High Stakes - Part 2

John held on tight as Noreen pulled the plane into a sharp left turn, steering toward the rear of the left gondola.

“Uh, John,” she said, “where’s the maintenance door?”

John scanned the back of the gondola’s structure. “I don’t see one on the back,” he said, squinting. “Maybe it's near the bridge walkway.”

Focus, he thought.

<<<>>>

[FOCUS Activated.]

<<<>>>

Analyze blimp.

<<<>>>

[Skill One: Analyze.]

[Analyzing…]

<<<>>>

The FOCUS AI highlighted the different materials and sections in different colors as well. John noticed that the entrance Mango used was yellow. He spotted two yellow colors in between the two gondolas. He motioned to Noreen to move.

Noreen shifted the biplane slightly under the gondola. Sure enough, where the connecting bridge was supposed to attach, there were two sealed doors.

“I can’t pull up in there,” said Noreen. “The space is too tight. And even if it weren’t, I’m pretty sure you don’t want to be seen. A giant plane outside the window isn’t exactly ‘stealth mode.’”

John sucked his teeth. She was right.

Mango had already entered the right gondola. He had to get inside the left one before it was too late. If she shut down the system but he failed to stop Laz, Laz could easily take control of the blimp, crash it, or worse, jump out with a parachute and the codes.

“You’re an expert pilot,” John said. “Do you think there’s any other entry point?”

“The only other way in might be from the top,” she answered.

Noreen pulled the biplane higher, circling above the top of the left gondola.

Again, there was nothing. There was no hatch, no emergency access. Just a single small intake port near the left balloon, clearly used for helium refilling.

“Damn,” John muttered. “What the hell am I supposed to do now?”

The FOCUS spoke in his mind.

<<<>>>

[Underworld Legacy Activated.]

[Initiating Tactical Override.]

<<<>>>

John shook his head.

Underworld Legacy? he thought. What does a blimp have to do with anything criminal? I’ve never seen this thing before. I’ve been on an airship but not this blimp.

<<<>>>

[ASSUMPTION: High-value targets may use unconventional airships for secure transport.]

[Analyze has also detected a port at the top where the air can be filled.]

[Belaying to break and enter is, in fact, something you have done before several times.]

[Breaking and entering is also highly illegal.]

[Suggested maneuver: belay onto the top, descend to the side loading door.]

<<<>>>

John grimaced. Belaying onto the top of a moving airship and descending to a side door? It was ridiculous, but it might be the only option.

“I’ve got an idea,” he said aloud. “But for this to work, you’re going to have to fly upside down. I mean right above the helium loading port if you can.”

“What?!” Noreen screamed. “Are you insane?!”

“Can you do it or not?” John asked calmly.

“Of course I can,” she snapped. “But what exactly will that accomplish?”

“Just do it. We don’t have a lot of time.”

Noreen shook her head and sighed. “I really hope you know what you're doing.”

She backed the biplane away from the blimp, accelerated, then executed a tight half-barrel roll, bringing the plane upside down directly above the helium port.

John unbuckled, scooted out of his seat, and dangled his legs toward the top of the blimp, now inverted beneath them.

“Are you sure about this?” Noreen asked.

“Nope,” John said, inching closer to the edge.

She lowered the plane as close as she dared to the blimp, careful to avoid the propellers clipping the balloon’s surface.

“Hurry up!” she shouted. “The engine wasn’t designed to run upside down for this long!”

John quickly tried to think. Maybe he could shoot the grapple hook at the port. He saw that it had metallic edges at its opening. He didn’t weigh enough to open it, so it should support his weight. From there, he could belay down to the side door.

“Okay,” said John. “Here I go.”

“Good luck,” she said.

John dropped down, and as soon as he did, Noreen pulled up and balanced the plane. He was falling for a few seconds.

3... 2... 1... BOING!

John hit the port, but unfortunately, the air blimp made him bounce! Suddenly, he bounced off the blimp completely. While flailing his arms in the air, he quickly adjusted his body and pressed the silver button on his grapple belt.

It latched onto the port with ease, and John managed to land on the blimp. He took a deep breath.

That was close, he thought. Finally, something is going my way for once.

Now securely hooked onto the blimp, he waved at Noreen. She waved back.

Creak… Click.

John looked over at the handle of the opening where his grapple hook had landed. It bent upward. Noreen started to pull away.

“Wait!” he called, but the wind was too loud.

Click, click!

Suddenly, the entire port latch gave way. The grapple hook whizzed back toward him. It hit his belt with a hard thwap and knocked him off the blimp entirely. It all happened in slow motion. Next thing he knew, his body bounced off the balloon once, twice, then nothing. He was flying through the clouds. He was falling through the sky without a parachute!

John screamed out of instinct. His heart pounded in his throat. He flailed wildly. Though he was still high above the ground, it wasn’t high enough to give him much time, and he had no options for survival. He needed to think. He needed to do it now. Options. Dear God, he had to find some options! He took a breath and spread out his limbs, stabilizing himself in the air.

Looking down, he tried to guess his chances. If there’s a body of water, thought John, I could aim for that... any trees might slow my descent. But if I hit wrong, I’ll be skewered. And I can’t slow down my speed.

Below him, there was nothing but an open field.

This is it. This is it, he thought. I'm fucked.

No parachute. Nothing to grab onto.

The CIA would take everything. His sister would rule the underground. She would rule the entire Nero family... all because of a stupid port latch on a blimp.

“If only there were something—”

Then he heard the loud roar of a biplane. He saw Noreen’s plane diving straight towards him.

He leaned toward her; the ground rushing up fast. If he didn’t catch the plane, he’d surely hit the ground. He wasn’t sure how often someone survived a fall like this. She came in hot, dipping under him.

“Grab on!” Noreen tried to yell over the wind.

He reached out for the top of the biplane–

WHAM! The plane was moving too fast. It struck his arm.

John felt the impact ripple through his nervous system. Instant fire pulsed through his arm. John yelped in pain.

<<<>>>

[WARNING!]

[DAMAGE TO RIGHT ARM: 60%]

[Hairline fractures of the radius and ulna bones detected.]

<<<>>>

The FOCUS AI spoke in his mind. John could feel the separation of his ligaments. His forearm roared in pain, but adrenaline let him push through.

He was now only 10,000 feet above the ground.

She came back around for another pass, more quickly this time, but she seemed to slow down some. He had to focus. He wouldn’t get a second chance. This time, he turned his body to match the direction of the plane and stretched out both arms.

SWOOP!

He caught the top of the biplane. His hands screamed in agony from the impact. Pain tore through his ribs and arm, but he wasn’t dead, and that was all that mattered.

Noreen started to ascend.

“Are you crazy?” asked Noreen. “You were almost a fucking goner!”

“I know that!” John screamed over the wind.

“This isn't going to work,” she said. “We need to think of something else.”

“It has to work,” said John. “We don’t have a choice!”

A wild and crazy grin grew on Noreen’s face. “You’re my kind of crazy, John!”

Then, his right arm suddenly gave way and let go involuntarily. Suddenly, he was dangling by one hand, gripping it with his left.

“What are you doing?” asked Noreen.

“It wasn’t me,” said John. “My hand is having trouble gri—”

He didn’t finish his sentence. A gust of wind hit him hard, and he was knocked off the back of the plane. She had caught John at 2,000 feet last time. They were only up to four now. She wouldn’t get another pass.

Noreen reached her hand back to catch John. He stuck his left hand out, but they missed.

“John!” Noreen screamed.

Then, John quickly pressed the button on his grapple belt. It latched onto the back of the plane.

She immediately began to ascend as fast as possible.

Now, John was dangling underneath the biplane, held only by the grapple belt. He sighed. That thing had saved his life so many times already. It also gave him a quick chance to rest his arm. He rubbed his forearm. He could feel it was weak, but the rush of adrenaline was numbing it for now.

He pressed the button and zipped up along the line to the bottom of the plane. But because of the angle, he couldn’t get back on top into the seat. He was stuck, dangling beneath in the wind.

“Get back in!” Noreen screamed.

“I can’t!” John yelled. “Even if you did a barrel roll, I wouldn't be able to get back safely!”

“Well, what the hell are you going to do?”

John thought hard. Then he shouted up to her:

“How quickly can this thing do a back loop?”

“What!?” she called back.

“How much force do you think this thing can do a back loop with?”

“I don’t know,” she said. “But its force is pretty good, I guess. I often do loops during dogfights when someone's on my tail.”

“Okay,” said John. “I have an idea… but it's really stupid.”

“I’m open to suggestions,” said Noreen.

“I’ll dangle myself a little lower, and you’ll whip me at the airship. I’ll have to cling on.”

“That’s your plan!?” she yelled. “You realize I only caught you last time out of pure luck, and that kind of luck doesn’t happen twice.”

“Yeah,” said John. “Well, unless you feel like crashing your baby into the side of that thing to save the world, I don’t know what else to do.”

Noreen slapped the top of her head. Then a wide grin grew across her face. “No wonder Michelle likes you so much. This shit gets my heart pumping!”

Noreen climbed higher. John manipulated the grapple line to lower himself.

When they were in range, Noreen started to climb higher again, then hit a loop as hard as she could. She pulled back on the controls with everything she had.

Focus, thought John.

<<<>>>

[FOCUS activated.]

<<<>>>

I don’t suppose there’s a way to help me, is there?

<<<>>>

[Calculating…]

[1. I can help manipulate your body to aim and orient. However, there are no set skills for this. There would be new data I am acquiring.]

[2. Trajectory type skill not found. However, I can use the skill “Analyze" to see the distance to the blimp and give you a suitable range.]

[3. I can try to bump up your adrenaline for 30 seconds, but I do not possess any skills for long-term manipulation.]

<<<>>>

Damn, none of them are that good. The first two are basically just guessing. I can do that myself. Just give me the adrenaline. The last thing I need is to lose the energy for this.

<<<>>>

[Understood. Pumping adrenaline.]

<<<>>>

John then felt a huge rush of energy in his system. His eyes dilated. The world moved a hair slower. John prepped himself. In a long, whipping motion, John’s body launched upward.

The incredible speed, coupled with the roaring wind, made the sound deafening in his ears. If he mistimed anything, the unhooking of his grapple belt, the second launch, everything would be fucked. He might as well have let himself die before.

No big deal. Just the gamble of his life.

As soon as he reached the top of the arc, he felt the wire to her plane start to tug him back. The moment it did, he disconnected the left grapple hook and launched himself forward.

At the apex, he pressed the silver button.

Click!

The grapple shot and hit the bottom of the right gondola by accident. He zipped up to it.

Fuck, he thought. This isn’t the right one. I have to get over there.

But at least for now, he was on the ship.

John then aimed his left-side grapple hook from his belt toward the other gondola. He figured he could just swing across.

He pressed the silver button—

Nothing.

The grapple wouldn’t extend.

“Figures,” said John. “Only the right one works. The left refuses to come out.”

He sighed. Now what am I gonna do?

Scanning the underside of the left gondola, he spotted a narrow pipe running lengthwise beneath it. He thought of KJ’s gloves. The climbing gloves he'd given him before the mission.

John pulled out his pair of gloves and strapped them on tight. Then, using the working right-side grapple hook, he lowered himself further down. Once at the lowest point the tether would allow, he started kicking back and forth.

One swing. Two swings. Three…

Momentum was building. Four. Five.

On the sixth swing, he had reached the maximum arc the grapple wire would permit, but he was only halfway there. The pipe was just beyond reach. He’d have to jump. There was no time to detach and re-fire the grapple hook. This was it.

A single shot. A single chance. Or he would fall to his death.

He looked for Noreen. This time he saw nothing. She was nowhere in sight. The pit in his stomach deepened.

He had nothing. No safety net. And worst of all, he didn’t know how Mango was doing on her side. Was she already inside? Fighting? Bleeding? John gritted his teeth. He couldn’t let her down. He wouldn’t.

On the sixth swing, he retracted the grapple line—ZIP!—and launched himself toward the pipe.

“GAHH!” He roared, extending his arm.

Clang!

He caught it with his left hand.

Then he barely managed to grab on with the other. Dangling there beneath the left gondola, he quickly hauled his body up and clung to the underside. The sharp sting in his muscles radiated across his whole body. The adrenaline was starting to fade.

You have to get inside now.

John began scooting along the back of the pipe. As he reached the far end of the gondola, he realized something chilling. There was nowhere to go. Just metal and more air.

If he was going to get inside, it’d have to be through the bridge doors between the gondolas, the ones meant for connecting when docked. And he’d have to do it from the outside.

He pressed a button on his earpiece. “Mango, come in.”

Silence.

If there are guards on the other side, they’ll spot me for sure, he thought.

He prayed she was done with her side of the mission. Still no reply.

It’s just me, he thought, on the back of some goddamn flying fortress.

John took a breath and looked up where the balloon met the gondola’s metal chassis. There was a small lip between the curved metal and balloon seam.

He jammed his fingers into the narrow gap. It held. He fit his other hand in beside it. No footholds. No rope. Just two climbing gloves, some courage, and gravity working against him.

He started to shimmy sideways. One scoot. Two scoots. A few more, and he was near the door. He peeked into the gondola’s right-side window.

No one in sight. Perfect. Now, how to get in?

John remembered he had one of Mango’s knives from the bar. Better than nothing. He pulled it out and stabbed at the door. The door was metal and retractable, almost like a garage door. Just as he figured, the knife was strong enough to pierce through the thin metal.

John smiled and put away the pen. Only five left.

He removed the glove from his right hand, favoring his left, which had a better grip. Then he used the knife to saw a small circle into the metal. Once the cut was deep enough, he punched the shape inward, knocking out a jagged hole in the garage-style door.

He reached his hand inside and grabbed hold of one of the metal bars that held the retractable segments together. He yanked once. Twice. Three times. The bar bent downward.

Okay, he thought. This middle section is going to be a lot easier to hang onto than the flimsy top lip.

John adjusted his hold, gripping the center bar with his right hand while his left hand stayed locked into the lip of the gondola. With a deep breath, he pushed off his feet and slammed them against the left side of the door.

Please don’t hear this, Laz, he prayed.

But there was no choice now.

Boom! Another stomp. A dent.

Clang! Two more kicks and—

CRACK! The panel gave way.

John slipped through the opening, crashing hard onto the floor inside with a thud. Pain exploded up his side as a jagged edge of the door tore into the flesh of his already injured right arm. He clenched his teeth, holding back a scream. It wasn’t deep enough to hit bone, but it burned like hell, especially with the existing damage from earlier.

He forced himself up, heart pounding, and looked around, fully expecting to get jumped. To his surprise, the area appeared isolated.

The bridge corridor, the connecting hallway between gondolas, was sectioned off from the main cockpit and interior. It was quiet. John wished he could’ve figured out how to activate the bridge to the other side to Mango. He’ll just have to finish his job first.

John exhaled hard, a breath of relief he didn’t realize he’d been holding.

Never again, he thought. Never doing that again in my entire life.

He ripped some remaining metal from the door and peeled off his jacket. With shaking hands, he cut a strip of fabric and wrapped it tightly around the wound on his arm, tying it off to stop the bleeding.

“Okay,” he whispered to himself. "It’s time to get to work."