Meanwhile

Nigel watched Vedrana and Blanka prepare for some kind of war. Vedrana checked several automatic weapons. Nigel didn’t know what she was doing, but she handled herself like a professional. Blanka produced boxes of ammunition from another closet and set them up for Vedrana. He saw more ordinance on this plane than he had in his entire life.

“What’s all this for?” Nigel asked.

“If madam is right, then they will come,” Vedrana said.

“Nigel, keep a lookout for anything sneaking up on us,” Blanka said.

The plane swerved, and Vedrana stopped an ammo box from tumbling over with a boot.

“They’re upon us,” Dahlia said.

Nigel manned the window and watched for any signs of planes, but only saw rain mixed in with snow. Then a glimpse of two burly guys with a jet pack came into view. He couldn’t believe his eyes. The men reminded Nigel of superheroes in metal. He couldn’t remember the character’s name, but he remembered him wearing a metal costume and shooting lasers from his hands. These guys weren’t as sophisticated, but they had tanks of gas strapped to their backs that reminded him of old World War II footage. Nigel estimated that they were about a thousand feet up. They didn’t appear to be wearing oxygen masks. The men shot at the plane. Nigel ducked as the ricochet of bullets was deflected.

One stray bullet and we are screwed.

One man appeared to launch away from the plane, then shot back like a boomerang. He had a gigantic rocket launcher. Nigel didn’t know how the man could balance the launcher and maneuver the jet pack at the same time.

The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

“Incoming!”

Nigel barely got the words out when Dahlia turned the plane so sharp that weapons tumbled over and spilled everywhere. The rocket missed the plane. The two guys with rockets were making another pass. One man had the weapon and the other guy used hand gestures. Both men were enhanced.

Doc Chop’s men?

Nigel removed a laser pointer out of his bag and shone the light into one of the cyborg’s eyes. The action caused the man to lose control for a moment. He appeared in pain.

“What the hell was that?” Blanka asked.

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you. But it looks like Doc Chop’s enhanced have mastered flight.”

The silence was short-lived. The men were back. They peppered the plane with bullets.

“Take care of them,” Dahlia said as she performed more evasive maneuvers.

Nigel shot a look toward the young assassins. Eva was out cold, but Vedrana removed her jacket and strapped on an ammo belt and wrestled some giant gun-looking thing with an enormous barrel. She checked Eva’s seatbelt, then fastened herself opposite the door.

“Ready, Blanka, open it up. Nigel, hang on.”

Blanka strapped something to her belt, then fastened the other end on a handheld on the other side of the plane. She opened the door. A tugging sensation pulled at Nigel. He was slipping through his belt. It was not on tight enough. Nigel cinched the belt, then grasped his backpack like his life depended on it. Vedrana held fast as the missile shaped like a man catapulted in the plane’s direction. Vedrana was ready. She loaded the weapon with some kind of canister, then shot it out of the plane. She repeated the process. Explosions rang out repeatedly. Nigel watched in horror as the man lost an arm. The other man with the rocket kept coming. The man launched himself at the plane’s door. He didn’t make it through, but he was holding on to the door frame. Blanka shot at his fingers and he lost a couple of digits. The man lost his grip and fell away from the plane. Blanka and Vedrana checked for more assailants before securing the door.

“Now, we can ride the rest of the way in peace,” Vedrana said casually.