Page 52 of Vapor
I take a breath but Jessie answers. “It’s the new .50 Cal armor piercing. It blows up on impact and shreds the armor, doors, walls, whatever it hits. The steel plates that were in the old gear would cause more damage than what he’s got. Not that his side isn’t bad enough.”
I nod and bounce from Mase in the prison with an emaciated soldier barely holding pressure to Mase’s side over to the ground progress.
Vapor: “Chief, run flight. Get my bird up and distracting for us. Lerch, get small drones doing the fruit fly bit. I’m walking right in.” Shit. I breathe deep.
Jones: Laughs. “Roger, Commander, I love this one. Whisper, get the little bird up and working. I’m making a door, you defend it.”
Morena: “Roger, Chief.”
Moss: "They're offline, jammed and satellites close are blurred, Commander.”
The ceiling explodes in activity. I turn to my board and see the missile hit the prison. This is bad. I have to look up and find the scene with my Vapor Ross and Alder. They’re walking in like they didn’t just bomb a prison to do it. I shake my head and want to shut it down but can’t turn away from it. Alder is running with the dog and his phone out in front of him. My eyesgo to the side, Mase’s light blue is not far from the bombed-out opening. They are so good at this.
I look to the right for the Prince room. Mase is all that’s on their center board. Alder, the wolf and Mader come through the door to the closet or wherever that is. The room brightens and I suck in a breath feeling it for Mase. “He said he needs a minute. He needs more than a minute,” I say to my board.
“That was before the .50 cal shot. His suit stopped the bullets from the guards’ guns. The sniper guessed his location or the soldier is sick. Fever would register heat on the scope.” Jessie has Ben looking at him too.
“We should have used the…”
Jessie shakes his head. “The plan was good. No one can plan for everything. If location was a guess, we’d still be seeing it play out just like it is, Prez.”
Ben nods.
I do too because who’d have thought they’d have bullets that explode steel? The bullet was never meant for unarmed prisoners. It’s the reason the SOAR Team were under laser orders. My eyes go back to my board but I don’t see my girl. Alder and the big guy are with Mase and the soldier. “Where’s Vapor?”
Donovan points. “Going through the prison. We have engineers getting her to the next soldier.”
Sure enough, gates are opening, I spot the wolf and watch my girl following it. I look for her cam and pull it up on my board. She’s quick with a gun. The wolf attacks but she doesn’t stop for me to see who or why. Jesus. The second soldier is at the bars like he’s been waiting. He doesn’t look as bad as the one with Mase.
“You’re Badass.”
“Cort said so and made me a president, Justice agreed and Julius claimed me. I’m Vapor from the new SOAR Club. We’re former Night Stalkers.” The whole time she’s talking she’s winding something around the bars and we hear shooting behind her. I see she’s making a straight line. “Stand back. Alder said this wouldn’t explode but change the molecular temp. I figure it means it melts shit.”
I chuckle at that with the Brothers in the room. The bars steam then fall. It really melted shit. I shake my head seeing a few others doing the same. I guess it’s new.
The departure from the prison is just as harrowing. Alder has Mase covered as he talks directly to Cort about a message for Aiyana. I have to look and see Teller is right by Cort in Phoenix Ops.
Alder: “Boss Shep carry VP Mase fireman hold. He stay to reservation no feel pain to body here.”
I look at Ben. “What does that mean?”
He doesn’t turn from the virtual scene on the right. “Mase is on the reservation. It’s like a realm where Aiyana can heal him from Princes. Tekah is with them from Connecticut. The fireman hold could put him into shock if he feels that pain to his body.”
I look at him for a good minute but don’t ask him anything else. He’s serious and I don’t think I really want to know. I go back to my board and see the little chopper systematically bombing the prison front.
Jones lowers in the Blackhawk and picks the ground crew up. The little chopper lowers for Vapor while Forest gets on the rope hanging from the Blackhawk. They act like this is allin a day. I’ve never had their job but hope that every battle they face is carried out like this. My Vapor Ross didn’t plan on Mase getting shot with whatever new shreds armor like a mentos in coke but she has enough experience to work around it and make sure everyone made it out alive…even if they’re not all on the same realm as us.
Ben and Logan laugh looking right at me. I shrug. “Don’t clarify anything. I think it’s classified.”
They all laugh now.
~*~*~
Vapor
Me: I sit and take the controls. “Moss?”
Moss: “You’re still invisible, Commander. Check your weapon stock. The Blackhawk has a full artillery box for you but no place to land for at least forty minutes. We’ll keep you invisible. Let Oracle know if you need to make that stop.”
