Soldier of Fortune: Gideon Quinn Adventures Book One

Chapter 19

By the time Jinna had gathered up a few belongings from her nearby flat, and Gideon had "arranged" transportation—he informed Mia they would absolutely be returning the sassy little Edsel Comet, as soon as they had Jinna settled—it was well after fourteen midnight, and the main airfield gates were locked.

Luckily, Mia was able to lead them to a smaller gate, the one used by the field and 'ship crews.

It was, in fact, being used as they approached, by two somewhat worse-for-wear aeronauts.

"All I'm saying is, life on airships'd be a deal simpler, if we had us some matter transporters, like they had back inna day."

"You're sauced." His friend tried to slap the speaker's arm, and hit the air instead, proving the sauce had not been selective in its targets. "Ain't so nuch thing as matter tranposters. Never 'ave been."

As one, Mia, Jinna, and Gideon—carrying Jinna's carryall—slowed their pace, the better to avoid being brought into the drunken debate.

"A'course there were," drunk number one insisted, weaving to a halt. "S'in all'a records ain't it?"

"Them's ficshun, Johnny," drunk number two opined drunkenly. "If all'a books our aassestors brought wiff'em was a record, we'd be arse to elbows in fairies, an kaiju, an' coffee."

"Oh my," Gideon whispered.

Jinna elbowed him.

"I don' know how you can close your mind so, Ken." Drunk number one shook his head—and almost face planted because of it.

"An I don' know how you can hear past the wind whislin' through that empty skull, John."

At this point, the pair turned off towards the passenger liners, and though Gideon feared they were going to come to blows (or, given the level of sobriety, near misses), at least they'd be doing it far, far from him.

"I never did believe in coffee," Mia was saying as they wove their way through the anchored cargo vessels.

"I've always wanted to," Gideon said.

"There it is." Jinna pointed and all three froze, staring at the uniqueness that was the Errant.

"It flies?" Mia looked from the ship, to Jinna, and back again.

"If it does, I bet they serve coffee, too," Gideon said.

* * *

They did not serve coffee, but Rory assured them that the Errant did indeed fly. "She's nae much to look at, but she's a rare lass," he said.

The visitors looked up at the much-patched hard-shell of the airship's dirigible, then back to Rory, currently perched atop the port aft engine pod, with his torch in one hand and spanner in the other.

"I can believe that," Gideon said.

"Maybe this was a bad idea," Mia offered.

"What's a bad idea?" Rory asked. "And for that matter, what are you doing out and about, and it so late?"

"It's nothing," Jinna began.

"Jinna's in trouble," Mia said at the same time.

"Trouble?" Rory was already halfway down the pod's ladder as he asked, "Of what sort?"

And whatever Gideon might have thought of the Errant—or her captain—the gaze the young man turned on Jinna was reassuringly serious.

"You're dead pale," Rory observed before Jinna could protest again. "You'll come inside and have some tea while you tell us what's what." Already he was leading the small party around to the rear gangplank.