Page 10 of Wick
In all my career, I've not once had an emergency landing situation due to an unstable aircraft. This being my first, my adrenaline kicks into overdrive. My brothers depend on me to land this hunk of metal safely, and that's what I aim to do. Surveying my options, I veer to my left, aiming for a small clearing next to the river.
"You got this, Tequila." Cowboy's voice comes through my earpiece. His tone is calm and relaxed as I bring us closer to the ground below. Without incident, I touch the helicopter down just outside what looks to be a tiny farming village and kill the engine.
Sucking in a lung full of air, I close my eyes, before letting all my tension escape me with a heavy sigh of relief. With no time to waste, I unbuckle, toss the headset onto the floor, and maneuver my way into the back of the cabin. "What's the plan?" I ask as we load up with as many weapons and gear we can carry.
"For now, we find some cover." Cowboy tosses my pack to me. "Then, we radio in our coordinates."
"Cover? Where the hell will we find cover?" Thor looks around. Several people living in the village step out of their small homes and notice us standing outside the large ass helicopter sitting in the middle of their cornfield.
"We can take cover over there," I point to a grove of trees. "Whoever shot at us will be here soon. We can't stay here." I quickly add as smoke continues to billow from the undercarriage of the helicopter. "Plus, she's still leaking fuel. We don't want to be anywhere near it if someone starts shooting at us again."
Crossing the field, we decide to keep moving and make our way as far from the wreckage site and small town as we can get. The rain finally let's up close to thirty minutes into our walk. "You see that?" I jerk my chin in the direction of a dilapidated shack up ahead.
"Let's check it out," Cowboy announces as we make our approach.
Making sure the perimeter is clear, the four of us walk around the old shack. "It's not much, but it will do for now." Cowboy ushers us inside. "Thor, get to work on that broken radio."
Brushing away a pile of dried leaves with my boot, I kneel on the dirt covered floor. "How much time do you think we have before someone discovers our location?" I slide my pack from my back, unzip the side, and pull out a small bottle of water.
"Not long." Cowboy tucks himself into the shadows keeping watch out of the uncovered doorway.
Chapter Five
Wick
Today is the day Everest will officially become a King. The entire club is currently out at Riggs' grandfather's place. Mr. LeBlanc insisted the party be held here. Prez' pop is a kick-ass guy. He doesn't mind the loud music or when things get a bit rowdy; which happens from time to time. At one end of the yard, Josie and Payton are setting up the banquet table and chairs, while on the other side of the backyard Riggs, and his grandfather are preparing the crawfish.
Peering down at my watch, I note the time. "Shit," I mutter under my breath as I scan the yard and spot Fender up on the porch fiddling with his guitar and other music equipment. Whistling, I call out to him. "Fender!"
Fender looks up and regards me. "What do ya need, brother?" He strolls down the steps, heading in my direction.
"I need to use your cage to make the beer run."
Fender fishes his keys front the front pocket of his jeans and tosses them to me. "No problem, man. You need some help?"
"Naw. You go on and finish settin' your shit up. I'll get Nova to ride with me. He should be here any minute." No sooner do the words leave my mouth, a red car pulls up to the side of the house. Exiting the driver side is Nova's daughter, Piper and climbing out of the passenger seat; a sour looking Nova.
"Are you tryin' to get us killed!" Nova hollers at his daughter's retreating back as she stomps across the yard in my direction. I chuckle at the look on her face. Piper looks ready to spit nails.
"What's got his panties in a bunch this time, sweetheart?"
"Everything," Piper grinds out. "He's driving me insane. He won't even let me drive the speed limit. He sits in the passenger seat, acting like he's going to have a heart attack when I go anywhere over twenty miles per hour."
It takes everything I have not to laugh. These two have been at this driving shit for months. And even though Piper passed her driving test with flying colors, her dad still nags.
"Piper!" Nova shouts as he makes his way in our direction, clearly not finished harping on his daughter.
"Please save me, Malik," she pleads.
I roll my eyes and nod. "Get out of here. I got your back, darlin'."
"Thank you, thank you." Piper kisses my cheek and hugs my neck before she takes off in a jog toward the house.
"Piper. I know you hear me. We're not done talkin'."
Stepping in front of my brother, I stop him in his tracks. "Prez needs us to make a beer run. Come on. We're already late."
"Fine," he huffs, falling into step beside me as we make our way over to Fender's truck.
