Tuesday, June 27th, 2017
18:00 GMT+2 (16:00 GMT June 27th)
Mali
The Phoenix
They had taken off within minutes of everyone stepping aboard after the MAD MAUVE had brought them all in from the desert.
There had been a mass scramble as there were hurried greetings before everyone strapped in for the take off. Then had come the emotional relief for all at the knowledge of being all but out of danger. They were incredibly lucky, as within six hours of the nuclear detonation, the Malian authorities had shut all airports throughout the country. However, one person was the first to voice what nobody wanted to bring out into the open.
"Where is he?" Becky asked as her eyes urgently scanned everybody coming past her.
She immediately picked up the many consoling looks, and she could see the look of intense sadness in Chloe's eyes. Her keen mind put two and two together and no matter how many times she ran the maths, it always added up to the same thing, but no, she could not accept that – she would never accept that. Chloe tried to take Becky forward to somewhere more private, but the little girl would not budge an inch.
"Where is he?" she repeated, her eyes beginning to show signs of panic, then they narrowed, and Chloe could see anger building within Becky's brown eyes. "What have you done, Chloe?"
"Becky, please, sit down."
"I don't want to bloody sit down! I want to know what's happened to Dad!"
It tore Chloe apart to see Becky so angry not to mention so soon after she herself had lost Joshua.
"Joshua's not coming back, honey."
"Like hell he isn't!" Becky retorted angrily, her shrill voice cutting through Chloe.
"Peanut..."
"Don't you fucking 'peanut' me!" Becky yelled back as tears began to overflow from her eyes.
Chloe tried to pull Becky into a hug, but she was stunned to be punched twice in the chest, extremely hard. Becky shoved Chloe backward and then Chloe was kicked in the stomach and Becky stormed off aft. Danny moved to intercept her, but Chloe waved him off – "let her go" – as she sagged to the deck and broke down sobbing.
Becky stormed aft and when Olivia asked if she was alright, Becky gave the older girl two rapid jabs in the stomach followed by a growl, "Get out of my fucking way!"
Olivia had swiftly jumped out of the way as she had gripped her stomach.
..._...
The mood was sombre as the massive jetliner taxied for take-off.
However, the mood softened slightly as the nose gear came up off the runway and then the main undercarriage left Mali as the aircraft surged into the air and clawed for altitude. After the rapid take-off, Captain Reg Anderson levelled off at twenty-eight thousand feet with relief at getting out of Africa. He was taking a direct route out over Guinea and north of Sierra Leone and then out into the Atlantic Ocean where he would turn south. He immediately ordered his crew to get to work sorting out those who had just returned from the desert fighting. He was also well aware that they were both one light and one heavy.
Olivia left her seat to get changed out of her rags but then she jumped out of the way as a bawling Becky ran past, heading forward.
"Where's my Mum? I need my Mum!" she kept mumbling as she ran blindly down the length of the plane before she crashed into Andrew who was walking aft.
"What's up, little one?" Andrew asked the child.
"I need my Mum . . . my Daddy's dead."
Andrew knew what had happened – everyone did – so he gently swept up the distraught little girl into his arms and he carried her forward to the master suite where Cassie sat with an equally distraught Chloe who looked up and reached out for Becky who reached back. Andrew placed the girl gently down onto the bed as Chloe grasped her daughter and pulled her close.
"Mummy... I don't know what to do..."
"Neither do I, honey," Chloe said as she hugged Becky tightly.
Andrew looked up as Mindy emerged from the bathroom. Mindy grimaced but she said nothing about her private space being so full of people. Privacy was not what was needed at that moment. Cassie broke the stagnant atmosphere as she watched Dave appear form the bathroom moments later, his upper torso bare.
"Dave is looking really rugged and manly."
"Tell me about it!" Mindy grinned.
"You're talking about Dad, Mum!" Stephanie protested as she headed for the shower with Electra, Ruth, and Abigail. "Ewww!"
The first task was to strip off the stagnant rotting rags which everyone wore and had worn for several sweat-filled days. Once all the clothing had been stripped of weaponry and anything sensitive, the items were discarded into black bags for secure disposal at a later time. The crew of THE PHOENIX outdid themselves processing their passengers and removing the immediate evidence of battle, be it rotten bloody clothing or well-used weaponry. Every person on board was also supplied with food and a drink once they had changed and endured a medical examination. Yvonne Porter knew that the aircraft would need a major cleaning as there was sand everywhere which had spilled from the clothing and weapons brought aboard.
After they had washed, Jennifer and Rachel ensured that everyone endured a medical before they then sat down to eat, after which most fell asleep in their seats as exhaustion and relief overtook them.
Later that evening...
35,000 feet over the
South Atlantic Ocean
21:00 GMT+2 (19:00 GMT June 27th)
Rachel went in search of Cassie and Andrew.
She found Cassie dozing with her daughters while Andrew sat with Charlotte and Jake who had just woken up after an hour or so of sleep.
"Andrew, can I speak with you and Cassie – in private, please."
Andrew nudged Cassie who came awake slowly.
"Honey, Rachel needs to speak with us."
After wriggling out from under the sleeping Kaitlin, Cassie stood up and she followed Rachel aft with Andrew in tow. Cassie and Andrew exchanged a confused look as they were led into the medical bay where Jennifer stood grinning.
"What's up, Jen?" Cassie asked.
"This is Rachel's show," Jennifer said as she stood in a corner, still grinning.
"Cassie, would you lie on the bed, please?" Rachel asked.
"This is getting weird," Cassie complained as she climbed onto the bed which had the back half raised up, so Cassie was reclining.
"Oh, it's about to get weirder," Rachel grinned as she pulled on a pair of sterile gloves.
Rachel pushed up Cassie's T-shirt to expose her stomach and then handed Cassie a handful of paper towel.
"You'll need that for afterwards," Rachel said cryptically as she squirted a large amount of ultrasound gel onto Cassie's stomach.
"What the fuck? That's cold!" Cassie exclaimed.
"Watch the screen please," Rachel said as Cassie noticed a small laptop type device beside the bed for the first time.
Cassie grimaced as Rachel pushed an ultrasound probe into her skin and worked the device around. Then Cassie's jaw dropped open as she realised what was appearing on the screen before her.
"Seems we have a stowaway aboard," Rachel grinned.
Cassie had tears streaming down her cheeks as she squeezed Andrew's hand. She studied the moving black and white image and she studied the image closely. She could see the head, the body, the legs – she had had no idea.
"How long...?" Cassie stammered.
Rachel studied measurements of the foetus on the screen and she looked up the results in a book before responding.
"You're at the end of the first trimester – about three months pregnant. As far as Jen and I can judge, you'll give birth at the beginning of January."
Cassie found herself grinning broadly, but then the grin vanished.
"The past few months; I've been fighting. The beating in the desert..."
"Your baby is fine," Jennifer reassured Cassie. "Your blood test gave us the heads up that you were pregnant. Congratulations."
"Thank you," Cassie said as she hugged Andrew.
"Here," Rachel said as she stabbed a button on the laptop device. "Your first photo."
Cassie took the offered piece of paper and she stared at the image.
..._...
Mindy was the first to intercept Cassie on the way back to her seat.
"Congratulations, Cassie."
"How...?"
"I know everything that goes on aboard my aircraft – you are off operations as of now, understand?"
"Yes, I understand."
"Do you know the sex?" Mindy asked.
"No – I think Rachel and Jen know but Andrew and I want to wait and see."
"What do you want?"
"I don't know – I think a boy would be nice; got enough girls!"
Mindy laughed at that.
"I'm moving you onto the support team – no more Nemesis for the next six months. I wish I'd known earlier..."
"I know, then I would not have experienced... Never mind; let's just look to the future and not the past. How's Chloe and Becky?"
"Not good, but I've got something in the works to help with that, I hope."
"Night, Mindy."
"Night, Cassie, sleep tight."
The next morning...
Wednesday, June 28th, 2017
07:11 GMT (07:11 GMT June 28th)
Wideawake Airfield
Ascension Island
South Atlantic Ocean
The sun poked over the horizon illuminating a virtual volcanic paradise.
The island exists just 7-degrees and 56-minutes south of the Equator at the very top of the South Atlantic Ocean and is some 870 nautical miles from Africa and some 1,220 nautical miles from the coast of Brazil. The small British Overseas Territory of just thirty-four square miles is strategically located some 3,475 nautical miles from the U.K. and is a stopping point for aircraft flying to destinations in the South Atlantic which included Saint Helena and the Falkland Islands.
The night before had been upset by the arrival of two large aircraft well after dark at around 22:00. The two aircraft had landed just ten minutes apart and they had taxied from the single runway onto the hard standing and parked side by side. The giant jet engines had then been shut down and the quiet tropical night was allowed to progress without further interruption. Indeed, very few of those aboard the two aircraft had even stirred much during the landing, apart from reclining their seats fully flat so that they could go back to sleep again.
A twelve-knot wind blew that morning from the southeast easing the sixty-six percent humidity a tad but not doing much for the 26°C temperature which was expected to rise by two more degrees by midday. The sun shone brilliantly as it rose into the blue sky which was marred by a few drifting clouds. Overall, it was to be a very pleasant day. The island's population of almost nine-hundred was gently walking up to a normal working day which included the local children of school age – around one-hundred – making their way to the island's sole school at Two Boats, a settlement which was located in the very centre of the island, about half a mile beyond the RAF base at Traveller's Hill, which itself was located around two miles to the north of the airfield and a little under three miles to the east of the tiny island's capital of Georgetown. As the sun continued to rise, the rays spread over the concrete hardstanding until it exploded over the glossy paintwork of the two Boeing products and brought to life the amazing paintjob which belonged to the largest of the two aircraft, especially the fiery phoenix depicted on the giant vertical stabiliser and rudder. The silver mirror stripe which ran down the side of the majority of the aircraft above the windows and wrapped around the underneath at the front reflected the rising sun back at itself. The purple underside and engine cowlings were a vibrant display for the early morning airfield workers who marvelled at the phoenix motif which adorned the giant aircraft's nose.
Indeed, the Boeing 777-300ER was the largest aircraft to land at the airfield in some thirty-five years. The only aircraft larger had been the United States Air Force C-5 Galaxy transports which had flown into the airfield during the 1982 Falkland's war, and even then, the Boeing 777-300ER was only narrowly beaten by just 3.2-metres of wingspan, 1.1-metres of length, and 1.3-metres in height. However, the massive Boeing positively towered over its more diminutive cousin with the more reserved paint scheme. The Captain of the smaller jetliner had obviously been keen to indicate his nationality as there was a small union flag mounted atop the aircraft, just aft of the cockpit, which spoke volumes as to why the aircraft bore an understated yet modern colour scheme without appearing brash and presumptuous unlike the neighbouring aircraft.
Both aircraft were receiving power from the island's power grid allowing the onboard APUs to remain unused – a blessing on the picturesque island – and allowing their occupants to sleep just that little bit longer.
08:05 GMT (08:05 GMT June 28th)
The quiet was not to last as a giant Royal Air Force Boeing C-17 Globemaster III dropped out of the blue sky and touched down on the runway before the giant transport taxied onto the concrete hard standing to add to the already interesting gathering of Boeing products.
Almost immediately, three forklift trucks began to unload equipment from the giant transporter and several pallets of equipment were taken off the aircraft and placed onto flatbed trucks. Two pallets on removal from the C-17 were deposited near to the rear cargo hatches of the two Boeing passenger jets – one per jet. The portside number two hatches on both jets opened and several adults descended the steel airstairs. There was a brief discussion between both groups underneath THE PHOENIX before the group was joined by a Royal Air Force flight lieutenant and the two pallets were signed for.
Once the final pallet had left the C-17 transport, two RAF medics descended the ramp with an ambulance trolley and made for THE PHOENIX where they were directed up another set of steel airstairs which led up to the portside number five hatch at the rear of the aircraft.
THE PHOENIX
The two medics and their stretcher were met at the top of the airstairs by Jennifer who led the two female medics forward to where Amber was sleeping on a bottom bunk.
Above Amber, Shannon was also fast asleep, strapped into her bunk. Jennifer conversed with the two women for about ten minutes, discussing Amber's injuries before she handed over a cardboard folder of medical records. Carefully, the three of them transferred the sleeping girl from the bunk to the stretcher. As the two women then carried the stretcher out of the aircraft, Jennifer followed carrying the various IV bags and a portable electronic monitoring device. At the base of the airstairs, the stretcher bearing Amber was strapped into place on the ambulance trolley and then wheeled over to the C-17 and up the ramp into the capacious cargo bay. There, the various IV bags were hung from a point on the aircraft's fuselage and the portable electronic monitoring device was disconnected, with Amber being transferred onto systems mounted on a dedicated medical pallet installed at the front of the cargo bay. Once Jennifer was happy that Amber was being correctly monitored by the aircraft mounted systems, she said goodbye to the two medics and picked up the portable electronic monitoring device. She hated leaving the young girl alone on the massive transport, but Amber Dawson needed proper medical attention in a hospital. Amber would be flown back to RAF Brize Norton and then taken into London by ambulance to where she would be looked after by Blake who was already treating Laurel.
Jennifer moved quickly to get aboard THE PHOENIX, even as the massive ramp at the rear of the transport closed and the four jet engines began to spool up.
..._...
Jennifer was met at the rear door of THE PHOENIX by Mindy.
"All go well?" Mindy asked.
"Amber is safe and under expert care – she should be in London later this afternoon," Jennifer replied.
"Good – time to move on."
"The shit hit the fan has it?" Jennifer asked.
"Why would you think that?" Mindy asked somewhat sarcastically as they both headed forward.
"The fact that a nuclear explosion just occurred in the middle of Africa and that we've been proved right – even if I so wanted us to be proved wrong."
Mindy simply grunted in response as they passed through the aircraft. All around them, adults and kids were getting themselves ready for the day. Just about everyone was awake and sorting themselves out. Saoirse and Lucy were already tucking into breakfast amidships. Mindy and Jennifer grabbed a plate of food each from the buffet and they continued making their way forward.
"Hi, Mum! Hi, Jen!" Stephanie called out as she passed them to go find her own breakfast.
Mindy and Jennifer found Dave and Cameron drinking coffee as they stared out over the flight line from the open number two hatch.
"Morning, Dave," Jennifer said receiving a smile and a nod. "Morning, Cameron – how are things over on the other jet?"
"Morning, Jen," Cameron said. "Everyone is a little tired and we have some injuries to heal, but all in all, we're good. We were all deeply sorry to hear about Joshua, Mindy; you have our condolences."
"Thanks," Mindy said. "You guys ready for the briefing?"
"Of course," Cameron responded.
Cameron followed Dave down the forward passageway into the command centre.
..._...
Crammed into the command centre were the senior staff who represented Vengeance, Fusion, and Honneur.
"Okay, a lot has happened since the bomb detonated a little over twenty-four hours ago in Mali," Marty briefed. "The equipment seized by Mindy's teams on the train and at the Deadlight Facility have been more than enough to convince certain sceptical governments that the situation is serious and that we face a worldwide threat of monstrous proportions. As far as we are aware, the President was airborne on Air Force One within twenty minutes of the nuclear detonation and the Vice-President launched on NEACP, the National Emergency Airborne Command Post about forty minutes later. At the same time, the British Prime Minister convened the Civil Contingencies Committee better known as COBRA. As we understand it, the President and the British Prime Minister were engaged in a conference call for almost three hours. I understand that the President went ballistic and a number of people are now unemployed due to their previous inadequate assessment of what Fusion had brought to them. As such, the Pentagon and the British Ministry of Defence have started to lay out plans for taking down whoever is behind all of this. Unfortunately, the CIA, FBI, MI5, and MI6 are now playing catchup which means that Fusion, Vengeance, and Honneur are to remain in pole position on this, for the time being." Marty paused, making sure everyone heard what he was about to say next. "I've also been told that POTUS is currently debating whether or not to fly out here, to speak with us personally. Apparently, they're putting everyone through a screening – that should be good!"
There were several impressed expressions at that final comment.
"How close are we to identifying the command and control for these nukes?" Jasper asked.
"Abby, Eric, Alya, and myself have been delving through what Laurel Booth recorded during her time with Dieter," Marty continued, "and we are starting to sift through the records found in the Deadlight Facility. We still have a lot of work to do, and we are staying put, right here on Ascension, until we know where we're to target next."
"We need to get everyone to make the best use of the time we have here," Mindy said. "We will be safe – the Royal Air Force has sent a pair of Typhoons down here to guard the island and the RAF Regiment is guarding the airfield. We have been informed by the Pentagon that a US Navy cruiser is on its way here as well."
"It seems that we are the best hope for the world at this time," Dave added. "As Mindy said, we need everybody to get themselves back into shape and we need to get wounds seen to and healed. I want all sections to provide a full report of injuries and current capacities. The pallets delivered today consist mainly of food and medical supplies. Ammunition and weapons are arriving tonight on a flight from Gotham. Again, reports should be sent in detailing what weapons and ammunition is required to replace depleted stocks."
"We are making arrangements with the island to get our people out and about," Cassie said. "Everyone needs fresh air where they are not about to get shot at. While the techies dig through the intel, the operators are being stood down for the next thirty-six hours. They can do what they want in that time. They can go for a walk. They can fuck. They can sleep. They can spend their time annoying Mindy." That generated a laugh from most and a scowl from Mindy. "But what matters is that once we know where we need to attack next, we're going to need everybody primed and ready to fight like they have never fought before. Right now, we have no idea if that fight is going to be next week, or maybe in six weeks' time – either way, we need to be ready."
"Cassie is correct," Mindy admitted. "We don't know where in the world we're going to be fighting next, so we need to be ready for anything. I believe in everyone, and I know we'll be ready."
The group dispersed with a select group remaining in the command centre to continue sifting through intelligence information.
Three hours later...
12:45 GMT (12:45 GMT June 28th)
Pan Am Beach
South West Bay
The group were about a third of a mile to the west of the airfield.
A number of youngsters had chosen to go for a casual wander to explore a bit and to enjoy some fresh air after having spent so many hours cooped up aboard an aircraft with filtered air. The air on Ascension Island was pristine and it tasted so wonderful to everyone's lungs. While everyone put a happy face on, there were many demons to be overcome. One person had died. Another had given their life (almost) to save those enduring torture. Nobody wore much more than a T-shirt and shorts with hiking sandals on their feet. That exposed a lot of skin which for most was battered and bruised, but many also sported an array of medical bandages not to mention some horrific wounds on some. Despite her grinning, Stephanie knew that Abigail was hurting mentally and physically, and that upset Stephanie no end. Even finding out that Ruth had been hurt had affected the youngster. However, it had been a good time for stories to be told and everyone was able to tell their version of events – at least the happier sides of those events. Even Willow was getting in on the act, her usual sour mood long vanished. Willow and Kate were swapping pilot stories concerning their various activities and Willow had actually been concerned to find that her friend had been hurt several times.
Everyone enjoyed hearing about Kate's take down of the sex traffickers and the rescue of Laurel, but they had been upset knowing that Laurel had been badly hurt, although knowing that yet another Predator had been rescued mitigated that sadness some. Everyone had a story to tell as many friends had been on different teams, and indeed on a different continent. Rylee and Tanya's description of their time underwater had been particularly captivating for those who had been fighting in the desert – Ruth was constantly complaining about still finding sand in various parts of her body – as just thinking about the warm waters helped to push back the memories of dry sand, constant thirst, and the unrelenting sun. The air battle and the undersea battle had also led to many questions and it really brought home to many how serious the situation was when Russia was intervening and the USA and UK were unilaterally sinking a Russian submarine and downing a pair of Russian military aircraft.
Saoirse, though, as she walked onto the beach with Ariana and Eva was not amused when she saw the group arrayed on the sand before her. Stephanie grinned up at her friend who just scowled at the gathering of pure evil. To Stephanie's left sat Ruth and Yvette while to Stephanie's right sat Electra and Abigail. Seeing them all together somehow freaked Saoirse out and she had no idea why – she was just glad that the other two members of the creepy crew were thousands of miles away and thus unable to trigger a potential Apocalypse. Saoirse steered clear of Satan's Spawn and she made for where Freya and her sister, Frieda, were playing together.
Freya had almost broken down when she had found out that her little sister had been found and freed. Indeed, Frieda had never left her sister's side from the very moment they had found one another. However, that happiness had been tempered somewhat by the knowledge that the eleven-year-old Frieda had been forced to kill to make her escape. Freya had hoped that her sister would remain the innocent little girl whom she had remembered from before her time as a Predator. Young Frieda had fitted in well aboard THE PHOENIX and once she had cleaned herself up and been given clean clothing, she had been a different girl. Then, after she had put away enough food to threaten the stores aboard the aircraft, the youngster had enjoyed the best sleep she had had in months – with the help of a small injection from Rachel.
Rachel, of course, could not have been happier to see her daughter, Simon, and Tanya back in one piece – more or less. She had been aware that Rylee had been injured, so the poor girl had been forced to endure her mother checking said injuries. Needless to say, Rylee knew that it was out of love, so she had reluctantly endured the prodding and poking until her mother was suitably satisfied that her daughter was in one piece. That morning, Rachel and the three Zetas had taken a walk on the same beach, enjoying the time together, as if they had not been apart. The small group was a family and being together meant everything to them all. The same applied to another family group further down the beach – Diana and Harper walked with Keira, enjoying the sunshine and the crash of the waves upon the sandy beach and the view which went on for ever.
It was the same for all the groups on the beach that morning – they all just wanted to be together with the people they cared about.
Around that same time...
13:00 GMT (13:00 GMT June 28th)
Two miles north of
Wideawake Airfield
Dave was driving a Land Rover 90 up the road leading into the very centre of the island.
Beside him, Mindy gazed out of the open window beside her. Ahead of them, Green Mountain rose up 859-metres, the highest point on Ascension Island. Considering that she had spent several days in the sandbox, seeing so much green was amazing. Everywhere she looked, she saw the green jungle, the blue sky, or the blue sea – the place was simply stunning. It was also amazing to finally be in a position where they could be together, alone.
"Been one hell of a week, huh?" Dave said conversationally.
"Every week, I think we've just been through the worst week ever, but then the next week turns out to be even worse. Fuck, Dave, we have one dead, two in hospital, and over a dozen with wounds classified as minor to major. We're taking a fucking beating Dave! We fucking lost Josh!"
Dave stopped the Land Rover at the side of the road, and he turned to look at the anguished look on his wife's face. So many years with so many injuries, but Joshua was the second death in as many years – which was kind of a miracle as Dave saw it. He knew that the current situation was pushing Mindy beyond her limits – not that Mindy would ever admit to having limits. It was he that set his wife's limits and he did his best to try and keep her away from them; he alone knew Mindy's true limits and he alone could keep her safely away from them – at least he hoped so. Mindy went back to staring out the window, so Dave moved off and continued driving up the road. They passed through RAF Traveller's Hill and they climbed up a hill before they then took a left onto the road leading into Two Boats. On the left, they passed the Two Boats School and Mindy grinned as she gazed out onto screaming kids out on the playground. After driving a short distance past the school and into the settlement, Dave took a right which took them in an easterly direction. The road quickly became narrow as it curved up and down, then around before it dropped down towards the coast.
It did not take all that long – the distances on the island were noticeably shorter than anything which Mindy and Dave were used to in Chicago.
..._...
Dave parked up the Land Rover and he stepped out, followed by Mindy.
The sun felt like heaven on Mindy's back and she was glad of the time spent applying suntan lotion to her body, earlier that morning. Mindy wore a pair of truly short shorts matched up with a sports bra and a light-coloured open blouse. Her hair was tied up well clear of her neck and hung as a ponytail. On her feet, she wore open-toed sandals. As for Dave, he wore knee-length shorts and an open shirt as well as a pair of trainers. Both of them also wore a baseball cap to keep the sun at bay and as shade for their eyes which were protected by dark sunglasses.
Together, they walked down a sandy track towards North East Bay. The 430-yard expanse of sand was semi-circular, and the South Atlantic Ocean crashed onto the shore in white breakers, racing up the beach for a dozen yards before rapidly receding. The beach was empty as Mindy kicked off her shoes and she sank her toes into the hot sand.
"That is heaven!" she breathed as she picked up the sandals and she walked along the breakers with the footwear dangling from the fingers of her left hand.
Dave had never liked sand between his toes very much, and he had trudged through enough sand to last a lifetime. He did, however, enjoy seeing Mindy smile at the beautiful view. Anything which made Mindy smile was good in his book – even if it was blood spurting out of a near corpse or just a beautiful tropical view. Dave loved Mindy's smiles – he always had. Mindy was intoxicating when she smiled, and Dave was hooked on that intoxication. He grinned as she leaned into him and he pulled her into a hug. Mindy moaned for a second before she hooked her left leg into Dave's right and the pair tumbled to the sand with Mindy landing atop her husband.
"You know, this is unseemly behaviour," Dave chuckled. "Even for you."
"Shut up!" Mindy growled as she kissed her husband on the lips, savouring the taste and enjoying the added flavour of his sweat.
"I love it when you take charge," Dave quipped in between kisses.
"I said, shut up!"
Dave stared into the heavenly green eyes which glared back at him. What was he to do; he had to follow orders... He kissed his wife again and again, ever deeper. The sound of the waves crashing on the sand just yards away helped to block them off from the outside world. Just for a while, it was to be Dave and Mindy, Kick-Ass and Hit Girl. Mindy felt more thankful than ever to have Dave. Without him, she would never know her bounds – yes, she had them; not that she would ever tell anyone . . . well, she did have an image to maintain, after all! Horseshit! Everyone close to her knew that she had but one weakness – and that was Dave. Then she broke the kiss and she giggled as she jumped up and she ran, throwing her sandals over her shoulder.
Dave laughed as he easily fended off the flying footwear and scrambled to his feet, racing after the fleeing woman who was still giggling. Mindy was deceptively fast, and her thighs were predominantly muscle which came in handy as she sprinted off across the pristine sands, easily dodging Dave as he sprinted after her, his own mass preventing the sharp alterations of course required to match with Mindy. But Dave was powerful, and his own thighs were mostly muscle as well, which meant he could power after Mindy while taking giant strides over the sands, gaining yard by yard as Mindy did her best to evade, all while giggling her head off. She raced up the beach away from the surf, but Dave was able to circle around and head her off, which then sent Mindy racing back towards the raging white surf with Dave gaining with every giant step. Mindy could tell that she was about to be run to ground, but she did not care as she found herself laughing hard which fucked up her breathing and had her running out of breath – then she fucked up as she fell ass over tit and crashed into the surf, the water quickly soaking her to the skin. Not that the water stopped her as she quickly jumped back to her feet and she ran through the surf, loving every minute of the chase as she found Dave cutting her off and she then collapsed to her knees into the wet sand even as a wave soaked her again.
"Okay, okay!" Mindy grinned as Dave came to a stop just two feet away from her. "I surrender!"
"That's complete bullshit!" Dave grinned.
"Okay, maybe it is," Mindy admitted as she allowed Dave to help her to her feet.
Mindy looked up into her husband's twinkling eyes and she felt her legs weaken as he smiled back at her. She knew that together, the two of them could accomplish just about anything. As long as they had one another, then they could and would survive everything thrown at them. Dave led Mindy over to collect her discarded sandals, the warm air and breeze, not to mention the sun high above, soon dried Mindy's skimpy clothing. Both allowed the sun to reinvigorate their aching limbs as they casually strolled around the beach. They would stop, periodically, to stare out over the ocean and out to the distant horizon, thinking about those they had lost.
Mindy did not want to leave the beach. She felt so safe there, in the sunshine. She knew what awaited her back at THE PHOENIX, and she so wanted her and Dave to spend their time together without having to worry about who might die next or who might suffer some life-changing injury. But she knew that she had work to do and people to protect. She had to go back to worrying about her best friend and her recent loss. She had to go back to worrying about Shannon and whether the girl would be fit again to fight or possibly restricted to a wheelchair. Then there were those who had been tortured; Mindy had been appalled to hear that even some of the younger boys and girls had been targeted by those bastards. Jake, Jamie, Tommy, Abigail – some were not even in their teens, yet they had suffered greatly. Then there was Dakota and how she had suffered at the hands of that French mercenary – the girl had shrugged it off, but the attack had been brutal. As for the adults – Cassie and Marinette had suffered greatly, but they had survived against the odds.
The odds. That was what kept people alive or decided that they had to die. The chance of every mission ending in failure was always high, but their training, discipline, and equipment all helped to mitigate that chance. However, just like winning the jackpot at a casino or picking the winning numbers in a lottery, your numbers came up, for good or for bad. Every decision in life was a gamble which only experience could guide. Each time you took a step, you gambled on the result – that was life, period. Each mission gambled with dozens of lives, most of them young lives. Things had been so much easier when it had just been the two of them as they had not needed to worry about anybody else.
Such was life.