Chapter 7- Flying the Friendly Skies

"We are lucky that Five missed this plane, that's not like him to be so sloppy," said Luc as he helped everyone into the small plane.

"One of the first bits of good luck that we have run into," replied Sly, climbing into the pilot's seat. Since he was the only one of them with any flying experience aside from Penelope, he agreed to pilot the plane. As soon as he was sure that everyone was in, he checked the gauges on the instrument panel to make sure that nothing was damaged in the chaos, and then started it up; the engine sputtering to life and sending out clouds of black smoke. Coaxing it gently passed a large pile of smoldering debris; he guided it onto the runway. "You guys do know that I have no experience flying a plane like this, right?"

"You showed some real talent in a plane, though, back at the ACES competition in Holland," Penelope said. "I can vouch for your skills, Cessna or not."

Smiling, Sly adjusted the tail rudders and then pushed the accelerator forwards. The plane started with a jolt, and then smoothly picked up speed. Making a slight maneuver to the left, he avoided making contact with the charred husk of a private jet that had been unlucky enough to be on the tarmac at the time of the attack. Setting the small twin engine plane back on course, he brought the speed up to 80 knots to compensate for the extra weight, and then gradually pulled back on the yoke. The plane tilted back slightly, and then the wheels lost contact with the ground. Pulling in a lever that was above his head, sly retracted the landing gear and locked it in place.

Picking up a small headset that was attached to the side of his seat, Sly put it on and adjusted the mic boom that came from the side so that it was closer to his mouth. He motioned for the team to start looking for more headsets. In all, 3 more were found.

Luc's voice crackled to life over the headset that Sly was wearing. "Put us on a course that sends us due northwest, as soon as we enter English airspace I will guide you to Liverpool."

"Roger that."

Twenty or so uneventful minutes passed, but then Luc began to act strange again.

"I'm beginning to get another one of those feelings," he said into his headset.

Penelope, who also had on a headset, looked at him. "Do you mean like the one you felt in the van before the airport exploded? Just please don't go jumping out of this plane, I'm sure it wouldn't be as easy as the van."

Luc stood up and then walked towards the front of the plane, tapping Sly on the shoulder. "Get ready to bank a hard left as soon as I say. No questions, just do it."

Sly gave him an odd look, still not fully trusting him.

"On my mark," said Luc, closing his eyes. He sat there for several seconds, and then opened his mouth only to close it quickly a second later. His eyes shot open. "NOW!"

Sly threw the yoke to the left just as Luc instructed, causing the plane to shift wildly and veer off course. A loud whistling noise came from behind the plane as a missile shot past them, narrowly missing the right wing. Trailing smoke and flames behind it, it vanished quickly from sight, only to reappear a few seconds later as it banked around to try and hit the plane again.

"Holy crap!" said Sly, fighting to regain control of the small plane. "That was just a little too close for comfort!"

Tearing the headset off, the bat yelled over the sound of the engines. "It's coming back around! Dive!"

Sly put all of his weight on the flight yoke with a grunt and sent the plane into a sharp nose dive, causing the gang in the back to have to hold on to their seats.

"This time, I believe I can safely say that they are trying to kill us!" Yelled Luc.

"No kidding!" yelled Sly in response as the missile shot past them going straight down, vanishing for good.. He pulled back on the yoke, trying to keep from blacking out as the g-forces increased heavily, pressing him down in his seat. Luc, however, managed to remain standing somehow. The plane leveled out of its dive, and Sly began to pant heavily; his heart racing.

"I know you fellows don't trust me yet, but it should be fairly clear that I am in just as much danger as you, which, as you can see, shows that I am not on their side. Sly, make sure to circle around after this next bit." He walked quickly towards the back of the plane towards the entrance hatch on the side.

"I'm afraid that I will have to disobey your orders, Ms Penelope," he said, throwing the side of the plane open. The noise of the wind rushing by became deafening, causing Luc to press his ears flush to his head. He spread his wings, flexing them in the confines of the plane. Then, without a moment of hesitation, he took a leap into space, catching the wind in his wings and starting a glide. The wind rushed past his face harshly, so he partially closed his eyes to keep them safe. Flexing his tail to the right, he pushed one of his wings down so as to bank. Swiveling his head, he saw a jet coming towards him fast. Flapping his wings once with much effort, he accelerated quickly away from it, but tried to stay on the same level as it. It shot passed him once, narrowly missing his extended wing; the afterburners singing what little fur he had. The jet began a long turn and began to make its way back towards him, but Luc was ready this time. Flapping with all of his might, he tried to match his speed with the now slowing jet. Tucking his wings in, he descended quickly. Opening them again, he latched onto the wing of the speeding fighter with a bone shattering thud. His grunt of exertion was lost to the wind as he tried to increase his grip. The pilot of the aircraft noticed him hanging onto the wing, and performed a quick barrel roll to try and shake him off. His thumbs made noticeable dents in the wings as he hung on for dear life. Having survived the first spin, Luc began to move himself towards the cockpit, trying desperately to keep the rushing wind from pushing him off. Hand over hand, he finally reached it. Releasing his grip with one wing, he drew his pistol and aimed it at the bolt that held the canopy in place. Pulling back the trigger, the gun bucked in his hand and fired a small slug at the base of the canopy; causing it to fly off and shatter against the rear fins in a shower of glass and metal that was quickly lost to sight.

He punched the pilot once, stunning him, and then reached into the cockpit. Feeling hastily around at the side of the pilot's seat, he grabbed a small yellow handle and tugged, engaging the ejection mechanism. Swinging clear of the cockpit, he turned his head away as the seat shot out of the interior of the jet and flew up and back with the aid of thrusters on the bottom. Letting go, he jumped backwards and spread his wings, catching the air once more. Adjusting himself in the air, he banked right and began to fly towards the Cessna that had begun circling around towards him.

Sly pushed the accelerator forwards, slowing the plane as much as he could. "This is going to be a little tricky, guys, so hang on!" He then completely turned off the engines, and made the plane climb quickly.

Luc tucked in his wings and dove towards the open door of the now vertical plane that had stalled in the air. Bracing his head against his shoulder, he twisted to the side right as he shot through the open doors on the side. He struck the far interior wall with a loud thud, crumpling into a heap against the wall as Sly leveled the plane back out and restarted the engines. Carmelita jumped up and quickly closed the doors, making a metallic creaking noise as they shut and leaving the interior eerily quiet. She walked quickly over to the heap of grey and black that was against the wall, and propped him up. She patted him softly on the cheek, trying to get him to come to. After several quiet moments, Carmelita laid him back down.

"I'm getting too old for this crap," came Luc's muffled voice. He sat unsteadily up, flexing his right arm and gingerly touching his lower ribs.

Carmelita went quickly back to him, helping to support his weight. "You were too old for this 40 years ago," she said quietly.

"What's done is done, though. Ten won't be bothering us anymore on this trip." He placed a hand on his knee and then rose to his feet, making his way back to his seat. "Feels like I have a couple of broken ribs, but I've had worse." Buckling himself into his seat, he looked around the cabin before closing his eyes. "From what I saw outside, we are just now entering English airspace. Sly, give me a second to catch my breath and I will be right up there to help direct you to Liverpool."

Sly looked at him and nodded before turning his head back to face the front of the aircraft again.

1 and a half hours later

Sly slowly took the plane in for a landing at the airport; the wheels making a slight shrieking noise as they came into contact with the tarmac. Guiding it slowly off of the main runway, he brought it to a stop in one of the designated positions off to the side of the main docking ports. Finally finding a use for the disguises that Luc had brought along, Sly and the rest of the gang slipped into the outfits and then disembarked the small twin engine aircraft, making their way towards the main building of the Liverpool Airport.

A/N

Ok ok ok I know it's short, but I anything else I could add would just be a bunch of filler, and ending it like this leaves it open to start the next chapter! Stay with me, fellas, the next chapter gives Sly and Carmelita a bit of alone time, plus we get another character introduction! The next chapter won't be actiony, mind you, but I will try my best to make it interesting : )

-Jake