Wings of Fire Ch. 01

"Jim, I think there is something else here for you," she said, pointing back to the sheath.

Sure enough, there was a sheet of browned paper that was wrapped around the sheath, secured by two pieces of string. Carefully setting the blade down, he slid the paper off the wooden item and dispensed with the string, unfurling the paper. It was another note from his mother, although this one lacked her signature. He read it to himself, his eyes widening at the contents.

'If this is being read, then I know that I have succeeded in keeping this weapon safe from the clutches of my greedy and ruthless brother. James, I know you're wondering why I hid this note here with this sword, and I promise you, everything will reveal itself in time. Right now, there is something you need to know; your father is alive!

We were supposed to meet him on that night when we were to cross. But we lost all contact, and I dared not try to find him, lest your uncle or his friends find out who he is! I can't say much on that right now, for fear of discovery or on the off chance that someone else other than you finds this.

I will tell you how to find him, though. Find Margaret Bishop, in the Independent Republic of California, and ask her about the lone samurai in the green hat. If I am gone when you get this, I hope you find him. He is a good man and had always wanted to be here for you, but because of who is he is, he could not be. Godspeed on your journey, my son, wherever you decide to go.'

That was where the note ended, and James had to sit down and take deep breaths to calm himself. His father was alive! In the Republic! In several minutes, everything in his world had changed, and now a concrete plan formed in his mind. It had started as a flight of fancy, something he had planned out for some time, but never had a clear direction of where he would go next. Now he had a destination.

"I know that face, James Brighton. It's a face you get whenever you are about to get up to some mischief," Marisol said in an authoritative tone. "Just what exactly are you planning?"

"I'm leaving, Mari," James said with a sigh. "I can't stay here. Not just because of Manfredo's reach, but also because it's clear I'm not welcome here anymore. Present company excluded, of course!"

Marisol smiled at that last, but it was a sad smile. She knew things would eventually come to this and, as it was, she could not go with. Not that she didn't want to, but it was because she still had her mother and little sister to care for. Her mother had contracted some illness that had left her bedridden, and her sister was still in elementary school. It was her salary from being a maid at the estate that kept them all going, and Marisol couldn't sacrifice that.

James knew all of this, having spoken with Marisol at length some days back at the estate. He knew the only way she'd leave was if she could bring her mother and sister along with. The plan that had come together in James' head didn't have room for anyone who wasn't mobile.

"I know James. I knew one day it would come to this and that you'd leave. But things as they are, I can't come with you," she said regretfully.

"It's sad that you can't come, Mari. I know that you're devoted to your family, and I wouldn't ask you to abandon them to the mercy of my uncle Andrew," he replied. "Though I will have to leave now, tonight, if my plan is going to work."

"Can you tell me what you have in mind?"

"Honestly, I'd like to, but I can't. When I'm gone, they may call you in for questioning and the only way I can ensure your safety is if you can honestly say to the police, 'I don't know'." he stated to her. Although crestfallen, Marisol understood his reasoning and watched him pack. James put his things into his duffle, sheathing his sword and stowing it in the bag. He had just pulled on his jacket when she stood up and crossed the small room to where he stood.

Pulling him down, she locked her lips onto his and kissed him fiercely. Jim reciprocated the kiss, kissing her like he wasn't going to see her again. If he was honest with himself, he knew he likely wouldn't, not with the path he had set in mind. He drew her in, letting his arms, lips and tongue do all the talking for him, showing Marisol how much he'd miss her. They broke apart after what seemed like an eternity, breathing heavily.

"If I can, I'll come back and get you and your family out of here," he promised to her, holding her in his arms.

"I'll hold you to that," she whispered to him, and she caressed his face. With a quick kiss to her lips and forehead, he snatched his hat, duffle, and was out the door. Although sad to see him go, Marisol knew he had his own path to walk, as did she.

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James was out of the hotel as quickly as he dared, donning his hat in the process. Night had fallen, and the streetlamps were already on, illuminating the town streets. He hurried along, retracing his route back to the airfield as he went over the logistics of his plan. It was a bit of a distance to get back there, but if everything panned out, he wouldn't have much to worry about in the future.

His plan was a simple one; hike back to the airfield, find the keys for the plane that was built, and fly it out of this town! There were a lot of variables to consider and any of them could have his plan come apart, but in this case, he had nothing left to lose. Right now, he was willing to take any risk necessary in order to pay back those thieving sons of bitches! James soon came upon the dirt and gravel road that led to the airfield and turned down it.

He kept close to the wooded area, in case a vehicle came down the road, so he couldn't be easily spotted. He needn't have worried, as no vehicles came down the road in either direction. James trekked through the sticks, fallen logs and brambles with little difficulty, and soon found the airfield lying before him. There were some basic lights on, making it seem like someone was around, but he knew better.

It was a ploy that Manfredo did to make it look like someone was still at home to deter thieves. He always was a cheap bastard, and that cheapness would bite him in the ass tonight. James circled around to the rear of the airfield where there was a section of fence that had a slight hole in it. It was just large enough for a man to climb through and if he knew the men at the airfield; they were a bunch of lazy fucks who didn't care about fixing shit. He hoped that was still the case, at least.

James kept walking along the fence line until he found the opening. It was maybe a foot and a half in width and four and a half feet in height. At a distance, it was hard to tell that it was there and because it was right behind Hangar three, which was hardly used, and made it practically invisible. James first pushed his bag through, sliding it onto the ground with little effort. He followed through maybe a moment later, doffing his hat and crouching to get through.

Once he was through, he put his hat back on, hefted his duffle and double timed it to the main office building. Because it was attached to the main hangar, it was easy to get into, since those arrogant bastards had forgotten to repossess James' keys to the place. Before James tried to the door, he listened to the area surrounding him. He heard nothing, no chatter, no footfalls, just the idle night wind and crickets sounding through the night.

Drawing the keys from his bag, he found the correct one and opened the door. Walking in, he went over to the connecting door and let himself in. James walked up the flight of stairs in front of him, rather than going left towards the locker rooms and storage areas. He quickly found the offices that Manfredo and his cohorts used and smiled. There were only six rooms on the second floor, and from what he could see, they were all dark.

He decided to check the concept office at the end of the hall, as that's where Roberto and Manfredo liked to work. Walking in, he checked it quickly, but found nothing. No keys, no designs, nothing. It seemed like James would have to do this the old-fashioned way and look through each office one at a time. He took the better part of an hour to look through them, but he found nothing, not in any drawer, cabinet or tabletop.

James was getting frustrated and was contemplating on giving up when he saw a small sliver of light out the corner of his eye. He turned and saw the light was emanating from Manfredo's office. He didn't know how that was possible, as that was the second place he'd checked, and it had yielded nothing! Shaking his head and pinching himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming, he walked over quietly, wondering who could have snuck in behind him!

As he walked in, he saw that the light was coming from a bookcase built into Manfredo's wall, but it was shifted to the side, like someone had moved it! Drawing closer, he placed his bag at the foot of Manfredo's desk and saw that the bookcase was a ruse and there was a hidden room behind it! Slowly and quietly, James opened the hidden door further and was surprised by what he saw.

In front of him was Roberto Marino, passed out and dead drunk, with no less than three empty bottles of red wine in front of him. A fourth and fifth bottle were on the ground, still corked, and they rolled out past him as the opening widened. James looked at the door and its housing and noted that a latch of some sort was built into it. It seemed to him that Roberto had walked in here and had forgotten to secure it. For all their sneakiness, these idiots were unerringly sloppy.

With Roberto passed out, James looked around and found what he was looking for. The keys to the new plane, his plane, were sitting atop the drafting table, just out of Roberto's reach. Carefully, James picked them up and tucked them into his pocket. He breathed a sigh of relief that Roberto hadn't stirred and calmed his nerves. James was about to leave when he saw his blueprints were right there underneath Roberto's head!

James was about to curse his luck when he thought about what else this room might contain. He resolved to search it and see what else might be in it before he took his plans back. When he did, he was sure that Roberto would wake up, but he'd deal with that problem when he came to it. Noting that there was a small cabinet with flat drawers, James thought to have a look through those first. Half of them contained nothing of interest, just some pencils and blank blueprint paper.

It was the last three drawers that caught his interest, however. In each drawer was a detailed blueprint for other planes, each one of which was based on his initial design! Although some proposed changes made little sense to him, aerodynamically, others did. Not wanting to let these plans stay in their hands, James took them and put them in some carrying tubes from atop the cabinet and quickly stowed them in his duffle bag.

Going back inside, he looked about and found nothing unusual but saw that a small floor safe stood next to the drafting table. It was locked, and he would have left it alone, but it was then he spotted a sequence of three numbers written on a slip of paper by Roberto's left hand. The numbers read; thirty-three, seventeen, one. Thinking he'd try it, James kneeled in front of the safe and tried the sequence. After two failed attempts, he nailed it on the third try, and he heard the click as the safe opened.

As quietly as he dared, James turned the handle and opened the safe door. Inside lay thousands of U.S. dollars, probably the whole payroll for the year, and Manfredo had it sitting around inside this safe! He also spotted two brown leather-bound notebooks, one plain and the other, with a strange symbol embossed on its cover.

Puzzlement on his face, James took them out and stared at them before opening both. Inside the first was a detailed parts list of his plane, which James knew he was keeping. The other was filled with a series of entries that looked like they were in some cipher, which James couldn't read or understand.

Shaking his head, he saw that behind the notebooks lay several gold bars, also embossed with the same symbol. James almost cried out at the turn of his luck! The price of gold by the ounce had skyrocketed since the end of the war! Anyone who owned at least one such bar had enough to buy themselves a mansion with money leftover!

Looking up to see that Roberto was still asleep, James quickly moved each bar and stack of cash into his duffle bag. Five minutes later, his bag was considerably heavier, the five bars weighing down the duffle, but he could still lift it. The strange notebook also found its way into his bag because, from James' perspective, if it was locked behind a safe, it had to have value. He would have to decrypt the cipher, but that was a challenge for another day.

Now that he was almost finished, James steeled himself for the last thing to be done. As carefully as he could, he returned to the room and carefully lifted Roberto's head off the blueprints, and pulled them out. He laid Roberto's head gently back down on the table and went to put the blueprints in another tube. There were some wine stains on the paper, but they had dried and thankfully hadn't marred the integrity of the plans.

Just as James had finished rolling and stowing them, Roberto stirred. James froze in place just in front of him, hoping that Roberto would go back to sleep. Sadly, he didn't and raised his head off the table, blinking his eyes blearily. He looked straight at James, almost like he couldn't believe what he was seeing. Then, with a shake of his head, he blinked again and sat upright.

"Jim?" he croaked out, his voice soured by the wine.

"Good night, Robbie," James said evenly before decking him.

His fist connecting squarely with Roberto's nose, the drunk man went cross-eyed before his head fell back to the table. James looked at Roberto and was certain he'd knocked the boy out. Smirking, James went back outside into Manfredo's office, closing the door behind himself and turning out the light. He also scooped up the bottles of wine that were on the floor, figuring to have himself a celebratory drink when he was far away and across the border.

James was just finishing with putting away the last of his spoils when he heard something. It almost sounded like someone clearing their throat. His head snapped up, and he saw a figure there, standing in the doorway. He heard a click and the hallway light turned on, illuminating the figure. It was a woman, but not the one he had hoped for or expected. The woman in standing there, looking down on him in disapproval, was none other than Laura Marino, Roberto's little sister.

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And that's where the first chapter of this story ends, folks! I do hope that you've enjoyed this new story idea that I've cranked out. I had a lot of fun writing this one, as I've always wanted to write something that had a Rocketeer/Indiana Jones-esque feel to it. I always loved those movies, though honestly, wasn't too pleased by Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

Getting back on topic, I know that I'm being a bit evil in leaving it as a cliffhanger, but as a writer; they are lots of fun to write! *chuckles evilly* How will James talk his way out of this predicament that he's in? What is in that notebook that he's discovered? Will he cross the border and find his father? Those answers will come in future chapters of this story, so you'll just have to be patient and wait until more chapters land.

Anyway, thank you for taking the time to read my work and I do hope that you've enjoyed it! I'm open to constructive criticism and will seriously consider any suggestions made about various story arcs. Please feel free to rate and comment on my work down below. If you like what I write, don't be afraid to follow and share, though your views, ratings and comments are quite enough for me.

In the meantime, this is C.H. Darkstrider, signing off to grab a beer and some quality time with the wife! ;) You will attain whatever you most desire, as long as you believe in yourself. Cheers!