Chapter 27

 

TWENTY-SEVEN

Huxian walked down the flight line of Oberman Airbase, located in the sweltering June heat of the Perbla rain forests. Today, Huxian was a woman on a mission, and had hell to pay for the few pilots and maintainers that got in her way.

Scanning the rows of Osean Air Force F-15C and Navy F-14 aircraft, she found her quarry.

“JEAGER!” She bellowed towards a pilot clambering down the ladder of his Eagle, Cyclops Squadrons newly promoted commander. Jeager took his helmet off and stowed it neatly into its carrying bag and wiped the sweat from his forehead. Closing the distance, Huxian held up a report, her eyes blazing behind the aviator sunglasses.

“What the fuck is this?” she demanded.

Jeager squinted for a moment, relenting he patted his flight suit and pulled out a set of reading glasses before he took the document.

“It would appear to be an after-action report.” Jeager stated flatly.

“Really? You don’t say. Care to read paragraph three?” Huxian demanded.

“Uhh, Sure… I can do that.” Jeager replied non-committedly. His eyes scrolled across the paper.

“Oh this? That was nothing, just routine stuff.” He said dismissively.

“Nothing? Routine Stuff? Jeager!-“ her voice raising in octaves as she continued, pausing briefly to clench her fist and lower her voice to a growl. “That was not nothing. You two dumbasses engaged two Foxbats outside of a designated kill zone without V.I.D, firing two sidewinders and downed one of the bandits. That’s a little more than nothing!”  She reprimanded.

“But I thought we were supposed to help enforce the No-Fly-Zone. Is that not why we’re here?” Jeager defended himself.

“We’re only supposed to deter Leasath! Not drag Osea into yet another war!” Huxian reprimanded.

Jeager held up his hands defensively. “Believe me, I Know… but Count just needed to blow off some steam is all, you noticed how he’s been acting these past few weeks, and given the area we were in, I didn’t see the harm in him letting him cut loose ever so slightly.” He explained.

Huxian sighed, shaking her head. “I know, We’re all a bit on edge. I know nothings absolute but-“ Her words trailed off.

“But its likely Trigger will be added to the KIA list soon… I know” Jeager concluded the thought. It pained Huxian to think that her friend, and former commander, was likely a victim with the thousands of others in Erusea. She wanted more than anything to bring those responsible to justice. The No-Fly Zone enforcement made her feel helpless, People she fought aside were struggling and she was a continent and an ocean away feeling useless.

Huxian shook the thought from her head. “It still doesn’t change the fact that you need to keep him out of trouble.” She ordered.

“May I remind you how it’s a bit unkosher for a Lieutenant to be ordering around a Captain?” He teased in a brotherly manner. “Newly Promoted, Captain. You were just as much a Lieutenant under Wiseman as I was.” Huxian replied, allowing herself to smile briefly at the memory.

 

Jeager turned his attention towards the runway. Two F-14 Tomcats from the 12^th Fighter Squadron, ‘Knights’ took off, afterburners roaring.

“Counts up with Lanza and Skald right now. Shouldn’t be too bad.” He said.

“Good. Because I can only hide these reports from General Oliver for so long before they start question what the LRSSG is actually doing out here.” She said.

Jeager turned around to face Huxian and his face furrowed into a scowl. “Heads up, Six o’clock hot.” Jeager warned.

Turning around, Huxian could see an average looking man, in a leather coat, polo shirt and tactical pants approaching her and Jeager.

“Can I help you?” Huxian asked annoyed as the man approached.

He ignored the question, and obnoxiously popped a bubble from the chewing gum he had. He unclipped something from his belt and held it eye level for both pilots to read.

OSI

“Special Agent Palmer, OSI.” He Introduced himself as, grinning widely as he continued to chew his gum, looking both Huxian and Jeager in the eyes.

“Are you Lieutenant Huxian?” He asked.

Huxian was annoyed by the interloper, a Spook or not, he was rude and got under her skin. “Yeah, I am. What do you need?”

“Is your acting group commander around?” The Agent continued.

“No, He just departed for a sortie, won’t be back a few hours. Is there something I can help you with?” Huxian replied hesitantly. She remembered OSI talking to both Trigger and Count months previous in Selatapura, but for the life of her she could not remember the agent’s names.  

“That’s unfortunate, I need to speak with him, it’s a matter of some urgency.” The Agent replied.

Her heart paused. “Is it about Trigger?” She asked, fear creeping into her voice.

The Agent raised an eyebrow.

“Lieutenant is there somewhere we can talk in private?” He asked.

***

Trigger was standing on a grassy hillside. For as far as he could see, there was rolling hills covered in a brilliant green. In the far-off distance, he could see a jagged granite mountain face, the peaks covered in white by the snow. The sky was the deepest blue Trigger had ever seen.

He looked at himself, Not only was he no longer in pain, but he was also once again dressed, now in jeans and a t-shirt. Where am I? he thought to himself scanning the surrounding area.

“Your somewhere you’re not supposed to be, friend.” A voice replied, startling Trigger. He turned around to see a man sitting on the grass. Arms folded and resting on his knees. Trigger guessed the man was in his late twenties to early thirties, he had blond hair, and was wearing a white button up shirt and khaki slacks.

“So, where’s that then?” Trigger asked the man.

The stranger laughed, picking a rock up off the ground, he studied it briefly, tossing it between both hands before he threw it down the hill.

“Think of it as a holding pattern.” The stranger said simply.

“Does that mean I’m dead?” Trigger asked.

The man shrugged “Well not yet at least. Though keep up the way you’re going, and you might be soon enough.”

“Who are you?” Trigger asked.

“Would it really make a difference if I told you?” the man asked, turning to Trigger.

“Well maybe-“Trigger started before the man cut him off.

“I’ll just tell you now, it won’t. If you really are so worried about it, just think of me as a friendly face, nothing more, nothing less. All you need to accept is that your right here right now and Im here right here right now.” The Stranger explained.

“So I am dead?” Trigger asked.

The Stranger rolled his eyes. “mon Dieu, you really are dense. No, now stop asking.”

“I see.” Trigger replied sheepishly.

The man turned his attention back to the distance, he patted the ground next to him.

“Come on, Sit down with me.” He invited.

“Why?”

“Just do it.” The Stranger reiterated. 

“Fine, fine, I’ll sit down.” Trigger relented taking a seat. “Look, I’m sitting… what was the point of this?” Trigger asked.

The stranger shook his head.

“Just wait my friend. All will make sense in time.”

“Oh, that’s nice, did you get it from a fortune cookie?” Trigger quipped.

***
Huxian leaned against the siding of the hangar, she felt anemic after her talk with the OSI Agent.

She watched the LRSSG fighters taxi and come to a halt, crew chiefs and other maintenance personnel descended onto the planes the moment the engines were cut, inspecting and preparing each jet for its next sortie.

As Count walked his way into the hangar from the flight line, she intercepted him.

“Hey!” he said in surprise, his face quickly turning to concern. “What’s wrong? You look like you saw a ghost.” He said.

She nodded her head. “The OSI is here to see you. They said they needed to talk to you.” She choked out.

Counts face changed to one of confusion “The cops? Wait, look, I can explain. What I’m doing isn’t actually structuring, Its an entirely legitimate investment strategy, you see-“ Huxian cut him off shaking her head. “No its none of that, Its about Trigger.” She replied.

“Trigger… oh god did they find him?” He said, he embraced her into a hug.

“Captain, it might be better if I just do the explanations.” A voice said from behind Huxian, she stiffened at hearing it.

“Who the fuck are… Hey you’re that asshole from Selatapura!” Count yelled at the man.

“Well, while I have been called an asshole before. I prefer the term ‘Special Agent’, I had to bust a ton of heads to get that title and I damn well deserve it.” Palmer said holding out his hand to Count.

Count looked at the man in disdain until he lowered his hand.

“Look, I’m only here looking for Information and then I will be out of your hair Captain. Can we talk in your office?” Palmer inquired.

 

 

“Sorry that the place is messy, if you had told me you were coming, I would have cleaned up a bit.” Count said dismissively. His desk was littered with dozens of reports, most of the time he relied on Lanza and Huxian’s aid to keep them all straight. Count often wondered how Trigger kept on top of the LRSSG’s constant paperwork needs.

“Well, that’s quite all right. I’m just here for this conversation anyways.” Palmer replied, taking a seat on a sofa.

“Oh, so No ‘good cop, bad cop’ routine? Where is your little flying monkey anyways Palmer?” Count taunted.

“Dead. Agent Baxter was one of those killed at Cape Rainey when the Eruseans burst warhead went off.” Palmer replied flatly.

 

“Oh… Sorry for asking.” Count replied apologetically.

 

“Look Count, is it Ok if I call you Count? Whatever, Look Count, lets get down to brass tacks here. I need to know when the last time was you talked to your former group commander, Major-”

Count cut him off “Trigger. And the last time I talked to him was briefly on the phone about a month back just for a few minutes. There was a bit of a time difference, so we didn’t say a whole lot to each other.”

“Interesting. Did he say anything out of the ordinary to you?” Palmer inquired.

Count folded his arms “Out of the ordinary? No, not really.”

“Well then what did you two talk about?”

“Normal stuff, He wanted to know how the squadron was doing and to let me know he was in Farbanti with the Princess.” Count replied.

“What in particular about the squadron did he want to know?” Palmer pressed.

Count Shrugged “Just morale and stuff, with him and Wiseman gone, we’re down two pilots and up to this point, our only two commanders. He wanted to know if we were still above water morale wise.”

“And what did you tell him?”

“I dunno, we were doing pretty good once Jeager joined us? Whats the point in all of this?” Count demanded.

“Did he ask about how many aircraft you guys had, your location, any thing like that?” Palmer asked ignoring Counts question.

“No, besides he already knew all of that. Where are you going with this? What does this have to do with anything?”

Palmer closed his eyes, and let out a deep breath, steepling his fingers.

 

“Frankly Captain, we have evidence to suggest your friend, Trigger, might have had some part to play with the attacks on the night of the 17^th. We want to know if he told you anything before hand that might lead us in the direction of who else he could have worked with.” Palmer explained.

Count slammed his fist against the table “What the fuck!” he yelled; Palmer remaining unphased, sat silently waiting for Count to finish.

“Trigger is a goddamn war hero! How the fuck did you come to that conclusion? What are you a fucking dumbass?” Count continued on his tirade.

“I can’t get into all the details but-“ Palmer said raising his hand, getting cut off again by Count

“Oh but you can just accuse my wingman of treason like that? Again? On what basis?”

Palmer laughed, but it was out of reflex instead of actual humor.

“Well, this is somewhat expected. Your Girlfriend surprised me however, for a chick who made her name knocking the teeth out of General Clemens, she just locked up when I told her that. I could have sworn I would need a dentist appointment after talking with her but clearly not.”

“You bastard!” Count hissed, rounding the corner of his desk. He paused when Palmer lifted his jacket to reveal a holstered Sig Sauer P320.

 

“Captain. If you would please calm down. Believe me, I more than anyone want to know that the guy Osea owes its victory to is innocent. But frankly the evidence we have currently isn’t pointing in that direction. Without even taking into account his family history. He was seen talking heavily with one of the masterminds of the attack, a young Erusean Captain. As well, we found documents suggesting he had met with others involved heavily with the planning of the attack. Theres coincidences and then there’s malice.” Palmer explained.  

 

Count said nothing, and stared daggers into the OSI agent.

Palmer clapped and stood up. “Well Captain, I do thank you for your time. This little adventure was… Informative.” He said walking to the door.

 

“Hey wait a minute.” Count spoke up. “Do you even know where Trigger is right now? We’ve all noticed he’s still listed as MIA and that list has been getting smaller every day. Do you actually think he’s alive?” Count interrogated.

 

Palmer sighed. “We have yet to find any positive evidence that your Major was killed in the attack. There were some additional possible sightings around the Gunther region of him days later, we’re checking those leads to see if they’re false positives or not. Frankly its not looking good and it might be better off that way.  At least if he’s dead, it would be for the better since we may have a chance of suppressing this, so it won’t affect his legacy. At least then he might at least get a high school named after him.”

***
The two men sat in silence for what felt to Trigger like an eternity.

“You really got to love it.” The Stranger finally spoke up.

“Love what?”

The man waived one arm across the horizon. “Just all of that sky. That is the only place a man could truly be free. Nothing stopping you but fuel and opportunity.” The Stranger reminisced. The words confused Trigger.

“Now that you definitely copied from somewhere.” Trigger jabbed.

“Did I? Or maybe you did. Whose to say any of this is actually happening. I could very well be a figment of your imagination; did you think about that?” the Stranger replied.

“God, if you’re my version of an Imaginary friend, I think I might want a lobotomy. What use is a hallucination that only speaks in riddles?” Trigger complained.

The stranger laughed. “If you think this is bad, you don’t know how lucky you have it friend.”

 

“So, assuming your not just my brain shutting off, We’re or are you a pilot?” Trigger asked.

“I prefer the term aviatore, but its close enough.” The Stranger replied.

“What did you fly.”

“I don’t remember.”

“Well, that’s real helpful.”

The Stranger shrugged. “C’est La Vie friend. The rules here aren’t quite as straight forward as they are elsewhere.”

 

“So how long am I here then?” Trigger asked.

The Stranger shrugged. “Like I said, rules aren’t quite as straight forward. Here a century is five minutes, and five minutes is a century.”

“That makes no sense.”

The Stranger chuckled. “That is life my friend. That is life.”

 

“Wow, you are such a broken record. You ran out of Fortune cookie phrases, so you moved on to Hallmark cards?” Trigger quipped.

 

The Stranger turned to Trigger and patted him on the back. “Well, you best be going now friend.”

“What do you mean?” Trigger asked again.

The Stranger shrugged “Like I said, Rules are different here.”

“Will I ever see you again?” Trigger asked.

“Hopefully not. Now try not to get yourself dead this time Friend.”

***
Trigger was staring at a white ceiling. His vision was blurry, light assaulted his eyes, a steady beep pounded his ear drum. Trigger felt an intense haze from painkillers that had only served to dull the intense pain his body was in. 

“hap-bo?” he rasped out, his mouth felt like cotton.

A dark silhouette ran to him and stuffed a straw into his mouth, the cold water instantly refreshing the beleaguered pilot.

“Hey you’re finally awake.” The silhouette said, the voice sounded distant. “Just rest now, we can talk later” it instructed.

Rest, that seems like a good idea. Trigger thought to himself. He could feel something cold enter his arm and his eyelids felt heavy. Trigger struggled momentarily before falling into a deep sleep.