Chapter 17: Be Careful

Some of the soldiers were from Whales District and didn't feel too proud of hearing those words.

"I may be laying in the dirtiest bed of Whales District right now if it wasn't for a kind person who sent me to the mansion of the mayor to be a waitress. Aren't you curious how I came here? I traded my life for this. I took two bullets for the mayor, one of them close to my heart and almost killed me. When the mayor asked me how to reward my good deed, I told him I didn't want the money or love, I just wanted to be a pilot." She told her story calmly.

Many of the soldiers had heard about the shooting of the mayor, but they never expected that that brave girl who had saved him was right in front of them.

Both Zach and Bruce remained silent. They had no idea that the girl had such a dark and frightening history.

Emerald lowered her head slowly. "Flying to space means I can go far away from the darkness of the ground, it means I can forget the past. Can you destroy my hopes and dreams of becoming a pilot just because of my gender?"

She pretended not to see the changes on their faces and looked at Zach, "Come on, keep fighting with me. I will not give up unless I die. I have already traded my life for this opportunity, I have nothing more to lose."

Zach had seen the gunshot wound on her shoulder. He sneered and kept staring at her.

Emerald stared back into his eyes, feeling anxious inside. A moment later, she heard him say reluctantly. "No, I give up. You know what, for the first time ever, I think that our captain's order is bullshit."

****

After a short silence, someone in the crowd started to shout, "Well done." The others soon followed until their cheers filled the ring. They all looked sympathetic at Emerald, who was sobbing in pain.

At first, they had treated this fight as a joke, and hurting her had excited them. However, they looked at her with new eyes when she took the punches with grace and still wouldn't give up after being seriously injured. Her sad story had moved them, and her courage to change her fate made them admire her.

They felt ashamed and guilty for bullying a woman just because of her gender and treating her like a man.

"You can stay," Zach said firmly as he walked over to her as if he could decide her fate and ignore the captain's order.

At the same time, Bruce Green came rushing out of the crowd. It wasn't surprising to see him acting like this because he had always been the kind guy with his team. He helped her stand up and supported her with his hands going into the dorm of pilots while everyone was watching.

Emerald was leaning against a bottom bunk when Bruce hung up the phone and said to her with respect. "The doctor is coming soon."

"I'm fine."

"I never expected you to have a past like this..." Bruce paused. "Don't worry. We will all vouch for you to the captain to keep you here."

Emerald looked at him with a pale smile. "I lied."

Bruce looked at her in suspense. "What do you mean?"

"I did stay in Whales District for a while, but I wasn't born there," She clarified. "I didn't get the chance to join the air force because I took the bullets for the mayor, and the injury didn't almost kill me."

Bruce glared at her. "You lied to us?"

"Didn't you lie to me?" Emerald asked in return. "Harvey McAdams sent you here, didn't he? I don't know why you lurk here..."

Silence...

Bruce pretended to remain calm and suddenly faked his surprise. "Who? What do you mean? I don't understand."

She slowly laid down, breathing heavily in pain. Then she raised her small face and said in a low voice. "I know you are his man, so I tell you the truth. I guess we should be honest with each other since we belong to the same team now."

More silence....

She curled up on the bed as if she was weaker than an ant, but what she was saying made him about to hit the wall. "Harrison Gates was shocked when he saw me, but you were not surprised at all when you met me on the deck, which means you knew I was a woman. You were the first one helping me just now, not just because you are kind, but also because Harvey McAdams has given you orders, right? Since I've been beaten up like this, you haven't done your job properly...."

Bruce Green watched her mouth moving, but he couldn't do anything but swear in his mind. Of course, he never expected her to pay attention to such details.

"We're in the same boat now." She said in a somber voice, almost whispering. "If you don't help me in the future, I will report to Harrison Gates about you."

"Fuck!" Bruce finally swore out loud. It was like an evil spirit was living in that weak female body.

Not surprisingly, the captain came to the dorm in person about an hour later.

Maybe because the grey-haired upright surgeon shot an obvious disdainful glance at him or the men outside had crowded the hallway requesting him to keep her, Harrison was less fierce-looking to her, though still contemptuous.

"You have done quite a good job, huh?" He gave a cold sniff and looked down on her, who was beaten black and blue.

She didn't know how much he knew about her, so she answered euphemistically," All the things I did are for being an excellent pilot."

"Be careful." He says ferociously, "I will throw you out if you keep being so weak. In addition,..."

She was happy, but then he said in a sterner voice. "I don't care whether you hook up with those guys, but you can't get pregnant or bring conflict into this air force."

"You may rest assured." She answered seriously. "Nothing like that will happen."

Emerald was the first woman who managed to stay in the Phoenix, which never allowed women to come and its strongest alliance.

Fortunately, Zach Williams had known what he was doing and hadn't hurt her too badly. Her injuries were only superficial, and within three days, she had almost healed back up again.