Without Law 18 by Eric Vall (most difficult books to read .txt) 📗

the engine of the MiG roared to life, and Ben gave off a holler from inside the jet.

“It’s working!” Bailey squealed, and she clapped her hands together and bounced on the balls of her feet with excitement.

“Well, butter my ass and call me Susan,” Hammer muttered. “The fuckin’ thing works.”

“I’m sorry, what the fuck did you just say?” Tara asked, and she doubled over laughing.

“You’ve never heard that expression before?” Hammer chuckled.

“Me, either,” Anna giggled. “It’s pretty good, though.”

“My dad used to say that.” Bailey smiled.

“What?” Tara scoffed. “And you’ve been withholding this treasure of a phrase this whole time?”

“I didn’t think about it until just now,” the blonde chuckled. “And my dad said butt instead of ass anyway, so it’s not as cool.”

“You’re right, that’s not as cool,” Tara joked.

“It starts up,” I said. “But will it fly?”

“There’s only one way to find out.” Hammer grinned.

“Hey, Ben,” I called, and the pilot opened the cockpit and stuck his head out. “You think you can see if she’ll make it into the air?”

“Roger that.” The pilot grinned wide, hopped back into his seat, and started to push different buttons.

“Everybody get back,” I called.

The civilians and the SEALs all followed me back toward our sandbags while we waited for Ben to try and get the MiG going. First, he had to maneuver it off the trailer it was on, but he seemed to manage that alright, then he turned the aircraft around so he was facing north and away from us. The road was clear, so all he had to do was get her going.

I held my breath as I watched the plane start to barrel down the road. It picked up speed quickly, and the front wheels bounced as it nearly took off. For a second, I worried that was as good as it was going to get, but then the jet lifted off the road and into the air. It flew just above the highway for a moment, then it lifted higher and higher into the sky.

As Hammer said, butter my ass and call me Susan. The fucking thing worked.

Chapter 16

It was dark out, but I could see the plane by the lights on it, and I couldn’t help the huge grin that came over my face as Ben did a quick spin maneuver in celebration.

I could barely believe the plane was able to get into the air. My heart rate kicked into high gear, and I held my hand up and screamed up at the pilot.

“Fuck, yeah,” Tara laughed. “Tav’s excited. I like it.”

“You always like it when I’m excited,” I said with a wink.

“Duh, how do you think this happened?” The platinum-blonde asked as she pointed to her stomach.

Once Ben landed the plane, we all made our way back to the road to greet him.

“That was a hell of a maneuver,” I told the pilot with a grin.

“What can I say, I was pretty stoked about this girl,” Ben replied, and he patted the nose of the plane.

“I’m impressed,” Hammer said. “I figured it would take you a little bit to get used to the controls, but you picked it up quick. You’re a hell of a pilot.”

“Thanks,” Ben laughed. “Like I said, give me five minutes, and I’ll figure it out. This one, though, this one is fun.”

“I’m glad you like it,” I chuckled. “That’s your new position from here on out.”

“The role I was built for.” He grinned. “I’ll take it.”

“Are you going to fly it back to camp?” Bailey asked.

“I suppose that’s best for the night.” I nodded.

“Alright, then,” Ben said, and his grin hadn’t left his face. “I’ll see you all there.”

“Get the sake ready for us,” Anna laughed as the pilot climbed back into his seat.

Ben gave her a thumbs up and then took off into the air again.

“Alright, everybody, let’s round up,” I said. “We should get back home. We can go through the debris here first thing in the morning.”

“What about the ship?” Paige asked.

“Right.” I nodded and turned to Minji. “You all should get it back home, too. I’d rather have it close by.”

“Alright.” The Korean woman smiled.

The civilians and the SEALs made their way to their vehicles while the girls and I got into our jeep and took off toward home. There wasn’t anybody around to try and steal from the remains of the NK troops, so I figured it was safe to leave everything there for the night.

As I pulled on the road, I looked at the dark sky and thought about how our day had gone. I hadn’t expected the NK troop to arrive within six hours of us getting into contact with them, but they had. And while we’d spent all day preparing for a fight that lasted less than an hour, I was satisfied with the outcome. We’d gained more information about the troops down south, we didn’t have a single casualty on our side, and, the ultimate reward, we’d gained a MiG.

My girls did exactly what they always did, and once again we’d come out victorious. I hadn’t been kidding when I said I couldn’t do all this without them. Those women were fierce as hell, and with them on my team, it was a no brainer that we’d take home the crown.

The civilians and the SEALs had been impressive today, too. I was particularly amazed with Jeff and Ben, and Donna, Johnny, Joe, and James.

Jeff and Ben had worked the howitzer well, even when they’d had to adjust it themselves. They’d been able to follow orders and get the shot without too much coaching, which was good since I didn’t have time to talk them through anything during the battle.

Ben had the MiG now, so he’d