Wings of Fire Ch. 11 - Teaser (Patreon)

“Chimera? What is Chimera?” Kostyantyn queried, more than a little confused.

“Survivors from the war and not the good kind,” James stated, crossing his arms with a huff.

“Survivors? What kind of…” Julia started to ask before it clicked in her head. “Wait… are you saying that the man who… began all the madness of the war… he survived?”

“Not him, but his ideologies have, yes,” Michelle told them. Kostyantyn looked confused, but then Julia pulled the man down and whispered something into his ear. The look of confusion then melted away, replaced by a look of absolute rage.

“Nazi pigs must die! Give me guns and I will kill them all!!” Kostyantyn raged, being worked up into a lather.

“Buddy… Kosta… can I tell you something about that?” James questioned the brawny Russian man.

“What?!?”

“Get in line! Everyone here would love to cut such bastards balls off and feed those organs to them!” James told him.

“You have good sense of humor! I like!!” Kostyantyn stated jovially as he clapped James on the shoulder, grinning from ear to ear at the idea of making Nazis eat their own nuts!

“So… Chimera is operating in our lands?” Nadine asked, her eyes wide with fear.

“Apparently so. Your uncle imparted as much,” Michelle stated as she bade everyone sit down so they could hear the whole story.

She gave them all the basics, about who Chimera was, what they were up to and how they were likely staying hidden. How they were focused, determined, driven and most of all, quiet. Michelle even let them read the letter that Colonel Forestwalker had written to her, seeing as none of them were friends to such backwards ideologies.

“So… they get smart?” Kostyantyn asked, looking over the documents that Michelle let them see.

“Apparently so. If there’s one thing the war taught us, it’s that a smart enemy is often a deadly enemy,” Julia stated, her face a mask of pure iron-willed resolve.

“Agreed! Loud and crazy enemies may seem scary, but that’s just bullshit posturing. Anyone who is quiet when doing evil thing is the true danger,” Jeanette replied in agreement.

“Indeed! Silence is something that some of our crew could learn to do better,” Michelle stated, giving James a mild stink eye.

“I will resolve to be more… discreet in future endeavors, ma’am!” James told her with a snap to attention and a salute.

“See that you do!” Michelle told him, returning the salute and waving him back to a more casual stance. “Now, you three, since you know what we know, how about you tell us what you know? Concerning the Viper’s Den?”

“Please! From what I understand, giving up this group isn’t something that is done lightly!” Li-Fan commented, remembering their conversation from the cantina.

“Nor would we, in any other circumstance! But, given how we know some of these guys who run the Viper’s Den have that tattoo, I think we can… come to a more amenable agreement,” Julia told the captain.

“What?!?” several people there stated all at the same time.

“So… you not only know about the Viper’s Den and where it goes, but you’ve seen that marking among their leaders?!?” Michelle gasped.

“We did, but we didn’t think anything of it, as they all seemed to be a very pious lot, so we didn’t think to ask any questions about it,” Jeanette stated.

“How do we find the Viper’s Den, when no one has even come close to finding out who they are, where they operate, and how they conduct their business?” Nadine questioned, thinking that this might well be a fool’s errand.

“It’s because they are always on the move and often, people see them, but never know how close they have been to such scoundrels. Mainly because they hide in plain sight,” Julia informed them.

“How are they able to pull off such a feat? I mean, it’s not like it would be easy to ferry planes and weapons of war in the open without someone spotting them,” Michelle replied.

“Well, it’s easy when your entire operation is disguised as a flying circus,” Jeanette told them.