'Blaze, there's nothing in our area of operations capable of rescue operations. Captain Webber's on his own.' Bandog reported. Still flying around the region, Blaze shook his head angrily.
'Huntsman, this is Blaze, you still there?' Blaze radioed the captain. The latter had landed safely with most of his equipment, chief among that equipment a radio.
'Yep.' Webber replied.
'How bumpy is the ground down there?'
'Uhhh, pretty flat from what I can see. Planning something?'
'Yep. Cover your ears.' Blaze warned the captain before banking around a few times to come in line with the valley that Huntsman was currently sitting in. He lowered his speed, dropped flaps and lowered landing gear. Blaze would try to land in the valley, pick up Huntsman and fly back to base. Blaze saw a rough trail which he lined up on. He raised his nose up a little just before hitting the ground. The tires dug into the dirt, slowing down the Su-33M3 faster than normal, but not enough to bog the aircraft down. Blaze came to a stop just as he made it over to a surprised Huntsman. He opened the canopy, unstrapped from the ejection seat and stood up as best as he could inside the cockpit.
'Come on!' Blaze shouted. Huntsman ran over to the front of the Su-33, jumping to reach the lip of the cockpit. Blaze leaned over and grabbed his hand, pulling the captain up.
'This is a one-seater?' Huntsman said as he saw the cockpit of the aircraft. Blaze sat down in the ejection seat.
'Not going to be comfortable, but it's better than this shithole.'
Webber nodded and sat down on top of Alex. Sure enough, it was cramped, but big enough for the two to fit. Blaze brought the canopy down, brought the engines back to full thrust and within ten seconds was in the air again.
'Bandog, Blaze, I've got the captain, returning to base.'
Oured, Osea
Osean Intelligence Agency Headquarters
'Joshua Nicholas. An honourable serving pilot in the Navy. And there's this guy. Very much not the lieutenant.' David North read a document in his whitewall office. He smirked, put the first file away and switched to a second file. 'And then we have Benjamin Bernitz, an Belkan spy and assassin. Captain Williams was very lucky to survive this guy's attack.'
Across the table from David, Commander Tyler Keith crossed his arms. 'But he managed to cripple a carrier and kill 400 men and women. Were they unlucky?'
'In the wrong place at the wrong time.' David placed the file on his desk and stood up. 'Ben is the son of Ashley Bernitz, an ace pilot that Williams killed over Oured Bay nine years ago. He hasn't said it himself, but we believe that he was trying to avenge his father by killing the leader of the Razgriz.'
Tyler stood up as well. 'Is he here?' He asked.
'He is. What, you want to talk to him?' David replied, cocking his head slightly to one side.
'Possibly.' Tyler replied, arms crossed. He tapped his fingers on one arm impatiently. David picked up a keycard from a drawer in his desk, walked past Tyler and opened the door.
'Follow me, Commander.' David said, motioning for the squadron leader to follow the OIA agent. They walked through various hallways, down stairwells. As they walked down to the level where the holding cells were located, Tyler noticed that the building had no windows. The two eventually made it down to the cell level. A directions sign said that this level was the interrogation level.
'You agent types never were subtle.' Tyler commented.
'Cold world.' David replied flatly. They arrived at the particular cell where Bernitz was held in. David slid the card and punched in a four-digit number. 'Code is 0051. Lock the gate behind you when you come out.'
David opened the door. Tyler stepped in.
'Thank you, Mr North.' He said before shutting the door. The room was dimly lit. A bar door blocked Tyler from getting to the assassin sitting in a chair in the middle of the room. There was a keypad on it. Tyler entered the code and the door opened. He went through it and suddenly Tyler was face-to-face with the man that had damaged the ship he was assigned to.
'Good morning, Commander. Been a while, hasn't it?' Bernitz greeted the pilot before the latter could do anything. Tyler took a few steps towards the assassin.
'It has, Bernitz, it has.' To the surprise of Benitz, Tyler wasn't angry. At least not that he could tell.
'So, what god-forsaken purpose have you come to find me for?' Bernitz went straight to the point.
'Your father was a pilot was he not?' Tyler asked Bernitz uncaringly. The latter looked at Tyler.
'Yes.' He answered.
'A first lieutenant in the Belkan Air Force. Grabacr Squadron. The 8492nd. Instigator of the Circum-Pacific War.' Tyler continued, starting to pace around the room.
'Yes.' Bernitz answered.
'And then he was killed over Oured Bay, along with Grabacr and Ofnir, December 31st, 2010.'
'Yes.' Venom started to come through Bernitz's voice. Tyler smiled. He was onto something.
'By the Razgriz.'
'Yes.' Bernitz snarled.
'By Captain Alex Williams.'
Benitz shrugged his arms forward, attempting to get free. The chains attached to his arms and legs stopped him. Tyler stopped pacing when he walked in front of Bernitz.
'You tried to kill Alex on the Vulture. You tried to kill Hans at Fort Greys Island. Kei is in space where you can't touch her. Tell me, what was your plan for Marcus?'
Benitz looked Tyler in the eyes with a devilish smile. 'Take these chains off and I'll tell you.'
Tyler exhaled and looked at the one-way mirror in front of him and behind Bernitz.
'I apologise in advance. Do it.'
The chains unlocked and instantly Bernitz charged Tyler with a roar. The latter sidestepped the assassin and kicked his legs out as he passed. Bernitz fell to the floor with a thud. Tyler quickly got on Bernitz's back, grabbed his head and started smashing it into the floor. There was a crunch on the second blow, followed by a squelching noise on the fourth as Tyler repeatedly smashed his head against the stone floor. He stopped at the tenth blow and got off him. He was breathing a little quicker than usual. Bernitz rolled over and coughed up blood. His nose, broken into pieces, was pouring blood. There was a flat spot on his forehead and his jaw and cheekbones were misaligned.
'Well?' Tyler asked impatiently, hands splayed out by his sides.
Bernitz coughed. 'I was going to contract a mercenary ace to attack and sink the carrier, with the Swordsman on it. But I was captured before I could contact him.'
'Who?'
'Grimnar. The one they call the Black Raven.'
Satisfied, the leader of Razor Squadron left the room, leaving Bernitz to collapse on the floor.
