Chapter Nine
Two days
Honor Rising
Hud
“Got a shift with Rescue. They’re picking me up.”
She turns from the meet room door with her smile in place. “Don’t you need training for all their disaster plans?” She pulls my shirt before I can answer so I go with her plan and kiss the shit out of her.
When I pull away, she’s breathing heavy in a way that I’m fighting to keep my hands over her clothes.
I’m not checking just what that heavy breathing leads to with eyes on us from multiple angles.
“Fuckin’ Bits and their butterflies. Asa showed me the lady bugs.
They’re scary kids.” Her glazed eyes focus on me and she smiles.
“I’m not on a build team. They need trained security.
” My watch beeps. “Tell you later, Hud’s Angel.
Love when you’re breathing heavy.” I don’t like the Hud name in there but I feel it. It just sounds stupid.
She giggles pushing me away. “You can fix that later too.”
I turn back and almost trip with the sudden movement. “Count on it. Seamus gave me Havoc.” Swinging back around, I start jogging for the stairs with my new K9 partner.
“Chopper’s here.”
I almost trip again when she says I’m a thief. She wants a dog and I think Seamus is training one for her. Havoc is mine because Alder loaded all the classified jobs in my file into him. At a guess, he’s loading a new chip K9 with her records.
We make it to pad four just as the chopper is lowering. Anchor opens the door and puts a hand out before it’s down. I take it and Havoc follows me in.
“Brothers.” I don’t say more. My objective is getting them back on the chopper.
Rescue’s engineer shows me maps. I point to trees with a field behind them.
“That’s parking for a national forest hiking entrance.
There’s a trail toward the dam but it stops and is fenced.
It’s more scenic than a way in and that scenic is in a way that isn’t showing what money at the entrance shows. ”
Clenching my jaw, I look at what’s around it. A fence line then another in high grass before the dam. I look at the legend then the lines on the monitor. Nothing else but the obvious entrance to the dam and tourist trap. “Get me behind the trees in stealth.”
He gives me a surprised look. I roll my eyes at him. “Piloted stealth as a scout. This has stealth.”
He nods. “That’s almost five miles out, Cap…Boss.” There’s a secure area that surrounds the dam and we need to be dropped outside of it.
“Who is my IT?”
Racks smiles. “Don’t scare them, Brother. This is a new Flight crew for us.”
I nod and turn at the sound of weight hitting the floor.
Two duffels are dropped just past the row of seats. “The gear you requested,” a Flight Crew Brother says.
I sent the list less than thirty minutes ago. Bending I start pulling shit out. Once everything is inventoried, I suit up Havoc with the crazy Ops gear and fill his pouches. “One or two water?”
His board comes on and he hits two. We’re headed to a huge dam that is being threatened.
It sounds stupid but the water in the dam could be contaminated.
I think the threat is a bomb but chemical is always a threat with fresh water sitting, or in this case, traveling miles across multiple states.
When I’m done, my pockets get filled. Everything left is gear, or supplies to build gear we may need, that all gets transferred to the trash bag inside one duffel.
Anchor is watching and throws me chin. “You only need the one.”
I just nod.
“The robotic?” Racks asks.
“Bits waterproofed it before I got it but Seamus sealed it with a cover.” Pulling up my pant leg I show him.
He laughs reaching to touch it. “Sealed tight. He coated it all in rubber?” Now he’s amazed.
“Stronger, so nothing can cut through to the sealed wiring or sensors.”
Anchor smiles. “That Brother is covered like Fort Knox now but it’s his partners that do it. Light ordered the minerals to make the skin but never said what it’s for. I used what the Bits collected from old tech.” Anchor got it?
“Old chips?” I ask.
“The batteries too. It’s primitive now but the rare minerals are the same as if they were just mined. Alder has a truckload of phones, computers, laptops and TVs. They make them to last only so long before you need the next level. They’re building next level before the old is a year old.”
I nod. “The Story of Stuff.’ It was mandatory.”
Racks is interested. “You’re Army Corp trained?”
I nod. “It was at school first, a Badass Lead lesson, then Army Corp trained Rangers. Only ten in the class.”
Anchor nods. “Same for us. I didn't expect Badass.”
“It was mailed training for Badass. I don’t know who sent it. Mail call had a new lesson every month. It stopped after four and a half years.” I shrug with no details because I don’t know who sent it.
Anchor and Racks look at each other for a few seconds that drag on.
Anchor asks, “Where did they come from?”
“California, Boston, Virginia, one time Ohio and one from New York. Wolf had me check for more but those are it.” They look at each other again so I sit and slide the duffle under my seat. Havoc lays down in front of me.
Racks moves first, sitting beside me while watching out for Havoc’s body. “When did you talk to Wolf?”
“It was by email this morning. I put it in a book after Hemy said it was Lead, Teach and Enforce lessons from Badass. I used them for the job not knowing that. I thought it was about me thinking on my feet.”
Racks laughs. “One and the same, Brother. Keylan has been giving them to us like he got them from Little Brothers. The new Bible they sent us has some he gave. It all boils down to the same thing. Jinx and Brinks know them all by heart. Jinx re-wrote it with lessons Crow and Cort gave them.”
I’ve heard of Crow and search for it.
“Whitewater. The original MC Club in New Mexico’s President before Cort. It’s the Alpha Club now.” We all turn toward Mucimi.
The normal shit you’d do or say when someone — not on the chopper when you boarded — is answering your thoughts, never happens anymore. It’s like a training you get in Badass that no one says a word about.
“I’ll talk about it but do you seriously think it would matter or do anything but waste time?”
I smile. “You got a point. Crow didn’t send the lessons. Who did?”
His face changes from the half smirk to blank. “That’s one I can’t talk about. You got what you needed. Anchor and Racks were getting it from Keylan. They didn’t get Mason but Badass is so close they didn’t need it.”
That has my head tilted. They didn’t get Mason. So, Mason teaching is…
“An influence. Let it go. You need to get off the chopper before the dam. They’ll tag and track everyone on it. I’m dropping you and Havoc first. Store the gear bag. You won’t need it until later.”
I nod and pull the gear bag out then throw the strap over my shoulder while he talks to Racks.
“I’ll be back for you. You need the new drones and the short-range satellites you and José worked on.”
Racks runs, in the chopper, that’s not far, but I don’t get to see where. “Warnings are good.” The air hitting every bit of me is unreal on steroids.
Havoc chuffs agreeing with me and I feel his body against my leg so I don’t know how I feel air there too. I guess this is where magic meets freaky.
Mucimi doesn’t laugh. Fuck.
§*§*§
Honor Rising
Sophie
Riding with Kristos, Seth, Asa and Pepper’s new Protector Team, I stay alert but I’m enjoying the hell out of the mountain roads.
It’s like one of Asa’s simulated tests but better because it’s real and I can smell the trees and fresh mowed grass.
I make a note for them to get smells added in the simulator with a smile.
Maybe it doesn’t need to be that realistic. I’m smiling until I hear my name.
“What was that?” I ask.
Seth answers. “The smellavision for the simulator. They put it in the Rescue simulator for the K9s. In puddles or drizzling, you smell the water and feel the spray. Alder said it’s needed for the dogs but Racks put it on all the simulators.
They have a whole keyboard with the synthesizer to control sound and fans for wind and spray for rain but they added the interface for smells.
Racks put it all together on a gaming keyboard and Anchor put it on a synthesizer with toggle switches.
Alder had Mateo over there to help Oliver code so the simulator uses the same sound, wind, rain or smell for each scenario. ”
“So, the wind blows harder or a certain way when you ride up a hill and jump?” Kristos asks.
“Yeah, Pres. Whatever you call for, it will run like the K9 scenarios at Rising Squared.” Seth answers.
Asa pipes in. “Rescue have different to Rescue train. Here, Flight simulator, ground Ops different to Security train. No BSC basic simulators. MC have old to train Badass.”
Seth explains that better. “We aren’t a training Club for BSC so our simulator is focused on flight working with ground teams. Brekan gets the old simulator programs for the Clubs signing the clean Bible. They don’t all go BSC or want to so he trains at the Clubs that do with the old.”
“Did I miss a meet?” Kristos sounds confused.
Seth laughs. “No, Pres. BSC planning meets deal with the little shit.”
I learn a lot not talking to anyone. I’m not in any meets but Church and Protector when they call, but I haven’t been called to one yet.
“Pres Ari have new Protector simulator I make. Boss Sophie pass. VP Citiali say all trainee fail first try.” Asa has me smiling.
“How many levels to pass?” Kristos asks.
“Ten, Pres.” Seth slows so I do. Pres pulls to a lookout and Seth laughs. “We’re headed back, Ops. Pres wants to play in the simulator.”
“Pres, I go to lunch. I pass test.” Asa isn’t giving up a ride for the fake one.
“I’ll meet up with them Pres. I have a chopper following you and drone on Asa until you’re back then Flight will have them follow Asa.” I think that’s Mase.
“No, get the drone on me and chopper on Asa.”
“I need the chopper to get my bike to him. You’re twenty out, Boss. I’ll get another chopper up but I need the bike to ride.”