Chapter 24 – Escape (or not)
[Main POV]
Unfortunately, my plan was not going well. The plan was to cause a revolution in Berlin, and high tail it out of there with Artemis while using the riot as a distraction. However, there was one thing I did not anticipate. Traffic.
Despite Olivia driving like a maniac (I swear her kill count was now in the double digits), we still weren't at the airport. And at this rate, it was going to take at least a couple of hours.
We could always just run for it. I looked to my right seeing Artemis leaning her head on my shoulder. Even in the car, we were holding hands. It culminated in me being in a state of calmness despite the roaring crowds outside. But no, I knew I had to ruin the moment. Hand holding could come later.
"Let's just leg it," I said.
Exiting the car, Olivia, Artemis, and I started running towards the airport. I purposefully ran slower so that Olivia could keep up, but as I noticed her falling behind, I picked her up and dashed forward.
Eventually, the three of us made it to the airport. It was empty, I guessed that all the employees joined the revolution. As I set Olivia down, I noticed something move in the corner of my eye.
Grabbing the closest thing I could (a vase), I threw it in the general direction to scare whatever it was. If it was harmless (like a cat), it would freak out and run away. If it didn't, then that meant trouble.
As the vase broke into a million pieces, I heard an unmanly yelp as two KGB agents jumped out from behind the front desk with their hands raised.
Artemis facepalmed. "I forgot I sent those two here. They were supposed to pick us up after the concerto."
I paused, "Pick us up and go where?"
She innocently looked at me. "Moscow."
"Moscow?"
"Moscow."
"Why would I go to Moscow?"
Artemis looked hurt by the question as she looked down, she whispered, "I thought you weren't going to leave me…"
I delicately raised her chin so that we could look at each other. "I'm not going anywhere, and neither are you. My plan was to bring you over to Texas. After all, the weather's much nicer…"
She instantly pulled me into a hug which I graciously accepted.
"Does this mean I don't have to fight in Afghanistan anymore?"
"Wait, WHAT?!"
.
An explanation later, I was back to dealing with thing 1 and thing 2. While they weren't responsible for sending my girlfriend to Afghanistan, that didn't mean they were off the hook. Artemis did explain that they were basically her servants, but I still decided to question them.
"What're your names?"
All I got was a "Piotr" and a "Dankus."
"Oi! Speak up!" I said sharply while marching towards them.
They both cowered in fear.
"Please, we don't want to fight! We just want to keep our jobs! Please… Please…" Piotr sobbed.
As the God of Truth, I knew they were telling the truth. Then I noticed something.
"Your hands…"
Dankus spoke up, "The doctor said we'll never heal. But we need our jobs. We know too much. If we try to quit, or they find out about our hands, they'll kill us! Please, we never meant any trouble…"
"Are they competent?" I asked Artemis.
"They were," she said, "until you broke them."
I had heard enough. As I walked forward, they started moving backwards. But I was faster. Once I got close enough, I lunged at them, grabbing their broken hands.
A couple gasps of pain and a flash of golden light later, Piotr and Dankus were admiring their now fixed hands. No scars or bruises, they were simply speaking, perfect.
"Piotr, Dankus," I said in a powerful voice, enhanced by my godly energy, "Bow."
Both immediately knelt.
"From now on, you serve me."
"Yes, my lord, Jesus Christ."
I heard a snort coming from Olivia as I facepalmed. I decided that I'd let Emily straighten them out once we got back to Texas.
"First things first. Do either of you know how to fly a plane."
.
"And how in God's name were you going to get us out of here if we didn't have a pilot?" Olivia asked.
We were currently heading towards the Antonov An-2, a civilian biplane primarily used for agricultural purposes, cargo transport, and passenger flights. Most importantly, it was a plane Dankus could fly.
"I'm sure I could fly a plane if I tried." I said with full confidence as Artemis nodded in agreement. "At least until we reached the border."
"And what if we crashed?" Olivia questioned.
I looked at Artemis, "Well, I'm sure we would've been fine."
Olivia sputtered incoherently. Something about 'fiery deaths' and 'explosions.'
"Listen," I interrupted, "as the God of Health and Healing, I personally guarantee that by the end of it, your body would have been in perfect condition!" I gave her a thumbs up in support.
Olivia did not look amused and instead sped up her pace to walk with Dankus. That was fine with me, more alone time with Artemis instead of dealing with Olivia's worries regarding, well, everything. If only she'd calm down more and nag less. No wonder she didn't have a boyfriend.
"So, Artemis, remember –"
BOOM
The plane next to us exploded. All around us, planes exploded as bombs descended all around us.
"Fuck!" Piotr shouted, "It's the 16th Air Army! Take cover!"
The three of them ran towards a nearby forest for cover.
I simply looked back at Artemis, who was also looking back at me.
"You know, the first time we fought, you weren't very good," she started.
I scoffed, "Good enough to almost beat you. If we were born 5 minutes later, I'd be an only child."
"Oh?" Artemis pondered before leaning towards me, her face an inch away from mine, "And would you want to be an only child?"
"Fuck no."
As a plane flew over us, she extended her left arm while I extended my right, blasting the bomber into a flaming mess.
I gave her a quick peck on the lips before whispering, "Bet?"
"Loser owes the winner a favor?"
"Deal."
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[3rd POV]
"What do you mean we lost the half the force?!" General Kirilov yelled at his subordinate.
General Kirilov was the Soviet general of the 16th Air Army. He was ordered to bomb Berlin, so like any competent general, he started by bombing the airports and airfields. This way he would achieve total air superiority and would deny the enemy of any possibility of changing that.
The only airfield he didn't bomb was the American airbase in West Berlin. The Soviet Union wasn't at war with America, and Kirilov had received explicit orders not to do so under any circumstances.
However, General Kirilov was just told that the 16th Air Army had lost both the 105th and the 125th Fighter-Bomber Aviation Divisions. Then, they had sent a portion of the 126th Fighter Aviation Division to find what happened, but they never returned either.
So now Kirilov had lost half the 16th Air Army, and the half he did have consisted solely of fighters, not bombers. He could report this to his superiors, but that would definitely result in him losing his job. Maybe even being court marshaled and going to prison for incompetence.
Ripping up the papers he received of the losses, he spoke sharply to his subordinate. "Comrade, tell the politburo that the 16th Air Army has finished bombing Berlin."
"But general, we've only bombed the airfields we haven't – "
"I am aware lieutenant!" Kirilov interrupted, "But as you are aware, we have no more bombers remaining. Therefore, the bombing has finished. And if the 20th Guards Red Banner Army can't do the simple job of clearing protesters, then they are to blame!"
The lieutenant simply stared at Kirilov for a few seconds before scurrying away to relay the orders.
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AN: In the previous two chapters, I made paragraph comments with the links to the original songs on YouTube, but they didn't show up.
So here they are:
From Chapter 22: Love Dramatic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03OvXCvtV0E
(Love Dramatic by AmaLee on YouTube)
From Chapter 23: Guren no Yumiya: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFcfgHfEEsw
(Guren no Yumiya by Give Heart Records on YouTube)
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As usual, Power Stones are appreciated, and reviews are wanted. Even if you give me a 1 star review. At least make sure the explanation is good.