(k) Pluto smiled a sad smile. "Yeah, do some research on WW2 if you get the chance. The night witches beat the Nazi's asses in noisy crop dusters, and my mom was one of them. Dad was a doctor, my brother was in the war too. They all went down fighting, I can tell you that."
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He offered her one of his own rare smiles in return. "I respect that. I lost my family to a war as well. They were good, strong people." He didn't dwell on the memory for long, straightening and heading back up the aisle. "Let's get you guys some radios and stuff. Then we head out."
(Aaand, looks like I do gotta leave, dang it. Seeya probably tomorrow)
(k, see ya)
(tries to walk in to see who's here)
(runs into the door frame because multitasking sucks like that)
(lol)
(hey there XD)
(hi)
(I guess I'll just get started then, hope the others will join us soon. Heard anything about how Jen's doing today?)
(not really no)
(I hope they're feeling a bit better by now)
Mike led them to another section of the warehouse, where there were crates full of tactical equipment. He found a radio and headset for each of them and handed them out. "I'll be glad to help anyone figure out how to operate these if they're confused."
Pluto took one and fiddled with it for a moment, trying to make sure she could turn it on. She got the radio to crackle to life and then turned it off. "Eh, not too difficult."
"When we get there, we won't know where the demons are. While we're tracking them, I'd like us to use the headsets because it's quieter that way." He paused, running down his mental checklist. "Lesse, weapons…ah, yeah." He rounded the corner and went over to a rack of tranquilizer guns. "Take one that's got a yellow sticker and find a clip of matching darts in that bin over there. After that we'll be ready to go."
"Okay." Pluto grabbed one and a few clips of darts, and managed to find a shoulder strap for the gun. She slung it across her back and pocketed the clips
Mike took them back out into the main yard and stared toward the far side of camp. "Looks like the chopper's getting warmed up. It was a gift from this Clay guy, by the way."
"Well at least this guy gives good gifts," Pluto chuckled
"He's one of the richest people in the country. He actually owns this land, and the only reason he didn't kick us off it was because I offered him a pretty good deal. None of us can stand him, but he has wealth, power, and influence, and we'd still be living in tents right now if it weren't for him."
The helicopter's engine was beginning to roar, and Jacob waved at them from the cockpit. "We're clear to take off," he yelled. "Sure you don't want to take anyone else?"
"Nah." Mike climbed into the back, helping Red up after him. "I've got these guys, and anyway you're all plenty busy. Let's go."
Pluto hopped into the helicopter, dorky grin plastered on her face. "I've always wanted to ride in one of these."
Jacob grinned at her. "You like them too? I used to be a military pilot, for a while. Then I crashed in the wilds of Mongolia and they pronounced me dead, so I came to work here when I got back. Plus," he added, "My husband lives here and I've spent way too much of my life away from him already."
"I'm glad you work for us, Jacob," Mike said. "We'd have wrecked this machine years ago without you."
"Yeah, aircraft related things are a hobby of mine. I've flown a few bombers before, but never a chopper."
"Bombers, huh? Nice. I had some good friends who flew bombers." He paused a minute to adjust the controls. "So, just straight to the estate and back, right?"
"Yep," Mike replied. "Hopefully we can be done with this little job before dark. I don't want to be chasing a couple demons around by moonlight."
(I gotta go have lunch, see ya in a bit)
(k, I'm probably gonna have to leave for an hour soon)
(sorry that took so long, a bunch of other stuff had to be done after I ate that I forgot about)
They flew for a couple hours, passing over vast tracts of forest and prairie with only the occasional tiny settlement or cracked highway to break the monotony. Much of the land looked like it had been burned or bombed at some point, and many of the forests were made of very young trees. Once they passed over a vast city, or at least the wreckage of one. The skyscrapers had fallen and been overgrown with greenery, and the streets looked completely deserted.
Mike gave a cursory glance out the window. "There's Detroit. The estate's not much farther."
(It's ok lol) Pluto frowned down at the city. It looked a lot like the ruins of the small town she had lived in as a kid. "What happened?"
"Some folks from a rival political party let loose a hundred crazed fire demons on it. It was a massacre, almost nobody got out. The blaze wasn't fully put out for months. That was almost thirty years ago, and it doesn't look like anyone's coming back." Mike's eyes were hard. "It was like this for almost every major city during the war. I was lucky to grow up in Nebraska, where there weren't many military targets. Still, we saw a lot of stuff like this."
"God that's…That's really awful."
He shrugged. "Yeah. But what are we gonna do? Might as well adapt to our new lives and make the best of it. That's the best tactic, in my experience. Clay, now, he's what we call a 'denialist'. He's convinced that with enough money and speech-making, he can put the country back where it used to be. It's never gonna work, but we humor him. Speaking of…" He leaned forward and squinted at the trees below. "…look's like we've reached his property."
Sure enough, the forest was neatly sliced in two by a tall, thick fence, going off in wide curve in both directions. Tiny figures could be seen patrolling the border. There didn't seem to be any man-made structures inside the property, though.
"Ugh. I think I already hate him."
Red's body visibly flinched as soon as she saw the landscape. It seemed off to her. Like a pattern that's not quite right or a sort of hidden truth behind this odd veil of the real 'truth'.
Pluto turned, noticing Red flinch out of the corner of her eye. "You alright?"
"By the way," Mike was saying, "if Clay asks, you guys are trainees of mine that need more experience. Hopefully he doesn't ask about your wings, Pluto."
"Landing now," Jacob called, and the helicopter began to sink. They dropped until they were hovering over the only clearing in the entire forest, then touched lightly down and cut the engines. There was no sign of a building or human in the vicinity, but Mike opened the bay hatch and hopped out. "We'll check with Clay to get the situation, then find the demons and get them back where they belong. Jacob, you wait here."