Chapter 13

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This is kinda just fluff to move the story along, but who cares.

Aboard the Elizabeth

Off the coast of Mexico

May 7

1700 hours

I fell about five feet and landed in the largest armory I've ever seen. The walls are stocked with massive quantities of weapons, from standard Glocks to a rocket launcher the size of Karl.

Erica landed next to me a second later, and even she was struck dumb. Back when I was first recruited, I had made an offhand comment about how giving Erica access to the CIA's secure files was like giving a kid the keys to Disneyland. I take that back. This was like giving her the keys to every theme park on Earth.

Karl came climbing down the ladder, whistling Wellerman. He smiled when he saw our reactions.

"Not too bad, is it?" He said proudly.

"Not at all," Erica said, trying to regain her cool aplomb. "Not at all."

"Here," He said, handing us two backpacks, each already loaded with canteens, rations, and purification tablets, and survival supplies in general. "Help yourselves."

Despite my improvement in handling firearms, I didn't take too much. I grabbed three handguns; two pistols I was sure I was going to use, and an ancient revolver, which I grabbed because I thought it looked cool. Faintly engraved on the grip was A. Morgan. Probably whoever had owned this gun before Karl.

In addition to my pistols, I grabbed an M4A1, which I would save for emergencies, as I hadn't quite mastered it yet.

Once we had picked our load-outs, Karl guided us back up the ladder, and onto a separate deck, where a helicopter rested. He opened the door and gestured for us to get in.

"Wait," I said, confused. "You aren't flying?"

He smiled. "I'm afraid not. This helicopter is fitted with a transmitter, which will allow me to pilot it back here remotely after you've jumped."

I turned to Erica, and asked, "Can you fly this?"

You might've been able to guess her response. She rolled her eyes and slid into the seat.

"Do you know me at all, Benjamin Ripley?"

"Not as well as I'd like to, Erica Hale," I responded, rather smoothly.

I glanced over at Karl. He was checking his watch, respectfully pretending that he didn't hear us, but of course, he did.

I walked around to the other side of the copter and got in. Before we took off, I looked at Karl and said, "Thanks so much for the help."

He laughed. "Anytime Agent Ripley, anytime."

Erica started the copter, and we slowly rose into the air, one step closer to the GH-O, and the mysterious organization surrounding it.

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