The Dragon Awakens

Chapter Six

Mulan woke up at the crack of dawn to incredibly loud banging on her door. She reached into her knapsack and pulled out her shotgun. The sword lay on the ground nearby.

"Who's there?" she whispered, easing out of bed towards the door. No one answered but there was more knocking, this time softer. Mulan looked out the peephole and saw a short, thin young man standing on her doorstep in the same military gear she was wearing. Peering out of his collar was a dragon tattoo and she tucked the gun into her waistband and threw open the door.

"Who are you." She demanded, towering over him. He looked up at her with wide brown eyes and cleared his throat.

"You need to work on deepening your voice a little. Make it sound more gruff. And stand up straighter. Men don't stand like that," he pushed his way into the cabin and Lanie closed the door behind him, glaring at this stranger.

"Alright, who the hell are you?" she asked gruffly and he nodded at her voice change.

"Much better. Now, the DA sent me to make sure you blend in well, keep up the masquerade. Make you look and act more like the part." He stood up straighter and Mulan looked at him closer. He had the same Asian complexion she did, deep brown eyes, and close cropped black hair.

"Fine but who are you?" she asked again, leaning towards him.

"I am the powerful, pleasurable, and indestructible Mushu," he grinned and held out his arms and Mulan rolled her eyes and let out a snort.

"Fine. I hope you didn't unsaddle your horse because we're leaving now," she snapped, not even bothering to make the bed before grabbing her stuff and leaving the room. It was cool outside as the sun rose but the mist was slowly starting to burn off as the temperature rose. Mulan could already feel the sweat on her back from the humidity. 

She walked out back of the cabin where Khan was eating a bowl of oats next to another stallion who was munching on a basket of chopped fruits and veggies. Mulan gave a sidelong glance at Mushu, who had also already saddled her horse, and gently took away Khan's breakfast.

"Sorry honey, we've got to go. I promise I'll get you some rice cakes later, okay?" Mulan whispered and Khan stomped the ground but relented as she pet his nose. He stilled long enough for her to climb on and then started making his way down the trail without Lanie even having to tell him. She glanced behind her where Mushu was reading some papers astride his horse and she waited for him.

"So Mushu, what exactly is your role in all this? You weren't mentioned in my assignment," she asked, slowly easing them into a faster trot.

"I told you, I'm here to keep you alive and make you blend in. I'm not actually going to be with you physically but I'll be with you in your microphone and camera attached to your clothes. You don't have any close, influential males to copy so I'll be the one you listen to," he explained, flipping through his papers. "I'm your best friend and second conscious. Your arm of the DA."

Lanie frowned. She felt uneasy at his comment about "influential males" and how much he might know about her life. She tried to keep as much as possible private about her home life but there were a few people within the DA who knew her life story. They had to in order for her to do these jobs.

"Why didn't they assign a man to do this job then?" Lanie pressed harder. 

Mushu looked up from his papers, tucking them into his saddlebag. "Because you're the best field agent they have. The calmest under pressure and the smartest in tight situations. They knew they could push you to do this and you'd get it done. To them, gender has nothing to do with this mission of saving the Valley from all-out war."

Gender has nothing to do with his mission, huh? "Fine. Are you ready to ride?" she asked impatiently, glancing at her smart watch. Time was slipping away from them.

"Lead the way," he smiled and gripped the reins but Lanie didn't wait as she snapped the reins and Khan shot ahead through the trees towards her camp.

+_+_+_+_+

An hour or so later, Lanie slowed to a stop at the top of the hill overlooking the base camp in the valley below and she raised her eyebrow. There were rows of tents, separated in the middle by a dirt road that lead to a wooden pole stationed in front of a wooden cabin. Off in the distance she could see a stable, a shooting range, a path into some mountains, and a glistening lake that was fed by a fast-moving river. It was, to her surprise, rather shabby looking for a national army, especially a calvary unit.

There were however, a few dozen or so of identical white stallions milling about in a large corral, saddles still on. Their owners where nowhere to be found and Mulan assumed they were in the long, wooden building that looked like the mess hall. She figured they were the first cavalry, the right hand of the President. Which meant the commander would be inside that hall.

"That's it? What, is the DA taking all the money?" she joked and Mushu shrugged.

"I don't know but you need to hurry down there. Here, put this in your ear, and this on your button," he reached across his horse and thrust the tiniest round ball in her hand to put in her ear while he pressed something even smaller onto her top button.
    "You won't be able to see me but I promise I'll be around. Now go," he slapped Khan who snapped his head around to glare and huff at Mushu before prancing forward and smacking him in the face with his tail. Mulan laughed as they rode down the hill into the camp and Mushu sent up a silent prayer that she would be able to pull this off, and he would be able to help her. Little did she know, but this assignment was make or break for him. If he didn't help her succeed than the DA was going to silence him. Permanently.