27. Cognac
COGNAC
Dax was sitting wedged between Sprocket and me with Void between her legs, his head resting on her stomach.
The others found space on the couch bed, but Alvaro sat in one of the captain chairs next to it and still had a good view of the television that swung down from the ceiling.
We’d already watched a movie, and now we’re watching South Park and laughing our asses off.
Harper and Ghost rejoined us halfway through the movie, but Ghost had to switch with Magnus who she was curled up with on part of the couch.
It seems the big man didn’t like hearing she’d talk to the Italian without him around.
Glad to know I wasn’t the only one worried about outside people encroaching on my turf.
Although talking with Dax had definitely helped.
While I couldn’t control how others acted toward her, I knew she didn’t have any plans to change our situation.
The speakers overhead crackled to life. “This is your co-pilot speaking. We are in our final descent, so please put on any clothes that might have been removed, clean up your area, and return the cabin back to its original state. Thank you for flying Wright Brothers Airlines, it’s always the right choice to make. ”
Picasso groaned at the pun. “Seriously, could that guy get any cheesier?”
“I find it absolutely endearing,” Harper announced.
“Good, because you’re the one who’s engaged to him,” Dax teased as she tried to shove Void off her lap. “Let’s go, big guy. We need to make this bed into a couch again.”
The man grumbled and flipped over to grab Dax and hoist her over his shoulder as he stood. “I might have to move, but that doesn’t mean I’m giving you up just yet.”
Her laugh as she smacked him on the ass made me smile, knowing what would come next.
“Hey,” Dax snapped after the sound of a solid slap to her ass filled the air. “What the hell?”
“Fair play, little demon. You smack my ass… I smack yours. Thought you would have figured that out by now,” Void teased.
Sprocket and I hit the buttons that would lower the leg rests, but it was moving as slow as molasses.
When we got our own plane, we’d have to make sure it didn’t take the landing time to put back right if we got that feature.
Cam had the right idea about getting our pilot’s licenses.
It would be invaluable to us once this was all over since I had a feeling we’d need to fly out to New York more often than she realized.
Tommaso could be a good leader for the De León Empire as he started calling it, but he needed a mentor.
Dax would be amazing at that once given time to come up with the idea on her own.
All of that would have to wait until we could end things with Marco.
Once that was settled, I felt our life could really begin with Dax.
She’d been dropping not-so-subtle hints about getting a different house, and we’d all been talking about what that looked like for us.
The hardest thing to figure out was where it should be since we had to split time between the Phantoms and the Empire.
Wes and Eagle were working on that front while the rest of us were dealing with an architect to make up the plans with everything we needed and wanted.
That list kept growing, but something like a hot tub could be worked into what we had already started.
All of us moved to the actual seats on the plane and buckled in for the landing.
The sun was setting, but thankfully, we were still in the time of year where it didn’t get too dark super early.
Glancing at my watch, it was around dinnertime like I figured it would be when we landed.
What I didn’t see when I looked out the window was an airport.
There was a runway, but it looked like we were on a military base of some kind.
Pretty sure they didn’t just let anybody land in a place like this, but obviously, the triplets had worked this out ahead of time, so I settled in to see what surprises they had in store for us.
I had to hand it to Jaxson, he was a good pilot, and the landing was smooth-sailing. It didn’t take us long to taxi to wherever they wanted us to be, and the engine shut off shortly after.
“Alright, everybody. We are at a training facility run by the US Air Force. This isn’t an official base but more of a tactical training facility that has simulators.
The base commander is what you’d call a family friend, so we got special clearance to be here for the night.
As far as anyone is concerned, we’ve never been here, we know nothing, and they’ve never heard of us,” Jaxson informed everyone before he opened the plane’s main door.
I raised my hand and saluted. “Copy that, sir.”
“Right, let’s get to training.” Ghost cheered, clapping his hands together.
Once off the plane, I took a look around the place.
There were a few fighter jets and other military vehicles parked off to the side.
Large hangars with the door shut loomed in the fading light, but the actual building we were going to was lit up from the inside.
Then I spotted a truck rushing toward us, canvas sides flapping as it came closer then pulled to a halt before us.
A woman in a military uniform hopped out of the truck and grinned at us.
“Well, look what the cat dragged in,” she said, settling her hands on her hips. “It’s been ages.”
The triplets all stepped up to hug her affectionately, but I could tell from their body language it was sisterly love.
“Savanna, this is Harper, our fiancé,” Magnus shared as he pulled Harper forward. “Harper, this is Sage’s little sister we’ve kept an eye on for most of her life. Although we can’t take any credit for her making colonel this past year.”
Understanding flashed through Harper’s eyes as she greeted the woman. “It’s nice to meet you. Thank you for making this happen.”
“Come on, we don’t have a ton of time, and what you guys want to learn is something that normally takes five weeks of training, not five hours,” Savanna said, waving for us to follow her. “Everyone in the back, the tank program is a little way out on account of, you know… blowing shit up.”
We didn’t need much more encouragement than that to get a move on.
As we flew across the tarmac and down a single-lane road, I wondered if she’d learned her driving skills from a retired NASCAR racer.
Thankfully, there were oh-shit handles back here for us to hold onto as she whipped the truck into a parking lot and, I swear, drifted it right up to the front door.
“You taught her to drive, didn’t you?” Harper asked accusingly.
Ghost just grinned and shook his head. “Nope, she came that way, the more speed, the better. Why do you think she picked the Air Force? She was an amazing fighter pilot before she decided to shoot up the ranks. Now she helps run this facility that trains specialists in certain types of jets and other equipment.”
Harper huffed, and Jaxson helped her out of the truck, snickering.
Something told me this was a long-standing argument with them about driving preferences.
Savanna was already at the entrance unlocking the place and flipping on the lights.
It was a giant warehouse with these strange metal boxes every few feet.
“Okay, we are going to start with an educational video about what the hell happens in a tank, how it’s operated, and then I’m going to give you all a test. The model of the tank you sent me is a three-person crew, each responsible for one part of the tank.
The test will help me see who will work best in each position and as a team,” Savanna informed us.
“Once we get through that, I’ll put you through some guided simulations in your groups and see how it goes. ”
Savanna was a hard taskmaster and ran a tight crew, but she also knew how to be motivating.
Every bit of feedback came with a critique but also something you did well in.
It amazed me the math and calculations you needed for two out of the three positions in a tank.
The driver had to do everything on a simple pixelated screen with no view of the outside world.
As the gunner, you had to do all the calculations of aiming the cannon on the fly.
The loader was the easiest in the sense they only had to put in the new shells and ensure everything was locked and loaded—literally.
“Ready for the simulators?” Savanna asked, leading us out of the classroom back to the open space.
“Alright, for drivers, I’ve got Jaxson, Magnus, Dax, and Cameron.
Gunners would be Cognac, Weston, Sprocket, and Ghost. Finally, the loaders would be Void, Eagle, Alvaro, and Picasso.
Split up into four teams, and I’ll get you set up in a simulator. ”
“Um… Savanna,” Harper spoke up. “You didn’t call my name.”
“Sorry, my bad,” Savanna said with a smile. “You scored the same thing for being a driver and a gunner, so I figured we could have you jump in with any of the groups and rotate everyone to see who works best together.”
Harper looked shocked. “I what?”
“You did amazing, is what you did,” Savanna praised. “To be honest, you had higher scores than most of them except for Sprocket, Dax, and Weston. Although they only scored higher in one area, not both, so take that win however you want to.”
Harper’s cheeks glowed pink at the praise.
I could only imagine what it’s been like for her to be dropped in the middle of this world and trying to figure out where you fit.
Clearly, she had a brilliant mind for strategy and figures, which made sense to me with her design skills.
If she could look at a flat length of fabric and create a masterpiece, why not drive a tank?
Jaxson kissed the side of her head and whispered something in her ear that made her blush deepen.