Chapter 8 Meeting Oliver

(Anna)

The next day I set out on my mission. The black leather pants and jacket tightly hugged my body. My auburn hair were neatly tied in a ponytail and my hands were in black glovelettes. The nail of my index finger never grew back because of the damage caused to the nail bed. The two others had grown. A constant reminder of how I had been treated in the past but never again.

Placing my shuriken knives, ninja stars and two Glock 22 pistols in the hidden places of my costume and black combat boots, I set out.

The AH-64 Apache helicopter was a black beast and my favourite among the aircraft. Its sleek body and fitted missiles gave it a unique look. I grazed its metal body with my fingers and did a quick inspection.

"Standing tall, boy." I patted its side as if it were my pet.

Climbing inside the helicopter I strapped up.

Turning on the power I did quick pre-start checks and then fired up the engines. It roared to life.

Claude had sent me the coordinates, I fed them into my FMS (computer system which shows the location and distance on screen) and lifted the helicopter above the ground. Soon I was airborne heading towards the ship which was my prime target.

As I flew over the vast sea with blue waters I couldn't help but recall the day I had jumped into the Vaium Sea, the very day when my whole life had been toppled.

A bitter smile appeared on my face.

The system beeped letting me know we were near our target. It was a cargo ship and my mission was to hit and sink it. As I manoeuvred my helicopter near the ship I saw the huge logo embossed on the side of the black and red ship. The logo of Ruby's pack, The Shadow Howl came into view.

My bitter smile turned sinister, there couldn't have been any sweeter revenge than this. Knowing her now, I could guess the cargo must contain something illegal. That's why it was sanctioned to be destroyed.

Locking in the target I hit the button and launched two missiles. The helicopter slightly shook as two missiles whirred from it and hit the target in clean shots.

"Burn, Ruby's cargo," I yelled.

Boom!

The noise was music to my ear. I fist-bumped at the success and watched in satisfaction from a safe distance with my Apache still hovering in the air.

The ship's rudder and deck completely blew up as orangish yellow fire erupted followed by black smoke.

The panicked crew jumped out into the water with life jackets as they watched the ship go down slowly. Lifeboat they were able to secure a while some of them threw hateful looks in my direction. Too bad they couldn't do much about it.

Accomplishing my mission I turned the helicopter around and decided to head back to the Shadow Headquarters.

But my happiness was short-lived, the system of Apache began malfunctioning as if it had been tampered with. I slightly panicked for I could now hear a beeping sound coming from inside my helicopter.

Being trained in all kinds of military weapons and explosive devices I knew this was a very minuscule IED device. Turned on when a certain distance had been travelled by the aircraft and so small it was difficult to detect.

"Fuck!" I shouted in frustration. Someone was going to be dead when I was going to return to headquarters.

I knew I had to keep a cool head and figure out a way. The helicopter had stopped responding; it could blow out at any moment. I needed to jump.

Unbuckling myself, I ran to the back of the helicopter and grabbed the emergency parachute. Hastily putting it on I bid a silent farewell to my Apache and jumped after opening the latch.

My assumptions were correct, exactly after 10 seconds of my jumping, the helicopter blew up in a massive explosion.

The force from the explosion hit my parachute sending me propelling downways. My heart leapt into my chest as the air was sucked out of my lungs but luck seemed to be on my side.

I spotted another ship and soon I dropped on its deck, rolling over to cushion my fall and earth the energy. I was on all fours, trying to catch my breath with my hand on my heart. This was really unfortunate.

I still had to observe my surroundings and understand where I had landed when a tiny pair of neatly polished black Oxford shoes appeared in front of my eyes.

I trailed my gaze up to the tiny creature wearing perfectly ironed black dress pants and an immaculate white collared Ralph Lauren shirt. He stretched out his chubby little hand towards me and offered a warm smile.

He was the cutest kid I had ever seen with chubby cheeks like two ripe apples, perfectly back-styled raven-shaded hair and emerald-coloured eyes. And that adorable smile spread on his oval face. He couldn't be more than five or six years of age.

"Are you alright ma'am?" He respectfully asked in a sweet voice, still offering me his hand.

I took it and scrambled to my feet, his tiny fingers instantly curved around mine giving me his warmth.

"I am, young man, thank you. What is your name?" I asked, swiftly smiling at him. It was like a smile had appeared on my face of its own accord. Two guards with him stood behind me and were throwing me apprehensive looks but stayed put for now as if he had signalled them to not make a move.

I disentangled myself from the parachute.

"Oliver Ludwing," he replied confidently.

"That's a very nice name." I pulled his fluffy cheek and diverted my attention to the guards who were holding guns.

"Who is the owner of the ship? I need a ride to the nearest port. Can you direct me to him?" Before they could speak the little boy piped in.

"I am the owner of this ship, become my Luna and I will give this to you and anything else you want," he spoke in such a serious voice that I had to purse my lips to not burst out laughing at his boldness and the statement.

"Is that right?" I asked, tilting my head at him.

"Yes!" He said in an extremely serious voice.

I ruffled his hair and gave him a warm smile but he let go of my hand and hugged me, burying his face in my belly as his tiny arms went around my waist.

"Please!" He requested.

Before I could answer the boy the gun fires echoed and I could hear the men shouting behind me. Turning around I saw a lifeboat containing surviving members of the Shadow Howl Pack from the ship I had blown earlier.

"Oh! No," I shouted and shoved Oliver in the arms of his guards, "Take him to safety and I will handle these men. Is there anyone else on the ship?"

Panicked they shook their heads when Oliver spoke again in a frightened voice.

"No, I ran away alone with my two guards. There is no one with us except the Captain."

The bizarreness had my head rolling but I had no time to waste, I had to take care of the enemy and ensure this boy who seemed so familiar remained safe.

"Don't worry, Oliver. I will protect you with my life," I told him with a nod and reached for my weapons.