The Maad Doctor [The Maad Series #1]

|33| A Bump In The Air.

As the battle between the two military-grade airships progressed, Don ran to the hold. A soldier had sneaked into their airship and was pouring gunpowder on the wooden floor.

"Not on my watch, Soldier!" Don shouted, then shouldered him out of the way.

Soldier rolled on the ground and stood right away. He pulled a knife from his back pocket, and Don unsheathed Shocker B. Soldier swatted at Don and knocked the weapon out of the thief's hands.

Shit!

Don balled his hands into fists then stood in a fighting stance. He stared into Soldier's eyes and saw the man's murderous intent. He must have taken many lives to look joyful about adding Don to his repertoire.

Soldier thrust the knife towards Don's torso, and the thief was quick to evade it. But Don hadn't expected Soldier to swing his free arm at him. The fist connected with his jaw and sent him to the floor.

"Ah am going to enjoy this," Soldier said then threw away his knife.

A blur clouded Don's vision as he laid on the floor. The temperature became blistering. He tasted blood in his mouth and felt some running down his nose.

This reminds me of the pits. Life was hard and simple back then.

Soldier straddled Don's chest and pinned the thief's arms to the floor with his knees. It left Don vulnerable. "Admiral Edge said we should thank ya and Sky after we had wiped out La Familia. If ya hadn't stolen the wings and tried to kill Stella, Lady Camilla wouldn't have allowed us to bomb La Familia's base. And for that, ah thank ya."

"You can thank me by letting me go," Don said. His vision had returned, and he got a better look at Soldier's oval face and brown eyes. He had a nametag above his left breast. "Officer Frank."

"If it weren't for the bounty, ah would have enjoyed taking ya life. Sadly, orders are orders," Officer Frank said.

"And soldiers follow orders, right?" Don asked.

"Correct." Officer Frank snarled. He seemed conflicted. It must have been hard for him not to kill Don. "Ah can't kill ya, but ah can beat tha shit out of ya." He raised his fist. But before he punched Don, someone struck from behind. Officer Frank collapsed on Don after losing consciousness.

Don pushed Officer Frank off him and then stood. "What the...?" He stared at the person who had saved him. "What are you doing here? As a matter of fact, how did you get on the airship?" he asked his savior.

"Is that how you thank me, pa'ner?" Old Man Booty smiled.

o-o-o-o

Edge Carlton stood on the top deck of his airship barking orders at his soldiers. His voice didn't have the same intensity compared to his younger days.

A soldier fell in front of Edge suddenly, making him stumble backward and fall on his ass. Edge turned the soldier on his back and saw a bullet hole in his chest. Looking for the one responsible, Edge spotted Pipi smiling and waving at him.

In anger, Edge grabbed his semi-automatic rifle and fired at Pipi. "You tried to murder me, boy?" His body shook from the force of the gun trailing Pipi as Rexen took cover behind crates of fruits. The bullets tore the containers and fruits inside into pieces.

The vision of Reed shooting him returned. Pipi closed his eyes, then he inhaled and exhaled through his mouth. "This is not the time, Pipi." He pulled his shaking hands away from the levers on Rexen's back. "Not now." His lips trembled.

The harder he shut his eyes, the clearer Reed's face became in his mind. It haunted his thoughts, which made him temporarily immobile. Pipi almost died. It was the first time he came to terms with what had happened in the catacomb. A lump blocked his throat when he tried to swallow his saliva.