The Ballard of Cairo
Part thirty-nine: An offer you can't refuse.
Washington Forest
Whittington
Lyran Alliance
Cairo brought the small VTOL round in a tight turn and headed down a valley at full speed. The unmarked Rippers followed one at a time, weaving their way around tight corners as Cairo tried to lose them. O'Brien tried to call the DropShip for help as emerald bursts of laser-light shot past the cockpit. "Mayday! Mayday! Mayday! This is Sgt. Sinead O'Brien calling DropShip Wataru, come in please!"
There was a hiss of static as Jackson's voice replied, "I read you Sinead, what's going on?"
O'Brien was knocked to one side as Cairo took a corner so tightly that the undercarriage was ripped off by the cliff face. "We have four unmarked Ripper attack ships chasing us. They seem to be trying to force us down!"
There was a loud bang, followed by a string of curses form Cairo, "They've taken out the main engine. We're going down!"
"Star Commander Scot is in the air heading your way. We don't know where Jane is. I've alerted the civilian authorities and two Cyrano gun-ships are on the way". Jackson was as agitated as Cairo had ever heard him. "Try to land near a river, it will make it easier for the rescue teams to find y..." The radio went dead as a shot from the attacking VTOLs took out the antenna.
Cairo wrestled with the controls as the helicopter started to lose height. He brought the nose up just in time to stop the Plexiglas cockpit from hitting a tree. The rotors were torn off as the stricken transport fell to the ground. Both Cairo and O'Brien were knocked unconscious by the force of the impact.
Unknown location
Whittington
Lyran Alliance
When Cairo came round he was sitting handcuffed to a chair in a small room. O'Brien was in a chair next to him, still out cold. A door opened in the wall before them and Demi-Precentor Hendrix walked in. "Hello again Lieutenant. I hope you now realise how much Word of Blake wants those new weapons systems. I tried to be reasonable, I offered to buy them from you, but you didn't want to sell". He sat down on a stool and looked at Cairo. "Here is what we are going to do. I'm going to let you go and you are going to go to your DropShip. You will instruct your techs to remove the ATM launcher and Heavy Laser from your Mech and then take them to a location I will give you shortly. To make sure you play by the rules, the Sergeant here will stay with us until you deliver. If you alert the police, she dies. If you try and escape, she dies. Do anything stupid, like turn up at the drop-off point with your Mech's and Elementals...and she dies. Do you understand?"
Cairo strained against his bonds, "You hurt her and I will hunt you down and kill you. You've seen the reports on the holo-vid's...you know I'll do it."
Hendrix stood to up to leave. "If you do as I say, Sgt. O'Brien will be perfectly safe. If not, then I will leave her to the not-so-tender mercies of some of my less-respectable brethren."To Be Continued...