Codename: Greywolves 3 (part 8)

Gypsum got behind one of the four enemy fighters, and locked his reticles in launching another heat seeking missile. It dropped and popped, soaring through the skies and it made contact as the back end of the enemy fighter exploded in a red and orange fire.

“Splashed one target! Three more Mad Dog!”

Mad Dog was being fired upon by a 30mm Gatling. Mad Dog was rolling hard right and left, trying to avoid taking damage. Pushing chaffs from his dashboard, he pitched hard downwards. “Gypsum, I’m being outgunned. I’m going to break hard left, take one of these assholes out!”

“Copy Mad, I’m on my way. Give me a clear shot.” Gypsum banked hard left and watched Mad Dog pitch down harshly.

The enemy duo twirled down and followed Mad Dog from behind, as one of them fired a missile.

Mad Dog didn’t hesitate as his Bitchin’ Betty screamed “MISSILE LOCK”, throwing several flares into the azure sky.

“Smoke in the air!! Pop flares! I’m right behind him!” Gypsum lined his aircraft quickly and opened up with the 40mm. He held down the trigger as the enemy aircraft walked right into it, shredding armor plating on the fuselage, and severed the connection from the fuselage to the fighter’s vertical stabilizer.

Losing control of the aircraft, the enemy pilot pulled on his ejection handles. The canopy popped open abruptly and the pilot bailed.

Banking hard right and then pitching up harshly, the G-LOC Mechanism engaged on Mad Dog’s suit, keeping him from passing out.

“Two down! Eagle Nest this is 2, where the hell is the Alert 5?”

* * *

“ETA five minutes. Hang in there Eagle 1 and 2!”

* * *

“Where the hell is the other guy?” Gypsum tried to look around his canopy while chasing the last guy all over Mad Dog. The enemy aircraft opened up with its 30mm, tracers flying around Mad Dog as he rolled hard.

“I’m going to hit the brake, Gyp. Follow this asshole.”

Mad Dog grasped the brake and yanked hard, as the speed brake popped up from above the aircrafts fuselage, sending him way behind both Gypsum and the enemy aircraft.

“Gypsum, break left, I’m engaging. You’re too close.” Gypsum shifted left and down to allow Mad Dog a clear shot.

“Got good tone, firing!” Mad Dog locked onto the enemy aircraft and fired two heat seeking missiles, they left their hard points on the wings and drilled into the enemy’s engines, exploding the fighter jet. The enemy didn’t have time to punch out.

“Splash three! Where the hell is this other guy?” Mad Dog moved around his cockpit. “Gypsum do you see this guy?”

They merged together and kept their flight pattern tight.

Gypsum flipped his visor back down to look up and around to avoid being blinded by the sun’s beautiful and bright rays.

“Negative. Let’s stay tight, he’s probably using Active Camouflage.”

* * *

The Alert 5 was flying a F-77, a faster and more agile than the F-47’s, sporting a single engine versus their duals. Smaller in airframe and wing span, but can turn sharper.

“Eagle 1 and 2, this is Alert 5. I’m on station. I have a visual of you two. Coming up fast.”

His aircraft flew right underneath them at full speed that his aircraft was capable of. He banked hard left and kept a circular motion around Eagle 1 and 2.

“Radar is clear, think he’s camouflaged or bugged out?”

“Joust is that you?” Gypsum asked.

“Hell yeah it is.”

“Three versus one, he should bug out if he hasn’t.” Mad Dog said as he watched Joust swing around.

* * *

Winters woke up from her lounge chair in her quarters. Laying down wasn’t an option, it made thing’s uncomfortable. She awoke to a puddle of her own sweat. The pain was increasing in her shoulder, arm still in its sling. Looking over at her clock on her nightstand, she was asleep for three hours.

With her one good arm, she grasped the arm rest and pushed herself up, putting all of her weight on her leg implant. It received the signal from her brain to help her stand up straight and it helped carry her frame upright.

She did her best to take off her top by removing her arm from the sling as slowly as she could, gritting her teeth. Down to her white tank top and bra on top, she settled her arm back into its sling. Her skin was covered in sweat beads, and highlighted the battle scars.

Her reflection in the bathroom mirror was rough.

Winters had been shot at by the enemy before on several occasions, been in fist and knife fights, but never was shot by one of her own. She believed this was the root of her mental breakdown.

She punched her mirror in frustration, as it shattered the glass peppering her bathroom counter with shards and cutting her knuckles on her right hand.

At least it distracted the pain from her shoulder to her now freshly bleeding hand.

* * *

Doctor Lacon and Master Sergeant Allyn sat at a busy restaurant downtown, enjoying each others company. They laughed as they told jokes and harassed each other. Lacon was sipping a red wine while Allyn drank water, nominating himself as the Designated Driver.

Her smile lit up something inside Allyn. He smirked while she was telling her stories of her residency, but he wasn’t paying full attention to her. Not because the story was boring, but her beauty and her charm stunned him deep.

“I couldn’t believe he dropped his pants right in front of me to show me his infected junk. That was the first time I have ever seen such a growth. I almost went lesbian from such a sight.”

Allyn was day dreaming and suddenly came to.

“I’m glad you didn’t. We wouldn’t be talking.” Sipping his water he thought, although that would be pretty interesting.

“Every guys dream, two hot girls just making out and having sex with each other.” She rolled her eyes and sipped her wine.

“Well yeah! I mean… I’d be upset because I wouldn’t be able to touch you.” He looked at her.

“You should sometime.” Lacon smirked behind her glass.

Allyn smiled back.

* * *

Winters was wearing her battle fatigue pants and boots still, in her white military tank top and appropriate bra that sort of matched the same color. She did her best to tighten up the sling to keep the arm closer to her body.

She carried her .45 caliber pistol at her lower back in the holster.

Heading towards the brig, she walked as fast as her body would allow, and pulling out her ID card, entering the secured main doors before being greeted by a pair of UTR Military Police.

Winters knew she was on camera, but seeing as how it was evening hours, they ran a skeleton crew of prison guards. She’d go unnoticed for awhile, with only the main security door guards as witnesses.

Winters didn’t give two shits about it.

It was night time, the inmates were asleep at this hour due to lights out. Most of the people in here were minor offenders: drunk on duty, assault and battery, aggravated assault, AWOL (which was minor compared to O’Hannon). Walking up to the locked door of where O’Hannon was, she stared at him through the small view window the guards used to do their visual checks for accountability. She watched him breathe as he laid on his back for awhile.

Winters slapped on a tiny metal device to override the locking mechanism on the door, a tool used to breach secured doors for the Greywolves she stole the day after her surgery from the armory.

Quiet, and discreet, it clicked a couple of times. It echoed down the silent hallway, and the door cracked open gently.

Winters slipped in as slow as she was taught and trained.

* * *

“The last guy must be gone, let’s make like a basketball and bounce gents.” Mad Dog spoke. “Eagle Nest, this is 1. We’re RTB, unable to locate the last aircraft.”

“Roger Eagle elements, RTB acknowledged. Come home. Great job!” The radio buzzed as Gypsum and Joust stayed behind Mad Dog as they rolled left to head back towards base.

“I’ll race you two assholes!” Joust was gripping the throttle, ready to send it forward.

Gypsum didn’t wait as he slammed the throttle forward, sending huge afterburner flames out the rear of his aircraft.

Mad Dog laughed as they pushed their throttle controls forward to catch up to Gypsum.

“Gypsum doesn’t like to be challenged!” Joust said as he started to close the distance.

Gypsum smiled under his oxygen mask, “I needed a head start.”

“He’s admitting he needs a handicap!” Joust laughed and buzzed past the both of them.

“See you slow assholes back!” Joust laughed more.

“You know he’s a lot faster than us.” Mad Dog stated a fact.

Gypsum shrugged as he eased back on the throttle, “I know, I just like instigating.” Gypsum chuckled.

* * *

Doctor Lacon was asleep on the bed underneath the covers, naked. Allyn’s clothes and her attire was scattered all over the floor. Allyn woke up and gently rolled her frame off of him to not disturb her sleep. Tucking her in, he slowly got up from the bed, and finding his clothes in the dark. Lacon gently stirred and mumbled something incomprehensible to Allyn, as he tried to stifle a chuckle.

I need to check on Winters. He thought.

Something just isn’t right.

* * *

Winters stood over the sleeping form of the former General O’Hannon. She slid her injured arm out from the sling slowly, gritting her teeth again to avoid letting a yelp escape from her lips.

Using her .45 without a suppressor would bring attention to herself, but it would be the best punishment. An eye for an eye.

Winters reached down to her boot knife, a blade five inches in length, and withdrew it from its sheath quietly with her right hand as she knelt down. As she stood up slow, the knife was in her shaky grasp.

She reached out with her injured arm, and covered O’Hannons’ mouth and nose firmly, startling O’Hannon as his eyes popped wide open in terror. He began to thrash around in his bed, she ignored the pain and held firmly to muffle his screams.

Winters came down with the blade, point facing down towards his chest, and plunged the blade fast and deep. Not once. Not twice. Nor three times.

She lost count as blood flew across the walls, the crimson pooled above and beneath O’Hannons’ dying body, continuing to stab until she watched the light from his eyes disappear. Winters retrieved the bloody weapon from his chest cavity, wiping the blade on his inmate uniform and returned it back to its sheath. She wiped the blood off of her arms and face with his sheets to get as much off as possible, which didn’t do much for her tank top.

Winters exited the cell, removing the tool she used off the door, and slid it back into her pocket.

She didn’t care about covering her tracks too much, she didn’t give a shit about much else. In a matter of time, she would be found on camera murdering O’Hannon as she wept in the hallway. She collapsed against the adjacent wall with her back to it, breaking under the guilt that she committed a crime.

An eye for an eye, asshole.