Jackson Ford - Random Sh*t Flying Through the Air

“You’re German . I thought you people liked good beer.”

“It has never been to my taste.”

“In Senegal,” Africa says, “We make a beer called 33 Export. It is delicious.”

“Ah yes,” Schmidt replies. “Although I prefer Bière La Gazelle.”

“You know Gazelle?” Africa breaks out in a huge smile. “Although not even people in Senegal drink it any more. It tastes terrible.”

I wink at him. “The man likes Bud, dude. What did you expect?”

“We must keep some of this for Reggie and Annie and Mia,” Africa says, popping the top off his bottle.

“Plus Mikhail and Gerhard,” I say. “Thirsty work, bodyguarding.”

“Mikhail is more of a cocktail person,” says Schmidt. “He enjoys Apple Martinis, I believe.”

“Him? Really?”

“I do not understand it either.”

He tilts his bottle towards us. We clink, and drink deep.

Oh my God. Oh sunny Jesus. By the power of Grayskull. You know how it is when you’ve had a really long day, and you go to a bar, and the first sip of beer is just… perfect? This is that, times a billion. I couldn’t give a shit if it’s Bud or Gazelle or fucking armpit juice. It’s all I can do not to drain the whole thing in one go.

From the distant sat-phone, Moira Tanner’s voice reaches us, her words inaudible. A sudden, bitter anger wells up inside me. How dare she even think about firing Reggie? After everything she does for China Shop?

“You were very impressive as a TSA agent,” Schmidt is saying to Africa.

“Ah, you know, it was just a game. I distract so Teggan can come on board.”

The silence that follows is just a tad awkward. Schmidt scratches his stubble, staring into the distance.

“So what will happen next?” he says.

“What do you mean?”

“After your superior speaks to her superior. Will you leave again?”

It’s a damn good question. Up until now, I’d been so fixated on getting hold of Tanner that I hadn’t thought about what would happen next. It’s not like Tanner needs us after this. She can send out her special forces teams and her helicopters and tanks and robot death machines and whatever she has tucked away, and stop this kid before he does any more damage.

Stop . There’s a word. No point kidding myself, because Tanner won’t waste time. Not with something as big as this. She’ll kill Matthew, and give his body to the scientists in Waco. The ones who wanted to cut me open.

Another burst of that sickening, bitter anger. They’re going to kill a kid. Have a sniper put a bullet in him. And why wouldn’t they? He represents a clear and present danger, a proven threat, a boy who has already killed thousands and thousands of people. He’s somewhere out there, in the great space between here and Canada, and he’s getting ready to set off the biggest quake the world has ever seen. Of course, they’re going to kill him. I can’t stop it.

At least I won’t have to be there. When they pull the trigger.

“I don’t know,” I say. “We were just supposed to get the word out about… well, we were supposed to get the word out. Pretty sure we’re not important in the greater scheme of things. They’ll probably just leave us hanging.”

“What is this about, Teagan?” he says quietly.

“Just some shit we gotta take care of.”

“In the middle of a disaster zone? What is so important that you would come all the way back to this airport, risk everything, just to get a message to your superiors?”

Oh, I had it all wrong. Of course he’d want to know. He just picked his moment carefully.

Involving Mia was one thing. That was an emergency. Can I risk sharing what’s going with Schmidt, when we’ve already gotten what we want? More than that: Schmidt is powerful. He’s a man who could cause a shit-ton of trouble for me, Tanner, China Shop. He might already claim to know about the facility in Waco, but right now he can’t prove it exists. If I show him, or let him know about Matthew, that all goes out the window.

“Understand,” he says. “I am not making demands. I will not turn you away if you do not share your information – that is not how I operate.”

I can’t help but think how different this is to what Nic did, a few months ago, when I and the rest of China Shop showed up, asking for help. It took a long time to convince him. He wanted to throw us out of his place, until I revealed my abilities to him.

“I understand that in the world we live in, there must be secrets,” Schmidt is saying. “I am merely asking as a professional courtesy.”

It’s a few moments before I speak again. “You’re gonna have to trust me on this one. It’s better if you don’t know.”

A sad smile. “I see. I do hope you remember my willingness to help in the future.”

Jesus, even I can read the subtext on that one.

He takes a sip of beer. “So of course, you are welcome to stay here. It is not as if we are attacked by crowds of ravenous people.”

“You make it sound like you’re waiting for the zombies to show up.”

An embarrassed smile. It makes him look a lot younger, wiping the worry lines away. “Sorry, my English. In any case, we have food, and enough water for the time being. We can wait until the real rescue gets here. Perhaps, if we can find some more fuel for your quad bikes, you will not mind spreading the word? In a situation like this, there cannot be enough shelters.”

“On one condition. I get to sleep first. It’s… pretty rough out there.”

“Of course. The seats recline fully, or you are welcome to use my bedroom if you prefer.” Another faint smile. “I believe you already know where it is.”

“Oh ya?” Africa says, unable to hide his evil grin.

“Fuck off, Idriss.” I take a slug of beer, hoping it hides the flush I feel creeping up my cheeks. Schmidt might have meant it as a joke, but there was a split-second where I wanted to ask him to come with me.

The thought is followed by a wave of embarrassment. Who says he’d even be interested? That’s a pretty big assumption, and as we all know, to assume makes asses out of u, me and everyone else. Just because he’s helping – hell, just because he seems to enjoy my company – doesn’t mean he’s getting the same vibes I am.

Of course, that doesn’t change the fact that it would feel really good to have someone’s arms wrapped around me right now. And to have that someone be Jonas Schmidt…

It can’t happen. He doesn’t know about my ability, which goes absolutely insane whenever I orgasm – something that initially stopped me being together with Nic, before he knew about what I could do. I’m not going to put Schmidt in Tanner’s firing line any more than he is already. Not after he’s helped us out. It’s not worth it, no matter what I’m feeling.

Mia walks up. “Your boss wants to talk to you,” she says to me.

“Reggie?”

“No, the other. She’s… um, intense.”

“That’s one way of putting it.”

“Is she sending the people?” Africa asks.

“Kind of. It’s complicated. You’d better go talk to her.”

I raise an eyebrow at Africa. That doesn’t sound good.

“Here.” I hand Mia my beer. “Drink this. It’ll help.” I point at Schmidt. “And there’d better be another one for me when I get back. I’m gonna need it.”

It’s only when I get to the back of the plane’s cabin that I really start to get nervous. It’s because of Annie. I expected to find her slumped over, staring into space, lost in her own private world. Instead, she’s sitting up, bright eyes locked on mine. She looks like a sprinter, about to break out the blocks.