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Shut Up And Drive: Rihanna
"This is live footage from Nigeria. Eighteen hours ago, an oil wellhead exploded, igniting a geyser of fire over 600 feet tall." Matty shows us the video on the screen.
"Blaze like that's got to be burning through 500,000 barrels a day?" Mac guesses.
"Oil company estimates a million."
"Why doesn't this oil company just, you know, turn it off?" McKenna questions.
"Well, McKenna, that's because they can't." Jack stands up. "That wellhead that exploded. That was the off switch. Now this towering column of fire is directly connected to a massive underground reservoir of oil."
"I think I speak for everyone when I say, Jack, did you just have an out-of-body experience?" Riley gets up and crosses her arms. "How do you know all this?"
"Ah, my granddad used to build drilling rigs outside of Amarillo. I practically grew up on one of these. Which is why, I gotta ask. Normally, highly-trained crews and specialized machinery are brought in to fight a blaze like this. Why is that not happening here?"
"Because this explosion wasn't an accident." I realize.
"Exactly." Matty nods. "A rebel army called The Damisa are trying to topple the Nigerian government, and they've already seized three military installations along the Nigerian border. Then, they used stolen C4 to blow up the wellhead. And now they're using stolen RPGs to take out any plane, train or automobile coming into the country carrying firefighting equipment."
"Best way to destabilize a country is to bankrupt it.
And the quickest way to bankrupt an oil-rich country is to do that." I cross my arms. "These guys are gonna do anything to keep that fire burning."
"And I'm assuming we're gonna do everything we can to put it out. Right?" Evan inquires.
"Correct." Matty replies. "But with the region about to collapse into a civil war..."
"D.C. wants to avoid direct involvement, so it's up to us?" I raise my eyebrows.
"Yes. And in the words of Mister President when he reached out, they have to move quickly."
"This imagery is live?" Riley points to the screen.
"Yeah. Our techs estimate that smoke from the fire is gonna block satellite overwatch in less than twelve hours."
"So let me get this straight. You want us to hike into a country on the brink of war, sneak past an army of trigger-happy rebels, and extinguish a blazing inferno the size of a skyscraper, using only what happens to be lying around?" Cage speaks up.
"That about puts a bow on it."
"Around here we call it Tuesday." Jack nods.
"Well, we may deviate from the plan a little, but, yeah." I add.
"Cool." Cage tells me. "When do we leave?"
"Now." I take out my phone. "I'll be right back."
"He's okay, Lina." Matty assures.
"I know, I spoke with him earlier. I'm calling my sister." I leave.
•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•
"That airstrip we spotted on satellite's about ten more miles that way." Riley points ahead as we walk through the woods.
"Oh, great. I saw two planes parked on the tarmac we could use to drop the bomb." Mac pulls the straps of his bag.
"Yeah, about the bomb. Mac, you maybe wanna do us all a favor and stop hopping around like that?" Bozer suggests.
"Yeah, c'mon. I'm with Bozer, man. It'd suck to get blown up before the mega-fire has a chance to cook us all there, boss." Jack agrees.
"Oh, yeah, relax. It's just cyanuric triazide." Mac tells him.
"Low impact agitation won't set it off, so he could literally twerk my way across Nigeria, and we'd all be fine." I clarify.
"Exactly. So, high-impact will set it off. Exposure to 3,000-degree flames, something like that."
"Yeah, about that, Mac. Can we go back to the part where dropping a bomb on fire is gonna make it less fiery?" McKenna says.
"It's actually quite simple. The blast shockwave will expand so quickly that it pushes all the burning oil and oxygen away from the fuel source."
"Yeah, imagine a kid blowing out a bunch of birthday candles. One big puff, and they're out, right? Now imagine those candles are 600 feet tall, and the kid's turned into a backpack bomb dropped from a stolen airplane, and there you are. That's right out of Red Adair's playbook." Jack inquires.
"You talking about the dancer?" Evan questions.
"No. No, Evan, I'm not talking about Fred Astaire. I'm talking about Red Adair. Did you guys ever see a movie called Hellfighters with John Wayne?"
"No." We all say.
"C'mon, Lina, Bozer, I thought you guys said you like movies."
"Yeah. Good ones." I nod and the others chuckle.
"Okay, I'll...I'll choose not to be insulted by that, Lina."
"Well, good luck with that." I push some hair out of my face and the others laugh.
"Red Adair was-"
"A native Texan who made a name for himself fighting some of the world's most dangerous wellhead fires.
And in 1961, he battled a blaze called The Devil's Cigarette Lighter. It burned at 3,000 degrees, caused gale force winds. It could shoot out a stream of gas powerful enough to cut a man right in half." I cut Jack off. "I know."
"You—I thought you said you've never seen it." Jack blinks in disbelief.
"I didn't. Never said I didn't look up the summary of it."
"These are super-helpful facts, Lina, not at all terrifying." Riley remarks.
"Good." I keep walking.
"Well, my old man's old man met Red once, and he said it was like meeting the president." Jack wraps his arm around Riley's neck. "To my grandpa, there was no greater hero than Red Adair."
•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•
"Wow." Mac exhales as we all stop to look at the fire from afar.
"Your grandfather would have been proud of you, Jack." Bozer says.
"What? Is that supposed to be a joke, Bozer?" Jack questions and I turn at the sound of a twig snapping.
"Nah, it's a compliment. Kind of like a look-at-you-now thing."
"Oh, well, I can't tell when you're joking or not. You've never given me a compliment before, so I don't know how to take it."
"You know what? I take it back."
"Shh, shh." I wave my hand out and start walking the opposite way where the noise is coming from.
"What is it, Lina?" Jack asks.
"Remember those rebels Matty warned us about?"
"You mean, the ones with the leopard claw tattoos and the AK-47s? No, doesn't ring a bell." Riley deadpans.
"Everyone, just stay still." I mutter and the rebels come out with their guns aimed at us. "Jack, don't. We don't have a chance." I pull his arm down as he starts raising his gun and a rebel shouts something in Hausa.
"When you said those explosives need high impact to detonate?" Jack kneels down on the ground with the rest of us.
"A bullet would do the trick."
"Yeah. Yeah, that's what I thought." He nods.
•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•
"Bozer, watch where you're going." Riley breaks the silence as we follow the rebels up the land with ties around our wrists.
"Me? If you kept up, I wouldn't be getting yanked back." Bozer tells her.
"Guys, now's not the time." Cage says.
"Seriously? If we're gonna escape, we need to stop bickering and stay calm, and wait for Mac and Lina to come up with a plan." Jack adds. "What you two got?"
"Working on it." I reply.
"Well, you mind working a little faster? It's not gonna be long before these guys get sick of dragging us around, start feeding us nine-millimeter sleeping pills."
"If they were gonna shoot us, they would've done so already, not dragged us through the woods."
"Yeah. They're taking us to their camp, I think." Mac inquires.
"Well, that sounds awful." Evan remarks and we reach village.
"What is this place?" McKenna asks.
"An abandoned town. The residents must have cleared out when the wellhead blew." I tell her.
"So what are the rebels doing here, raiding it for supplies?"
"Maybe."
"Or alternate theory: they brought us here to lock us in a house and watch us burn alive." Bozer retorts.
"Stop!" A rebel orders and we all get into a horizontal line.
"Well, looks like we're about to find out." Jack mutters.
"On your knees! Kneel!"
"Jack." I get on my knees with the others and Jack finally kneels down. I now look around as the rebels take off their masks.
"I didn't know The Damisa let women and kids into their club." Evan looks at me.
"If these are The Damisa, why don't any of them have that leopard tattoo?" McKenna whispers.
"Because they're not rebels. They're villagers. This town is their home." I realize.
"You mean it was their home." Jack corrects.
"Who are you? Why are you trespassing on our land?" The rebel in front of us takes a step forward.
"My name's Lina. My friends and I were sent by the U.S. government to help put out that wellhead fire." I tell him and the villages starts murmuring.
"The Damisa said they came to help. To make our lives better." He laughs. "And now things are worse. Much worse."
"Look around you. It's not safe here. The air is becoming toxic."
"Yeah. You need to evacuate this area before we-"
"No, we will not leave." He cuts Mac off. "If we run, we will lose everything."
"No, if you stay, you'll lose everything, including your lives." Jack nod.
"Better to die protecting that which our families have built over generations than to run like cowards." He crouches down in front of him.
"I understand how important it is to have a connection to your past and what it's like to lose it." I turn to face him. "So, if you won't leave, that's okay, but please let us do what we were sent here to do: help you save your home."
"What proof do you have that you are telling the truth?" He wonders. "Hmm? That you are not working for Damisa?"
"None. But if you untie us, we could show you a much better way to put out those fires." I glance at Mac and kids come running out.
"It's not just their history they're protecting. It's their future." Riley looks at the kids and the rebel gives the signal to release us.
"Thank you." I stand up. "What's your name?"
"Solomon." He tells me.
"Nice to meet you." I walk past him.
I now look around and spot a green truck. I take off my hoodie as I keep walking, leaving myself in my black spaghetti string tank top. I tie my hoodie around my waist and then get in the passenger seat. I gather some supplies and then pull out some wires. Mac, Cage and Evan now head out and I hear a comm ring.
"CIA intel said all towns near the wellhead have been evacuated." Matty comes through the comm Jack is holding.
"Well, then I guess this is the first time the CIA's ever been wrong." Jack heads over.
"Okay, I'll make a call. In the meantime, you need to steal a plane and get back on schedule. Every second that this wellhead burns brings the region closer to war."
"Copy that. Mac, Lina, Evan, Cage and I are about to giddy up to the landing strip while Riley, McKenna and Bozer launch their drone thing from town."
"I'm sorry. Did you just say from town?"
"Yeah, they're staying behind to watch our six and help these people put out fires until Mac and Lina get that wellhead under control." He steps away to keep talking to her.
"How's Charlotte?" Cage hands me a wire.
"She's good. She says hi." I take the wire from her and continue working.
"She lives in New York?"
"No, the Hamptons. Nolan's protective security."
"He still dragging Frank around?" Evan scoffs.
"He has that effect." I tell him.
"The dude is the size of Freight Train, you won't catch me arguing."
"Yeah, yeah. Okay, fine. I got it." Jack hangs up and I get out of the car. "Riley, McKenna, Bozer, you can't stay here. It's Matty's orders."
"We came here to help people, didn't we? Well, these people need help." Bozer looks around as I head over.
"It's not my decision, man."
"Riley, McKenna, how's the view from the Phoenix satellites?" I ask.
"By now? Completely obscured." Riley tells me.
"That would mean that Matty couldn't monitor our movements on the ground." Jack grins.
"Hold up. Are you guys seriously considering disobeying orders?" Cage questions.
"Ah, it's more like tweaking orders."
"Wilt is right. We're here to help." I turn my head and look around. "These people need all the hands that they can get."
"Besides, what Matty doesn't know won't hurt her." McKenna adds and Jack points at her in agreement.
"Matty brought me in. She gave me a second chance." Cage tells us. "But so did you." She looks at me. "So screw it. I'm in."
•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•
"Now, this is a sonic fire extinguisher. Press play and the speaker emits a 50 hertz frequency, creating pressure waves that could snuff out a fire." Mac shows them how to work it.
"Any chance Bozer could hurt himself with it?" Riley asks.
"Very funny." Bozer mocks and we chuckle.
"Hey, need you three to make me a promise. Things get any worse around here, you bounce, like, immediately." Jack cocks his gun. "Promise?"
"Yeah." McKenna nods.
"Got you." Bozer nods as well.
"Promise." Riley looks at me.
"Good." I hand her my gun before leaving with Jack, Mac, Evan and Cage.
•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•
"Alright, heads up, Lina." McKenna says through my phone as we walk in the woods.
"Yeah." I reply.
"We're about to launch our eye in the sky."
"Okay, 200 feet." Bozer announces. "300 feet. 400 feet. Okay, she's just below the smoke ceiling. Switching to auto-hover."
"Calibrating the image. Okay, guys. Good news is the drone is operational. Bad news is there's been a few developments since our satellites could last see the area." Riley informs.
"Let me guess—the landing strip we're supposed to get our plane from is now overrun with rebels?" Mac looks ahead and I follow his gaze.
"Yeah. Real ones this time."
"They're sabotaging anything that can fly." I tighten my jaw.
"Strategic move to stop locals from fighting the fire." Cage adds.
"So, what's the plan now? We still need a plane." McKenna tells her.
"Alright. Looks like we're gonna have to do this the Jack Dalton way." Jack cocks his gun. "I got the six on the left, if y'all can handle the two on the right. Okay, on three. One, two..." He stops as two planes explode.
"Shit." Evan whispers.
"Ooh, that's a problem even the Jack Dalton way can't fix right there. Now what?"
"Well, without a plane to drop the explosives, the only way to approach the fire is on the ground." I push some hair behind my ear.
"I thought you said that wasn't an option." Cage turns to me.
"It isn't, because even if we could survive getting close enough to the flames to drop the explosives in, which we can't, the cyanuric triazide would've already exploded."
"Lina, we told the townspeople we'd help. There has to be another way." Bozer insists.
"You got something?" Jack wonders.
"You know what, I think I do." I take off Mac's backpack and open it. "Cage, I need your shoelaces." I crouch down and open the backpack.
•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•
"Okay, Jack, Evan, when the rebels scatter, I need you to go to the runway and grab as many seatbelts as you can from those destroyed planes." I tie the laces through the top loop of Mac's backpack.
"Seatbelts?" Jack questions. "And the leopard people are gonna suddenly scatter because...?"
"Because they are going to be running towards what they think is an enemy firing at them." I place the shoelace over a tree branch. "I need your weapon." I tap his gun with my finger.
"Am I going to get it back?"
"No." I shake my head.
"Okay, yeah. Appreciate the honesty." Jack hands me his gun.
"Now, Cage, while Jack is collecting, you, Mac and I are gonna go hot-wire that truck." I tie the other lace to the gun and set it on top.
"Oh, the one with the highly flammable barrels of jet fuel in the bed?" Cage tells me.
"Exactly."
"Super."
"Means we gotta be long gone before the rebels catch on. Cause one stray bullet is game over."
"Yeah." Evan clasps my hand.
"Okay? Everyone ready?
"Actually, I have a few questions." Jack raises his hand.
"Sorry, clock's ticking, Jack." I take out my knife and stick it into the bag, making water come out. "Let's go, go." I take off and the others follow me out into the big grassland.
"How long we got?" Cage stops with me.
"Oh, I don't know." I place my knife back in my holster and she gives me a look. "Well, it's a time delay relay made with a rock, backpack and two shoelaces."
"No, I know, my shoelaces."
"It's not exactly an atomic clock is what I'm saying."
"Fair enough. Mac, Lina, if you had to guess, like, roughly..."
"Probably now." I check the time on Mac's watch and then turn as an explosion goes off from afar. "Thank you, Eugene Porter." I see the rebels moving out on their trucks.
"Who?" Jack furrows his eyebrows.
"He's a fake scientist in The Walking Dead. Lied about a cure when they were halfway to D.C."
"Hold on, you're telling me you just built that doohickey based off a fictional character, who, not to mention, lied about saving the world from a zombie apocalypse?"
"I never said he wasn't smart. He knows how to make bullets, and everything else. So, it kinda makes up for everything he's done in my book, you know? It's a really good show, you should watch it." I take off.
"Yeah, okay, I'll take your word for it." Jack follows me with the others.
Him and Evan run to the plane and me, Mac and Cage get to the truck. I open the door and pull out the wires from under the steering wheel. I tap a them a few times and the engine goes off. I now get in the truck with Mac and Cage, then starting to drive it. I pull us into the garage and then head out.
"Lina, we're stealing a jet engine?" Cage questions.
"That's the plan." I hop up and pull the chain.
"Ah, c'mon, guys!" Jack runs over with Evan. "You know, I trust you can build anything, but an airplane?"
"Not building a plane, Jack."
"Then why are we stealing an engine?"
"Dammit!" I pull Mac down with me as gunfire goes off.
"Okay, let's save that explanation for later." Evan says.
"Yeah, good call." Jack agrees and we all get in the truck before I drift off. "Hey, Lina, as much as I love commandeering a jet engine, it's making it damn near impossible to drive this piece."
"And I'm a little hazy on how it's gonna help us fight fire." Cage adds.
"Yeah, me, too."
"Alright, you guys remember how Mac and I said that the explosions were gonna create a shockwave that was gonna blow out the flames?" I keep one hand on the wheel.
"Yeah, Jack's birthday candle metaphor." Evan tells me.
"Exactly. So, that L-39 Albatros in the back there, it pumps out about 50,000 pounds of thrust, enough to blow out the wellhead fires." Mac informs.
"Yeah!" Jack laughs.
"If, you know..." I trail off.
"If? If what?" Cage questions.
"If we can get close enough."
"How close?" Jack asks.
"Fifteen, maybe twenty feet."
"What? Were you not listening earlier when I told you what Grandpappy Dalton said about wellhead blowouts? Meant hurricane force winds, Lina. Lethal gas spouts and the air burns at a balmy 3,000 degrees. Did you two forget that?"
"We did not forget that, Jack." I retort.
"Mac, Lina, you have a plan, right?" Cage nods.
"We have a plan, in progress." Mac tells her.
"In progress. Fantastic." Evan remarks and I duck as the back windshield is shot, making Jack yell.
"Okay, we got four rebels approaching fast. Lina, we gotta outrun them." Cage urges.
"Well, you're speaking my language, lady, but we're not outrunning anybody with that thing rolling around back there! I take one turn too fast, we're gonna slide right off the damn road!" Jack exclaims.
"Well, what do you think the seatbelts are for?" Mac holds up a seatbelt.
"Well, I don't know! A straightjacket? A bullwhip? A flail? Could be anything."
"That was rhetorical."
"Oh, I'm sorry, Fonzie. I get a little anxious when people are trying to kill me!"
"Mac!" I shout.
"I'm fine." Mac slips out of the truck in the back.
"C'mon, c'mon! Let's go!"
"I'm trying!" He lands on top of the truck.
"Evan! Cage! The rebels!" I glance back.
"Already there." Evan slips out of the truck with Cage and I return my eyes forward.
"We got this. Engine's all you, okay?" Evan says.
"Okay." Mac tells him.
"Yeah!" Jack turns back as I hear fighting and grunting from outside the truck.
"I don't mean to alarm anybody, but, uh, the road's about to swerve. Hold on!" I turn. "Cage!" I see her land on the windshield.
"Sam!" Evan yells.
"Hold on, Cage." I swerve us left and watch the rebel hit the ground.
"Sam!" He reaches over and pulls her over.
"Thanks." Cage pants.
"Ditto." He hugs her and she returns the action.
"The road's about to swerve again. If you don't tie that jet engine down, like, now, this trip's gonna end right here!" I shout.
"Got it!" Mac tells me.
"Hang on!" I swerve us and more gunfire goes off.
"Yeah, baby! Fast and Furious: Nigerian Drift!" Jack grips my shoulder and laughs.
"Nice reference, Jack."
"Thank you." He pats my shoulder as the others make their way back inside the car.
"You okay?" Evan asks.
"It'll heal." Cage tells him and I see Mac look at his watch as he sits next to me.
"You need to be careful." I avert my eyes back on the road.
"What do you mean?" Mac turns to me from the corner of my eye.
"I feel like you need to take a step back and ask yourself what's more likely, that your dad's watch was repaired wrong or that the numbers you found etched inside are some kind of elaborate clue."
"You think I'm grasping at shadows?"
"I think the easiest way to botch an investigation is to misinterpret information so that you can follow a theory you hope to be true."
"Confirmation bias."
"Yeah. Leads can feel significant simply because you want them to be." I turn to him. "I still have good memories of my dad." I pause. "And in most of them, you're in it." I turn back. "And I know you don't have any of your dad, but-"
"I do. Because you're in them." He cuts me off and I turn, meeting his stare on me.
"I also know you have unanswered questions, questions that only he can answer. And I understand, I do." I pick up my bag from the floor and zip it open with one hand. I take out the small journal and hand it to him.
"What's this?"
"My dad wrote journals in his time in prison. When I got released from juvie, a box was given to me from him. And he wrote one for you." My eyes water. "I've still never read it. I was trying to find the right time, but..." I shake my head in anger. "I remember that you lost him too." I now hear whirring in the distance, making me stop.
"What are the chances that's a good sound?" Cage asks.
"About eleventy-billion to none." Jack replies and rumbling is made, making the car shake. "Mac, Lina. That sound can only mean one thing."
"Riley, McKenna, Wilt." I say into the comms. "Get everyone inside. The wellhead's about to explode. Riley, McKenna, Wilt. The wellhead's about to explode."
"What, Lina? We can't hear you." McKenna breaks up.
"Can you hear me?"
"Lina? Lina, say it again."
"The wellhead is about to explode. Get everyone inside now." I order and my phone rings. "It's Matty." I take out my phone. "Yeah."
"Matty. Wuzzup?" Bozer comes through and I roll my eyes.
"I have Mac, Lina, Evan, Jack and Cage patched in as well. The oil company said that the pressure underground is building faster than they expected." Matty informs.
"Meaning what exactly?" Evan leans forward.
"Meaning what just happened is only the warm-up for the main event." Jack tells her and I continue driving.
"Riley, McKenna, Bozer, where are you?" Matty wonders.
"Well, Matty, actually, that's a funny story. We are..." Riley trails off.
"Drop whatever it is you're doing and get out of that town immediately. Do you hear me? The oil company said the entire pipeline's gonna blow in a half an hour."
"Matty, we're ten minutes away from the wellhead, and we have a plan-"
"Uh, guys, we have a problem." Jack cuts Mac off and I see cars coming ahead.
"What is it?" Matty questions.
"Rebels. Lots of them headed our way." Evan says.
"Not for long. Hang on." I swerve us away. "I have a feeling we're gonna be late."
"How late?" Bozer asks.
"Bozer, it'll be a miracle if we ever get there!" Evan exclaims as gunfire goes off.
"Ma'am, the oil company is trying to remotely open valves to relieve pressure on the wellhead, but the heat's making it difficult. Our techs just received a report that methane gas is leaking into an underground geological pocket that could ignite at any time." I hear Jill say in the background.
"Awesome, thanks, Jill."
"Lina, have you lost them yet?" Matty wonders.
"Yeah, that'd be a big no, Matty." I turn to see Cage and Evan shoot their guns from the windows.
"Okay, I've heard enough. Riley, McKenna, Bozer, gather the people and evac the town now. Lina, ditch your new friends and rendezvous with Riley, McKenna and Bozer at exfil."
"But, Matty, we can't just abandon every-"
"You can when it's a direct order, Riley. I'm pulling the plug."
"All due respect, Matty, I'm watching a man risk his life to save a tree. I'm not running till he does." Bozer refuses.
"Wilt's right, Matty. If we don't put out that fire, the whole country's gonna be reduced to ash." I inquire.
"Lina, we're too heavy and slow to ditch these guys." Cage tells me and more gunfire goes off.
"But what if we weren't? I got an idea, but I don't think you're gonna like this." I turn back.
"I think I'm gonna like it." Jack nods. "I think I'm gonna like it a lot!"
"No, that's insane. It's illogical. It'll never work in the real world." Cage shakes her head.
"It will. The physics itself is sound." I untie my shoelace and pull it out from the holes. "I'm just not sure if the truck's gonna hold together." I see the windshield get blown off.
"C'mon, Sam!" Evan urges.
"Okay, okay! I change my mind. Do it, but do it fast." Cage gives in.
"Fast is the only way to do this. Mac?" I hold out my shoelace.
"Yeah." Mac takes it and slips out of the truck.
"Hurry up, Mac, let's go!" Jack shouts and Mac slides back down next to me.
"You know what'd be really good to have right now?
Seat belts. Just saying." Cage points out.
"The time is now, guys. Now!" He turns and me and Mac pulls my shoelace. He starts laughing and we go faster as an explosion goes off. "We're alive." He gasps as I stop the truck. "We're alive!" He kisses Cage and we all start laughing.
"Jack."
"Sorry, sorry. I was real...I'm really excited."
"Thanks, Jack."
"That's great, guys. Now, please get back here ASAP so the rest of us can say the same thing." McKenna tells us.
•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•
"Man, are we glad to see you guys." Riley runs over to us with McKenna and Bozer.
"We saw the whole thing on the drone's camera. Was it amazing? I bet it was amazing. Can I do it?" Bozer asks and I sling my bag over my shoulder.
"Well, if this next step works, Bozer, I'll drive you myself." Jack tells him. "Now what?"
"Alright, first we have to outfit the pickup to withstand the heat. So..." I look up. "Oh, you know what? Wilt, get the locals to help you detach as many of these corrugated tin roofs as possible. Riley, McKenna, space blankets from emergency kits. As many as possible. Cage-"
"Uh, we got a little problem here, chief." Evan holds up the tube and I see a hole in it.
"Bullet hole. Rebels must've hit the line before we pulled the throttle." Cage inquires.
"I think we're out of jet juice, Lina." Jack says. "What are we gonna do now?"
"I guess we'll just have to make some more." I turn to the pile of oil on the ground.
•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•
"Keep them coming, guys." Bozer takes a bucket and hands it to me.
"Now, boiling crude oil separates short-chain molecules from long-chain ones, which will cool and condense back into a liquid into this container right here." I pour the oil into the barrel. "And when this one's full, just swap with another bucket. Got it?"
"Okay. Got it." Solomon nods.
"How's it going over here, guys?" I head over with a bucket.
"Almost done stripping what we don't need." McKenna stands up.
"About to start heat shielding." Riley hands over my knife and gun.
"Thanks." I take my weapons from her and place them back in my holster. "Alright, so, the tin will reflect the heat, but there can't be any gaps for it to penetrate, or..."
"Or it'll cook us alive from a hundred feet out. We know, we know." Cage nods.
"Yello." Jack answers his ringing phone as I turn, heading around the truck.
I set the bucket down and take out my knife. I get down one leg and start writing the equation with my blade into the soft ground. Once I finish, I find an empty spot on the bottom and start making a double infinity sign, then thickly swallowing.
"Can you be honest with me?" Cage kneels down to me.
"Yeah, shoot." I turn to her.
"Is this gonna work?"
"Jet engines are actually pretty simple machines. They add fuel to a flowing stream of air and massively increase the force of that air by heating it up. So, in theory, anything combustible should do the same thing. Like crude oil refined into homemade gasoline."
"You do this thing with your face when you're saving the worst part for last."
"The only thing is crude oil contains a bunch of gunk that's eventually gonna clog the engine."
"And how soon is eventually?"
"Hard to say." I nod.
"Of course." Cage nods back and I see a crying kid reunite with his mother. She turns her head and I look at my ring and then at the doubly infinity sign on the ground.
"Hey, would you, uh...hold on to this for me?" I take off my father's ring. "I already almost lost it once, I don't want it to happen again."
"I think it was on purpose."
"What?" I furrow my eyebrows.
"I heard Mac on the comms when you guys were on Riley's op before I came in to fill for Jack. He said when you guys were kids, you lost your dad's ring and you made him sift through several tons of sand to find it. I think you lost it on purpose, because maybe you just wanted to watch him build something to retrieve it. You were testing him, maybe teasing him a little bit too."
"That's classified." I shrug and she scoffs. "My dad...he would've liked you. You're forward, and honest, and direct, but you also know and when to just lay back and not worry about anything."
"I would've liked to met him too. I'll be giving this back to you after we cap that well."
•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•
"Yeah, that's about as close as we can get without cooking." I sniffle. "Laces?" I hold out my hand and Evan hands me them.
"Hey, Mac, I know this might not be the best time for a heart-to-heart." Jack says from the back.
"Definitely not." Mac tells him.
"But in the event we don't just spontaneously combust right here and die..I want you to know that we're gonna find your dad. You know why? Cause we're not gonna stop looking till we do. Well, as long as you got me around, you got family. I mean, I ain't going anywhere."
"Thanks."
"Yeah, man. Unless, of course, our faces melt off like at the end of Raiders." He laughs.
"God." Evan sighs and leans back.
"Remember that?" He laughs again with Mac. "What's that smell, Lina?"
"That's the tires melting." I reply.
"And that, uh...that doesn't concern you at all?"
"Nope."
"Don't-Don't we need to drive?"
"No." I scoff. "No, we need them to melt. It's the only way to anchor the truck so that the jet's thrust doesn't push it away from the fire."
"Of course."
"Okay. Hopefully the truck doesn't veer off course. Yeah?"
"Hopefully." Jack chuckles and we all cover ourselves in tinfoil.
"Let's go." I start the car and we all head out, now running behind the wall. "Alright." I take the controller from Cage. "Let's blow out this candle. Jack, make a wish."
"Is it cool if I just wish for this to work?" Jack asks.
"Yeah." I push the button forward.
"Guys, maybe we should get out of here, huh?"
"If it was gonna blow, it's already too late to outrun it." I peek my head up to see the flames now gone. I then stand up and I look around. Evan and Jack start laughing and my eyes water in relief.
"We did it!" Jack hugs us all.
"I can't believe that actually worked." Evan exhales.
"See? He is with you. No matter what." Cage hands me back my ring.
"Thank you." I slip it on my pointer finger.
"You know, I think Old Red would be proud." Jack walks back to the village with us.
"I think your grandpa would be proud." Evan tells him.
"Yeah, he would. He'd be proud of us all."
•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•
"Once you put out the fire, the Nigerians were able to cap the well. Their military has The Damisa on the run, and several of the camps near you have already been liberated." Matty says through my phone as I hold it up.
"Well, that's great news." Mac tells her.
"Yeah. Now for the not such great news."
"C'mon, now. Matty, we just reenacted a John Wayne classic. I'm on an emotional high here. Why does there always have to be a not great part?" Jack questions.
"Riley? McKenna? Bozer?"
"I knew this was coming." McKenna sighs, walking over to us with Riley and Bozer.
"You three disobeyed orders and stayed in the town.
By doing so, you helped to save it. Your actions were brave, even noble, but they could've gotten you killed, which would have put the success of our entire mission at risk. Oversight is reviewing the situation to determine disciplinary action."
"Does this mean we're gonna get a face-to-face?" Bozer asks.
"No. Oversight doesn't interact with agents. They deal with me, and then I deal with you."
"Look, Matty, I just want you to know that we really-"
"Save it. It's out of my hands." Matty cuts Riley off and I hang up.
"Well, if there's a silver lining to all this, it's probably the fact that I'm not the one who's in trouble this time." Jack inquires.
"Thanks, Jack." Riley nods.
"Yeah, you're welcome."
"You guys will be fine." Cage assures. "Every operative worth their salt disobeys an order from time to time.
And if I hadn't done exactly that, I wouldn't be here."
"Look, the only thing that really matters...look around you." I look around. "This is all that really matters, isn't it?" I see the truck pull up and everyone runs to us.
"Think it was worth it?" Riley questions.
"Everything always is." I watch the soldiers hand over the children.
"Nina? Nina!" Solomon hugs his daughter.
"Let's bounce." Jack grips my shoulder and I head in the driver's seat. "You seriously watch The Walking Dead?" He leans forward and I point to my Walking Dead hoodie I've been wearing this whole time. "Oh, yeah. Yeah, okay. I'm sold."
•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•
"Hey." I open my door. "I saw you come here and back four times when I went to go close the curtains."
"Well, there goes keeping that under lock and key." Mac chuckles.
"Yeah." I scoff.
"It's his handwriting." He takes out the journal.
"Yeah, it is. Back in 2002. He was knifed, but, he lived. And, uh, then he came back a few years ago. But then he got cancer. And a big part of me just wanted to find you and just...just let you see him one last time, but..." I look down. "Mac, you've already lost so much. I couldn't—I would never do that to you."
"Yeah. Yeah, I know." He nods with watery eyes. "In his first entry, he, uh, he said-"
"Mac, you don't have to tell me." I shake my head.
"I know. But I want to. He said, uh..." He clears his throat and opens the journal. "Dear Mac, we both know my daughter is stubborn to no end, so I don't know how old you'll be when you read this." He starts and we both chuckle. "But you are important to her, and that makes you and your dad important to me. I want you to know that..." He pauses. "That I'm not the man they say I am and I did not do the things they say I did. And a part of me wishes you could build a time machine and send it over, but I know that won't be happening. I just pray that Grayson didn't get to you and your father too just for knowing me and my family. I love you like my own son, and you have made my daughter's life better than I ever could imagined. I just hope that wherever she is...she's with you and Sammy." He finishes and my tears hit the floor. "I want you to know that I...I never believed that he did-"
"I know." I nod. "Mac—" I cut myself off as he hugs me. I return the action and I close my eyes.
I squeeze him and he returns the action. He lets out a cry and I place my hand out the back of his head. My eyes fill with tears and I hold back a sob. He lets out another cry and whispers a few I'm sorrys to me. I shake my head and squeeze him again as his shoulders start to hunch up and down.
Goddammit, dad.
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AUTHOR'S NOTE
🖇️🧠🪵🧨💥
this episode was so cool and i cried at the end😭 looks like david never forget about mac🫶 and cage and evan are definitely a brother and sister type vibe
if she hadn't left they definitely would've dated
one chance please
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