Page 29 of Vapor (BSC #32)

Two days

SOAR

Julius

I hold my chest and breathe.

“Prometheus is MB’s K9.”

I just look at Moss hoping he gets that it DOESN'T FUCKIN’ MATTER what the dog’s name is or who his daddy is.

That dog shot a laser at the disgusting slob of a man that was pointing a gun at the little girl.

She is all of FIVE and knew enough to freeze in fear with tears rolling out of her eyes while she didn’t make a damn sound.

It’s not the first time she’s seen the gun and she knows what damage it can do.

The shot sounds loud. I’m trying to find where that came from, it’s been laser until now.

“Alder, Boss.” Moss points to the left.

Alder is holstering his gun. With a look at the now still and bleeding slob lying on the floor, Alder shakes his head.

I blink slow and open to his hand out to the little girl, then step back until my leg hits the empty desk below my board.

He shot the guy with a bullet. I look around wondering if the others get why he did.

Sarah has her hand over her mouth and tears in her eyes.

“VP, we’re going to need Zion help in place when they land.” I need a job.

He turns, looking like the tired in his eyes is here for a while. He gets it. “I’ll send it to Aylen. How many?” He’s shaken.

“I’ll send a heads up and get a final count from the engineers when they board the chopper.”

He hands me his phone and goes right back to watching. It’s that fatal accident where the chain reaction just keeps growing. Every turn, every kid found is worse than the last. I want to get to the bumper taps faster.

I send the heads-up to Aylen and give VP his phone back. He never looks away from the virtual show.

Rapid fire has us all turning from the kids to the higher show outside the dilapidated storefront building that’s positioned almost at the ceiling.

Drones are shooting down toward the road where a dusty white box truck pulled up.

The Blackhawk swoops down and blows it to hell.

Good job, Jones. I think he has more artillery.

That thought has me seriously contemplating ever watching her Ops again.

She’s going to kill me with the heart stopping anticipation of what more can happen today moments.

Having to see my girl, I hunt for her and her new wolf, Honos.

I hold my chest again and spin to my board with the mission tracking.

She’s in a hall with Prometheus and Alder moving closer to her and her honor K9.

She said he’s never just a dog, he’s a K9.

I call him a wolf and see him to the right.

I move closer to Moss to see better. She’s in a fight with a muscle-bound nut swinging a sword wildly. It’s like watching Aladdin’s cartoon in real life.

She snags the oddly long cloth from his head scarf that flew out behind him when he spun. It’s around his neck as his back sags against her front in a second. I close my eyes seeing the curved sword raise. Jesus.

Three breaths out and two steps back, I open my eyes when the hand touches my back. Sarah.

She shakes her head. “I don’t think she’s even there, the plan, protocols, it all decides her moves while hardening the shell around her heart and mind. She just keeps going.” That voice, the day I first met Sarah, the eerie voice strikes me as sad. She doesn’t need an audience or approval.

I look from her tears to the virtual hall. Blood is pooled around the smaller looking musclebound nut down the hall behind Alder and the big K9 from Elite. She just moves on, the job isn’t done. Her strength is quiet, grounded, earned.

“It is definitely a job that I don’t want.

I don’t know that I could even do it. I’m still stuck on Alder using a bullet.

She knows every kid, and team member needs her to keep moving, clear the building so they can get everyone safe, get everyone home.

” I say it hoping I’m right. Everything she shows says I’m right but I can’t picture me doing the same job.

She looks up at me. “Yeah. I can’t do it. She won’t ever leave anyone behind.”

I nod. “That sacrifice taught her to be legendary.” It’s not a question but feels like one.

Her smile is sad. “It did. She deserves you. The words were on you long before we understood what a Badass Legend she truly is.” She sheds light on that doubt.

That strikes me but I feel it’s right, from the minute I met her, I felt it was right.

Fourteen kids climb up or are carried onto the chopper. Vapor had the ground crew hunting for scarves, cord, or any material they can use to cover ears. Every one of these kids is young. The oldest looks about ten. I take VPs phone from his hand and send it to Aylen then walk out.

I can’t take another second in here with the moving right along attitude of the team and chopper crew. Outside of Ops I lean against the wall and slide down. They all just go on like people buying fucking kids under ten is a normal fucking day. This is not normal.

“She feels every one of them.”

My body jumps with open eyes on Mucimi who is standing in front of me with tears in his eyes. “How do you know that?” I look away fast.

“I’ve been at the reservation. I see what they lived through.

I feel they’re little hearts pounding in fear, their pain.

I feel Virginia too. She needs to get them all on base so she can set down and breathe.

She can’t breathe full breaths right now.

She’s afraid she’ll cry and no one will make it home.

They deserve a home. She keeps repeating it in her mind.

It stops her from crying, from quitting.

She needs to hear your voice.” He’s not here, he’s talking but he’s like Vapor, it’s just what he needs to do, not what he wants to do.

“She’ll call when they set down to hear your voice.

Her JAG that’s no nonsense, logical, safe in this world of evil.

” His words come out strained but it’s words she said to me the last kid rescue she did.

I stand fast and hug him but he’s not here.

“Be her Legend, her anchor.”

I nod looking at the floor because I can’t look at him.

It’s me that isn’t dealing well. He’s telling me she’s human and we all will feel it.

We all should feel it. I nod getting it then shake my head because I made him feel it to explain.

His feet are gone so I move. I’ll make sure his pain, their pain, isn’t wasted.

I need to find a way to show she doesn’t keep moving because she doesn’t feel it.

It’s not normal or okay. She keeps moving so she can get them all safe.

Back in Ops, I see her flying her little Bubble chopper behind the big Chinook.

The Blackhawk is above them both. My girl is quiet, competent and focused.

I check the kids and smile at the turban like scarves they’re wearing under cans. It’s a good way to add the protection they’d need. We should get kid sized cans.

I call Asa. “Brother, who do I call to get kid size cans for the SOAR Club?”

Logan spins nodding his head.

“Pres Alder send me list to carrier. Cans on list. You need to Club here?”

“Yeah. They fly on a plane home but once they’re here, we need to transport them around.”

“Maddox print to you full gear box. Thirty? Other Club have ten fifteen each.” He’s good at giving info I need.

“Thirty sounds good. I call Maddox to print more if I need them?”

“Yeah, VP Julius. Maddox print to you.”

Very cool. “Does he do the ear protection for babies, toddlers and under like ten?”

He silent but I hear him typing, then hear when he sucks a breath in. “I get you protection, cans, baby seat, two day. Baby sold to sex traffic?” Fuck. His voice cracks.

“Yeah. Thanks, Asa.” My voice drops. I swipe him off quick and breathe.

Logan hugs me without a word.

I step back and tell them. “She keeps moving so she can get them all safe. Pull up the hall from five minutes ago and play it so everyone hears it. Mucimi explains why she doesn’t stop. We all need to understand so we can be their anchors.”

Logan moves to a console and types. Mucimi is on a second later. I scan the room watching their faces.

Sarah smiles at me with tears running down her face. “We can all be legends.”

I nod. “We have to be if we expect them all to keep doing this. We need to be their safe place, their anchor that sees and understands what they’re doing and why.

It’s not just SOAR. Hear Mucimi’s words.

Feel them. Every Protector is different but needs us the same.

This didn’t just happen. We are here for a reason and I don’t think it’s all about rescues. ”

Moss nods. “I thought that too. Everything just fell into place. The commander said the town was bad and she was already driving this way. She didn’t even know where we were.”

She told me but didn’t think much about it. I nod.

Logan laughs. “I got here like that. It was time but I didn’t know what for. It was just time. Prez even said it.”

I smile. “There you go. So, we learn Badass from VP and remember Mucimi’s words. Our job isn’t tech, control or lawyer, it’s being a team of anchors to our Badass Legends.”

“I’d say that makes you all Legendary.” I spin so fast I almost fall to the side.

Logan laughs. “Uncle Danny, Knight, how did you get here?”

The patch guy smiles. “We’re in Colorado. José hooked us up.”

Logan bows with a sweeping arm. “Badass Legends, Steve Knight and Danny LaPonte.”

Holy shit, they’re in the Bible with Tito and Vince.

~*~*~

Vapor

Sitting at the edge of the deck I watch the water.

I’ve checked every inch of the choppers and have gone over the maintenance logs.

At this point, I give up on the lie of work holding me up and get to the meeting room.

My new Security guard walks beside me showing me he’s a partner not a wall flower.

“Honos, the kids are too young. Shep found lists in the office. That was just the grooming ground.”

He makes a disgusted dog noise.