Enjoy :)
Chapter Quote:
"I wouldn't suggest that being resourceful has anything to do with doing something illegal or unethical, but I've definitely noticed a pattern of being 'creative'."
~Scott Weiss
Chapter 13: Contrivance
Alec
Despite being officially out of danger, the ride to the aircraft carrier was still extremely nerve-wracking. For once Isabelle didn't tell me to stop bouncing my knees up and down which was what I did when I was nervous or anxious. I'd tried to break the habit but it was hard, especially when my ass was literally in a life or death situation at the moment.
Two hours later, we were safe and sound on the aircraft carrier. Axel escorted us to our new quarters where we were given fresh clothes, towels, and stuff to shower with. I couldn't wait. Even though I'd wiped off the blood off my face, I still felt like it was all over me. It made me feel disgusting.
Fifteen minutes later, I was dressed, waiting out in the hallway with the rest of the boys, including Axel and Markus, while the girls finished getting dressed. Charlotte was the first to emerge followed by Lux. Lydia and Shiloh came out a few seconds later. Sophie and Isabelle were next to emerge. Last was Tessa which was no surprise.
"Follow me, I'll give you a tour of the ship and where some points of interests for some of you will be," Axel said. He started walking. Naturally, we followed. I marveled at the size of the ship. I'd never actually been on one before and while they look big in pictures, the pictures don't really do them justice. I mean these things are absolutely massive. Knowing that this was one of the smaller aircraft carriers in the Belkan military, I could barely imagine one being any bigger.
"Here's our first stop. Lydia, Simon, I think you two will enjoy this area of the ship. It's the lab. One section is technology, the other is for more the chemical side. Whatever you need for any of the upcoming missions will be in here. Any of the crew in here will be happy to help you with whatever you need. They're some of the brightest minds in the Belkan military. This is one of the few ships that has an actual lab. Most have tiny ones for medical purposes but otherwise, nothing," Alec informed. Lydia and Simon were marveling at the sight of the lab because for a ship, it had state of the art… well, everything.
"I'm never going to see my girlfriend now," I joked. Lydia gently hit me on the arm but she was smiling, obviously excited about where she was going to get to work. Axel moved on with our two scientists reluctantly following us. The next stop was the mess hall which was practically empty since most of the sailors had gone to bed. The only person in there was a guy cleaning up the floors. We were then led to the hangar that was half stocked with planes. There were enough for all of us if and when we needed to fly. Last was the bridge where we met the man steering the ship. We were also greeted by a bubbly, brunette Belkan that we all knew.
"Shiloh!" Allison exclaimed, hugging my cousin. She went down the line of us saying, "I was so worried about all of you! I'm so glad Axel got to you in time. Are any of you hurt? Do any of you need medical attention?"
"Besides being shaken up, no, I don't think any of us are injured."
"What happened?"
"Alec and I crawled through the ceiling," Tessa piped up.
"Jem, Tessa, and I scaled a wall to the roof," Will added.
"I knocked a guy out with a baseball bat," Lydia said.
"Sophie and I kicked four soldiers' asses," Charlotte said.
"I had a gun pointed to my head," Alec commented.
"I hit the Base Commander in the nuts while I was tied to a chair," Shiloh declared, sounding rather proud of herself (rightly so in my opinion). The rest of us added something we encountered, with it usually being something terrifying or badass, until we got to Simon who said, "I fell in a pond."
"Once Axel finishes the tour, go get some sleep. You're all safe here," Allison ordered.
"This is wonderful, really. You have no idea how much we appreciate you putting your asses on the line for us, but I do have one, tiny question," Shiloh said.
"What is it?" Axel asked.
"How did you take command of an aircraft carrier?"
"Found out the ship's commander was part of the Gray Men and rounded up the rest of his accomplices. They're all locked up in the prison cell in the bottom of the ship."
"Great. You led a mutiny…"
"Looks like I committed treason against my country too. Come on, let's get you back to your rooms."
"No, we need to take a course of action. As much as I would love to sleep right now, we need to get some plans formed. First off, we need to get Helena Geller here. She's going to be in trouble with everything going on and the Gray Men would love to have their hands on her. Second, we can't let our parents get wind of this."
"I'm already on that second one. I've hacked into their phones and computers and made it where anything related to the OAFA attack can't be seen or searched by them. They've gone off the grid anyway. They're no longer in Versailles and by the looks of it, they're heading up to Belka. I hacked into the Osean National Security Agency and was able to find their cars they left in. Right now they're in northern Osea moving towards Belka so they must be closing in on some lead because it looked like they're all together," Allison said.
"I wonder what they're up to. Think you can find out?"
"It might take me a bit but I can try."
"Please do so. Whatever we can do to help our parents, the better. We need to get Helena out of her apartment, but we can't exactly go waltzing in there. She lives in a high rise with tight security so we have that working for us."
"Not to mention she could probably kick half the Belkan army's ass. No offense guys," Lux remarked.
"None taken considering I've met her father," Axel chuckled.
"I'm so glad Geller is on our side. Honestly. The guy speaks like… six or seven languages. Fluently. Don't even get me started on how many martial arts he knows," I noted.
"We have two days, tops, to get her here. We can't get word to her. They'll have her apartment bugged but once she catches wind of what happened at OAFA, she'll figure out the truth and will be on alert," Lux said.
"I say that Charlotte, Tessa and Lydia help Helena pack. Lydia might not know her but Lydia is the best person to have when you need to make a makeshift weapon," I added.
"We'll need a distraction to take the focus off of Lydia, Charlotte, and Tessa when they're entering the building," Isabelle pointed out. My whole family's head turned to look at the twins.
"Already forming a plan," Jem said.
"Do you have any parachutes?" Will inquired.
"Yeah, why?" Axel answered.
"Because our plan involves parachutes."
"Why does your plan involve parachutes?" Lux asked suspiciously.
"Because it involves jumping off a tall building."
"Why does it involve jumping off a tall building?"
"Because it's Helena's building."
"But why do you need to jump off a building?"
"She's halfway up the building right? So while we're running up the staircase with the bad guys behind us, Helena, Lydia, and Tessa will be catching the elevator down. Distraction."
"I think you just want to jump off a building," Lux said with raised eyebrows.
"What is this, an interrogation?" Jem demanded in mock anger. "If so, I want a lawyer."
"Fresh out of lawyers on the ship," Axel claimed.
"We're going to need eyes and ears on the ground," Sophie said, interrupting the amusing conversation.
"I have an idea about that. What about Iris Beckett? Cipher's old wingmate's wife?" Henry suggested.
"Good idea but I bet you anything she's helping our parents and if she's helping our parents and we ask her for help, she's going to tell our parents who will get caught up in our mess and they have enough on their plate," Charlotte remarked.
"What about that reporter who interviewed our family when they were revealed as the Razgriz? What was his name?" Henry questioned, snapping his fingers as if it'd help him remember.
"Thompson! Brett Thompson!" Jem exclaimed. "That could work."
"I can find out what he's up to while I'm searching for what your parents are doing," Allison offered.
"Are you sure? I hate adding more to your plate after everything you're already doing," Shiloh said.
"I wouldn't be offering if I couldn't handle it. Besides, I owe it to Percy to help all of you in any way I can. He had a mission to finish and I want to help you all see it through."
A sad smile formed on Shi's face. "Thank you. We won't let you down."
"Of course you won't. You're the Razgriz."
My cousin furrowed her brows. "Guys… do any of you find it suspicious that our parents are going to Belka but didn't take their planes?"
"Yeah. They're good at ground combat but it's in the air where they're superior to everyone. Why leave their best weapon behind?" Will asked.
"What if they're going after someone they need alive?" Tessa suggested.
"They can't bomb someone they need alive. Maybe they found Henri?" I said.
"If they found Henri, I want to help," Lux declared heatedly.
"If our parents aren't going to use their planes, what if we do?" Shiloh said. We all looked at her like she was crazy.
"That'd be awesome but I can't tell you how flawed that plan is. First, there's more men in the Razgriz than there are here so any enemies would immediately know that we're not the actual Razgriz. Second, there's the slight problem that we don't know how to fly their planes because no other person in the military, in any military, has these planes. They were made strictly for the Razgriz and Galm. Third, and might I say the biggest problem, we can't waltz into our parents' hangar and take their planes. The guards like us but not that much," Lux replied.
"Simon and I could make voice changing devices for your helmets so that you would sound like members of Razgriz and Galm. We'd just need recordings of all the Razgriz and Galm voices to make sure we're making the tones accurate," Lydia said.
"My girlfriend's a genius," I declared. She smiled at me.
"Awesome! Isabelle, do you think you could hack into our parents' files on their planes to find out about the controls so we could memorize them before we flew them?" I asked.
"Yeah. I might need help getting in though," Isabelle remarked.
"I can help you with that. I'm good at multitasking," Allison said with a smile.
"Okay, the first two we can solve. But what about my last point?" Lux argued.
"You said we couldn't waltz in there and take them, right? Well what if we don't waltz in there?"
"How else would we- oh. I see where you're going with this."
"Do you? Please enlighten me and Jem because we have no idea," Will stated.
"I'm saying we temporarily misappropriate our parents' planes," Shiloh answered.
"English, please," Jem requested.
It was Lux who said, "Basically she wants to steal our parents' planes."
Chopper
"What's on your mind?" I asked my wife as she sat in the passenger seat, staring out the window.
"I'm worried about the kids. I don't like not being able to call them. This is why I hate covert operations," she grumbled.
"Well depending on the outcome of this mission, maybe you'll have some good news to tell them when you call them."
"I just have a bad feeling about this."
"About the mission?"
"No, the kids."
"They're the Razgriz Legacies. They're always going to have some sort of problem on their hands. Whatever it is, I'm sure they can handle it."
"How are you so sure?"
"Because our kids take after you in that they can handle anything that comes their way."
"They get that from you as well."
I shrugged, unable to tell my wife that as much as I wished she was right, that I could handle anything that came my way, that she was wrong. I'd never told her how many times I'd thought about giving up when I was being held by the Belkans. With my memories almost all gone, my frail and weakened state, and the bleakness of my future… it was sheer determination not to give the Belkans the satisfaction that they'd broken me that kept me going.
"Chopper?"
"Hmm?"
"I know you think you don't deserve the moniker of Razgriz Three because you weren't flying next to us during the second half of the war, but you were fighting a completely different battle on your own. You were the reason we found out about the shady shit Hamilton was in and what the Gray Men were doing sooner rather than later and that saved our lives. The thought of getting justice for you is what kept me going, what kept Nagase and Grimm going. So you were always with us, maybe just not always physically. Then you saved my life when you were barely alive yourself, you captured Bailey, you broke into Gracemeria to come help me when I was pregnant, saving my life again by calling Ilya to get me to the hospital. For how many times we've been in battle, you've saved my life more times than I can count, and I've never saved yours. So yes, you're a Razgriz. You took a different path to become one but you're one of us nonetheless."
"You've saved my life before."
"When?"
"That day we flew above November Stadium. I should've died that day, Blaze. I shouldn't have been able to survive that. Most pilots would've given up once they knew their circuits were fried because it would've been hopeless to keep trying. But I didn't. Because all I could think about was leaving you, my family, Nagase, Grimm, Pops, Kirk… but mostly you. So yeah, you saved my life too."
My wife reached out for my hand which I gladly gave to her. We sat in silence for a few minutes, both mulling over what we'd just said. I knew Blaze still felt guilty over what happened to me, that she would never let herself live it down because that's who she was. Whenever one of us got hurt, she took it personally because she always thought there would have been a way for her to help us, even if she'd been on the other side of the world on some mission.
"Hey you two, we're going to pull over at the next safe house to get some supplies and get some rest. You want to join?" Cipher inquired.
"Yeah, rest sounds good. We'll see you there. Everyone else?" Blaze responded. Genette, Nagase, Cassie, Grimm, Snow, and Geller all agreed. "Bartlett, Major, what about you two?"
When he didn't respond, Blaze remarked, "He must've turned off the walkie-talkie. I'll call Major, see if I can get them to answer."
"How are they holding up?"
"Major keeps breaking down and then Bartlett is just… He was a wreck the first few days and now he's compartmentalized his feelings and is just getting through every day as if he feels nothing."
"Did Major tell you?" I asked, pulling off onto a road that would lead us to the safe house.
"No, Major didn't tell me that."
"Then how do you know that's what he's doing?"
As I put the truck in park, Blaze opened the door and said, "Because that's what I did when you died."
"Blaze-" I hurried out of the car after her. "What are going to do?"
"I'm going to talk to Bartlett."
"Do you really think that's a good idea?"
"Why? Do you think it's not?" she countered.
"Okay, you and Bartlett both compartmentalized your feelings after you lost someone. You do remember how you reacted when you found out I was alive and kicking right?"
"Yes, but you were also supposed to be dead. I'd just woken up from a coma and wasn't necessarily in my right mind."
"Don't forget you almost shot me."
"The gun was on safety."
"My point is that if you push Bartlett too much, he might snap like you did and I don't want you getting hurt."
"Whatever happens, I can handle myself. Bartlett knows me. He'd never do anything to hurt me or anyone else in our group."
"Never thought you'd hurt me and then you kneed me in the balls."
"I thought I was going crazy…"
"I know. I'm messing with you. I love you."
"What's going on you two?" Genette inquired, walking up to us.
"Just chatting. I'm going to call Bartlett, make sure he heard we were going to stop off here," Blaze answers. She walked off, pulling out her cell phone.
"What is she doing?" Genette asked.
I sighed. "Probably something she shouldn't."
"Is that anything new?"
"Nope."
Blaze
"Hey Major, we pulled off to get supplies and to take a rest. You two joining us?" I queried.
"We're pulling over now. See you soon," she replied wearily. We hung up and I waited for them to arrive. It took only a few minutes. When they got out of the car, I said, "May I borrow Bartlett for a moment?"
"Yeah, sure. I'll see you inside," Major said, rubbing her husband on his shoulder. She disappeared inside.
"What do you want?" Bartlett asked rather gruffly.
"I want to talk."
"Don't do this."
"You're doing the same thing I did when Chopper died."
"You lost your fiancé, not you kid."
"No, but he was the love of my life and Percy and Major are the love of yours. All you need to do is tell me what's on your mind or else."
"Or else what? You think I'm going to go mad from grief?"
"Yes, I do. Our situations are extremely different, I understand that, but you are under immense pressure just like I was at the time. You focus on the job and let your feelings build up and up and up until one day, when all the pressure's gone, when you're finally relaxed, when you've finally stopped feeling, something comes along that makes all those emotions you've been bottling up catastrophically explode. I nearly shot my husband because of it. I don't want something similar to happen to you."
"Well that's where we're different Blaze. I'm not you. I know Percy isn't coming back. You can't come back from being burned to death!"
"You're not supposed to survive a plane crash that dropped from seven-thousand feet but look at Chopper. I'm not telling you to believe or not in Percy's death. I'm just asking you to talk because I know you're not talking to Major about it because you've seen how distraught she is and you're trying to be strong for her."
"You know nothing about what I'm doing."
"Maybe not specifics, but I know you. You called me 'Kid' for a reason, and that's because I reminded you of yourself. So no, I don't know what you're doing, but I know you're planning something that is probably reckless and dangerous, something that could possibly get you killed if you don't let us in on it. Are you really willing to risk getting killed and leaving Major all by herself when she needs you?"
"Don't even go there!" Bartlett snapped.
"What's going on out here?" Genette piped up, walking outside with Chopper and Nagase.
"Nothing," our old captain responded shortly.
"Blaze?" My brother prodded.
I hesitated, staring at Bartlett, mentally telling him that unless he decided to tell me what was going on, that I'd tell my family what was happening. As expected, he refused so I said, "Bartlett's doing what I did when Chopper died. I'm trying to get him to talk."
"By the look on your faces, I'm going to assume it's not going well," Chopper mused.
"Well aren't you just a regular Sherlock Holmes," Bartlett retorted.
"Hey no need for hostility. We're just worried about you."
"Motormouth, not now."
"No, now," I said firmly.
There was tic in his jaw. "Fine, you want to know what's going on? You want me to tell you my feelings? All right here it goes. I knew my son was digging into something he shouldn't have. Ever since the attack on Parsberg, he was showing too much interest in the attackers. Not telling his old man, I get it. I was going to reprimand him to no end until he stopped so he acted like he stopped, and I stopped. But I know I wasn't the only one bugging him about it because he told me Shiloh kept nagging about it as well and you know what, it's much harder to hide things from the people you're around twenty-four-seven than it is from your parents you see every few months. Percy was all alone in searching for the Gray Men because your daughter couldn't get it out of him! My son is dead because none of the others could get it out of him what he was doing. And if any of them did know, they obviously didn't help him or else he'd still be here!"
"Don't drag my daughter into this," Chopper snarled, suddenly getting defensive. "She was trying to help Percy with whatever he was getting himself into when she didn't even know what it was herself. She nearly died because of what he was digging into. I'm not saying this is Percy's fault but it for sure as hell isn't Shiloh's!"
"Easy guys, we're not going to start blaming the kids," Nagase intervened calmly.
"Your kids are just as bad!" Bartlett barked, whirling on her. "That night Shiloh had the date go bad, she called Alec, not Percy. If your son had picked her up, maybe Percy wouldn't have seen the Iron Cross on the grill of that damn SUV and wouldn't have started to put the pieces together that someone was after all of them!"
"That's a big 'if' Bartlett," Genette said angrily. "For the record, Percy offered to go in place of Alec."
"It's true. Shiloh told me that she'd called Alec but that Percy had picked up the phone and said he'd come get her. You can't blame our kids for the death of your own. The only people to blame are the murderers, and we're going to find them, I promise you," I said gently.
"Percy wasn't alone in this," Chopper spoke up. We all looked at him. "You don't find it suspicious that all of sudden he was with Allison all the time when we knew she didn't bat for his team? You don't find it odd that they were caught in our work room the night of the party a few months ago? She's somehow been in on this the whole time. I don't know what her role was but you can't tell me otherwise that she didn't have a part in this. Percy's strongpoint was planning and flying. Unless he somehow taught himself how to hack into things, the only other person in our family that can do that besides Geller is Isabelle and she wouldn't have been helping him. If he'd asked her to help him, she would've told one of the others who would've approached him about it."
"So he went to someone outside the family," Nagase remarked. "But what were they looking at? None of the files were missing."
"No, but what if they accessed the files on one of our computers to glance at them?" Genette suggested.
"Is there a way we can check the file history to see all the dates the files were opened?" I asked.
"If there is, Geller knows a way to do it. What files should we start with?"
"All the ones on the Gray Men. Percy was smart. He would've figured out who it was, especially if he had Allison hacking into our files for him. Let's get Geller started on that. Have any of you heard anything about the kids?"
"No, why?" Nagase queried.
"Just getting a weird feeling. I'm worried about them although being a mother, I'm always worried about them so maybe it's nothing."
"With everything going on, I'm worried about them too. But they'll be safe at the base. That's probably the safest place for them to be right now."
"I thought Sand Island was the safest place for us to be and look what happened there."
"I'd say you're being paranoid but you have a point."
"Not to mention it's our kids. They inherited our habit of having trouble find them," Chopper pointed out.
Simultaneously, Nagase and I said, "Don't remind me."
Shiloh
"You want to steal our parents' planes?" Tessa stated, blinking in pure shock.
"We barely got out alive of that base and you want to go to one that's even more protected than our own?" Henry argued.
"It's our base. It's called Demons Base for a reason," I countered. "We can just walk on in and they'll let us in."
"Actually they probably won't. First off, OAFA Base Commander just let out a statement that all kids of the Razgriz helped an attack on the base and are not being accused of treason. Second, when Percy and I did some digging into the names of the Gray Men, we found out that a couple work at your parents' base. If they find out you're there, they may sabotage the planes in a way that could get you killed," Allison said.
"So we break in."
"How exactly do you break into one of the most highly guarded bases in Osea?" Liam inquired, sounding genuinely curious. He looked all for the idea though.
"I mean I have a few ideas," Will said.
"Me too. Does yours involve parachutes?" Jem responded.
"Surprisingly no. I'm thinking something bigger and better although I don't know how we'd get what I'm thinking of."
"I was thinking something bigger and better too. What are you thinking of?"
"ACVs. You?"
"Tanks."
"I like tanks better."
"Where on earth would we get a tank?" Sophie said, staring at them.
"I know a guy that owes my parents. We could probably manipulate him into doing some things for us," Lux commented.
"A tank is great for a distraction but they'll have tanks as well and we'll need something faster than a tank to get you all to the hangars," Lydia pointed out.
"Wait, you're actually agreeing with us?" Will cocked his head at her.
"It's the only plan we've got. Besides, it'll make the Gray Men think that Razgriz are onto them if they're having to steal their own planes."
"How will we make the Gray Men think that we're the Razgriz?" Alec questioned.
"The voice changers for your helmets to make it sound like you're them instead of you, if that makes sense. We need to get them done before we go through with the plan."
"Okay, but what about something faster than a tank?" Isabelle chimed in.
"I think Markus and I can help with that," Axel answered. We all looked expectantly at him. "Not all of us Ofnir and Grabacr kids went into the military. A few went onto work regular jobs but they still love the fast life and may or may not have taken up street racing."
"I know a few guys that could help us. We just might need to do a bit of… convincing," Markus added.
"Are they guys?" Lux inquired.
"Yes."
"Then let me and Shiloh come. They'll be more likely to help girls they think are damsels in distress than two friends who need to break into a base."
"You two are far from damsels in distress," Jem laughed.
"I'll join too," Isabelle said.
"Really?" Lux raised her eyebrows at the shiest member of our family.
"You'll need all the help you can get. Besides, the more girls the better."
"We need Helena first and foremost and the sooner we do that, the better."
"We'll do that first thing tomorrow evening. For now, you guys go get some rest. We'll see you in the morning," Axel said. None of us argued as all of us were too tired.
1800 Hrs…
At six in the evening, we all convened in the briefing room where Axel and Markus had set up a plan for us.
"What's the plan guys?" Alec asked.
"We're going with what you guys wanted to do actually. We're not exactly good at coming up with plans, but we can help refine and execute them. Will and Jem will go in first to Helena's building. Whatever Gray Men are there will follow them. They'll run up to the roof and will give the girls the go ahead when they're past Helena's floor. Lydia, Tessa, and Charlotte, you three will go upstairs and help her speed-pack. Once done, get in the elevator and get to a few floors below. We'll have Markus in the lobby who will give you the go-ahead once all the Gray Men are back downstairs which you girls will then head up to the roof where I'll be waiting in a helicopter ready to get you guys the hell out," Axel informed.
"What are Will and Jem going to do to get off the roof?" Sophie queried.
"We're parachuting!" Will said cheerfully.
"How on earth did you convince them to let you parachute off a thirty story building?" Tessa asked.
"Because like they said, we come up with the plans and they refine it. They'll pick us up after they get the girls."
"What about Markus?" Allison said.
"He's going to high-tail it out of there where he's going to meet Shiloh, Lux, and Isabelle at a club that our friend hangs out in. He'll help the girls convince our friend to help us out. In the event this works out, he and the other drivers will drive to a secluded spot where I'll have one of our guys here pick you up. The drivers we'll have leave and meet us at another time when we decide on a date to steal the planes."
"We're going to need the tank before we do that. Who's that person who owes our parents a tank you were talking about Lux?" Henry queried.
"An asshole by the name of Orson Perrault. He's somehow still in the military but trust me, he could get us a tank. I'd say we could ask Harling but he'd tell our parents in a nanosecond," Lux responded.
"Who's going to be talking to him?"
"Let me, Henry, and Sophie do it," Alec offered. "Me and Henry to state Razgriz facts, and Sophie to argue it because I swear, she could be lawyers," Alec said.
"What about the rest of us?" Liam remarked. "Allison, Simon, and I don't have roles."
"Allison is staying here to continue her roles that we discussed last night. Simon, if you could start working on the voice changers for the helmets, that'd be great. I have some people in the lab downstairs that could help you. Liam, I'm going to put you with Lux, Shiloh, and Isabelle because I feel they could use some protection when Markus isn't with them. Not that I think they can't handle themselves because I know they can, but it'd make me feel better," Axel said.
"Quick question: we're all wanted for treason so we can go into any place without getting recognized," I pointed out.
"Well believe it or not, we have something that could help," Axel answered.
"I'm not cutting my hair or dying it," Lux said. "I'm just putting that out there."
"I second that," I agreed.
"No, you won't be having to do any of that. But would you mind wearing a wig?" Axel asked with a grin, throwing about twenty different wigs on the table.
"Where the hell-" Will began.
"Halloween on the ship is a lot of fun. Most of the wigs are black because half the guys here decided to dress as the girl from The Ring and scare the other sailors half to death. Good times."
"This is awesome!" Jem exclaimed.
"So, do we all know what we're doing?" Axel asked. We nodded. "Good, because we're leaving in two hours so get ready."
Lots going down in the next chapter! Reviews would be lovely :)