Flashbang

Chapter 14

Nia adjusted the night vision goggle atop of her helmet, craning forward to look at the screen on Maria's lap, jabbing a gloved forefinger at a dot on the map. "You sure this is the place? Cause, correct me if I'm wrong, that looks like a whole lot of nothing."

"Yes," Maria replied, the word enunciated clearly. "Or at least as close as we can manage without alerting them. The jackpot should be due North a couple of clicks. But, from McIver's rep, we're thinking that it's not going to be an easy run."

"When is it ever?" Nia retorted, a smirk tugging at the corners of her lips.

A moment of silence settled between the two women, Maria glancing away slightly. A movement that hadn't escaped Nia, who extended her hand out towards her. Nia knew that this wasn't strictly protocol, and Maria had been pulling strings the couple days that Nia had gotten everything ready.

"Maria...I appreciate it."

Maria glanced up at Nia, her eyes reflecting the glare of her computer. For a moment, her features settled, a smile flickering across as she reached out to shake her hand but remained quiet for a beat longer. "Buy me a drink when you get back with him."

Nia nodded, going over to kneel by her pack, checking once more that she had everything. Maria had been kind enough to issue her with an old Beretta M9, which she had firmly holstered it into her leg rig.

Her own hands trembled slightly, causing her to ball her fists. She quickly went to hoist her bag up onto a shoulder, then onto the other as she tried for the weight, combined with the parachute, it was hefty, almost bowling her backwards.

"Nia."

Maria's voice cut through the air.

Nia turned to look after her. She was standing, the laptop resting on the seat in her place as she approached.

"Stay safe." Maria said. She sighed, running a hand through her hair. "I haven't been able to word it properly until now...but I think there's a lot more at play than just you, Alastair and McIver. You're going to be out of range of any communication until you activate the signal on that phone we've provided you, I'd advise caution."

Nia nodded. "I'll bear that in mind. Thank you."

With that, she turned and left the hangar to the awaiting cargo plane. Her footsteps echoed on the metal ramp as she heard the plane come to life around her - the electronics humming around her.

She settled herself a seat, her pack between her legs. Maria had also provided her with a map of where the compound they thought had Alastair and was no sooner back on her feet once the plane had taken off. The map was pinned down by one hand and the other traced the several routes she had marked before the flight.

Most of them were deemed unviable by Maria, with far too much unmarked land between the DZ and the location. Nia sighed, folding the map up and tucking it into her trouser pocket before padding back over to the seat. She was venturing into unknown territory, that part she was alright with but the parting words from Maria had left her unsettled.

Until a firm hand clamped down on her shoulder, she hadn't realised she had drifted off to sleep. A young man looked down at her, his lips pressed into a thin line. Nia glanced at the back of the plane and then back at the man, who nodded.

It was time to get ready.

Nia was helped up by the young man, who had checked her over and gave her a hand signal - they were five minutes out. Her heart raced in her chest, adrenaline spiking way before the action had even happened. She set her jaw, having breathed pure oxygen before adjusting the mask across her face, the night vision goggles pulled down.

The ramp lowered, the flight crew checking. Her eyes flickered over to the red light, the hammering of her heart in her chest as she approached the ramp. She knew that once she hit the ground, time was of the essence; they had managed to squeeze everything into two days, the research, because Al probably didn't have much time. He was a tough bastard, but every human had their limits. Nia simply hoped that Alastair hadn't reached his by the time she arrived.

The light changed from red to green.

Jump time.

Nia approached the lip of the craft, giving a thumbs up and pushed off. The night sky whipping around her, and a sudden stillness settled into her mind; away from the chaos of the plane humming around her, and into the night.

She counted down in her head, as instructed all those years ago before pulling the chord. The release of the chute yanking her upwards, almost immediately slowing her descent. Eventually, she touched down, a light thud against the ground as the chute settled around her. Nia went about gathering it up and chucking it into a nearby bush.

Taking a moment to gather her surroundings, she pulled the map out, covering the micro torch with her thumb.

The compass pointed her North of the location.