The hard seat banged against Andrea’s backside as the plane she was sitting in jolted in some turbulent air. Gingerly rubbing it she considered that comfort obviously wasn’t high on the army’s list of priorities when designing these things. It certainly wasn’t like travelling on your average passenger jet, with everything inside the small aircraft stripped down to the bare essentials. There were no smiling hostesses with pillows and blankets, and certainly no free drinks or food. It was also a hell of a lot noisier in the back cargo area of the plane where she and the other superhumans now sat as they flew off on their first mission as government operatives.
Though she had given the Major a hard time about it, part of Andrea was secretly happy to finally be putting her powers to some use other than training exercises. At the same time, taking on some hijackers was maybe a little too exciting for a first time out.
Harry say next to her along one side of the plane with Tom and Bel perched on the bench opposite. The young man turned to her now, having to shout to be heard over the noisy aircraft.
“See, I told you it wouldn’t be long before we got the matching uniforms,” he remarked pulling at his top.
She thought Harry was exaggerating just a touch. Though they were all in black it wasn’t as if they were specifically designed outfits. The clothes they wore were just variations of regular military dress. Andrea herself wore some standard black boots, along with combat trousers, a long sleeved jacket and a form-fitting vest over the top. The vest had a multitude of pockets and she thought that it’s slightly stiff nature was no doubt due to some light-weight bullet proof material embedded under the surface. Looking at the young man next to her, Andrea could now see him jiggling his knees up and down nervously, his fingers drumming on his thighs.
“You’ll be fine,” Andrea said, putting a comforting hand over his to still his dancing fingers.
“Thanks, but that’s easy for you to say, you’ve done this sort of thing before.”
“I’ve never done anything quite like this!” she admitted with a wry smile. “We’ve all had the necessary training, we know what to do and I’m sure we can do it,” she added confidently.
Harry smiled at her reassuring words, and Andrea was once again reminded of Constable Walker, sincerely hoping that this time her confidence wasn’t misplaced.
Harry was inspecting some of his own pockets now, pulling out a swiss army knife that he flicked open. “I always used to play at pretending to be in the SAS [15] when I was a kid, I guess I’ve now got my chance to do the real thing.”
A loud bang indicated the door to the cargo bay from the front of the plane had swung open, and the Major stepped into the area, grabbing onto some netting to keep her feet as the aircraft lurched to one side. She was in the combat version of her uniform too, though she wore the more standard camouflage style unlike the superhumans. Her hair was tucked under a cap to keep it from falling in her face.
“Right, we’re almost in position,” she informed them. “Andrea, are you ready?”
Andrea nodded, getting to her feet and carefully making her way over to the side hatch. The Major quickly joined her, leaning in close so she could be heard over the drone of the engines. Her words were just for Andrea’s benefit.
“Are you sure you’re all right to do this? We can find another way if you’re not.”
Andrea made a small rueful laugh. “I think it’s a bit late for that now isn’t it? The people on that plane are running out of time. No, I can do it.”
“Good. Just to let you know I have every confidence in you too.”
Andrea felt glad she had made the brash statement as a warm glow settled in her stomach on hearing the other woman’s words, though in reality she was as nervous as hell. Training was one thing, the real world was something else and five thousand feet up over the Atlantic travelling at about 400mph was plain terrifying. Still the Major, and everyone else, was relying on her and she wasn’t about to let them down.
Checking that everyone was secure, the Major levered open the hatch, the swirling wind immediately whipping in and almost knocking Andrea off her feet. Clawing her way along the interior wall, Andrea fought against the stiff breeze so she could glance outside, able to see the passenger jet flying on a parallel course to their own a few hundred feet above. The other plane was supposed to have been on a routine holiday flight from London Gatwick to Lanzarote when it had been hijacked by terrorists, who were now threatening to blow it up.
“Oh, I almost forgot,” the Major yelled over the fierce wind, “You might want to wear these – I heard you were having some trouble with your vision when flying.”
The Major handed Andrea a pair of curved goggles with black frames that matched the rest of her outfit. Andrea slipped them over her hair, having to push a few loose strands out of the way as she brought them down over her eyes. “Thanks,” she said, looking outside once more and steeling herself for the task ahead.
“Be careful,” said the Major softly by her side.
Andrea gave her one last reassuring look before she leapt from the plane.
Suddenly she was flung backwards through the air, both planes zooming off ahead of her as she tumbled away. Only of course she wasn’t going backwards, that was just the disconcerting sensation she got. In fact she was falling where she was, while the planes were moving away from her at speed. Gathering herself she activated her power to fly, soaring off after the two planes. It never ceased to amaze her that she could fly, not to mention fly as fast as she was doing. As she neared she could see the Major clinging to the edge of the still open hatch on the military aircraft, watching Andrea’s movements anxiously.
Moving up towards the passenger jet Andrea was buffeted by the air in its slipstream, having to fight hard to keep flying a straight course towards its underside. At least the goggles made it much easier to see now, Andrea assuming they must be covered with some special anti-fog coating. Skirting along the white metal she came to the location of the undercarriage, looking just as it had in the hasty briefing they’d received before they’d left their island base. Her fingers sought out something to grip onto so she could brace herself to prise open the access panel. Dangling upside down all those feet above the sea while clinging onto the bottom of a fast-moving plane Andrea did have a brief flashing thought of how bizarre it was before the adrenaline took over once more.
Just as she was wrenching the metal open the plane suddenly swerved and dipped in the air. Andrea completely lost her hold, bashing her head against the fuselage and spiralling out of control up the side of the aircraft in a daze. She just about had the presence of mind to latch onto the wing with a desperate grasping hand before she was sucked straight into the spinning engine. The pull from the turbine was fierce, sucking at her feet as they hovered in the air mere feet from it. Slowly she managed to drag herself along the wing away from it.
Andrea? Are you there? Are you all right?
The Major’s voice carried a definite frantic edge to it as it came to Andrea over her earpiece.
“Yes, I’m here,” she verified, “Though I had a close call with one of the engines. I’m heading back round to the target area now.”
She wasted no time opening the hatch this time, clambering up into the cold interior of the lower regions on the plane. Taking a moment she had to unpop her ears in the relative quiet that greeted her out of the rushing wind. She pushed her goggles up onto the top of her brow, reaffixing her disarrayed hair into a tight ponytail. Reaching into her top vest pocket, she pulled out the schematics of the Boeing 757, checking her location and where she needed to go before she set off.
Andrea had to crawl through the cargo area and over the haphazardly piled suitcases before she got to where she could safely punch up into the main area of the plane. With great care she tentatively eased up the small access panel, opening it just enough so she could get a view of the passenger deck of the aircraft. Almost directly in front of her eyes was a pair of booted feet, luckily facing away from Andrea. The nervous sweat was prickling down Andrea’s spine now as she attempted to gauge how many terrorists were on board without being spotted. The man in front of her was cradling a gun as he surveyed the passengers, all still firmly in their seats. Further along the central aisle, Andrea could see two more men, one by the central emergency exits and one at the far end. She assumed there was probably at least one more in the cockpit.
Ducking back down out of sight, Andrea relayed what she had discovered to the Major in hushed tones. The Major listened intently before quizzing Andrea on the armaments she had seen. Though each of the men carried automatic weapons, Andrea had seen no evidence of a bomb, at least not on the terrorists’ person.
All right, said the Major eventually, We’ll move
to stage two of the plan then. Just be
careful of that engine this time, Andrea.
Andrea smiled to herself, despite the situation, finding it funny that the Major still found the time to be concerned for her safety. Andrea worked her way back the way she had come, making sure she gave the engines a wide berth as she exited the craft and flew back down to the other plane. Judging the entrance to the small hatch was quite tricky in the swirling wind and Andrea had made a few abortive attempts before the Major’s firm hand shot out and latched onto her arm. Andrea then managed to stagger inside, offering the Major a quick smile of thanks.
“How are you doing, no problems with your powers?” the Major quickly checked.
Andrea reflexively patted the regulator under her left jacket sleeve. “Everything seems to be functioning fine,” she confirmed.
“Good, time to ferry some passengers of your own then.”
That was Andrea’s cue to carry the other superhumans over to the passenger jet, since she was the only one that could fly. The possibility of setting up some sort of line between the two planes had been mooted during planning, but the military craft would have to be much closer and risk being spotted by the terrorists. So instead Andrea grabbed a firm hold on the back of Harry and Bel’s vests and launched herself from the plane once more. Harry let out a scream at the initial freefall, Andrea’s laugh in response lost on the wind. Once she had safely deposited them in the cargo hold she went back for Tom, his reaction to the leap entirely different to Harry’s as he whooped with delight.
“That was better than any skydiving!” he said enthusiastically when they were back inside the other aircraft too, “I can’t believe you get to do that all the time.”
The four of them followed Andrea’s previous course through the baggage hold and up to the back of the plane. They took a moment to verify that they all knew what they were supposed to do before Andrea popped the hatch and they were off. The confined quarters of the cabin made it hard for them to utilise their powers to best effect but Tom managed to zip off to the far end, heading for the cockpit. Harry tackled the man closest to the hatch and Andrea was up over the seats, aiming for the man by the central exits. Fortunately he was too surprised to see someone flying over the heads of the passengers to raise his gun before she got there. Once she was in range Andrea snatched it off him, using the butt to crack him across the jaw and lay him out cold.
The sound of screaming from behind her caused Andrea to whirl around. On the opposite side of the aisle from her, by the other emergency exit another terrorist had appeared, grabbing a girl from her seat as a hostage. He pointed his gun at the girl’s head now; the terrified youngster couldn’t have been more than ten years of age. The screaming was coming from both the girl and what must have been her mother who was hysterically begging the man to let her daughter go. Andrea cursed herself for not having spotted the additional terrorist – he must have been hiding amongst the passengers.
The man dark eyes shot to Andrea. “Drop the gun!” he cried, his own weapon shaking in his hand in his highly anxious state.
It took Andrea a moment to realise he meant the one she had snatched from his fellow hi-jacker and still held. She carefully placed it on the floor at her feet, not wanting to antagonise the volatile man in the slightest.
“All right, all right,” she said as she slowly straightened up, placing her hands before her, “Just take it easy. Why don’t you give me the girl and we can talk about this?”
“Stay back!” screamed the man spotting Harry now advancing up the aisle towards him too, “Just stay away from me you freaks!”
The terrorist used his free hand to force up the lever on the emergency exit and suddenly the door was sucked outwards in a rush. The cabin filled with a swirling, whipping wind in an instant, a number of the passengers screaming in terror now at the maelstrom that enveloped them. Andrea had grabbed onto one of the seats as soon as the door was popped, her fingers digging into the material to stop her being sucked out with all the other loose items.
“Don’t be stupid,” she yelled at the man over the wind, seeing that he was eyeing up the sky outside.
“I said stay away from me!” he repeated fearfully backing up against the wall by the door, still gripping the young girl close.
Andrea motioned for Harry to stop his advance up the aisle, the terrorist’s eyes swinging sharply around the plane.
“All right, we’re not coming anywhere near you,” said Andrea in a calm and reasonable voice. She tried to make eye contact with the girl to give her a reassuring smile.
Out of the corner of her eye Andrea spied Bel advancing from the front of the plane. Andrea tried to gesture to her to keep back but it was too late – the terrorist had seen her too. Raising his gun he started randomly firing towards Tardelli, who threw herself to the floor to dodge the hail of bullets. Andrea seized her chance to leap at the man but not before he had flung the girl from him, the child disappearing straight out the open door. Andrea banged the man’s arm against the wall to dislodge his weapon and then laid him out with a punch to the jaw. Hoping the others could mop up, she swiftly jumped out the door herself.
Andrea freefell from the plane, quickly jamming her goggles back down over her eyes as the wind rushed past her face. She scanned the vast open sky, trying desperately to spot the girl as she plummeted towards the sea. She searched and searched but she could see no sign of her. Then there she was – another plunging figure against the blue. Andrea shot after her, closing the distance between them in a flash. As Andrea got close she could just hear the girl’s screams over the roar of the wind, screams which abruptly ceased as Andrea wrapped her arms around the girls body and brought the pair of them to a sudden stop in the sky. The girl’s wide eyes shot up to Andrea in surprise before glancing down and seeing only Andrea’s dangling feet between her and the sea hundreds of feet below. She clutched even tighter to Andrea’s vest on seeing the sight.
“Who are you?” she managed in a tiny voice.
Andrea smiled at her. “Just a friend….”
“Amy,” the girl filled in for Andrea.
“Ok, Amy,” said Andrea, using her best confident and calming tone, “You’re doing great so far, but I need you to be an even braver girl now, while we try and get back to the plane. Do you think you can do that?”
The girl merely nodded, still clinging tightly to Andrea.
“Major?” queried Andrea over her radio link.
There was no reply, and Andrea’s eyes searched the sky ahead of her, seeing that the two planes were now mere specks in the distance way above, obviously too far away for the short distance signal to carry. Taking a deep breath she set off after them, cradling the girl close to her chest to try and protect her from the freezing wind that battered them. Andrea’s muscles were crying out in pain as she struggled to catch up, fearing for the first time that she wasn’t going to make it. As her energy resources were depleted she felt herself tiring and her speed dipping, the two planes edging closer with agonising slowness now. Though Andrea’s power allowed her to absorb more energy to replace what she lost, the prolonged high-speed flying was depleting her reserves faster than she could replace them. They had discovered that she had an optimal flying speed to maintain the equilibrium over a long time, and her current pace was far in excess of that. Sooner or later she would run out of energy and then she wouldn’t be flying any more, she would be falling rapidly towards the unforgiving sea. With one final superhuman effort she forced herself on, gratefully tumbling inside the hatch of the military craft.
“Andrea!” The Major was on her in a flash, kneeling down beside her as Andrea fought to catch her breath having safely set the girl down. The Major’s hand rested gently on Andrea’s back while she took great shuddering gasps of air. “We thought we’d lost you! Are you all right?”
Andrea took a couple of more rasping draws of oxygen, pushing her goggles up off her eyes. “Yes,” she managed, “I just need to get my breath for a moment, allow my energy to recharge.” Already she could feel her body naturally doing that, absorbing energy from the light around her to replace what she had used.
“That was some pretty impressive flying.” The Major’s tone had become calmer now, after her initial mixture of shock and relief.
“Thanks,” said Andrea, finally able to get to her feet, though she wobbled slightly, the Major reaching out to steady her. “What’s going on over on the other plane?”
“They’ve neutralised all the terrorists…”
Major! The voice on the radio interrupted them, audible in both of their ears.
“Yes, what is it?”
I think we’ve got a problem here, continued Tardelli, During the brief firefight it seems both of the pilots were injured. I guess we must be on some sort of automatic pilot since we’re still up in the air, but we’ve got no one to land this thing and a whole host of lights flashing at us in the cockpit.
“Shit,” cursed the Major to herself, “All right, stand by Bel.”
She swung to Andrea, gazing up at her in a look of quiet assessment, her blue eyes peering out intently beneath the brim of her cap. “Are you all right to do some more flying?”
Andrea’s eyebrows arched up against her goggles. “You want me to ferry all 150 passengers over here?” she asked incredulously.
“No,” said the Major with a shake of the head, “We’d never fit them all in for a start. I was thinking of one additional passenger to the other plane.”
Andrea regarded her quizzically for a second.
“Fortunately during my career I’ve also learnt a few extra skills, including how to fly a plane,” explained the Major.
Andrea’s eyebrows were up again. “You want me to take you over there?”
“You can manage that can’t you?”
Andrea hadn’t really given taking passengers a second thought while ferrying any of the others about, but when faced with the prospect of being responsible for the Major’s safety she was suddenly unsure. “Er…yes…I think so.”
It seemed the Major didn’t share her concerns, willing to trust in Andrea’s abilities. “Let’s go then.”
When they reached the open hatch they paused for a moment, Andrea wondering exactly how to pick up the Major. Somehow hauling her around by the scruff of her neck like she had the others didn’t seem quite right. Instead she found herself offering up her arms, an invite for the Major to hop up into them.
The Major shot her a brief querying look before taking the plunge and leaping up into the waiting arms. “All right, all set,” said the Major looking out the hatch.
Andrea was so distracted by the smaller body in her arms that she didn’t immediately reply. Or move. Or breathe.
The Major’s arms had naturally looped round Andrea’s neck, a few strands of her hair poking out from under her cap and tickling against the exposed skin of Andrea’s neck and chin. Andrea’s legs were suddenly weak and she didn’t think it had anything to do with the extra weight she was carrying. Noticing Andrea’s hesitation the Major swung her eyes up to the young woman.
“Is everything ok?”
“Er…yes…” was all Andrea could think of saying, far too preoccupied with contemplating the warm curves pressed up against her chest.
Andrea took a couple of steadying breaths – now was not the time for such distractions. “Hold on tight,” she said eventually before jumping into the free air.
The Major’s arms reflexively tightened their hold round Andrea’s neck and Andrea followed suit, pulling the other woman even closer to her. Though the air was freezing around them, the warm glow spreading through Andrea at the close contact was more than enough to compensate for it. In fact she thought she could quite happily continue flying along like this, out in the open air, not a care in the world.
“Andrea!”
Broken from her daydream, Andrea’s eyes flicked down to the Major. “Huh?”
“The other plane is over there?” the Major instructed her with a tilt of the head.
Andrea looked over at it too, realising that she had been flying aimlessly through the sky in a random direction while her thoughts meandered. “Right, of course.” She noted trying to make it seem she had known that all along and was taking them on the small detour on purpose. Forcing herself to concentrate, she cradled her precious cargo to her and carefully flew up to exit she had leapt from minutes before.
Once in the plane they both immediately headed for the cockpit, finding Harry and Bel fussing over the controls, trying to work out what to do. When Bel saw the Major had entered, she quickly vacated her seat, Harry also clambering out of the co-pilot’s chair. Andrea watched as the Major surveyed the controls, checking a number of readings on her instruments and dials, of which there were many spread out in front of her and up over the ceiling too. Even though she couldn’t directly see the other woman’s face, the anxious movements and sharp intakes of breath were enough to alert Andrea to the possibility that all may not be well.
“Is there a problem?” she asked, leaning onto the back of the pilot’s chair.
The Major continued to flick switches and tap controls as she spoke. “Yes, we need to land – very soon!”
The Major grabbed the headset and proceeded to have a heated conversation with what Andrea could only assume was air traffic control. It seemed there was some debate over where exactly they should land, the Major eventually winning out. Andrea could understand that, she didn’t see how anyone could argue when the other woman took on the imperious tone she had used.
Removing the headphones for a moment, the Major craned round to the three superhumans. “Right Bel, Harry, go back and make sure the passengers are ok, I’m taking us down to land at Lanzarote. Tell them to fasten their seatbelts but remain calm, it’s just a landing like any other.”
Harry and Bel quickly beetled out the door, Andrea once again leaning over the shoulder of the Major’s chair. “Was that true? About the landing?”
“No,” confessed the other woman, “I’m not sure we’ve got enough fuel to make it - we could be gliding in the last bit.”
Andrea pursed her lips for a second, digesting the information. Though she didn’t know much about these things, she imagined landing a plane without any engines was pretty tricky.
“You can go back to the other plane if you want,” the Major offered.
Andrea’s brow creased in incredulity. “And leave you to it? Don’t be ridiculous! I’m staying right here.”
She had surprised herself with the vehemence of her words, but the Major smiled in response. “In that case you can take the co-pilot’s seat,” she said gesturing to the one next to her.
Andrea lowered herself into it, taking a moment to work out what she was supposed to do with the various straps of the harness. Next to her the Major had removed her cap and was running her hands through her hair which had become plastered to her head under its hot confines. Having enticed some life back into the bob, she put on the headset again, Andrea removing her earpiece and following suit.
“I’m going to need you to help out,” the Major said over her microphone, “Just follow my instructions and we should be fine.”
Andrea could have replied over the comm system too, but instead she felt the urge to turn to the other woman and nod her assent. It seemed the Major was expecting it, since she was already watching as Andrea’s head turned to her. The shared a brief look of understanding before both placed their hands on the control columns in front of them, though in Andrea’s case it was more for reassurance than she would be doing any actual flying. This time that was going to be all up to the Major.
The Major wasted no time in beginning her pre-landing checks before finally flipping off the automatic pilot and easing the plane into a slow banking turn. Andrea could see the sea far below then, stretching out in unending blueness, but no sign of any airport or any land at all come to that. She just had to trust the Major knew what she was doing.
“Andrea, can you flip that switch, third one up on control panel second from centre. The one with the flashing red light next to it.”
Andrea followed the other woman’s directions, flicking the requested switch. The Major instructed her to perform similar actions on a number of other controls as the plane continued its descent. The grinding from the undercarriage indicated the Major had lowered the landing gear and finally Andrea could see something up ahead of them, something very small. She really hoped it wasn’t what they were heading for because it didn’t look big enough to park a car on, let alone a whole plane. She took a nervous gulp, just as a loud beeping filled her headphones.
“What is it?” she asked the Major, who was tapping at one of the gauges in front of her.
“There goes the fuel,” noted the Major evenly.
Andrea didn’t know how she could be so calm about it. Here they were gliding in on nothing more than fumes and the Major looked as if it was a Sunday afternoon stroll in the park. Not that the Major really seemed like the sort of person to take Sunday afternoon strolls in the park, considered Andrea – they were probably far too sedate for her. Andrea had to shake herself and fix her mind on the present, thinking that it was no doubt her anxiety that was causing her mind to wander so badly.
“Hold on, this could get bumpy,” the Major said. The way the officer’s arms were vibrating as she grimly held onto the control column was evidence enough of that. The same juddering sensation was buffeting Andrea, rattling the teeth in her head.
The plane was dipping dangerously close to the water now, with the safety of the runway seemingly too far off for them to make it. Andrea dug her fingers into the armrests of her chair, leaning back into it as she willed them on. Then suddenly she was flung forwards as the plane’s wheels hit the tarmac and the Major swiftly applied the brakes. The tyres screeched ear-piercingly as they strove to halt the tonnes of metal, the plane finally coming to a halt a good few yards from the end of the runway.
Andrea tipped her head back against the leather, closing her eyes and heaving the hugest sigh of relief. The sound of spontaneous cheering and clapping filtered through to her from the back of the plane. There was also a much closer clunk and Andrea opened her eyes to see that the Major had peeled off her headset and let it drop to the metal floor. She was leaning back in her seat too, breathing heavily – it seemed that some things could get under that unflappable exterior after all.
“Maybe you should go and meet your adoring public?” suggested Andrea jokingly, with a tilt of the head to the main cabin behind them.
The Major grinned wryly. “I think I’ve had enough excitement for one day!”
……….
Of course neither the Major nor Andrea did in fact go back and make themselves known to the passengers. Knowing the continued need for secrecy and security, the Major and the superhumans had been spirited off the plane and away back to Scotland before any members of the press or anyone else got anywhere near them. The government’s cover-up machine went into overdrive, creating enough confusion around the incident to discount any accounts of people with strange abilities. Luckily most of the passengers had been far too terrified to pay proper attention, let alone offer a coherent record of what had happened. All most of them could remember was that some army personnel had somehow got onboard and saved them, the identities of those people unknown.
However, though the Major and the superhumans were unsung heroes as far as the general public were concerned, they found that it was a different matter once they got back to the base. There everyone wanted to shake their hand and congratulate them at length. Andrea was amazed at the reaction, supposing they all had a vested interest in the success of the project. The only person who didn’t look happy was Lieutenant Chadwick, but then again he never did.
It was late on the Tuesday when they touched down, and after the impromptu reception they all retired to get some much needed rest. Andrea herself was asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow, for once her night not being disturbed by unpleasant dreams.
The next day started with a round of debriefings of the mission, but come the afternoon there was a surprise visitor in the form of Lieutenant Colonel Parsons. The base personnel hastily assembled on the parade ground next to the main complex to receive him, lining up just as his helicopter landed. First to greet him was the Major, having to hold onto her peaked uniform hat as she waited at the edge of the helipad. Andrea found her eyes drifting to the skirt the Major wore as part of her more official uniform, wondering if she was going to need to hold onto that too as the rotors spun viciously close by. Unfortunately the skirt looked like it was slightly too tight to be blown up by the wind.
Andrea must have been staring just a bit too hard, because suddenly she realised the Major was looking back at her with a quizzical expression. Andrea flushed slightly and averted her eyes, but not before she noticed the Major’s smile at having caught Andrea out.
The Major led Colonel Parsons along the line, introducing him to all the personnel. Andrea watched with interest as the white-haired officer got to Tom, the Colonel offering a stiff hand to his son, but no words to signify that Tom was anyone other than another member of staff. Andrea felt annoyed on Tom’s behalf, hoping that maybe the Colonel just didn’t want to say anything in front of everyone and would have a private talk with his estranged son later.
The two officers were in front of Andrea now, the Major gesturing in the young woman’s direction. “This is Andrea Hallstrom, our newest recruit.”
“A pleasure to meet you, Miss Hallstrom,” said the older man, Andrea taking his proffered hand to shake. She was wickedly tempted to use her powers to squeeze harder than was necessary but just about resisted the childish urge. “I hear you were responsible for some daring and courageous flying during the mission, well done” the Colonel commented.
Andrea’s eyes immediately flicked to the Major, knowing she must be the source of such information. “Thank you,” she said to the Colonel, “Though it was a team effort.”
“Of course,” he agreed, “And we’re pleased with all of you.”
The Major led him on further down the line, the sun now coming out and sweeping over the concrete to add to the upbeat mood of the day. As the sunshine passed over the Major, the crowns on each of her shoulders glinted in the brightness, the brass polished to perfection for the visit of her commanding officer. Finally the two officers reached the end of the row and continued on inside the main building.
Once the formalities were over, everyone else retreated to the rec room, where Corporal Lister had organised a party to celebrate the success of their first mission. Andrea disappeared up to her room first to change into something less formal, picking out her favourite pair of jeans and a simple black shirt. Upon entering the rec room she could see that the pool and snooker tables had been pushed off to the side to make way for a dance floor on one side of the room, over which one of the soldiers acted as DJ. The main lights in that part of the room were dimmed to allow the flashing, coloured lights of the disco to sweep across the floor instead. Though it was early a few soldiers were already clumping round the wooden floor in a highly uncoordinated way, making Andrea think they’d had a few drinks already.
In other parts of the room there were tables sporting various foodstuffs, while the bar was heaving. Andrea pushed through the throng now to try and order herself a drink, one of the men ahead of her happy to oblige and get her one. With her beer in her hand she turned to the room, spying Doc hovering by one of the tables regarding a pie shaped object with suspicion. He looked pleased when he spotted her heading his way and quickly dumped the pie back down on a paper plate, wiping his hands.
“One of Corporal Lister’s more intriguing creations,” he said motioning towards the half-eaten pie, “I’m not entirely sure if it was meant to taste of peanut butter or not.”
Andrea surveyed the other items on offer, selecting a safe-looking sausage roll to bite into, relieved to find it had no mystery ingredients beyond the meat and pastry.
She and Doc chatted for some time eventually being joined by Harry too. As the young man gave Doc a blow by blow account of his part in the rescue, Andrea got the sudden urge to look round at the door. Her back had been to it, but now she glanced over her shoulder she caught sight of the Major entering. Andrea wondered what had made her turn at that moment. To compound the tingling sensation that was already building in Andrea’s stomach, the Major seemed to show a similar sixth sense by identifying that Andrea was looking at her through the crowd and offering the young woman a quick flashing smile. She still wore the same uniform she had up on the helipad, though somewhere between there and the rec room she had lost her hat, jacket and tie. Her light-green collar was also open and the other woman looked happily relaxed as she crossed the room, talking with Dr Todd.
Eventually Andrea lost sight of the auburn head amongst the crowd, only then realising she had been tracking it at all. She quickly switched her attention back to the two men, thankful they didn’t seem to have noticed her momentary lapse in concentration.
As the evening
progressed Andrea caught sight of the auburn head a couple of more times, but
never really got close enough to the Major to have a private word. They hadn’t really had the chance to speak
at all since the Major had landed the passenger jet successfully, and Andrea
wanted to thank the other woman for her part in the mission, not least of which
was the support she’d given Andrea.
Caught up in the
celebration of the evening, Andrea had completely forgotten the other big event
of the night until the sound of football filtered over the music from the
dancefloor. Andrea drifted over to join
the small group that gathered in the far corner of the room, around the
television set. Tom was already there,
swinging round to see Andrea approaching.
“1-0 down already
I’m afraid.”
Andrea thought he
looked a little too pleased to be relaying the information that Liverpool were
currently losing the Champions’ League Final.
“We’ll come back
in a minute,” she said confidently, sitting down next to him on the sofa.
Her brash words
came back to haunt her almost immediately as Milan scored a second and then a
third in quick succession. As the
minutes ticked on, Andrea was getting a horrible sinking feeling in her stomach
– 3-0 was just plain embarassing.
Before she could voice her concerns out loud, someone else did it for
her.
“Oh my god, I’m
afraid to watch anymore!”
Andrea swivelled
round to see the Major hovering behind the sofa, glass of whiskey in hand. Andrea didn’t know how long she had been there
since she’d been engrossed in the match.
The Major’s relaxed demeanour for the night had extended to the sleeves
on her shirt now being rolled up to just above her elbows, while Andrea was
convinced another button at the neck had also been undone. The other woman was dangerously close to
revealing her undergarments now, a stray thought crossing Andrea’s mind as to
how she could get the Major to lean forward.
The young woman swiftly swept it away before it became too graphic.
“I think I might
need a few more of these,” the Major added sardonically, coming round to sit on
the sofa next to Andrea, even though it was a bit of a tight fit. Fortunately the game was still tense enough
for Andrea to just about manage to ignore the pleasant warm sensation of their
thighs pressed together.
The match
continued, but Andrea couldn’t help glancing to her side every now and
then. Most times the Major would be
busily watching the game, but on one ocassion the Major glanced back, a small
smile creeping across her face as she noticed the perusal. The strange flip in Andrea’s stomach that
evoked was highly alarming and she rapidly turned back to the screen, resisting
the temptation to look again until the half-time whistle blew.
“Would you like
another one?” Andrea asked the Major, promptly getting to her feet and
indicating the other woman’s now empty glass.
She was glad to have an excuse to put a bit of distance between her and
the Major, considering the odd tricks her body seemed to be playing on her.
The Major’s lips
creased into a wry grin. “Better make
that a double if I’m going to endure another forty-five minutes of this!”
“You could always
not watch,” offered Andrea.
The Major just
looked at her as if she had said ‘you could always not breathe’. Andrea smiled in return. “I know, we’re in it to the bitter end. I’ll get the drinks.”
The bar was still
crowded and Andrea had to jostle between the bodies and then stand waiting to
be served this time. As she did she was
joined by Tom, who leaned in as if to say something quietly. Here we go, thought Andrea, the
taunting about Liverpool’s performance.
She steeled herself for the impending jibes.
“Would you like
me to leave you two alone on the sofa?”
“What?” asked
Andrea, confused by the question. It
wasn’t what she had been expecting at all.
“You and the
Major,” clarified Tom, louder than Andrea would have wished for.
Andrea rolled her
eyes as she realised what he meant.
“No, you do not need to leave us alone!” she stated a touch more
vehemently than she had intended.
“I suppose at
least with me there you get to be squeezed nice and close together,” said Tom
with a wink and a slight nudge in the arm.
Andrea frowned at
him. “Would you like me to pour one of
these pints over your head?”
“Good luck
getting one!” replied Tom, looking along the packed bar.
Finally Andrea
managed to draw the barman’s attention and get her drinks, leaving Tom there
since Bel had wandered over to join him.
As Andrea crossed back over to the sofa she could see that the party in
the rest of the room was still in full swing, though the numbers around the
television set were slowly increasing.
Though it was Liverpool playing, the fact that it was a Europe wide
competition meant even supporters of other British teams were favouring them
that particular night. Luckily Andrea’s
spot on the sofa was still free, the young woman briefly wondering if the Major
had been saving it for her.
At least Andrea
initially thought it was lucky her place was still vacant, but as she sat close
to the Major her temperature once again started to creep up. It kept going unchecked on its upward course
as the Major picked up her glass and started playing distractedly with the rim. Her fingers slid tantalisingly along the
fine edge, Andrea watching them every inch of the way and back again, almost
hypnotised by their dance. Thankfully
the match resumed at that moment, and Andrea tore her eyes away from the
Major’s hands and fixed them resolutely on the screen. Just when she could feel her eyes trying to
swing back to the woman next to her, the unbelievable happened – Liverpool
scored. Andrea watched in amazement as
Gerrard ran back to the centrespot, punching the air and encouraging his
teammates. Did he really think they
could come back?
“At least it’s
not embarassing now,” the Major whispered next to her.
Andrea had to
agree, though she couldn’t quite find the words to say so as the trace of the
Major’s hot breath lingered on her ear.
When the second Liverpool goal went in moments later, Andrea’s eyes
immediately shot to the other woman, widening in shock. The Major looked equally as stunned, knowing
as Andrea did that this sort of fairytale simple didn’t happen, especially not
in European cup finals. Yet it seemed
like it was a night for dreams because not four minutes later Liverpool had won
a penalty. As soon as the ball was in
the back of the net Andrea leapt up, punching the air with an emphatic
‘yes!’. The Major was still sitting on the sofa, shaking her head and
laughing in total astonishment.
Andrea flopped
back down, grinning inanely.
“Unbelievable!” she said.
“Now we just need
to get a winner!” noted the Major.
Andrea was unable
to prevent herself from daring to believe that was possible. Try as they might, though, Liverpool
couldn’t find the final, killer blow and as the game ebbed on into extra time
the tension in the room grew perceptably.
Andrea didn’t think she was going to have any nails left if this went on
much longer and the Major looked equally anxious next to her. Her glass was long since empty, but no one
dared leave the sofa in case they missed something vital. At least the tense match had distracted
Andrea from the magnetic pull the Major seemed to have on her eyes, though now
she found herself shooting the other woman a few surreptitous glances
again. Andrea didn’t know why she had
the urge to keep looking that particular night, it was just something about the
way the Major seemed to brimming with energy that kept drawing Andrea in. She was exuding a sense of power, enthusiasm
and something else undefinable repressed only just beneath the surface, all of
them waiting to explode if allowed.
They didn’t get the chance though, and after a few more close calls, the
final whistle blew, signalling that the game was to be decided by the lottery
of a penalty shoot-out.
“Oh god,” the
Major said with a sigh, “Why do these always have to be so agonising?”
Andrea didn’t
know, only knowing that they could be as agonising as hell and she wouldn’t
care if it meant the Major would repeat the words ‘oh god’ in that breathy way
again. Andrea mentally shook herself –
here was the most important night in Liverpool’s recent history and she was
thinking about husky voices? She forced
her eyes to the television set once more, thinking that the Major was right
about the tense nature of the shootout.
Everything about them seemed designed to test the nerves of both the
players and the spectators to the limit.
From the waiting around before the shootout commenced, to the long,
slow, solo walk to the penalty spot for each taker. Going by the looks on the players’ faces it always seemed more
like they were on the way to their execution rather than to kick a football at
a target twelve yards away.
Andrea could
hardly watch, yet at the same time she couldn’t tear her eyes from the riveting
climax to the rollercoaster match. She
found that she was biting her fingernails again and she forced her nervous
hands down onto her knees, holding on as the first man strode to meet his fate.
One after another
the men took their shots, Liverpool taking an early advantage, until it was 3-2
with one of the Milan players next to go.
It was all down to this one shot.
If Shevchenko of Milan missed or Dudek in goal managed to save it, then
the cup would be Liverpool’s. After
eighteen years of near-misses and heartache it would finally be Liverpool’s
time. A deathly hush descended over the
room, a hundred people holding their breath in unison. Andrea jumped as she felt a hand on her shoulder,
gripping tightly. Surprised, she peered
at the woman next to her to see the Major eyes still glued to the screen. Andrea realised the gesture had been
completely subconscious – the Major had needed to hold onto something for
reassurance and Andrea’s shoulder was the closest thing. The Major’s fingers were hot where they
rested on Andrea’s shirt, gripping even tighter now as movement came from the
screen. Andrea turned back to see what
was happening in Istanbul.
The ball was on
the spot…Shevchenko was running at it…and…Dudek had saved it!
The room erupted
as one in a cacophony of cheering.
Andrea was up out of her seat in an instant, jumping in the air and
joining in the unfettered whooping. The
Major had done exactly the same next to her and without thinking they both
simultaneously grabbed one another in a hug of unbridled joy. They danced up and down, spinning round on
the spot as the clamour continued around them.
Normally Andrea would never have dared to embrace the Major as she was
doing, but in this moment of shared ecstasy it seemed completely natural and
appropriate.
Andrea could
hardly take it all in, dimly aware of the celebrations going on around them,
but more acutely aware of the warm body she was clinging onto. A huge smile graced the Major’s face and
Andrea had little doubt that she bore a similar expression. It was just unbelievable – they had won,
they had actually won!
Suddenly another
pair of arms enveloped them both. “You
lucky buggers!” cried Tom over the tumult, though he too was grinning.
The Major
eventually broke away from them both, and Andrea found herself swept up in an
unending round of hugs and slaps on the back from pretty much everyone
present. The room was a dizzying melee
of sound and bodies as she moved round it without really thinking what she was
doing, just being carried along on the tide of good cheer.
Finally she ended
up over by the dancefloor where the DJ had had the good sense to dim his music
while the game had reached its conclusion.
Now, however, he had quickly thrown on some upbeat party tunes to
reflect the mood, the first strains of ‘Celebration’ ringing in Andrea’s
ears. As she was contemplating joining
the heaving mass of humanity already on the dancefloor the decision was taken
from her. Her hand was grabbed, and she
was unceremoniously hauled out onto the wooden floor by the Major. Andrea tried to contain her surprise as the
other woman let go of Andrea’s hand and then started dancing in front of her.
The Major glanced
at Andrea with an amused half-smile on her face, still swaying in time to the
music as she leaned in to enable her to speak over the noise. “It’s customary to dance when on the
dancefloor,” she yelled over the pounding beat.
Andrea couldn’t
think of anything sensible to say in response, too mesmerised by the utterly
incongruous sight of the Major dancing.
Not only dancing, but dancing rather well. Finally Andrea’s brain managed to send the signal to her feet to
move too. She had never had trouble
dancing while in clubs back in London, but here with the Major she felt awfully
self-conscious and stilted as she shifted from side to side. As the song progressed she found herself
relaxing into the music a bit, though she still couldn’t take her eyes off the
Major, watching the way she moved.
Andrea didn’t think the other woman was even aware of how seductive
those movements were, it just appeared natural and effortless. Andrea considered that maybe her inhibitions
were loosened by the combination of drink and the joy of Liverpool’s
victory. Whatever the cause of it,
Andrea was more than happy to bear witness to this looser version of the Major.
The music was
changing now, the DJ obviously deciding that it would be appropriate to play
‘We Are The Champions’. The song was
much slower, not really lending itself to the frenetic dancing they had been
engaged in before. There was an awkward
moment as Andrea wondered what to do before the Major took charge again,
sweeping Andrea up and starting to lead her around the dancefloor as it it were
a proper slow dance. Of course the song
wasn’t intended for that at all, but Andrea wasn’t complaining. No one else seemed bothered either, all too
busy singing along to the triumphant tune to notice or care about the two women
dancing together.
Andrea certainly
cared though. To her it was like the
other people weren’t even there, like everything else had faded into the
background in the light of the commanding presence before her. She was utterly swept up in the the joyous,
confident aura of the other woman.
It was then she
started to notice the effect it was having on her. It felt so unbelievably good to hold the Major and a whole mass
of sensations was buffeting Andrea’s senses as they glided across the floor - the feel of the smaller body pressed close
with its constant heartbeat detectable beneath her breast; the touch of the
Major’s breath as it whispered out somewhere along Andrea’s neck; the smell of
the Major’s perfume, sweet and intoxicating.
Andrea’s heart
was beating so rapidly now that she feared she might actually pass out at any
minute. Andrea was reminded of holding
the Major the day before, cradling her in her arms as they soared through the
sky, only this time she actually had time to savour the wonderful moment.
Then the Major
looked up at her and it was like being struck by lightning. The soft blue eyes penetrated all the way to
Andrea’s soul, stripping away her defences to leave the truth staring her in
the face.
All those strange
emotions Andrea had been feeling these past weeks. That disarming feeling she got whenever she was in the Major’s
presence. That urge to please the Major
whenever possible and the ridiculous sense of pride when she did. The way she noticed every little mannerism
and detail about the other woman. The
desire to talk to her, confide in her, protect her, be with her even for the
most spurious of reasons. Under the
gaze of those wonderful blue eyes the reason behind it all was now glaringly
obvious to Andrea.
She was in
love. She was in love with the
Major.
Now she had
voiced it, it was so blatantly obvious she couldn’t believe she hadn’t realised
sooner, or maybe she hadn’t wanted to realise.
“Are you all
right, Andrea,” asked the Major, noticing her distraction.
Andrea was far
from all right. It was all she could do
to move her feet still, let alone engage in conversation. She knew she had to get out, try and regain
some composure, before she blurted something out in the heat of the
moment. She managed to disentangle herself
from the Major, though her body was screaming at her not to break the
tantalising contact.
“I just need a
bit of air,” she managed to say. She
didn’t care how stupid it sounded, anything would do right now.
“Are you sure
you’re ok?” asked the Major, looking concerned now.
Andrea managed a
quick, strangled ‘yes’ before she pushed hastily through the crowd of bodies to
get out of the room. Once safely
outside she collapsed against the corridor wall, trying to calm her breathing
and racing heart. Neither seemed
willing to oblige, her body still able to recall how it felt to hold the Major
and conspiratorailly urging her to go back inside and take the other woman in
her arms again. Andrea shook her head,
knowing it was hopeless, that she could do no such thing.
How had she let
this happen? How had she let herself
fall for the Major?
As those thoughts
crossed her mind, she knew that it had hardly been a conscious choice. Her heart had led her down this path and she
may as well have stood on the beach and told the tide to turn back as to try
and stop its course. She tried to
reason to herself that it was just a crush, but deep down she knew that wasn’t
true. There was no way the intense
emotions the Major stirred in her was anything other than what she had already
admitted – love.
It had been there
before, of course, maybe even from the very beginning. She’d found herself drawn to the Major even
then, when they had been arguing about why she was there in those early days. And that desire to interact with her had
only gotten stronger over the weeks, though Andrea had resolutely maintained it
was friendship at the time. Only now
she had admitted to herself what it was she was really feeling, all her behaviour
of the past couple of months fell into place.
She knew without doubt that she was smitten.
To prove her
point, a myriad set of images of the Major swept through her mind now - the
Major sitting sternly behind the desk exuding power and confidence the very
first time they had spoken; the Major clinging onto Andrea as the rain lashed
down on the windswept night when Andrea had pulled her from the crashed car;
the Major offering her a look of understanding at Maria’s funeral; the Major
laughing in the sunlight as she took the wheel of her boat; the Major gazing
wistfully up at the stars as the moonlight reflected off her face on the
rooftop; the Major smiling softly as they shared a drink in her quarters. And then finally the look from earlier that
night, gazing up at her, blue eyes bright as Andrea held her in her arms.
Andrea shook her
head again, sighing long and hard to herself.
This was just what she needed, she considered, a nice case of unrequited
love. For she knew that was what it was. Not only was the Major straight, but even if
she wasn’t there was that whole thing about getting involved with people under
her command, especially after what had happened with Dixon. With sickening clarity Andrea knew that she
couldn’t say anything to the Major about this – it would be totally inappropriate
and what would be the point? It would
only make the Major uncomfortable since there was no way she would or could
return Andrea’s feelings.
There was only one course of action available to Andrea as far as she could see – she would try and restrict the time they spent together and hope the feelings went away. Even as she voiced the plan in her head she knew it was patently ridiculous – now she had opened the Pandora’s box of her emotions, stuffing them back in again was going to be impossible.