To the Airship

The remote sailed into Hades, just missing the trigger switch, it bounced back toward Radcliffe just out of his reach. The alarm that shrieked from the collar was a loud staccato that dug into everyone in the chamber’s ear drums making the sound of grinding teeth sound pleasant in comparison. The LED started flashing a violent red. The countdown had started. If Ayres was not close the remote again in ten seconds, he could say goodbye to breathing.
Creech didn’t waste time. As soon as the remote landed, he punched Ayres in the gut and threw him over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry. Creech took long strides toward Hades, praying that he would make it in time, cursing himself for having to save Ayres’ life. He also cursed Ayres because apparently he had lost control of his bladder.
He covered the distance with seconds left to spare. The alarm suddenly switched off. It gave the cavern an eerie silence that seemed worse, somehow. Creech set Ayres down and picked up the remote. Ayres’ churning gasps for breath replaced the deafening silence of the room.
Delta had stopped in their tracks. Their current tasks forgotten for a moment, replaced by spectacle. Creech’s gaze feel upon Dobson, who quickly remembered an appointment with a bookshelf on the other side of the chamber. The rest of Delta took his cue and set back to their work.
“Now, I hope that will be an adequate lesson to you. Mister Radcliffe, please retrieve the remote control. I don’t think that we’ll have any further feistiness from our friend here.”
Radcliffe pushed himself up from the floor. This was turning out to be not so good a day for remaining upright. He walked to where the device landed and plucked it up daintily.
Cappy looked down at her shoes. Disappointment washed over her. She had not anticipated Radcliffe’s fumble, but it would have taken care of at least one problem. Of course it would have meant an investigation. That would just be disastrous for her career, but Ayres made her want to put that aside. His years of freedom were like a burr under her skin.
‘Creech is right, though. There’s only one thing to do. Get him to justice, put him on trial and let the courts decide his fate.’
“Mister Radcliffe, I hope we won’t see a repeat performance of this little melodrama. Creech, put the squad in formation. We’re about to say goodbye to this charming piece of hell.”
Creech saluted and then quickly brought his hand down. He set about the task of getting Ayres back on his feet. It did not make him feel good to have saved the man’s life, but there were other considerations. Regulations were there for a reason. Delta would be different without Cap. He wouldn’t let her risk a career over this scum.
“All right, you heard the captain! Finish your tasks and get in formation. Yarborough, come help Balmforth with this stretcher. Long, you’ll be helping to carry our friend in the antechamber. Move.”
Delta moved swiftly, without hesitation. They had already finished minutes ago, but they made themselves busy rooting through papers to make sure they’d not missed anything. Radcliffe’s show had proven somewhat distracting, however, and the members of Delta had a deep admiration of Cappy. There was no way that they would let her get in trouble over this.
Cappy walked briskly over to where Delta stood. She inspected them closely. They looked none the worse for their ordeal here, of course none of them were as personally involved as she was. She motioned for Creech to get them moving.
Delta marched, ready to get back to the airship. They collected Austen back into the fold, still moving. They gained the entrance and moved briskly past the pointing tree into the windswept clearing beyond.
Radcliffe walked in silence considering the fate of his ward. It would take him a while to recover, though he’d already showed signs of stirring. The boy’s body still moved in slightly in fast forward. It seemed that he had aged slightly. There was no way to tell how the potion had affected him or would continue to as the days wore on. He could only hope that the boy’s metabolism would run its course quickly, allowing Jeremiah to resume his former life.
Cap had been correct about Ayres staying close to him. The acrid odor of urine assaulted him every other step. Ayres bumped into him every tenth. Radcliffe didn’t think Ayres was trying to jostle the remote from him. He was being very careful to hold it gently. He did not want to repeat his fumble.
Delta assembled next to the whirlybird and waited while Pitts got it ready to fly. Pitts had been uneasy with the business in the cave, but getting back behind the flight yoke of his baby pushed all of that to the back burner. This was his element and he was of it. He flicked the power switch, checked his safeties, and looked at the fuel gauge. It read empty. That was impossible. He had coasted on updrafts most of the way down. There was no reason for an empty fuel tank. He had made sure they were fully equipped with it.
He unstrapped himself and opened the cockpit door. As he stepped onto the snow to get Creech’s attention he felt a sharp pain in his leg. He looked down to determine the cause of the pain. A colorful dart jutted out of his leg. He felt woozy. His arms were heavy. It took all of his energy to try to shout a warning.
“Amb—“
Creech did not see Pitts fall, but he did hear him just before the world erupted in flames. All at once he became part of Delta, not just the voice they heard when it was time for action, but the part of the will of the unit. They formed themselves into an outward facing circle surrounding the principals of the mission.
A circle of flame roared around them. Delta watched for movement. Only the flames moved, the wind whipped them higher blowing the caustic smoke into their faces. Long fell, hard on his face, a dart stuck out of his neck. Austen fell next, then Yarborough. Cappy felt the unity of the group evaporating as each squaddie fell.
“They’re in the trees! Shoot the trees!”
Delta concentrated their fire toward the treetops. They heard a thump on the other side of the fire wall. They fired two more volleys and another thump just before Balmforth fell. A full half of the squad was on the ground now. Creech felt himself start to panic. His stomach had lied to him, and now everyone was in danger. He had to salvage this somehow. He had to act or they would never leave this snow packed hill.
He motioned for the remaining three squad members to follow him across the depleted fire line. Cappy stayed behind to try to protect Radcliffe and the others. She eyed them nervously and then returned her attention to the perimeter.
Creech approached the fire and prepared himself. He set his weapon to kill and gestured to the others to do the same. The fire had died down considerably, making a much less formidable obstacle for them. They leapt over it easily meeting no resistance on the other side until a dart hit Sierra.
His finger spasmed on the trigger as he fell. The first charge fired almost straight up, but, as he got closer to the ground, he spasmed again and Dibson’s head evaporated. Pink mist showered Creech and Dobson.
Creech looked on in horror as Sierra’s weapon fell from his numb fingers. Dibson’s body fell, gushing blood into the hard packed snow. Dobson wailed. His best friend was dead, pieces of his skull ran down his face. His legs felt as substantial as water. He fell to his knees crying. His neck hurt as if he had been stung. He slapped at the area of irritation and drove the dart further into him. He looked toward Creech as if he could ask him to bring his friend back to life and fell in a heap on top of his dead friend.
Creech couldn’t help himself. If he was going down, he would take one of their attackers with him. He ran toward a tree that he thought might contain one of their attackers. He climbed it easily after he’d found the simple rope ladder leading up to a wooden platform. He sensed someone behind him. Creech whirled around just as a rifle butt connected with his temple.
Cappy was panicked. Delta Squad had fallen apart like a cheap shoe. Her anxiety was getting the better of her. She stalked toward Ayres. He had to have something to do with this. Antags  hated that they were almost always on the losing end of the competition. He must have set up this little ambush as an insurance policy. Radcliffe stood in her way.
“Get out of my way. If I have to go through you to get to him, I will. One of my men is dead now because of him. Maybe I can use him to get us out of this.”
“Captain, if you feel that would be the best way, I encourage you to do it. But I will retain control of this. I wouldn’t want your emotions to get the better of you.”
“Fine. Keep it. Just get out of my way.”
Radcliffe stepped aside so that Cappy could pull Ayres to the dwindling fire perimeter. She shoved him to the ground and looked out to the tree tops. Then, after taking a deep breath, she shouted.
“You want him? Here he is. Come and get him out of my sight. Don’t forget about this jewelry he’s wearing. I’m sure you’ll be able to get at least ten feet before you’re picking him out of your hair.”
A cold voice drifted back to her. It made her want to curl up into a ball and never stop. It was dispassionate. There was no reasoning with the person behind it.
“If we wanted just your prisoner, we would have taken him by now.”
It was the last thing she heard before a dart hit her in the chest. She looked to her right to find Radcliffe had been shot as well. The darts poured the tranquilizer into them with cold efficiency. Radcliffe flopped to the ground just before Cappy fell into darkness.