The Soul Conflict

Chapter 3: Interview

"That's it...bring it down nice and slow." Nigel said loudly as he watched the aircraft slowly descend upon the armored truck. The loud whirring of the rotors made it difficult to hear him. A thick black chain with a colossal hook attached to the end of it dangled from the belly of the jet.

We all stood about ten meters away from the vehicle, but even still I could feel the dust being displaced from the planes movement. The front of my black slacks had turned to an off-yellow color from the copious amounts of sand being blown into them. I watched along with the other three as the hook brushed up against the back bumper of the vehicle and began to lift it closer to the underside of the aircraft. Peter started clapping his hands together.

"There we go. Now he just has to bring it down and we can get inside." Peter said. Not one of these guys looked stressed out in the slightest, meanwhile my own heart was doing enough beating for all four of us. They better not pull anything like this at their base, otherwise I am going to of a heart attack before they get to give me any kind of offer.

"He better do it soon. After all of this we're going to get the National Guard on our tails." Nigel said while the jet descended even further until the wheels of the  truck were once again touching the dirt. A hatch blew open from the rear of the plane, just underneath the rather long tail that resembled a steel beam.

I followed the three to the back hatch of the aircraft. I saw that the floor of the plane was about ten feet off of the ground.

"Hey, smart guy. Hooking up the truck means the plane is now too high off the ground to get into."  I told them. They clearly have not thought anything through.

"Nonsense! Anders, show em how it's done. Then help him up." Nigel directed him. Peter walked up to the landing and then leaped high into the air until his hands caught the ledge. In an impressive display of upper body strength he swiftly pulled himself up the ledge by doing a somersault, tucking his head on the way. He knelt down on the metal floor and offered his hands to me with a cheesy grin. He shouldn't have been able to do that...I have to say, I am impressed. I took his hands and he pulled me up onto the ledge as if I weighed as much as a toddler. He was far stronger than he looked, that's for sure.

"Thank you...but how the heck did you do that?" I said. Nigel and Marshall followed close behind me.

"Our intensive training maximizes our muscle strength so we can make it through the most difficult tasks. A few body modifications don't hurt either." Marshall informed me.

"O'Rye! Everyone's aboard. You can shut the hatch now." Nigel shouted into the cabin of the plane. He was right about one thing; the plane interior was quite cramped and narrow. The short black interior was covered in storage compartments and hooks with various gadgets hanging from them. The three got to their feet and had a seat. I followed them and heard the whirring of heavy machinery as the hatch closed behind us.

"Well, have a seat. We're at max capacity, so that's nice. Or you can sit on the floor and enjoy the turbulence." Peter said. He sat in a small indentation in the left wall that was just barely wide enough to hold him. I decided to take the "seat" across from him. It was quite uncomfortable and hard. I felt the aircraft begin to take off into the sky, and it began to speed up incredibly quickly. I struggled to stay in my seat. The wind began to howl outside, and I could hear it sliding against the metal of the aircraft.

My heart and breathing had begun to return to normal speed. The reality of not eating breakfast was catching up to me, and my stomach began to growl as it was heaved around by the turbulence. I clutched my gut with discomfort; riding on an empty stomach was not my style.

"So, we can start talking now or we can wait until we arrive at base. The thing is, at base you'll have to repeat it all to O'Reily because he sure as hell isn't listening to us right now." Nigel explained. I certainly wanted to ask these guys a few questions. Mainly on what the heck is wrong with them!