“Of course,” Lucas agreed. “I’ve been thinking about another addition to the Valkyrie since we’re talking fighter jets. Do you think we could land a Harrier type jet on the Valkyrie, Laredo?”
Laredo took a second look at their spacing on the pads to any bulkhead type interference. “I think we could. The Harrier is way beyond the F-5 or its like in fighter jet qualities, especially if we get a later version with all the bells and whistle.”
“Good input, Lucas,” Denny remarked. “I’ll get on it. I think we might be able to get a McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier if we can fit it. Have you ever piloted one of those Harriers?”
“Did you just insult me, Spawn?”
Denny endured amused catcalls for a moment. “Sorry… let me rephrase… can we get it on the Valkyrie?”
“I think so, but we wouldn’t know for sure without testing it out. It wouldn’t hurt to have a jump jet like the AV-8B. It’s a great ground attack jet with bombing capabilities. Lucas is wrong about the fighter jet capabilities though. It’s not an air combat type aircraft. It wasn’t designed for a dogfight in the air. It would be a hell of an addition to our air force whether it fits on here or not.”
“I’m going to shower and find some clothes,” Gus said. “They have a great bar aboard the ‘Ranger’. Do we have cover until tomorrow morning to sip a couple and get some sleep, Denny?”
“I guarantee it, Payaso.”
“That is an excellent idea,” Nick stated. “I’ve been meaning to try out the Bud and Beam brothers with the Cheeseburger.”
“I’ll be with you on that one, Muerto,” Harding replied. “We have to toast you on your first confirmed kill on the way to being a jet fighter ace.”
“Without the Unholy Trio, I’d have been swimming with the fishes,” Nick replied.
“Oh great!” Clint gestured at the skies as if seeking divine intervention as Lynn danced around clapping her hands. “Now… for the rest of the night we’ll be tortured with Godfather Deville’s lines from the entire series. She uses every line ever made popular in that damn movie set to annoy the hell out of me. Thanks a lot, Dead Boy.”
“Calm down, Nowhere Man… leave the gun, take the cannoli.”
*
Rachel met Nick at the door in an embrace, leaving no doubt of her missing and worrying about him, while juggling a sleeping Quinn in her arms. She released him after a moment to allow Jean to give him a hug and Deke to attack with full on head butting action. “God, Muerto! We’ve heard reports of drug operations, Mexican Navy and Air Force casualties, and high seas gang wars, not to mention piracy, helicopter assaults, and human trafficking. You look like hell.”
“The master mariner and our guys fled the storms along the Northern Pacific Coast to no avail. We rode the Valkyrie through seas I thought we’d lose our landed helicopters. It got so bad one night, we played ‘Ride of the Valkyries’, and Gus went full throttle as if we were doing at sea combat. He brought us through it all. On the upside, we deposited the newly named ship in our fleet, The Ranger, at the deep water dock Denny had a crew of engineers build. She’s a real beauty – a true super yacht in every way.”
“How bad was the combat, Dad? It had to have been bad with the reports we saw on TV, even if they were twisted.”
Nick shrugged while petting Deke. “Let’s go in the kitchen. I want a Bushmill’s and to hear about your adventures here in the ‘Grove’. Did any ruling come down about my shooting of Jean’s gangster?”
“All done,” Rachel answered. “Neil called and said they accepted the plea deals. We’ve been steering clear of our newbie Islam bitch. The husband’s been dropping her off as if she’s in danger, which is exactly the scenario he’s trying to build.”
“She’s tried to goad me a little at recess, but I’ve had Cracker with me at all times as a witness in case I have to kick her ass.”
“Jean! Honest to God, Daughter of Darkness, I will kick your ass if you don’t watch that mouth of yours.”
“Sorry. Ms. Nazari gets away with doing all kinds of stuff none of the other teachers can do, especially concerning religion. It’s a double standard when she can preach Islam, while no other religion can even be mentioned.”
“I’m pleased you can use double standard correctly in a sentence.” Nick sat down, drink in hand, with Deke lying across his feet. “It’s a good thing we took everyone we could with us. We needed to move the Ranger right away. Having Cala and Samira with us helped a lot. If we would have run into a bad storm while journeying home, sailing both ships toward Monster Island… Mama Mia.”
“Did you capture the Carone guy?”
Nick glanced at Jean. She smiled back, putting her chin in hands with elbows on the table, completing an intensely interested pose. “Yes, Daughter of Darkness, we captured Carone and a woman assassin.”