take advantage of the opportunity to get to know you and earn yer respect."

"You're doing a good job so far," Rama confessed. "Thanks for going with me to help me find my mom."

"I'm crazy for that girl. We saw each other again for the first time since you were conceived, and we had chemistry. We spent some time together and we wanna pursue a relationship. I hope you're a'right with that."

"Gee, would it be weird for my mom and dad to get together?" Rama said with a sarcastic tone and a grin. "Let me just think, hmm..." He patted Rufus firmly on the shoulder. "You're the only guy I would _not_punch in the face for kissing my mom."

Rufus laughed softly, so as not to wake Aimee. "Well damn. Hell yeah. That-there's two people t'day that got someone's blessing to be in love. I'm honored you approve of me, brother."

"You're down to Earth. Would it be weird if I called you dad? I mean, I know we haven't known each other very long, but saying it doesn't seem as weird as I thought."

"Go right on ahead, bud. Test it out."

Rama chuckled. "Alright. So, how's the weather, dad? Uhm, how about them Seahawks, dad? How about, hey dad, you want a beer?"

Rufus laughed. "Hell yeah I want a beer, kiddo. Right on."

"Good test."

"Reckon so."

Rama stood up and walked over to Aimee's chair. He lifted her up, carefully keeping his arms beneath her legs and upper-back to support her.

She draped her arm around him and buried her face in his neck. "We there yet?" she murmured.

"No. But there's a bunk in the back. I'm going to lay you down back there."

"Mmkay," she said, muffled against his shoulder.

Rama grinned at his father, Rufus grinned back.

Rama carried her to the back of the plane and shut a faux wood door. He laid her down on the bunk, which was larger than he expected - at least a full mattress.

She rolled near to the window, reached up and pulled the plastic shade down. Rama eased down beside her.

"You okay?" she asked. "Everything good with Mr. D.?"

"Yeah, my dad is a pretty cool guy."

Aimee offered him a tired smile. "Snuggles?"

Rama chuckled. "You have these cute little girl moments every now and then."

She grinned. "It only ever comes out around you. I never painted my nails before we started dating." She rolled over, facing the wall.

Rama laid down adjacent to her and put an arm around her. They grew quiet. A few moments later, he heard her breathing become deep and calm. Meanwhile, his heart raced, wondering how to word what he would say to her later on about the ring.

X

X

Sunday December 5 - afternoon (Mountain Time) Supermax Sally, Wyoming ...

Loki paced the twelve foot cell. It was seven feet wide and had a four-inch-wide vertical window at one end, wedged between a shower stall and concrete bed.

He pivoted on his heel, turning to face the other end. A toilet was fixed to the wall, adjacent to enormous metal bars and a huge steel door beyond them.

He turned back towards the shower. It hissed to life. Loki continued to pace. The water continued to run for two minutes and stopped, as if on a timer.

A few moments later, the steel door opened and the row of bars opened. A group of eight armed guards stood in the doorway. "You get one hour a day for private recreation. If you do anything stupid, you will regret the consequences. Welcome to Tin Can Sally, inmate. Don't let the name fool you. You're surrounded by concrete and steel. And you're never leaving."

Loki scoffed. "This is a delightful designed compared to my last prison."

"It's a cleaner version of hell, inmate. Step out of your cell."

"I was chained to a rock for centuries," said Loki, adding, "with acid dripping over me for the duration of my stay."

"Centuries huh?" The lead guard reached for Loki's arm, guiding him into a standing place. "In the future, we will open the bars first. You will step through them and they will close behind you. Then the steel door will open and we will guide you out. Now that you've had the orientation, that will be procedure for now on."

"Very well." Loki allowed himself to be cuffed and walked down the hallway with the armed entourage. "I will admit, my last prison had a better view. Trees, bushes, hot springs ... I grew to hate it."

"Shut up, inmate. Speak when spoken to."

One of the guards asked, "So you're the guy who used two fuckin' nuclear bombs on the United States, and we're spending eight hundred dollars a day for you? We should just kill you and save the tax payer."

Another guard smirked. "That's a lot of money - way more than the average inmate. But you get us. We're armed better and given more money as danger-pay to cart you around one hour a day. Don't worry, though, we save money by feeding you shitty meals."

Loki shrugged indifferently. "I was jailed per your laws, but was never given a trail."

"You admitted to it," said one guard.

Another added, "The constitution says you have the right to a quick and speedy trial. Well, jackass, you admitted to nuking hundreds of thousands of people. Guess what, your trial was so fast, you blinked and missed it."

"Your taunting amuses me," said Loki with a smile. "But I won't be here very long. So the tax payer will be relieved."

Another guard smirked and said, "You really think you're a god, fuckstick?"

"I am."

"Well, fuckstick, gods can heal injuries right? That means, if I hit you, you won't be bruised. And that means I don't get in trouble for hitting you."

"Why don't you find out?" Loki replied with a challenging tone.

The guard nearest to Loki drew back the butt of an assault rifle, which was strapped and chained to his uniform. He drew it back, using the butt to strike Loki in the face. "And don't think you can take these from us. They're biometrically code-locked to our individual hand prints and the unique chemistry of the oils in our hands."

The welt on Loki's face disappeared.

"Son of a bitch," said one of the guards, stopping the group. "Did you guys see that shit?" Silence. The second guard said, "Hit'em again."

The first guard struck Loki in the face in the same place, but with more force. A gash opened up two inches behind Loki's right eye. Seconds later, the wound mended, leaving no trace of a wound.

"We could make this guy's life hell," said another guard. "We could do this to him all day and nobody would believe it."

"But people don't just heal like that," said another guard. "What the fuck? What the_actual_ fuck?"

"Jesus was persecuted," Loki said. "And he forgave the Roman guards, saying they did not know what they were doing. It implies they were children who could not comprehend their actions. And that is what all of you are to me ... children, every last one of you."

"Shut him the fuck up," said another guard.

"I'm not hitting someone who heals like that," one of the men replied. "That shit isn't human."

Loki smiled. "I assure you I can be injured. But not by those toy weapons you carry."

One of the guards looked around. He approached Loki, placing the barrel of his weapon against Loki's stomach. He glanced around furtively to make sure his back was to the nearest camera.

The guard discharged his weapon into Loki's gut. Everyone else remained silent and still, completely in shock.

Loki grimaced. Blood ran down his abdomen and lower back from the bullet's clean path through his body. He swallowed to keep from shouting in pain.

In a moment, the pain subsided and his wound began to heal. He spoke in a hoarse voice, "Painful," he said, panting softly. He cleared his throat, adding, "Quite painful. But I was far more impressed with the weapons I stole from your country's navy."

"Rodger, his back is healing."

The guard holstered his sidearm and lifted the front of Loki's shirt. He looked around and nodded to another guard. "Get the round out of the wall, Walter."

The third guard went to the wall and quickly dug out the crumpled bullet buried in the concrete wall. "I've never seen anyone do what I just saw."

"Walter, shut the fuck up. He's an inmate. We take him back to his cell and keep him confined just like anyone else in this goddamn prison."

"Rodger, he healed a bullet wound."

The guard narrowed his gaze. "I saw. I'm the one who has to file a report for a discharged weapon. That's negligence."

"It's self defense," said another one of the men.

"No, Tom. It's self-defense if the prisoner can't corroborate the fucking story."

Loki tugged at his shackles, amused by them. "What story? You didn't discharge your weapon. That nick in the wall was always there."

The guards turned to Loki, perplexed.

Loki added, "I didn't hear anything. I'm uninjured. I require a change of clothes without bloodstains. Someone should mop this floor. You should replace the round in your weapon. Nothing happened here."

Rodger glowered at the deity. "Why would you do that for us?"

"I don't want the drama of being questioned. Being an immortal deity who can heal the wounds inflicted by mortal weapons would steal thunder from my attacks."

"Get him back in the cell," said Rodger. "Move it, everyone."

They headed back up the hallway.

A door at the end of the hall opened and a woman sauntered up the corridor. She stopped at a set of bars designed to compartmentalize the hall into smaller sections.

She placed her hands on the bars and they melted to sludge. A fire alarm blinked on the wall created from the molten slag that pooled and burned on the concrete floor.

The woman stepped through the bars and, at the next set of bars, melted a section into slag again. She continued up the hall towards Loki and the guards. "Gentlemen, I've come to collect my husband."

The group lifted their weapons, keeping them pointed at her. They moved into a protective formation around Loki.

"That won't be necessary," said Loki. "You cannot hurt my wife. She is quite destructive if provoked."

Silence.

"Sigyn," she told the group, saying the word to sound like 'Sagan.' She held her hands outward, palms up, creating two glowing orbs of vibrant blue fire. The heart of each flame burned white. "Your world is delightful chock full of knowledge, all of which is easy to find. The melting point of these bars, for example. And then there is this nonsense called thermite, and white phosphorous."

No one spoke.

The two flaming orbs in Sigyn's hands changed color, becoming orange and red. "But the heat necessary to melt steel is _too_hot to hurt you. You would never feel it. You would smell the burning flesh, nothing more."

The group backed away, keeping their weapons pointed at Sigyn as she approached.

"But this," she said, nodding down at her palms, "should be just the right temperature to cause excruciating pain. You would die from the agony and the shock of the heat first. Now, step away from my husband."

"Sigyn, we were just coming to an understanding. I was opening the lines of dialogue and building rapport and respect."

"We do not have time to build an army of followers a handful at a time," she said. "Destiny awaits, love."

"Oh?"

"Reinhardt has changed the timeline. Apparently the man lacks patience."

Loki frowned. He tensed his arms, pulling at the shackles. "He is many months ahead of schedule."

She approached and reached for the chain links between his wrists.

Loki turned away from her. "I know you can do it. Let me prove I can do it." He turned to the group of guards and brought his wrists nearly together. He angled his forearms until one of the metal links was stressed.

Loki twisted his wrists, putting leverage on the chain links until one of them broke. He turned his wrists the other direction, snapping the chain link clean threw. "You see? It is not about strength. It is about intelligence."

The group backed away, keeping their rifles pointed at the couple.

One of the guards said, "I have a wife, Rodger. I have a kid on the way."

"Quiet, Tom."

"None of us want to die," said Walter. He raised his voice, asking Loki, "Now what?"

"Jesus allowed the Roman Soldiers to stab him and leave in peace," said Loki. "You've pierced me, and now I will let you leave with your lives."

"You're not going to kill us?"

Loki shrugged. "Just because a warrior can snap the neck of every woman or child in the village does not mean he will. That is the difference between your kind and myself. You do not know what to do with power. You stab, strike and shoot to show control. I allow you to live to assert my control."

Sigyn closed her hands. The orbs of fire disappeared. "I reached out to Reinhardt after he completed a ceremony known as 'swearing in.' He was the one who told me where to find you."

"Very well. Where is the portal you used to make your way here?"

Sigyn turned away from the group of guards with Loki. They walked back down the hallway together. "No portal. I cannot pass through mirrors. I do not know why. Reinhardt arranged transportation to this facility. I followed a high-priority prisoner named Gregory Watson. He was the head of the human group that aided the Esoteric Council."

Loki smiled brightly. "I warned him that he was in over his head."

"How so?"

"Who do you think arranged for his arrest?" Loki grinned triumphantly. "You are clever to have come with his convoy. Does he know? Did you speak to him?"

"No, I followed in their wake. I left no bodies until I had a clear understanding of your location. I was under the impression that Director Watson was deemed a traitor to his country and incarcerated under presidential order. I thought Reinhardt did this to guide me to you?"

He smiled. "I came up with this plan, Reinhardt executed it properly."

"I am impressed. You are a fine strategist."

Loki brushed back a bit of hair from the side of her face and smiled at his wife. "I will explain everything when we've escaped; just know that Watson is now unable to stop us - we've cut the head from the snake. The new President will ensure the USPRI agency disappears. Now, where are we?"

"At the heart of the least densely-populated state in America. There is snow. Nearly an ell in depth."

"The modern ell is now a stika, now," Loki said with a frown. "How did you arrive?"

"Very well, the snow is half a stika in depth." She smirked.

"I did not intend to correct you in such a way. You are my wife and I respect your intelligence."

Sigyn looked away. "I followed the convoy in the snow. I walked in the tracks left in the wake of their vehicles for several hours. I created fire to stay warm. Reinhardt will ensure our escape is not mentioned to the public."

Loki placed his hand on her arm. "I appreciate your dedication, Sigyn. You will live up to your name - the English word is 'victorious.' Now," Loki trailed off and smirked. "We should contact Reinhardt."

"Why?"

Loki began walking again. "I wish for our escape to be public. Let us find those who report news and tell of our escape. Let us show humans our abilities. Let them see that they cannot imprison the gods."

"Is that wise?"

He nodded with a devious sort of smile. "I enjoy seeing their faces when they realize we cannot be harmed. I will brag to them of my achievements with the weapons. We will give them a reason to worship us. We will rewrite what they know about the true power of our kind, and use it to rebirth the world."

She sighed in silence. "You did not ask ... never mind."

Loki opened a door for her. They stepped into a stairwell, leading up. The passed beneath the stairs to an emergency exit and passed through the door. An alarm sounded.

Loki turned to her. "Forgive me, Sigyn. I was rude not to ask how you've fared since our separation upon coming to this world. I am very pleased you are well."

"I saw the fireball."

Loki eyed her for a moment. "I don't understand."

She grimaced. "I was close enough to the city, which you burned to the ground, to see the fireball with my own eyes."

"The one in California?"

She nodded. "San Francisco, that was its name. You destroyed it. I'd just come from the heart of the city. There was a flash. I glanced over my shoulder and saw a great ball of fire, followed by a pillar of black. It lifted into the air and mushroomed out. It froze in the sky over the city, holding its shape, many _rôst_in height."

"The humans call them 'miles'. And yes, the weapon was impressive. The largest of the three was detonated recently. Ironically, it was not supposed to make Reinhardt the president. That was an interesting twist, but it will help us."

"Mm, did you know that our kind are not resilient to vaporization by radiation at such intense levels? At least not yet."

"Not yet?"

Sigyn nodded. "Reinhardt tells me that Aris Falcon could give me powers I've only ever dreamed of. I'm told it would be possible to control radiation, lightning, and even time itself."

"How close were you to this weapon? I did not know you would be in San Francisco at the time of its detonation. I thought you would come through long before."

"I was close enough," she said. Sigyn licked her lips and sighed. "So far as Reinhardt's presidency ... it was the weapon in Texas what changed everything."

"That is how ... Reinhardt skipped to presidency? He was supposed to be a ranking member of the Senete to better blend in. I thought, perhaps, it was a fluke that caused him to become the leader of this country."

Sigyn smirked. "Reinhardt took advantage of the timing, convinced the President of the United States to dismiss his guards, and then Reinhardt used his ability of persuasion; he caused the President to write a 'melancholy goodbye letter,' claiming he, the president, failed the United States."

Loki nodded, "Because his nation was bombed several times during his reign - clever."

"When the letter was finished, Reinhardt murdered the President. The death was made to appear self-inflicted. This allowed Reinhardt to become leader of this nation."

Loki rubbed his chin, piecing all the information together. "So, you are telling me that my stolen weapon killed those in between Reinhardt's position and that of the President? That is why Reinhardt was able to become the nation's leader?"

"Yes, Loki."

Loki nodded. "I cannot fault the man for moving forward with the timing. I am impressed with his motivation, and he has been helpful with bringing us back together."

"Yes," she replied.

They stepped out into the courtyard. Loki looked up at the guard towers, admiring the enormous torches that lit up the sky. "Your work?"

Sigyn arched her brows. "Of course it is."

Loki smiled. "And the convoy to take us to the nearest city?"

"They fear for their lives; I assure you they have waited for us - I demonstrated to them that I could boil them from a distance. The closer we come to Ragnarök, the sooner my only surviving son will revert from his cursed form of a wolf. I miss my son."

Loki nodded. "You will be reunited with our child soon, Sigyn."

"I believe you." She nodded to a line of SUVs outfitted with small attachments on each wheel, which simulated the treads used by tanks. "They will take us to the nearest city, where we can speak to the people of the world."

"Do they know their president serves us?"

"No," said Sigyn. "They believe I infiltrated. And they fear for their lives. It only took several gunshots to prove they cannot hurt me."

Loki nodded. "Do not let them remove your head."

"I am not a fool," she replied. "Did you _even_miss me?"

He turned to her and embraced her. "Absolutely I have. Forgive me; I was in shock by the change in timing to our plans. I was in a rush to leave the prison when I saw you, and then I became distracted when we spoke of our plans. Yes, I absolutely missed you."

She smiled inwardly. "I never left your side after all those years. Forgive me, Loki, for seeming ... insecure. I know of your penchant for collecting lovers."

"That has been many centuries."

She scoffed. "Because you were chained to a bolder. You have been free and away from me. Will you take more wives, or toy about with women in this world? I know your past."

"My past you speak of..." Loki placed his hand at the small of her back. "I was young, and sex was a vehicle with which to achieve power over certain women. Each lover was a calculation. I am now a man, and you are my wife. I need no toy in my bed, only my bride."

She offered him a smile. "Smooth words, Loki. I want to believe them."

"Please believe them. I never married my trysts because I did not want them for longer than a handful of minutes."

She nodded in understanding. "And we have been together for ages."

"Exactly, Sigyn. We have lasted for centuries."

"Very well." They made their way to one of the SUVs and slid into the back seat together. She leaned forward and said, "To the nearest heavily populated city."

"Cheyenne," said the driver.

Sigyn nodded. "Is it large?"

The driver looked up, through snowy windshield, at the burning watchtowers around the prison. "It's the capital."

"That will suffice," said Loki. "I've allowed a group of guards, who had me at gunpoint, to walk away with their lives. You, too, will survive. Everyone in this caravan will live if you do what you're told. I have no interest in killing perfectly capable serving hands."

"Understood," said the driver, trying to keep a calm face.

"You were trained well."

"No amount of training can prepare me for people who can't be harmed by bullets," said the driver. He radioed to the rest of the convoy and said, "Delta Romeo Niner, this is Delta Romeo Actual. We're headed to Cheyenne. How copy?"

A reply came over the radio. "Good copy, Delta Romeo Actual."

The driver cleared his throat. "Should I radio ahead to make any necessary preparations upon your arrival?"

Loki reached up and placed a hand on the man's shoulder. "Relax, driver. You are tense with fear. I told you that I allowed people to live. I will not allow Sigyn to take your life. And, to answer your question, yes - we wish to broadcast a message to the country. Take us somewhere that will report our image to your countrymen."

"Understood. I'll use the Sat Phone and call the media. Any particular station?"

"Whoever you choose." Loki leaned back in the seat and put an arm around Sigyn. "You have my full attention now."

She cupped his face and kissed his lower lip. "The snow reminds me of Scandinavian fields, and Northern China. It's beautiful."

Loki grinned and drew her close, so that her head rested against his collarbone. "Thank you for coming for me."

"I was pleased to see you again. How long were you imprisoned?"

"Today was my first day." Loki rested his chin atop of her head. "It was brief."

"Good. Then all is well."

"Is there anything else I should be aware of, Sigyn?"

"It is said that a very, very large storm is projected to make its way up the Atlantic corridor. It is currently not known whether it will make landfall on the Continental United States' eastern seaboard, or if it will shift towards the District Coast."

"Will this help us?"

"Perhaps. Our enemies are hidden somewhere on one of those coasts."

"I see." Loki smiled. "Perhaps this could be useful."

X

X

Meanwhile Romania...

Rufus looked down. His right leg was bouncing from restlessness. He shifted the phone to his other ear and said, "Karla, I know you're in a hurry to get down there and find Falcon, but I have to do this first."

"I understand. Reno says he looks forward to 'tearing shit up' with you when we storm that place."

Rufus chuckled and closed his eyes. "So how are you guys? You and Reno?"

"We're good, Rue. What about you and me? Are we cool?"

"Yeah. Yeah, we're cool Blondie. I don't know what that was in the training room that one night, but ... it's out of my system. And I'm adult-enough to put it behind me and leave it there."

"Good. Same here. Is there anything you're not telling me?"

Rufus frowned. He thought back to being threatened by Eric after the werewolf village was destroyed.

"Rue?"

"Nah, I'm just tired because I'm worrying myself sick over my son's mother. Ulfey been through a lot. Her home village was leveled, she done got involved with all our drama - the Falcon drama, that is. I didn't mean to space out, Blondie. Look, why don't you slow your roll with Reno?"

"Is that what you haven't been telling me? You're worried he and I rushed into things?"

"Yeah. That, exactly - you'ns rushing into things. What if Nicky Parker's down in a tube in Falcon's lab? What if he throws himself into chasin' that 'one who got away,' so to speak? I don't wanna see you hurt."

Karla grew quiet for a moment. She sighed over the line and said, "I appreciate that you give a shit, Ruebear. But I'm not in a relationship with Reno. We're friends-with-benefits. That's it, and that's all. We both agreed not to catch feelings for each other until the dust is settled."

Rufus drew the phone away from his face so she wouldn't hear him chuckle. Amused, he said, "Karla, you sufferin' from Florence Nightingale effect. And that boy goin' through the same thing - transference."

"Oh, do tell me more, Sigmund."

"Just answer me this: If you rescued your husband, or came across him in a way that suggests he didn't abandon you ... would you take him back? If the answer is yes, you ain't ready for another relationship. If the answer is no, then just take shit slowly with ole' Reno."

"I gotta go, Rue. This was me calling you to put the band back together. Are you in? We'll wait until you get back if you want in."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm in. Look, I gotta go. We're settin' down in Bucharest. I see people out in fields, cuttin' grace with scythes like tradition is somehow better than a mower. We're about to touch down."

"You seem different, Rue. Maybe this woman and ... you know, finding your kid ... maybe that's what you've always needed in your life."

"Did you see the news? Reinhardt St. Leonard - the sonnovabitch is movin' up in the world."

"Yeah. I looked him up on the internet. He's been working in the human political sector for ten years as of this year. He and Aris have been planning this shit for a long time."

Rue sighed. "Yeah. I've got a bad feeling about everything. It's possible I won't be able to get back inna United States after the attacks. If that's the case, I'll call you and have you meet us in Normandy or the District Coast with yer yacht."

"That's doable."

"I'm gonna jet - tires just touched down," he said, shifting his weight. He looked out the window at the tarmac as it raced by.

"Keep that family safe, Ruebear. See you when you get back. Introduce the family to me. I can't wait to see the mini-me version of you."

"Heh, he's twenty-six. Anyhow, take care. G'bye."

"Bye, Rue." She disconnected from her end.

X

X

Monday December 6 - 5am local Prague ...

James withdrew the fuel cell and hefted the replacement from a cargo space into the oddly shaped tank. He shut the fuel hatch and opened the panel door, climbing back up into the helicopter.

James looked up at Evan with the controller in one hand and his cellphone in the other. "We good? Is Patty still asleep? You still want to pilot us? Fun isn't it?"

Evan shoved the cellphone into James' hand. "Looks like I'm going to have to. Take this call - it's Conner. He said it's a family emergency."

James tilted his head. He took the phone and pulled the door shut. He unplugged the auxiliary jack cord from Evan's headset and brought it to his own. James pulled the headphones on and spoke into the boom-mic. "Conner?"

"Uncle Jaye, you need to meet with me as soon as possible. We're going to the family island right away."

"What? What's going on?"

"Joe Pendleton and his goddamn son. They just sent me a text message to my phone, showing me the machine they're using to try and crack the lock I've got over the door."

"You put a lot of money into that thing. You think it'll be okay?"

"That's not the point," said Conner. "My folks hid stuff in there that would make Falcon's life easier. I'm not sure all the details, but there might be artifacts those guys don't yet have. We can't let them get their hands on that shit."

James frowned. "Okay, what's the plan, and who else is coming?"

"This is a war of the families. I don't want anyone else getting hurt over this. We have traps that only our family can navigate, remember? Karla already said she wouldn't feel safe teleporting in a hallway where something might pop out of the wall and phase with her. It's just us. Are you good with that?"

James frowned. "Okay. How am I getting you?"

"Are you done in Romania?"

"Yeah. Evan and Patty can plug coordinates into a computer and get home. It's literally that simple. I'm in Prague right now."

"Charter a flight to the District Coast. There's an airport in a city called Mount Saint Augustine. You'll tell your chartered flight to land there. I'll pick you up when you arrive and we'll head to the neighboring city, called Orlando. It's pretty much all that's left of this state that was once called Florida. We fly out of Orlando, refuel in Panama and land in Hawaii. It's the quickest way."

"I ... okay. I'll see you when I arrive. I'll text you with details when I've chartered the flight. I guess it's a good thing you had me get my passport and get my finances in order to where I can do this kind of stuff."

"See? Told 'ya. See you soon, Uncle Jaye. Oh, and remember your staff! And try and get some sort of rest on the way out here. Things are about to heat up."

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Next Chapter: https://www.sofurry.com/view/838608