He nodded. “I’m glad to know there are people like you here in the Mount. People we’ll be able to depend on even when things are tough.” He paused. “I can depend on you when things get tough, can’t I, Christian?”
She smiled. It crossed St. George’s mind it was the first honest, happy smile he’d ever seen on the woman’s face. “Of course you can,” she said. “I’m always honored to serve the people.”
“Excellent,” he said. He had his practiced smile up again. “I’ll be in touch on my next trip out here. Do you mind if we finish making our arrangements for this trip? There are a few things we still need to iron out.”
“Of course, Agent Smith.”
He took her hand again and gave it a single shake. “Please, just call me John.”
Christian beamed, and her eyes flashed with triumph. “Of course, John.” She squeezed his hand back and walked away.
“I take it back,” St. George murmured to Danielle. “Maybe he’s not bad to have around after all.”
A soldier stepped forward and gave Freedom a salute. “Ready to move out, sir.”
“Excellent.” He gestured them all towards the helicopter.
“Time for us to get strapped in,” said Smith.
Danielle pulled St. George aside. “Are you sure you’re okay with this? All of us heading off and leaving the Mount like this?”
“It’s not all of us,” he said. “You guys are going now. I’ll be here for another few hours, and Barry’ll probably be back before I leave. If all goes as planned, even if you decide to stay, Stealth and I will be back tomorrow night.”
“And she’s okay with this?”
“Yeah. Kind of weird, I know, but...” He shrugged.
“Just feels weird,” she said. “It’s been a long time since we’ve had to say any goodbyes.”
He smiled and pushed her towards the Black Hawk. “Unless you guys run into Zzzap on the way,” he said, “or I see him here before I head out, I’ll see all of you out there later tonight.”
Smith strapped himself in with some help from one of the soldiers. He twisted his head over to look out the cabin door and up at the sky. “I wonder if he’s made it out to Krypton yet?”
“He left about half an hour ago,” said St. George, “so, yeah, everyone there’s probably sick of him by now.”
*
People of Krypton, shouted Zzzap in a deep, buzzing voice, I tell you our world is doomed. We must take refuge in the Phantom Zone!
“Hard as it may be to believe, sir,” said the colonel, “we’ve heard all the Superman jokes you can think of.” Shelly was in his mid-to-late forties, and in great shape whatever age he was.
Dammit, said the glowing figure. He hung in the air a good thirty feet above the helipad. Close to a dozen soldiers stood around the slab of concrete. What about the classics? Mysterious figure arrives at the Army base in the desert? The hum of his voice dropped an octave again. I come in peace. Take me to your leader.
“Are you done, sir?”
Tough crowd, he sighed. Yeah, I’m done. Thanks for humoring me.
“Of course. On behalf of the United States Army and Project Krypton, I’d like to welcome you to the Yuma Proving Ground, sir. I’m Colonel Russell Shelly.”
I’m Zzzap, but you probably knew that already. How do you want to do this?
“We can do a tour around the base,” said Shelly. “Show you the perimeter, our supplies, anything you’d like to see, sir, that’s not classified or restricted for safety reasons. I thought you might like a late breakfast first. Nothing special, I’m afraid. I think we’ve got scrambled eggs and bacon, maybe some french toast. The coffee’s not too bad, though.”
Did you say you have bacon and coffee? Colonel, you may have just become my favorite person on Earth.
Shelly gave a polite smile. “Right this way, then, sir. I’ve got clothes and your other equipment waiting by my office.”
It’s okay to say ‘wheelchair.’ It won’t come as a big surprise to me, really.
“Sorry. I have to be honest, it caught me off guard when Smith told me.”
Oh, believe me, the irony’s not lost on this end, either.
A pair of soldiers waited for them by the building. Their eyes went wide at the sight of the gleaming wraith. They had a basic wheelchair with a seat made of faded leather. One held a pair of boots in his hand and a set of camos draped over his arm.
Zzzap flitted down and tilted his head to the ground. I don’t suppose you have a blanket or something?
The colonel glanced at the wide-eyed men. “We could get one. Is it important?”
He sighed. Not really. I just hate crawling naked on hot pavement.
“If we swing around to the other side of the building, sir, there’s a small lawn. It’s not much, but it’s—”
Don’t worry about it. Can you set the clothes down there?
The soldier did as asked. Zzzap settled closer to the ground, spreading his arms and legs wide. The brilliant wraith dimmed, the air settled, and the dry sound of a vacuum being filled echoed between the buildings. Barry dropped to the steaming tarmac with a thump.
“Sonofabitch!”