World War 97 Part 5 (World War 97 Serial) Read online

  My breath quickened. “Are you trying to seduce me?”

  “That’s not my style.” She took a fistful of my hair and turned my head around until I faced her. She kissed me with a vigor that made my toes twist upward. “I aim to ravish you. And I won’t take no for an answer.”

  Refusal couldn’t have been farther from my mind. I curled my arms around her, kissing her just as passionately as she had me. My usual habit of thinking too much wasn’t a problem as I lost myself in instinct and sensation.

  Chapter 3

  When Zirconia entered, the sheet was lying on the floor, and my body intertwined with Arianne’s provided the only cover for her modesty. “Mother!” I grabbed the sheet and threw it over us. “You can’t just burst in like this.”

  She snorted. “We have bigger things to worry about than a mother seeing her son’s pee-pee. It’s time. The Roosevelt left Under Nyork earlier than expected. We attack as soon as we can get our birds in the air.”

  “This instant?”

  “The ground crews are getting the planes ready. So you have a little time. Not enough for round two.”

  “Round two was hours ago,” Arianne said. “We’ll have to rain check round ten, though. That’s a pity. I was just getting your son warmed up.”

  “Jordi has barely stopped grinning since I entered, so I’d say you have sparked his engine to life.” Zirconia was stone-faced, despite her words.

  “Mother!”

  “It’s true about the grinning,” Arianne said. “I swear that if the world was going to end in minutes, if a man got some the night before, he’d shrug and say ‘don’t care, got laid.’” She pulled away from me and twisted into a sitting position. The sheet covered her waist, and she didn’t seem to care that her breasts were exposed.

  “That’s not true,” I said.

  “Yet you can’t stop staring at the girl’s tits,” Zirconia said, “when you should be more concerned with getting ready for the mission.”

  I flushed and tore my gaze away from Arianne.

  “And we usually put these clowns in charge. Always heading whichever way their member leads them.” Arianne tossed a few pieces of clothing off the pile in the corner before finding a T-shirt and pulling it on.

  “How come women always end up ganging up on the lone man in the room?” I had a feeling that Arianne and Zirconia would be at each other’s throats if I wasn’t their mutual target.

  “I have to go.” Zirconia looked at me. “Jordi, don’t let me down.”

  “Is saying that going to help?” I asked. “You really don’t know how people work, do you?”

  “Not if they’re broken.” Zirconia ducked out of the tent.

  “Wait,” I called after her. “There’s something I want to talk to you about.” I jumped into my pants and followed her outside the tent.

  Zirconia was waiting for me.

  “You know all about INSH, right?” I asked.

  She nodded. “Of course. I’ve known about that a lot longer than you have. Just because it’s all shiny and exciting to you doesn’t mean it’s new to those of us who have been in the trenches against them for years.”

  A man walked past us and started into Arianne’s compartment. I reached out to stop him then changed my mind. Arianne was now clothed. I could find out what he wanted after.

  “What about the Australian Colonies? Do you know about how they were destroyed for not staying in line?” I wanted to make sure that she knew what INSH was capable of.

  Zirconia raised her eyebrows. “You’re asking me if I know about the Australian Colonies? That’s funny.”

  “Well, you aren’t laughing. Or even smiling. And I’m talking about the destruction of an entire superpower and everyone who lived in it. I don’t see how that can be funny.”

  “It’s funny because I know more about the Australian Colonies than any person still alive. I was born there.”

  I took a half step back. “You can’t have been.”

  “Of course records of my birth have been changed in the system. But Australia is where this rebellion began. Our victory there was temporary, but before we were crushed, a decision was made to send some of the younger rebels to the Conference to continue the movement. Me. Arianne’s father. A few others.”

  I blinked. “You were born in the Australian Colonies,” I repeated stupidly.

  Zirconia started to walk away.

  “Wait. So you know how INSH will react to your attack? And you’re ready for them?”

  “Just worry about your own part in this, Jordi. Do your part.”

  I went back into Arianne’s tent. She stood on her injured leg, with her healthy one raised, and beads of sweat gathering on her forehead, under the watchful eye of the man who’d passed me before.

  “What’s going on?” I asked. “There’s no way you should be standing on that already.”

  “If she wants to be cleared, she has to prove that she is fit,” the medic said.

  “For what?” I asked.

  “Ask Jordi if my leg has healed well enough. He’s the one who needs to trust that I’m healthy.” Arianne put her second foot down. “Jordi, do you have a problem putting your life in my hands in my current state?”

  “What’s this about?”

  “Would you like to be left behind due to a scratch on your leg?” Arianne glared at me. “You gave me a thorough inspection last night, and I don’t believe I was found wanting.”

  “That’s true, but you were horizontal most of the time.” I glanced at the medic, who looked as though he had swallowed something distasteful.

  The prissy look on the man’s face convinced me that Arianne was right—the doctors were old women. “She’s fine. Clear her.” Despite what I said, I had doubts about how strong Arianne really was. She had looked strained when she’d stood on one leg. And I knew the trip from the undercity had taken a lot out of her. “No point in avoiding small risks.”

  The medic considered for a moment then nodded. “Very well.”

  When he left, we faced each other awkwardly for a moment, then I closed the distance between us, cupping her face in my hands and kissing her.

  “I love you,” I said after our lips parted.

  “In a world of burly military men, I had to end up with the one with the soft romantic center. Why me?”

  “I know you love me, too.”

  Arianne smiled. “As long as you know it, that’s the most important thing. Now. To war.” She slapped me on my bare chest. “You need a few more clothes first, though.” She started tying up her hair.

  When we were both fully dressed—I made a brief attempt at stripping Arianne’s T-shirt off, but she broke the mood by claiming that my actions proved she and Zirconia were right about men—she led the way outside.

  Of course, I didn’t have a clue where to go. This wasn’t like when I’d run missions on a devastator, where the procedure was as familiar as a morning shave. Luckily, I spotted Darius jogging past, and I called him over.

  “Good.” Darius came to a stop in front of me. “I wanted to get a chance to talk to you before takeoff.”

  “I’m glad you found me, too, because I don’t have a clue where I’m supposed to be right now.”

  Darius turned to Arianne. “You know where to go get kitted out, don’t you?”

  Arianne nodded.

  “Okay, I’ll get Jordi set up and he’ll catch up with you before takeoff.”

  Arianne took off at a jog.

  I frowned. “How do you get her to do what you ask?”

  “For me, I’m her superior, and she’s a good soldier, so it’s easy. For you… hmmm, knowing Arianne, I think you should give up any thought of getting her to obey you. She’s not the docile type. Better to appreciate her strength rather than try to control her.” He barked a laugh. “Not that she’ll give you any choice. Now, come this way.”

  Darius set off across the camp, and I fell in alongside him. It was only then that I noticed he was wearing a jumpsuit. �
�You can’t fly a plane.”

  He tilted his head. “You sure about that?”

  “Can you?”

  “Lots you don’t know about me, big brother. I don’t have the experience that you have, but we need every pilot we can get.”

  “Zirconia is okay with both of us going up?” She’d once told me she was willing to sacrifice one son for the cause but not both.

  “I’m her son, and I’ve worked closer with her than with anyone else, and still, I’ve never come close to understanding Zirconia. I don’t even try anymore. But if she wasn’t okay with any part of this plan, it wouldn’t be happening.”

  We reached a rectangular tent with a wide entrance. Inside were jumpsuits and helmets, with several pilots getting ready. All the equipment was familiar.

  “You stole all this from the Conference?”

  “It got lost in the supply chain.” Darius winked. “You can hardly expect us to make our own uniforms. We’re rebels, not seamstresses. Find something that fits and put it on. I’ll get your helmet and make sure the permissions are correct on it.”

  I found a suit that fit and put it on. It felt peculiar to be getting ready alongside pilots who were strangers to me. How were we supposed to trust each other if we had never flown together before? For all I knew, they were all as likely to crash into me as they were to shoot the enemy.

  Darius handed me a helmet, and we exited. We headed out of the camp, taking the path through the forest. I took a deep breath, trying to rediscover the joy I’d felt the day before while experiencing the world aboveground. But I was too on edge.

  I glanced over at Darius. It was strange how normal walking beside him seemed. I had wept at his funeral, I had cursed him for betraying our country, and here I was, walking side by side with him as if nothing had changed—as if we were two teenage brothers comfortable in each other’s presence once more.

  “How did we end up here?” I asked.

  Darius looked at me. “I guess this must be a really strange moment for you. Not for me. It feels like my life has been leading up to this moment ever since Zirconia told me about INSH when I was fourteen. My years leading up to the presidency and my time as president were just me playing a role. That was a sham, and this is real. The only strange part for me is that you are at my side. But strange in a good way.” He patted my back. “I’m glad the Terrible Twosome Teenager Tribe gets to venture forth once more.”

  “I had repressed that we ever called ourselves that.” I shuddered. “Please never remind me again.” I shook my head. “For me, strange isn’t the word. This is so far beyond strange. I’m still waiting to wake up from the weirdest dream I’ve ever had.”

  We emerged from under the canopy of trees and walked onto a rubble-strewn street. Ahead, the fighter planes were queued up.

  “It just takes getting used to. After we win, everyone else will also have to adjust to a new way of looking at the world, so you won’t be alone.”

  “You really think we can win? Against everything that we are up against?” I noticed that I had used we, mentally committing myself to Celeste’s cause. Deep down, I had my doubts, but I had decided to fly a rebel plane, so I had to get used to the idea that I was on their side.

  “It may have seemed that I was embracing a martyr’s death when Transport One went down, but as you now know, I had no intention of dying like that. And I have no intention of checking out today, either. We will begin a new way of life here in the Conference. A real life, instead of just having to play a part in the sham that INSH have constructed for us.”

  “I guess.” Despite the conviction in Darius’s voice, I couldn’t share his confidence. If the devastator’s defenses were compromised, then perhaps we would have the initial advantage. But winning? I didn’t see how that was going to happen.

  The first of the fighters had taxied into position at the start of the makeshift runaway. We came to a stop and watched as it roared into the air.

  “We better hurry,” Darius said. “That was Blue 2 taking off. You are in Blue 7, and I’m in Blue 9.”

  We sped up and reached the row of planes squatting in the broken-up tarmac just as Blue 3 was taxiing into position. Under the wheels of the planes, grass and moss poked out through cracks.

  “Doesn’t look like the runway is in great shape,” I said.

  “This section here is just for taxiing into position. You’ll see that the actual runway is plenty smooth.”

  “I would hope so. I’d like to at least get into the sky before I die.”

  Darius laughed and slapped me on the back. “That’s the fighting spirit. Come on. Blue 3 is about to go. No time to waste.”

  We reached Blue 7.

  “Clamber up there and make sure the permissions are correct,” he said.

  I climbed the ladder at the side of the plane and touched my helmet to the cockpit window. It beeped and swung open. “Seems to be in order.” I looked the plane up and down and glanced inside. “It looks like it belongs in a museum.”

  “Where do you think we got them?” Darius grinned. “Planes that are in active service are much more heavily guarded.”

  “You’re kidding?”

  “J-27s. They haven’t been used since World War 81. But they are the fastest planes ever built.”

  “World War 81?”

  “They have been reconditioned. The engines inside are as good as new.”

  I climbed down and stepped away from the plane, studying the streamlined shape. “Great straight-line speed, I’d say, but no maneuverability,” I guessed. “Would get killed in a dogfight against V-Tips.”

  “That’s why they aren’t used anymore. But in this case, we won’t have any problem. We’ll have the devastator’s defenses turned off and the launch tubes locked down. The Conference V-Tips won’t be able to get into the sky to face you.”

  “And if something goes wrong?”

  Darius’s smile faltered. “That’s why I wanted to talk to you before you left.” He leaned in close to my ear. “Listen, Jordi, if things go terribly, you don’t have to sacrifice yourself. You discovered Burnett’s lair, and he let you live, so he may have a soft spot for you. Living to fight another day is better than senselessly throwing your life away.” Darius jerked away as if surprised by what he had said. He jogged to the last plane in the row—Blue 9. “Get ready. You’re taking off soon.”

  Darius wanted me to conserve myself, and Zirconia wanted me to do my part. Why does everyone have to be so cryptic? “What about preflight checks?” I shouted after him.

  “The mechanics have already done that. You’re set to go.”

  “What about my copilot?” It was a two-man plane, with the second seat for the navigator/gunner.

  “Over here, doofus,” came a voice from behind.

  I whirled around to see Arianne limping toward me. She wore a jumpsuit and carried a helmet.

  Chapter 4

  “No.” I shook my head.

  “You were expecting someone more qualified?” She put on her helmet and began climbing the ladder.

  “Don’t tell me you are secretly a pilot, too.” I remembered that Arianne had told the medic that I was the one who needed to trust in her health. I hadn’t followed up on figuring out what she meant.

  “No, but I’ve been in a simulator as a gunner.” She reached the top of the ladder, climbed onto the wing, then nudged her helmet against the second cockpit canopy. It swung open. “The controls look the same as in the simulator.” She sniffed. “The machine didn’t get across the smell of oil and grit, though.”

  “You’ve never even been in the plane?” I climbed the ladder. By the time I reached the wing, Arianne had settled into the second seat. “Get out, Arianne. This isn’t going to happen.”

  “Why not?”

  “Your injury, for one thing. You won’t be able to handle the g-forces. With the blood pressure increase, your leg would likely start bleeding again. Also, you’ll have trouble breathing. It’s not to be taken lightly, ev
en by a fully healthy person.”

  She took off her helmet and smiled up at me. “You agreed with the doctor that I should be cleared for action.”

  “I didn’t know what it was for.”

  “You thought I’d be a radio operative on the ground or something like that?” Another J-27 roared past. I wobbled as its wake washed over me, then I steadied.

  “We have to get ready to go,” Arianne said once the noise and wind had died down.

  “No, you don’t understand. Shit, the last time I flew, I couldn’t do anything. I can’t have you in the plane with me.”

  “So you think it’s okay to risk yourself and the plane and our mission, but it’s not okay to risk me. Is that it?”

  “Exactly.”

  “Would you rather I was gunner in one of the other planes? Perhaps with a pilot who has never flown outside a simulator?”

  I shook my head.

  “Do you really think there’s any way I won’t be where the fighting is thickest and most dangerous? Do you know me that little? I know you are worried that this will be the Battle of Rockall all over again. But I’m confident in you. From what I heard, you were a mess back then, and you’ve come a long way in a short time.”

  Arianne replaced her helmet on her head and lowered the canopy of her cockpit.

  A man on the ground was waving us forward.

  I ground my teeth, trying to figure out an alternative. Another J-27 took off, the wave buffeted me again, and I stumbled a few steps down the wing before regaining my balance. In the end, I decided to do what Arianne wanted. I pulled on my helmet, climbed into the pilot’s seat, and strapped myself in. I quickly scanned all the indicators and gauges. Everything seemed in order. I pressed the start button, and the engine roared to life. I nudged the control stick forward and lowered the cockpit canopy.

  Seems I’m going ahead with this. The plane bounced along the broken concrete. I kept the speed as low as possible until I realized that made the jolting even worse. When I sped up, the bouncing evened out a bit. I watched the gauges anxiously.