Guardian Angel (8 page)

He had saved her life. And if that wasn't enough, the mere sight of his face seemed to sooth her soul a bit. His entire character was one of compassion and positive energy, or so it seemed.

“Well, in that case,” she said, still a bit hesitant as she found it increasingly tough to pull her eyes from his own. Pupils of dreamy blue swirls and purity. “Heading to Texas with the group below to try and secure...” she added, her words cut short.

“No you're not.” Jackson said.

“Excuse me?” Alicia said a bit defensively.

“Trust me, you're not going to Texas.” he replied.

The two sat there, doing their best to search the other out with a dedicated stare. Alicia wanted to tell him to stay out of her mission, but as she began to speak, he cut in sharply.

“If you're going to fetch' that power cell, you can forget it.”

“How the hell...?” Alicia began to ask in a demanding voice.

“My air unit, near seventy birds total,” he said, pausing for a moment to reflect. “Was our job to hit the Ancient fortress with tank busters.”

“Yea, and?” Alicia asked, already knowing they were supposed to have a healthy amount of air support for the mission.

“They knew we were coming.” Jackson replied.

“Huh?” Alicia asked, a silent moment of disbelief taking over her body.

“Every single one of us downed, most within the span of five minutes,” Jackson said. “It was a damn trap. I got in close enough to realize that there was no Ancient fortress, just a massive force waiting for us. There's no power cell to be had, just the guarantee of death. My RIO plotted an escape route, then we tucked tail and ran. Nearly made it to New Kinneston before they clipped us.”

“How can that be?” Alicia asked, her extremities still stunned by the development.

“What? The fact that it's a trap? Or the fact that such a damn good pilot got clipped?” he replied with a smile.

She simply responded with a glowing smile of her own.

“I've been asking myself the same question since I tucked into this town,” Jackson said. “It's pretty obvious that someone sold us out. Don't know if it was one of our own or a German, but someone created the perfect scenario for executing the best soldiers our Resistance has to offer.”

Alicia began to think it through. She wondered if Commander Snelling was capable of such treachery. Or, perhaps, one of his superiors. She wondered how high up the treason went, or if the Germans being involved had anything to do with it. Was Nadia in on it as well? A multitude of things blazed through Alicia's mind, and all of them led to the death of G, one of her longest standing friends.

“Ah, don't waste too much time wrapping your head around it. I made the same mistake at first. Then I realized it doesn't matter either way, we're just pawns in some sort of political game.” Jackson said.

“Yea,” Alicia said with disgust. “A shitty one that led to my friend's death.”

“Yea, and the deaths of a hell of a lot of good pilots. Including Russell,” Jackson said, turning his attention to Alicia for a moment. “My RIO.”

“If the past isn't that important, then the future is what matters right now,” Alicia said. “Where do we go from here?”

“Well, we sure in the hell don't go to Texas,” Jackson replied as they both laughed a bit. “I'd say the first order of business would be to get you back to your friends.”

“Agreed. Any ideas?” Alicia asked.

“Try to flash them,” Jackson replied.

“You want me to flash them?” Alicia asked, a sarcastic smirk on her face.

“With the flashlight dear,” Jackson said with a smile, tossing Alicia a small flashlight that was strapped to his thigh. “Unless, of course, you just want to flash them.” he added, his smile growing volumes with the mere idea.

“Wow, really?” Alicia said with a giggle, quickly turning to use the handheld light and signal her friends.

Jackson was a good man by all accounts, a noble man, and not a single person had ever accused him of being otherwise. Still, he was a man. And Alicia had a way of distracting even the most well-intentioned of men, just as she was distracting Jackson this very moment.

Her curves were both voluptuous and capable, as the vibrant shimmer of her dark hair simply added to her allure. And though she had stood face to face with a Butcher only to be knocked on her ass, Jackson knew that she was still one of the best. Everyone sent into this damn trap that was blanketed with lies, every one of them had to be among the best, at least in his opinion.

And so he watched her every movement, especially the slight lean forward as she tried to communicate with the remainder of her group. It allowed her backside the opportunity to gain the attention that it deserved, almost as if it were a museum exhibit, which it very well could have been; at least in Jackson's mind.

As Alicia turned to let him know she believed her group understood it was her doing the signaling, she saw the slight hesitation, his eyes breaking from the view of her ass before looking into her eyes. Normally, it wasn't welcomed on her end. The typical guy would stare her down before offering to buy her drinks, quickly leaving with his confidence shattered.

But Jackson was no ordinary man, at least not in Alicia's eyes. She found him to be intoxicating, every word spoken by him filled with the strength of a dozen men. He was a bit rugged for a pilot, but still much too poised for the average grunt of war. Both Officer and Cowboy, intertwined within a single body; a body that Alicia could see herself holding tightly.

“Um,” she said, approaching him slowly. “I think my friends have figured out we're up here. So it'd probably be best to sit tight and wait for them.”

“I agree.” Jackson said, using his hand to check the bruises on her face once more. “Are you alright?”

No verbal reply came, just lips feeling one another out as Jackson wrapped his arms around her, the two warriors for the same cause of freedom kissing deeply, and without pause, for several minutes. Alicia finding herself at home in his strong arms, warming her body as it pressed against the leather of his flight jacket.

“Hell no, terrible plan,” Calypso said. “We move as a group, otherwise the Butchers will be too strong.”

“I just thought that...” Nadia began to reply.

“I agree with Calypso,” Certes said. “The Butchers would love nothing more than for us to split up before they find us.”

“And if they have already called for assistance?” Nadia asked.

“They haven't. They still have a majority of their group living, so they won't call for help. It would appear as though they are weak. They want to find us, slay us, and then report that one of their own was killed in the heat of battle. It's how they're wired.” Calypso replied.

“Well, looks like it's settled. Let's all go find Alicia.” Preacher said.

And as the group prepared to make their way to the flashing light which was located on the rooftop of a building several hundred feet away, Nadia grew tired of her command being trampled on. She longed for the sight of her German designed airship and the escort soldiers who stood guard around it.

The group slowly made its way into an alley which remained, for the most part, in complete darkness. They worried of the Butchers spotting them, and also that a citizen of New Kinneston would see them and give away their position. Though they remained indoors, the citizens feared the wrath of Ancients and knew the punishment for harboring a member of the Resistance.

Of course, there was also the possibility of a Nomad stumbling out into the streets, and they had indeed seen Alicia's group enter town. But, with the heavy drinking and long hours of karaoke in front of them, it was a very slim possibility.
             

Either way, it was safe to assume that a majority of the folk who lived here would certainly turn them over to the Butchers in order to spare their own lives, or the lives of their children.

They would have taken a different attitude if their military filled with Resistance fighters would have given them any kind of hope. But the few years since Invasion Day had been filled with defeat after crushing defeat, each battle lost taking with it hope that Humanity would survive.

On Invasion Day, the Empire of Japan fell. Ships littered a sky which was painted with clouds only moments before, raining down missiles that were followed by large ships filled with battle ready soldiers.

We didn't even know they were ships until the first weapons struck Earth's surface. We had no idea who they were, why they were here or what that wanted from us. Eventually, we captured a few of them alive and began interrogation. The smartest minds on Earth required months to begin pulling their language together, and even then it was broken at best.

We dubbed them 'Ancients' after finding out they had been here before. Earth was just one of many planets that they harvested resources from, having left our ancestors here millions of years ago. Giving us time to fill our continents with the most valuable resource. Humans. We still don't know where their homeworld is located, or if they even have one. We just know that they are organized enough to disagree more times than not, especially when it comes to the fate of Humanity.

The only thing that has allowed us to survive is the fact that the Ancients use a strange system of organization, almost as if they have countries within their own race. Some of them harvest Humans for food, and those poor survivors of the Stalingrad Massacre know this all too well firsthand.

Others view us as cattle with the unique ability to lead other cattle, even going so far as to “reward” sympathizers in the Middle East by swearing them in as officers. Humans arresting Humans so that Ancients may not be hindered in doing so.

Lastly, as is the case with the group of Ancients in North and South America, Humans are considered slaves. Allowed to live out the remainder of their lives under two conditions. Humans do their labor and do not retaliate against them.

The fact that these demons do not always see eye to eye, often leads to war within their own race. And those few Humans who have pulled the courage to join the Resistance and fight back, have become wise to the Ancients and their inner squabbles. Many times, attacking in Ancient war machines marked with the logo of another faction.

Every battle has been important. Invasion Day, the Stalingrad Massacre, Tokyo City, the Butchering in Baghdad and even a rare victory in Washington City, at least what's left of it. But no battle has been nearly as important as the one taking place this very day and across the world. The battle among Ancients.

And the entire group of Resistance fighters held this information close as they escaped the alley and swiftly traveled down sidewalks in order to reach the building they had dashed for.

“I feel guilty for finding such peace in a time of war.” Jackson said in a subtle voice, his arms wrapped around Alicia as they sat on the roof's edge, looking up into the starry sky above.

Rather than reply, Alicia simply allowed her body to fall even deeper into the strong arms of Jackson. She too felt peace, noticing for the first time in a long time, the poetic canvas that the stars lay against on this night; the chilled air deflected, for the most part, by his capable hold of passion.

Jackson's grip loosened quickly, pulling his sidearm and turning as the roof's wooden door splintered from its hinges. Certes was first, holding a snub-nosed shotgun in his pasty gray hands.

“No!” Alicia yelled, pushing the pistol hand of Jackson as the first shot rang out, narrowly missing Certes. “He's with us.” she added.

“What?” Jackson asked loudly, wondering how such a Human woman could be traveling with a sky Demon.

“You dare fire your weapon at me!” Certes said angrily, his tone changing to one that was rarely heard by anyone who knew him.

“Halt.” Alicia demanded, her body still protecting Jackson as she turned to aim her own weapon at the Resistance sworn demon.

“What is the meaning of this?” Nadia asked, entering as Preacher followed behind her.

“You too. Both of you,” Alicia said, her pistol pointed into the direction of the entire group. “Calypso, take their weapons.”

“What?” Nadia asked loudly as Calypso hesitated for a moment, eventually carrying out Alicia's wishes.

“No, you put your gun down.” Austin said, the last to enter through the doorway as his pistol remained on the figure of such a beautiful Alicia Lucard.

Stepping from behind Alicia, Jackson held his own pistol at the ready, prepared to shoot anyone who threatened the young lady who had once again brought him sanity.

“Just tell me who to shoot first, and in which order you want the rest of them dead.” Jackson said, his sarcasm only picked up on by Alicia.

“Well, looks like a standoff,” Nadia said, shifting her head slightly as the blonde of her hair bounced a bit. “Your call.” she added.

“The mission to Lackland Air Force Base is a setup.” Alicia said, her intentions to inform the rest of the group, as much as they were to read their faces. Alicia had a knack for reading people very well, and she had read truth in the words of Jackson Ayers. Now it was time to see if anyone was covering their own lies.

Not that she would need to read anything other than a classified set of documents Jackson had shared with her only moments before.