Dragon Flight Academy 2, page 24
Nick sagged in relief at the announcement, and he would’ve fallen down if Pierce hadn’t stabilized him with a hand on the shoulder.
“Thank you, Sir,” Nick reiterated. “Thank you so much.”
“Don’t thank me,” Sunderland said and smiled for the first time. “You’re a talented rider, Cadet. It’d be a shame for the academy to lose you.”
Sunderland nodded in respect before he left our cheering group and headed back toward Captain Munn, probably to discuss what would happen next with the satellite. I turned toward Nick, who still looked pale, though this time it was from relief and not apprehension.
“Well done, man,” I told him and shook his hand. “You really did save our asses back there.”
“You’re welcome.” Nick grinned. “And thank you for sticking up for me, Jake. You’re a good leader.”
I grinned back at him and then took a step back so the rest of the squadron could congratulate Nick for his heroics. I glanced around at the landing platform, which was filled with dragons, riders, and sailors. It was so much noisier than the practice vessel that it was almost impossible to think. And yet…
“Something’s on your mind,” I heard Caleb say as he stepped up next to me.
“Yeah.” I nodded slowly.
“What’s up?” my friend asked. “We got the satellite, that’s what matters, and I’m sure Anji’s fine.”
“That’s not what I’m worried about,” I sighed.
“Then what is it?” he insisted.
I took a few seconds to gather my thoughts before I turned to him and jerked my head to the side. Caleb understood, and we stepped away from the busy runway.
Nowhere on the ship was private enough, but at least we were no longer right in the center of attention. Sailors hurried past us, but none of them glanced at us for more than a couple of seconds. I leaned against the side of the ship and looked down at the water. The Russians had long since disappeared from the sky, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that they were watching from somewhere nearby.
“Something’s been bothering me ever since the Dragon Corps responded to that Russian threat in the Pacific,” I eventually said.
“What about it?” Caleb asked.
“I just find it odd that our regular riders were called away, only for the Russians to be spotted less than forty miles from the compound not long after that,” I explained. “What if we weren’t there? What if we’d already been at training, or what if we’d never come to the Marshall Islands?”
“But that’s not the case,” my friend said in a careful tone. “We were here, and we intercepted the Russians and their satellite. Now, we’ll gain whatever information their spy satellite had on it.”
“Maybe,” I sighed again.
“So what’s troubling you about it?” he insisted.
“I keep thinking that the first alert was a decoy,” I explained. “The Soviets had no idea that a group of cadets were at the compound, so they probably thought they had time to retrieve their satellite and disappear without anyone ever knowing they were here.”
“Well, sure,” Caleb agreed. “But we were there, so we could stop them. This kind of thing goes on all the time.”
“I know,” I muttered. “And what usually happens next?”
“Um…” he hesitated and glanced toward our friends. “They usually retaliate in some way.”
“Right.” I nodded. “And they didn’t seem very worried when we first arrived. It makes me wonder if there was something more going on.”
Images of the cursing riders popped into my head. They’d knocked down Anji, which amputated a third of our squadron, and then they’d focused on Sunderland because he was the only one on an adult dragon, and therefore, the obvious leader.
“They didn’t think our squadron had two leaders, though,” Caleb said, as if he’d read my mind. “I’m sure that’s what took them by surprise the most. With Sunderland out of the picture, they probably thought we’d scatter and head back to the base.”
“Yeah,” I said slowly and then saw a group of sailors dragging a cart with the satellite toward one of the elevators. “I gotta say, though, the most surprising thing I saw was Nick. He saved our asses.”
“I know this sounds terrible, but for a moment, I wondered if he was going to betray us,” Caleb murmured and glanced over his shoulder, though no one was paying attention to us. “Like, for half a second, I thought Pierce was right.”
“I did, too,” I admitted and glanced at Nick. “But we can’t let those doubts sneak in anymore. If we do, the Russians will win without firing a shot.”
“I think Pierce learned his lesson,” my friend said. “I doubt he’ll be making any more calls to the hotline.”
“I hope not,” I chuckled. “Or those FBI agents will have to set up a permanent office at the Academy just to deal with all his angry rants.”
Caleb smiled and nudged me with his elbow. His smile was contagious, and I found myself grinning back at him. We stayed by the side of the ship for a few more moments until the craziness on the deck had died down before we returned to the rest of the squadron.
The sailors brought out food and water for the dragons, and we checked them over while we had the downtime. Storm had recovered from his swim, and he gulped down a bucket of food and two buckets of water with more enthusiasm than I was expecting.
More Navy vessels caught up to ours to provide an escort, so I figured we’d be leaving soon. When the base came into view in the distance, Sunderland returned and announced we would fly the rest of the way.
Captain Munn came to say goodbye and watch us fly off, and he thanked us all personally for our valiant efforts. He even singled out Nick’s actions, and then we were on our way. It only took us a couple of minutes to get to the island and land on the tarmac. To my surprise, the deployed soldiers were back, and they were waiting for us with Major General Cyprus Harlan.
We hadn’t seen Harlan since the day we arrived, but he’d put his dress uniform back on for the occasion. As soon as we touched down and climbed off our dragons, the soldiers began clapping and cheering loudly.
“Now that’s the type of welcome I like to receive,” Pierce said as he waved at the soldiers.
“I’d like to get an update on Anji and JuJu,” I muttered.
“I’m sure they’ll tell us in a moment,” Caleb replied.
Harlan headed straight for Sunderland. Both men shook hands, and Harlan indicated a building behind the dining hall, where I assumed important meetings took place. As the two men left, the dragon riders, who were still in their flying gear, came over to congratulate us in person.
“We heard you guys saved the day,” one of the women riders said. “Well done, kids.”
“It was mostly thanks to Nick,” Byron said as he pointed at the blond cadet.
“What happened after you left?” I asked as I looked at the other riders. “Were the Russians really making a move?”
“Nope,” Rooke said in frustration. “We’d been in the air about twenty minutes when we got word that there’d been a… miscommunication. The brass isn’t gonna be happy ‘bout it, but it happens.”
“Miscommunication,” I repeated flatly. “So, there were no Russians in the South Pacific?”
“Apparently not,” Rooke said. “But you know how it is these days. Someone sees something big flying through the air, and they think it’s a dragon. It was probably just a jumbo jet or something.”
“Does this kind of miscommunication happen often?” I asked.
“Like I said, it happens sometimes,” he replied. “Don’t worry, kid. You and your friends did great.”
Rooke slapped me on the shoulder before he ambled away to congratulate the rest of the squadron. Our conversation only strengthened the feeling I had that the Russians had put a decoy in place when they realized one of their satellites was about to crash in the middle of the Pacific near an American base. It made sense, and as Rooke had said, all it took was a single unidentified dragon, and everyone would be pulled away.
Too bad the Russians hadn’t accounted for my squadron.
Of course, my squadron was still basking in the praise, which they’d definitely earned. So I let them enjoy the moment while I went to find Captain Hale.
I followed in his footsteps and found him in deep conversation with the officer from the watchtower just outside one of the buildings. The Captain stopped talking when he saw me approaching, and he left the officer to meet me halfway.
“You did good out there,” Hale complimented me.
“Thanks,” I said. “Where’s Anji? And the others? Did they make it back safely?”
“They did,” he confirmed. “Cadet Kumar was brought to the infirmary, and the other cadets went with her.”
“But is she alright?” I pressed since he hadn’t given me a real answer.
“She is,” Hale said.
“Oh, thank God,” I muttered.
“Jake.” Hale’s use of my first name caught my attention, and I froze midstep. “I trust you’ve learned a valuable lesson from this whole experience about allies and friends, because the war is about to get worse.”
Hale’s usually stern expression had turned into one of worry. My brows furrowed at the ominous warning, but before I could ask what he meant, Hale nodded and walked away.
I stared after him with a deep frown as I mulled his words over, but I wasn’t entirely surprised. I’d reminded Caleb that the Russians always looked for a chance to retaliate.
The only real question was how far would they be willing to go?
Hale seemed to think that it wasn’t going to be the usual tit for tat, and that made me gulp. Would the Soviet Union actually declare war over a satellite? Could it contain any classified info that was so valuable?
Even if they did, I had other things to deal with first, so I pushed my worries aside and trekked along the road in search of the infirmary. Thanks to our guided tour with Rooke, I managed to find the right building after only one wrong turn.
The infirmary was well air-conditioned, and I could feel the beads of sweat on my forehead turn cold as I stepped inside. Naturally, the room I stepped into was a vast waiting room with chairs, tables, and a reception desk where a guy in civilian clothes was shoving something into his mouth while he stared at his phone. The waiting room was empty, so I headed for the desk.
“I’m looking for Anji Kumar,” I announced. “I was told she was brought in not long ago.”
“You’re one of the cadets,” the guy said as he looked up. “Heard you guys tangled with some Russkies.”
“Um, yeah, something like that,” I replied. “I’m the squadron leader, Jake Randall. I came to check on Cadet Kumar.”
“Lars Stanton,” he replied and offered me his non-greasy hand. “Your friend’s just down the hall in room number four. You can’t miss it.”
“Alright, thanks,” I said and walked past the desk.
The guy turned back to his phone, and I hurried down the only hallway. There were several doors on each side, each with a number from one to ten. I knocked on door number four before I pushed it open.
The first thing I saw was Anji, who was sitting up in the bed. Her flying gear was gone and had been replaced with a hospital gown, but the color in her face was good, and I still couldn’t see any obvious injuries.
Brie, Michael, and Dave were gathered around the bed, and though they were all in their gear still, they looked like they were just hanging out with their friends. There didn’t seem to be any tension in the place until they recognized me.
“Hey, guys,” I said.
“Jake, thank God,” Brie said in relief. “What happened after we left?”
“Everything’s fine,” I assured her and then turned to the patient. “Anji, how are you?”
“Good,” Anji replied. “The nurse said that none of my internal injuries are life-threatening. I’m not supposed to fly for two weeks, but it’s better than being dead.”
A shudder shook her body at the thought, and I took a better look at her as I stepped deeper into the room. Maybe her dark-skinned face looked a little paler than normal, and there were definitely circles under her eyes that hadn’t been there earlier this morning. Her black hair was tangled up and messy after her unexpected swim, but other than that, she looked healthy. Well, as healthy as one could be after a run-in with the Russians.
“What about JuJu?” I asked. “Did they give you any updates?”
“Yeah, one of the squires came by and said he was fine,” Anji said in a relieved voice. “He injured a wing, but it’s nothing they can’t fix. He’s also not supposed to fly for a few days, but other than that, he’s okay.”
“That’s good to hear.” I smiled at her before I turned toward the three other cadets. “You guys were fantastic.”
“We were only following your orders, Jake,” Michael replied easily.
“They’re easy to follow when they’re clearly given,” Dave added.
“Thanks, guys,” I told them. “You can go join the others. I’ll stay with Anji.”
“Honestly, Jake, I’m fine,” Anji chuckled. “I don’t need someone to babysit me. The nurse said I can leave the infirmary this afternoon.”
“Are you sure?” I asked.
“Yes, I’m sure,” she said and tried to roll her eyes. “Maybe just bring me a book or something to keep me busy, and I’ll be out of here before you know it.”
“Alright, if you’re sure,” I said.
“Jake, she’ll be fine,” Brie said. “Anji’s a strong woman.”
“That I am,” Anji agreed with a nod. “Seriously, go. I’ll be fine.”
“Alright,” I relented. “But you let me know if there’s anything you need, okay?”
“Of course,” Anji agreed. “Now, find me a good book, please. Nothing too sappy. And a little adventure is always good.”
“We’ll find something,” Brie promised with a smile.
The four of us waved goodbye to Anji and then retreated down the hallway. The waiting room was still empty, and Lars was still munching on his snack while he watched his phone. He didn’t even look up when we passed the desk, opened the door, and stepped back into the heat of the day.
Michael and Dave decided to join the celebration near the tarmac, but Brie grabbed my elbow and steered me away before I could follow. We walked in silence for a few moments as we made our way to our sleeping quarters, and once we were inside the building and away from prying eyes, Brie turned toward me.
“So, what happened after we left?” she asked.
A sigh escaped me as I took a seat on one of the couches, and Brie sat down as well.
“It’s not looking too good,” I told her honestly.
Hale’s ominous words of warning swam in my head as I told Brie everything that had happened after we’d rescued Anji. I heard her gasp when I told her about Nick’s surprise appearance, and her eyes narrowed when I told her about the false alarm. When I was done, I slumped against the couch and looked at the ceiling where the fan spun in lazy circles.
“Right,” Brie muttered and paused for a moment. “At least we have the satellite. Now let’s hope that someone will be able to decode whatever information is on there.”
“It must be important if the Russians were that determined to recover it,” I sighed.
“Unless it’s another ruse,” she replied. “It’s not always easy to understand the Russian plans.”
“Well, Hale seems to think that war is a real possibility after this,” I added.
“He said that?” the redhead asked in surprise.
“He did.” I shrugged, but deep down, I was worried.
“Christ,” she murmured. “I guess we’ll know soon enough. How long does it take to declare war?”
I shrugged and finally glanced at the other rider. I didn’t want Brie or any other member of the squadron to worry about the potential war when we were still celebrating our mini-victory over the Russians. It was a problem for tomorrow.
“Right,” I said and got to my feet. “I’d better bring Anji a book.”
“She likes sci-fi novels,” Brie informed me. “Like she said, nothing sappy.”
“Gotcha,” I chuckled.
Since we were alone, I walked over to Brie and kissed her mouth tenderly before I disappeared down the hallway and into Caleb and Pierce’s room. Caleb was the only person I knew who would read all day, every day if he could, so it was a safe bet that he’d have a stash of books I could go through.
“Bingo,” I muttered to myself when I spotted the pile of books on his nightstand.
I combed through the titles but didn’t find any sci-fi novels, so I settled for a research book about dragons that I knew Caleb had already read a couple of times. It was the closest I could find to a sci-fi novel, and I didn’t think that Anji would mind. Brie was no longer in the living room when I went back there, so I assumed she’d either joined the others or gone to her own room.
With the book in hand, I trekked back to the infirmary, delivered the book to Anji, and then ventured back toward the tarmac. The commotion had died down as people returned to their normal jobs, and now it looked like it always did. I couldn’t spot my squadron anywhere, but luckily, one of the soldiers saw me and told me that they’d gone to the dining hall.
When I arrived, I found everyone gathered around one of the tables, with Sunderland and Hale at the ends while the rest of the squadron sat along the sides. It looked like a committee meeting, which somehow wasn’t reassuring.
“Ah, Cadet Randall,” Hale said when he spotted me. “Come join us.”
There was an empty chair next to Caleb, so I quickly hurried over and sat down next to him.
“They have an announcement to make,” my friend whispered as soon as my butt hit the plastic.
“Well, now that we’re all here, I can fill you in,” Sunderland said. “As y’all know, our training was supposed to last for a minimum of two weeks. But after recent events, we’ve been ordered to return to the Academy tomorrow.”
Chapter 16
The silence that followed Sunderland’s revelation was intense. Initially, it was probably just from surprise, but then I could see the other cadets shift uncomfortably in their chairs. It seemed counterproductive to come all the way out here, meet a British squadron, and train on actual warships, only to return home when our dragons were just beginning to master their new abilities.
