Arrow: Reckoning Part 2

Return to Sender

The loud roar of the engines drowned out every other noise, nearly deafening everyone inside the small cargo plane. The turbulence shook the passengers in their seats, causing them to rock back and forth as they tried to ignore the neverending bumps that had accompanied the flight so far. The commanding officer glanced to the woman sitting a few seats beside him, careful not let her spot him looking her over with his eyes. It wasn't uncommon for ARGUS operatives to hitch rides in these smaller planes that were far more likely to stay off the radar, or atleast not attract the attention that a jumbo size cargo plane would. The fact that this woman was on the flight wasn't the oddity that was bothering him, it was her unshaken demeanor and attire that threw him off. Normally every passenger would have opted for a flight suit, considering the safety guidelines and general fact that these smaller planes tended to drop in temperature. The woman's business jacket and skirt were highly unorthodox for such traveling conditions, not to mention the heels she was also wearing. No one dared question her choice of footwear, even if they all knew how idiotic it was to wear high heels on an unstable airplane. Amanda Waller looked over at the CO and passed him a warning glance. The man quickly looked away, too frightened to look the woman in the eyes for fear of what they might reveal. Waller sighed to herself, she hated traveling in such a way. It was a step outside her normal travel arrangements and it had only added to her overflowing rage from her previous catastrophic assignment with her latest asset. She checked her watch and asked.
"Are we near the drop?" The CO quickly checked the laptop next to him and brought up the flight plan. He quickly cross checked the plane's location to the drop zone that they had purposely altered the original course in order to pass over.
"Yeah, two minutes out." The officer answered, pulling away from the screen to look back at the woman. Waller looked toward the rear of the plane and rested her eyes on extra large duffle bag sitting between the two other soldiers on the flight.
"Get him ready." Waller ordered without any hesitation. The CO swallowed back his second thoughts about the entire situation as he rose to his feet and signaled to his men.
"Alright, let's get our guest ready for the prom." He began before moving to the cockpit to make sure it the door was safely sealed. The two soldiers quickly went to work, grabbing the gear sitting beside them and prepping it for action. The first man carefully looked over the parachute, inspecting it for any visual abnormalities that would result in a failed opening. The other soldier knelt down over the large duffle bag at their feet and opened it, revealing a sleeping man inside. The man's chest steadily rose and fell as the two soldiers moved him from the bag and precisely began to attach the parachute to him. They made sure to double check all the straps and harnesses, securely tightening them against the unconscious man's body.
"Opening the hatch!" The CO warned as he pressed a button on the wall of the plane, lowering the rear hatch of the plane. The thunderous roar took over the entire cabin as the wind rushed in, whipping Waller's hair around.
"Get him up." The officer ordered as he approached the rear of the plane. The two soldiers hoisted up the limp man between them, each holding him up with arm laced under his. The wind blew the man's long blonde hair from his face, unable to wake him from his drug induced sleep.
"Alright, hook him up." The CO ordered as he stopped next to a crate beside him and began to open it.
"No! No cable." Waller demanded, not trying to hide her resentful tone. Her stone expression caused the men to tremble slightly as they looked to one another to ensure that they had heard correctly. The CO forced himself to hold back his concerns, knowing of the stories involving Amanda Waller and her wrath. The two soldiers looked on and awaited the order from their officer, needing to hear the instruction twice before continuing.
"You heard her." The officer reluctantly replied as he returned his attention to the crate he had opened. Inside he grabbed a injection syringe and loaded it with the drug to wake their sleeping passenger. He paused after reaching the recommended limit for the drug and added another small dose to the syringe, hoping the extra amount of formula would help wake the unlucky man before it was too late. The two soldiers edged closer to the rear ramp and gripped the unconscious man firmly as they felt the wind push and pull against them. The CO stepped up behind them and guided the syringe to the sleeping man's neck, quickly injecting him with the counter formula to the sleeping drug currently in his system. The officer stepped back and let the final sting of guilt and fear enter his mind as he stared at the unconscious man dangling between his two soldiers. The soldiers looked back and awaited the order, each mentally preparing themselves for the act.
"Do it." The officer ordered, nodding to his men. The two soldiers held their breath as they glanced to one another and synced their movement as they changed their hold on the man between them and moved him toward the open ramp.
"Happy landings Mr. Queen." Waller muttered to herself, an evil smile curling at the side of her lips. The two soldiers simultaneously moved both of their arms outward toward the ramp, guiding Oliver's lifeless body into the open air and out of the plane. The force of leaving the somewhat pressurized snapped Oliver's body around as he plummeted from the sky. The sudden burst of air whipped at his clothes and hair, causing them to violently flap around his body. He began to pick up speed as he tumbled uncontrollably downward, only slowing in descent when his body flattened out for a brief moment. The single island below him grew larger by the second as he continued on his rough course toward it. Oliver's eyelids began to twitch as his brain struggled to restart and wake him from his unintentional slumber. The deafening rush was the first thing he could comprehend, the sound quickly assisted in jumpstarting his internal system. His eyes snapped open and instantly shut them, unaware of the environment he was subjecting them to. The sting of the cold and rapidly passing air subsided as he managed to open his eyes again, this time squinting to protect them as best he could. Panic set in as he looked in every direction only to see that he was in fact falling from the sky and an incredibly fast rate. Oliver thrashed around as he struggled to maintain his controlled approach and slow himself down. He searched for anything memory that could help him, only able to remember pieces from his emergency evacuation lessons that his father had made him take before they flew in their private plane. Oliver only knew that he needed to find the rip cord to open the chute and save him from crashing into the rapidly approaching ground. He snapped his head back and forth as he searched for the cord that was somewhere on the harness. His hands traveled across his chest as he tried to feel for the dangling strand of salvation. The ground below him was much clearer now, he could easily see the trees that he was moments away from being impaled by. Fear completely took control of his mind, cutting off every rational thought as his fingers wrapped around the single flapping cord. Oliver pulled his arm downward with all his strength, activating the rip cord and opening the chute. The white material shot out of the parachute's pouch and formed a dome as it collected the massive amount of air rushing into it. Oliver snapped almost to a halt as he passed by the tree tops, skimming the smallers branches. His hands reached upward and grabbed at the two hanging cords, gripping them with tense fingers. Oliver tugged at the cords not knowing how to operate them as he collided with a group of branches. The force of the impacts rocked his body around, causing him to cry out in pain as he gave up on guiding his descent and allowed gravity to take over. His body collapsed onto a branch slipped away, causing him to fall to the next sets of branches below him. The sound of cracking wood and Oliver's muffled grunts rung out over the quiet wilderness as he crashed through the trees. His body twisted around as it disconnected from the embrace of the tree's grasping arm and dropped him to another branch eager to slow his fall. The open chute crumpled together as the sharp branches ripped through what remained of it, only slowing Oliver's drop to the ground. The final few branches easily snapped under the weight of Oliver's body as he crashed into the ground with a powerful thud. The few broken twigs fell beside him as the chute hung above him, clinging to a broken branch. The pain surged through his body as he lay on his back and stared up into the sky, spotting the tail end of the plane that had dropped him off. Oliver gritted his teeth and fought to roll his aching body over onto his stomach. He collapsed against the leaves and mud as he looked ahead and saw a small crate gently fall onto the ground a few feet away from him. The small parachute crumpled into itself as the crate settled on the ground and peacefully sat. Oliver attempted to push himself to his knees but felt the overwhelming weight overtake him as he vision closed in at the sides and slipped into darkness. He gently lowered himself to ground before completely blacking out from the unreal amount of pain that covered his entire body. The wind whipped at the note attached to the crate, nearly ripping it from the binding that held it down. The neatly written words stood out very clearly in the piercing red ink.
*Welcome back*