Page 106 of Exit Strategy

“Pink nails, blonde hair?” I asked. She nodded. “They’re both taken care of, and disarmed.”

“Are we really going home?” she asked.

“We are,” I said. “I’ve got to go talk to the guys in the cockpit, but it’s cool, I know them and they’re alright.”

“What about them?” she asked, gesturing to Rex and Emerson, both unconscious. “You know you’ll go to jail for this, regardless of what they did. They’ll have the media and money on their side.”

“They won’t, I promise.”

“What are you going to do?” she asked.

“There’s an American song,don’t ask me no questions, and I won’t tell you no lies,” I said. She saw the dark intent, but not speaking the words made it different, not real. She nodded.

“Be careful, Kurt,” she whispered. “I love you.”

“I love you too, Callie.”

I pulled the unconscious men from her room, only pausing long enough to pull Emerson’s track pants up. It wasn’t a matter of modesty or dignity, the last thing the traumatized girls in the cabin needed was to see the August’s bruised cock hanging out of his pants like a gross joke.

There was a general uproar when I opened the door and rolled his fat ass down the ladder. He crashed into several angry people. These were all wealthy, self-important and powerful people. They were not accustomed to being made to wait, and it was only the arrogance of the August who made them board this plane at all.

Total cult bullshit, and I saw nothing but the eyes of angry zealots.

“Where are my girls?” a man in the front shouted.

“What did I say about anyone sticking their heads out?” I brandished the pistol. They fell back quickly, bumping and trying to climb over the people behind them. “Any of these girls your daughters?”

“I paid for my ticket, like everyone else,” he said.

I put a round through his neck, spraying the side of his RV with blood.

“I said get back in your shit wagons, yeah? Or does someone else need a new mouth to breathe out of?” They scurried like angry rich cockroaches, fury and fear in their eyes.

“If any of them touch the ladder, shoot them,” I said to Cass. “That’s an order.” She nodded grimly.

When I came back, it was Arik’s limp but still breathing body I let tumble down the ladder. He landed like a bag of potatoes, but he was still breathing after he finished tumbling arse over teakettle.

“Cass, is this everyone? Is there anyone else down that deserves to be saved? Do we have all the monsters in the cargo hold?” She looked around at the other girls, and I could see the structure starting to sort out. She was as close to a leader as they had, and I could see that there were six, maybe seven others who were functionally lieutenants.

“This is it,” she said.

“Any sympathizers down there?”

“Anyone who pretended to be a sympathizer was just working the inside and was the person who would turn you over to the handlers. Sympathizers are the worst sort. They’ll pretend to be your friend and that all of this is just sad but inevitable. I hate them the most.”

I nodded.

“Shut the door and lock it. Everyone,” I raised my voice, “find a safe place, somewhere you can sit, maybe have something to hold on to. We’re going to change course and the flight might get a little bumpy.” They nodded and started moving.

“C’mon, Callie,” I said, and offered her an arm. Her eyes were wide as she was finally able to take in what shape I was in. I was going to hurt in the morning, when the adrenaline was completely gone and I crashed. Not yet, not yet, there was still a lot to do. I thumbed the intercom at the cockpit door. “Arizona?”

“Yeah, chief?”

“Mind if I come in?”

“Strapped?”

“I can leave it with someone if that would make you feel better.”

---