The Briefcase Blues

Chapter 6 The New Recruit

Chapter 6   The New Recruit

As soon as Jazz and Scalpalot climbed out of the Lil' Bastard and into the shadowy launch bay, the rest of the crew immediately cornered them to find out what happened.
'It was the Bolsheviks allright,' he told them, 'But that's not even the weirdest of it. The whole thing is some kind of set up. A trap of some sorts and damned if I know what for. Or for whom.'
The news of the money being in the hands of the Bolsheviks made a collective moan go through the crowd.
'Now how are we gonna get our money back? We'll never find those Russians again. They could be anywhere by now,' said Marty, pounding his fist into his palm in frustration.
'No, not everywhere,' emphasized Jason, 'North America is not a friendly place for a Russian to be these days. Hell, even Alaska is trying to get rid of them. But when they spoke Russian to eachother, I heard one of those goons say he wanted to go back to listen to the psalm singing. There is only one place where a Bolshevik can hear such a thing without being shot out of the sky on sight. In the People's Collective.'
'What?' said Patrick, 'But those Collective fanatics recently severed all ties with the Soviets. They didn't want anything to do with atheïsts.'
'That may be, but they also have only one half-decent militia, the Dustbusters and they're seriously ill-equipped. Anyone with a plane and a gun can fly right in and do whatever he wants. The People's Collective Air Force isn't capable of defending their own borders, not by a long shot. I wouldn't be surprised to see them strike a secret deal with the Russians. Hiding them in return for some extra protection.'
'But what are the Russians doing here in the first place? That's what I'd like to know,' asked Nora, her temper getting the best of her.
'I don't know and frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn. All I can say is that we're going to get our money back and kick some Communist butt while we're at it.'
'Easier said then done,' said Patrick gravely, 'I had me a nice girl once, grew up in the People's Collective, before she managed to get away. They're strange folk over there. Basically not bad, just…fanatical, you know? They get kind of carried away with their whole saviour and no property thing. It could be difficult to get information from them.'
'Difficult?' said Jason, 'Or impossible?'
Patrick shook his head.
'That girl, did she have any friends back home?'
Patrick nodded, then smiled his infamous smile. It was enough for Jason to know.
'Ok, see what you can do. Meanwhile, we're setting course for the People's Collective.'
Giving instructions to the bridge to set a course eastwards, Jason headed towards the corridor leading to his cabin. He was stopped by Antoinette.
'Wait a minute, Jason. We have another issue,' she said.
'Another issue?'
'Yes, the new recruit.'
'What new recruit? What are you talking about?'
The femme fatale of the Firebirds said nothing, but turned around and walked to the back of the assembled crowd. She took one of the crew by the arm and hauled her up front. At least, Jason thought it was one of the crew. The Russians were known to have mixed crews on their combat zeppelins, unlike the Americans, but Jason couln't remember any woman of them on board the Damocles. As they got closer he saw she wasn't dressed as one of their own. She was dressed in a brand new aviators jacket, khaki pants and shiny boots. The woman kept her face down, but Jason recognized her long before she stood before him.
'Alicia?!'
The young woman looked up defiantly.
'Hello Jason,' she said casually, her reddening cheeks betraying her, 'I told you I wanted to stay.'
Jason pinched the bridge of his nose, hoping this was some sort of weird waking dream of his.
'Alicia, what are you doing here?'
'I came back to join the Firebirds. I told my father I wasn't his darling little girl anymore. I want to become a pirate of the skies, like you all. Just like you showed me.'
It didn't happen often Jason didn't know what to say. The best he could do was to pretend to play it cool for a moment. What on earth did he have to do with Alicia Vanderlubsen, spoiled rich kid, wanting to be a pirate? Well, she did have the fire in her. She may have been spoiled, but she never was a brat. And he had to admit she had a certain knack for flying. Somewhere, deep down, he actually liked the idea of having her back on board. Even though she had no idea what she was getting herself into, it had been fun having her around. He found himself to be enjoying her company more then he was ready to admit. Still, it was asking for trouble.
'How did you get here anyway?' he asked, searching for a way to deal with the situation.
Antoinette pointed to something behind him. He turned around. A sleek MC2 Raven hung from an arrestor hook at the far end of the launch bay, fully loaded and every bit as shiny and new as Alicia's pilot clothes. It wasn't even named yet.
'Nice,' he said and turned back to Alicia, 'Where did you get it?'
'I had a trust fund. When I returned, they finally let me access it. I bought the best plane I could find and went looking for you. I tracked you down to Skyhaven, asked around a bit. Finally a friend of Antoinette got me into radio contact.'
'Antoinette?!' Jason eyes went wide. Antoinette stood calmly beside her and flicked her long hair back as if everything was perfectly in order.
'I thought she deserved a fair chance,' she said smoothly, 'Pursueing what she wants like that? I admire that in a woman. I figured it was my duty to help her.'
Jason didn't know what to make of it. Only Antoinette could so casually bypass his authority. She was also the only one who nobody could get mad at somehow. He had to make a decision, but he figured that, although he might be the leader of the Firebirds, they probably had something to say about it too. Mabey they would be so against it he wouldn't have to deal with it himself. Maybe he could just tell her that; Sorry, this isn't going to work. Any new addition to the team must be supported by that same team. Really sorry, better to go back home. See ya.
'What do you guys think?' he asked the Firebirds.
To his surprise, there was no immediate dismissal.A few of them shuffled their feet, a few others looked at the ceiling, there was a neutral sort of grumbling.
'Well,' started Walter, 'it's not like the lass is bad news. I mean, if she really wants t' join us.'
'Yeah, I always thought we could use more women on the team,' Patrick grinned.
The twins came to stand by her side, even Marty seemed reluctant to turn her away.
'Usually, joining a pirate crew is by invitation only,' Jason smiled, 'I guess we'll have to make an exception for you.'
Alicia screamed with joy and jumped to wrap herself around him. The crew cheered and took turns to congratulate and hug her as soon as she let go of Jason.
'Oh this is great!' she exalted, 'I was so scared you'd turn me away again. And now I'm a real pirate! I can't believe it! So when's our first mission?'

An hour later, a seething Alicia Vanderlubsen stood at a viewport, looking out and cursing. In the distance, she could still make out the silhouettes of five combat planes flying east. Behind her, Marty lay a reassuring hand on her shoulder.
'Stuck with me, huh?' he said, not completely succeeding in hiding his smile.
'But why?' she asked him, 'I have my own plane and everything! Look, I even have one of those stupid leather caps.'
Marty chuckled, 'Girl, you bought your plane. That's like a disgrace to a pirate. You'll have to earn your plane by stealing enough. Come on, you've got a lot to learn before you can become a real pirate and you can do so by helping me tend to this flying bucket of bolts.'
Sighing, her anger now abating into a dull acceptance, Alicia turned to follow the big man into the interior of the zeppelin.

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