Capricorn's
mercenaries arrest the remaining of hers, while searching through the
house, he stares at the doll collection with a rage ...
The
plane climbs high over the V-TOL platform with Money and Able both
holding steady the controls as it works hard for a loop. In the back
they hold as the cargo slides against the restraints, mobile team on the bar, looking down as the airship comes into view below.
They drop.
Capricorn
- Punches down hard on the kneeling enemy merc commander, as his own
kicks him in the side. He kneels and pulls the mans face to his, "Your head on a pike as a sign to all betrayers, just before I burn this house down."
Another hard punch downward, Capricorn's commander laughs to the opposing commander's swirling fade out from consciousness.
And so it is, the pan back from that head on a pike in front of the manor, the fire taking.
As
they struggle with their tool-shift hooks for the rails, in only a few
seconds to latch the vehicles before popping the chutes. They clatter
the side hard, the vehicles crashing to deck but one jeep tearing loose
and lost to the woods below.
__
A
distance behind the Crow, the jeep crashes into the woods. She turns slowly
... Monroe circles in sync to be unseen, Crow sees nothing. Then back to the
walk, Monroe gone. She looks up, the glimmer in the sky ...
... in the fire the dolls begin to burn ...
Crow
- Swats at a mosquito, sublimely pissed. "Monroe ... " She looks
around, "Let's talk." Back to front, an unknown woman standing there
smiling looking over Monroe's swords in her hands.
Monroe - "We just passed my
safe-house. This is what I like to wear around town." She looks up from the
blades, "So what do you wanna talk about ?"
________
The engineer looks over the wheel as the rest take stations.
Gunner - "This ... well it's a dream ship made by a very paranoid princess. All guns from one station and right next to the wheel. But this panel's locked down."
...
Engineer - "I'm astounded it actually has a wheel. Take it please, I'm checking the engine room, and then I'll see about that panel. She was rich, but not an engineer." Leaves to it.
Gunner - "Oo." Looking extra captainy, takes the wheel.
Jeep driver two - Very sad, "I lost my jeep."
Jeep driver one - "That's because you suck."
Two - "Why did we even drop them here !?"
Gunner - Looking at the radar, "Uhhh ... that's why !" To the sad driver, "Congratulations ! Now you're driving an airship."
____
In
the engine room, the engineer stares at the reactor enclosed in what
appears to bee a lead sphere with coolant cycled through refrigeration
units.
Engineer - "Yep. That's a nuclear reactor."
The
airship shakes from a hit. An alarm sound with the ship-wide crackling
on, "I found the button !" In a deep and serious voice, "We are under attack." Clears throat, Then serious. "Six targets ... " The sound of machine gun fire from the deck, a snicker, "Five targets."
____
On the deck the jeep gunner fires, tank gun swinging to a seeker shot before firing.
____
The engineer makes the command bridge, spare jeep driver at the wheel, "Four."
Engineer - "There will be more. I need to work this panel, you got this ?"
Driver - "Nope !"
Engineer - Looks over the gunner station ... "Well hallelujah for honesty, you're doing fine." Looks at the panel under the floor and pries it open with a combat knife, slices a wire and pulls a cell, looks around.
Tears
a decorative light fixture from the wall and cuts out the wires, opens
the cell's battery panel and starts works the wires in.
Cycles
though apps until found the charge manager, set aside, then the windows
emulator, set aside, sound generating program, sets it to a wave sent
through the charging program's control.
The Moog-like sounds ...
The gunner station clicks on. Looks to the driver at the wheel, the driver smiles sideways while whistling the Popeye song ...
Engineer - "Think you can work this panel ?"
Driver - "Nope !"
~ The airship randomly fires missiles in all directions ... "Got it !"
________
Crow - Watching Monroe pour tea in the cabin, "There's no point. He's executed my men and obstructed my accounts. There is no me to become."
Monroe gives her a look and sets down the pot. Drinks the tea watching her. Crow looks at the cup, a look back.
Monroe - "If I were going to ... "
Crow - "But you are going to."
Monroe drinks watching her.
________
Capricorn looks over the ashes, burned husk of a manor surrounded by the charred heads, the merc commander approaching.
Commander - "A thing of beauty sir. Only so many men know death so well as to pay this unworldly homage. You will do great things." Approaches a head ... "I ... remember ... you." Looks to Capricorn with an incredulous smile, then back to the head.
"I remember this one." A smile, he pats the head on the cheek, "Oo. Still hot." He lights a cigar. "Yeah. This fucking guy, worked his way up, in the Fentanyl racket. Big hollywood ... always going on how he moved product to this guy and that."
"Used to get off on watching them OD. Loved
the shit. The bigger the name, the more he'd get off." He smokes
looking at the head, "You know. You meet a lot of real ripe pieces of
shit in this field, but this one ... "
Spit hits the face with a puff of smoke.
Commander - "Well off to Hell with you then." He turns to join Capricorn, "What's the plan ?"
The VTOL holds off the attacks of what appear to be Northrup F20 Tigersharks. Designed
to be competitive with the average fighter (in 1980), but limited in
dealing with a slow moving target requiring a tight strafe which leaves them
open.
One blows as the Dragonfly streaks by, turning in for more.
Emilio - On the comm, "Rendezvous ahead, you are almost home."
With
Libra co-piloting, it fires on another of Capricorn's They fight their
way toward a distant fleet gathering. The C130 circles a carrier, the
last of its birds departing.
On the comm - "Are you sure you can do this, 'soldier' ?"
Money - Looks at the fuel gauge, Able looks at him. "Positive."
~ The plane powers for a hard turn to stall the engines down.
Able - "I think it's been done like one time."
Money - "Shut up."
Able - "That guy, was a he-ro."
Money
- Engines roaring complaint while he stifles a laugh, "I'm going to
fucking kill you after you find me a drink on that tub."
Able - ... "Why ... would there be a drink on that tub !? It's not like they have bars there you know."
~ The plane hits the top in a skid, engines reversing.
Able - "I mean. Is this like a slight on the Navy ?"
~ The plane skids into a turn as it starts snapping through the catch cables.
Able - "You win one fucking game. One fucking game."
~ the last few cables hold ... the plane stops with a slight pull back from the tension.
Money - Stares wide eyed and frozen out the window, hand still gripping the wheel ... "Every fucking game."
Sailors from around the world cheer stein high in a makeshift carrier
pub. From on high it's seen there vessels from around the world, Dragonfly passing to land among them.
Voiced over, the Crow - "What do you want from me ?"
Monroe - Staring across at her in this unknown body, "Your soul."