Page 51 of Unintended Love
“Van is going to drool when he sees this sleek black jet,” Clint noted. “What’s it got for engines?”
Piper smiled. “Two Rolls-Royce turbofans with fifteen thousand pounds of thrust. It’s been tweaked a little to better meet our needs. By the way, we heard from Van a few minutes ago. He’s in the air on the way to Kelly Field. It’ll take him a lot longer to get there than it does us. I’m glad he’s going to be on this mission with us. I’m really glad he’s bringing our little bird. I prefer flying it over anything the military owns.”
Clint grinned. “It’s quite a helicopter.”
She pointed toward the back of the plane, beyond the wing, where Mia popped her head out of the door. “Gear goes in the rear hold. Once yours is loaded, please go ahead and board. Find a seat quickly. You will be briefed while Ashlin and Kayla complete the final precheck.”
Once again, Clint was pleased as his men did precisely as directed. He was the last to board. Grinning, he listened to his men act as though they had never been on an airplane before, but he understood their awe. They had probably never flown in a private luxury jet. Growing up with a mother who was an African diplomat, his family had often flown from the US to northern Africa with sheiks, princes, and even kings on occasion. This jet rivaled many of those. Clint sat in the front row next to an empty seat.
Kira pressed a button, and the stairs automatically lifted, and the door sealed closed. She stood just inside the cabin with her back to the cockpit. “Welcome to Black Swan. No, the US government does not own this plane. It is specifically owned by the Black Swan teams. Several years ago, a cartel capo gave it to us. Kind of. He and all his buddies were dead and didn’t have any use for it anymore. It has every modern luxury and then a few. The chairs spin, and tables are in the wall, should you decide to have a meeting or just play games. You will find keyboards and monitors also in the walls.” Clint grinned because his men instantly had to find everything.
“The galley is well stocked and in the back. Yes, there’s beer and a fully stocked bar with your personal favorites. We remember everything.” Kira paused and stared at the men. “None of us are flight attendants, so be sure to rinse your dishes and put them in the dishwasher. Head, shower, and bedroom are in the far back. Your chairs lie completely flat. Pillows and blankets are underneath each chair. It’s late, and we expect you to sleep.”
I hope we don’t need it on this mission, but this airplane can be turned into a mobile hospital within minutes. Plastic draping comes out of the walls,” she pointed to their location, “and covers the floor.” Coyote, their medic, stood up and carefully inspected the system. Kira smiled. “Everything we need is in panels above your head. Go ahead, touch that button that looks like a panel screw cover.” When he did, the ceiling panel mechanically dropped to two inches and slid backward, revealing drop-down surgical-style lights and connections for everything from oxygen to electrical.
“I hope we don’t have to use it, but it’s fucking awesome.” He pressed the button again, and everything disappeared.
Kira continued, “Anytime we are under ten thousand feet, we’re in combat mode; the windows remain in blackout, and we don’t use the external lights. It’s for our safety and yours.”
Clint heard hydraulics open the hangar doors. From his front-row seat, he could see the hangar go dark through the cockpit windshield.
“Is this where you show us how to buckle our nineteen-fifties-style seat belts and instruct us on how to put on the oxygen mask?” Mick teased.
Kira laughed out loud. “No. If this plane starts to go down, you can follow me to the back of the plane, where I’ll start throwing out parachutes from under the bed. Buckle up, big boy, you’re going to fly solo.”
Chapter 20
Ashlin gently touched down on the Kelly Field airstrip just west of downtown San Antonio, Texas, at two o’clock in the morning, local time. She taxied to the side of the barely lit runway, where an aircraft tug latched to the front wheel and pulled them inside the dark hangar. Once the doors were closed, the inside lights were turned on. She and Kayla finished the post-flight checklist and finally exited their airplane. Kira and Piper had just unloaded the last bags from the rear hold when Mia walked up to grab her bags. She had already placed cameras in the corners and checked in with the Ops Center, which had tapped into the base’s safety and protection system before they had landed. Internal and external security was set for their precious airplane.
As the last three Ladies exited the now-secure building, Ashlin saw Clint talking with Shadow next to one of the black SUVs lined up in the otherwise empty parking lot. Their conversation looked intense. Piper stepped around from the back of the first vehicle in line and signaled for them to join her.
“These don’t look like the rentals we usually get,” Mia noted.
Piper smiled. “Clint arranged these. He got them from a Beltway bandit he’d worked with here before. They’ve also provided us with safe houses, so we won’t be staying in hotels.” She looked directly at Ashlin. “Our house only has four bedrooms, so you are going to have to stay in the small two-bedroom house a block over. The men are in the same neighborhood in two separate houses.”
“Nice.” Mia walked to the back and loaded her gear followed by Kayla.
“I take it I’m riding with Clint?” Ashlin asked and lifted her bags onto her shoulders. “I guess I’ll see you sometime tomorrow.”
“I’m going to go with you down to Charlotte,” Mia announced. “I can help Clint install the security system. I put one in for Mom after Dad died, then my sister decided that as a single woman, she needed one, too. So, I had to put one in her house. I’m confident I can help Clint better than you can.”
“I don’t have anything to do tomorrow morning. I can hold a ladder,” Piper offered.
“I’ll go in case somebody gets shocked.” Kira headed around the SUV to get in on the other side.
“Well, if everybody else is going, I guess I’ll go, too.” Kayla loaded her gear into the rear and closed the door.
Ashlin smiled. “So, we’re all going. I’ll text you after talking to Clint and figure out what time we’re leaving. See you all tomorrow morning.”
She walked over to the vehicle, where Clint was now talking with Coyote and Boomer. She put her two large bags into the back on top of the other eight and closed the lid. When she opened the back door, Ashlin noticed Van behind the wheel, and Boomer had slipped into the shotgun seat. To give the men more room, she slid into the middle of the back seat, where she was joined within a minute, Coyote on one side and Clint on the other.
“My whole team is going with us to help you install the security system tomorrow,” she announced to Clint.
“It looks like we’re going to have plenty of help. Boomer and Coyote are coming too.” Clint slipped his arm around her shoulders and tucked her in tight before giving her a kiss on the temple. “Thanks for the smooth ride.”
“You’re welcome.” She looked up at him with a smile. “Since we fly at about fifty thousand feet, we were able to pass right over that storm front.”
“Clint and Ashlin,” Van called from the front seat, “I’m dropping you two off first. Text Coyote when you figure out what time you need to leave in the morning. He and the new guy will pick you up. I intend to sleep. Maybe all day. After I finished the short mission for the State Department, I intended to sleep for twenty-four hours before flying home. Then I got this phone call from Homeland, telling me I’m supposed to pick up that cute little bird Ashlin and her friends landed on our tarmac a few weeks ago. No problem. It doesn’t have to be in Montana until two in the morning on Monday. I can still sleep. But, oh no, plans changed this afternoon. We had to load the bird under complete secrecy and fly back to San Antonio so big brother could play hero to the poor little widow. It’s going to be about three in the morning before I can finally lie down and sleep. Nobody had better fucking wake me up.”
