The Advent Book, the Resistance's Christmas

When Cercedilla rhymes with Pontuality

"Wait..."

"What?"

"Do you know how to order that you?"
Helsinki asked.

"Because I look like a pilot?!"
Rio retorted.

Seven small helicopters.
Yes yes, in front of them were seven small helicopters, big enough for two people.

They get yelled at when they leave their hiding place, but here they were about to make novices fly helicopters.

What are the chances of getting killed?
Eighty percent by my calculations.
It goes up a lot when certain duos are put together, but I'm definitely not targeting Alicia and Tok... nobody.
I'm not targeting anyone.

But hey, it makes you believe that this merry band of elves had a lucky star watching over them.

"Rest assured, the controls are very simple and very intuitive.
Once again, for safety reasons, duos have been designed beforehand by Mrs. Lisbon to ensure the survival of all, and that of the helicopters we would like to get rid of after your little flight."
Explained the former miner in one breath before getting closer to the cabin of one of the flying machines.

"Very beautiful specimens that you have there! Speed of two hundred and eighty kilometers per hour, eight hundred kilometers of autonomy..."

"It is brilliant, eight hundred kilometers that will bring us already really close to Kenya, we will be able to go to visit Nairobi!"
Says sarcastically Alicia.

"She's right, I can't see Prof and Lisbon celebrating Christmas in Africa.
Where are we going then?"
Asked Stockholm.

Benjamín gave him a mysterious smile.

"For security reasons I'm not allowed to say anything.
But I think you'll like it.
The address is already programmed in the helicopters, the only thing you will have to do is to monitor the altitude during the flight."
He debited.

"To be honest it wasn't the exact location I was interested in, but rather whether we'll have enough fuel for the road."
Alicia muttered, rolling her eyes, beginning to seriously wonder if there was a positive number of neurons in the noggins of these strange specimens.

The man burst out laughing.

"Fortunately you are here Mrs. Sierra, I had forgotten to tell you about an extremely important point!
I can confirm that you won't have enough fuel for the road.
You won't have enough to cross the quarter Atlantic for that matter."

"That's okay, give me a bottle of vodka and I'll swim you the remaining distance."

Manila's father ignored Tokyo's remark and resumed his explanations.

"But as usual, our teams are never far away. As we speak, seven Pakistani and Serbian boats are already plying the Atlantic, ready to serve as your staging point where you can fill your tank and rest for a few minutes before heading out again."

"But why not go straight there by boat? Why do we have to bother taking so many small means of transportation?!"
Nairobi exclaimed.

"You don't even realize how closely the seas are guarded since the second junkyard.
To get through the sea lanes you'll have to pass all the military ships that protect the oceans.
And God knows there are many of them.
It's more complicated to monitor the skies than the seas, hence Madame Lisbon's desire to get you through by air as often as possible."
He explained.

"And she's nice to do that, it makes us our first flights!"
Said Tokyo, clapping his hands.

"I'd love to give her an extreme baptism of air by throwing her out the window."
Tamayo declared.

At these words, Berlin raised her eyebrows and moved closer to the Colonel before taking his face in her hands.

"You, I like you."
He affirmed before bursting into laughter.

"Please! I'd like to get things done as soon as possible, I need to get to Madame Lisbon as soon as I've finished giving you the final instructions, and you know better than I do that she hates delays."

"Yes, she was always on time when we were in Cercedilla..."
sighed Ángel.

"But that's not true! There he goes again, the record player is scratched again! But buy him a new CD for God's sake, I can't stand hearing those four syllables fifteen times a day..."
Suarez muttered, running a hand over his forehead.

"Well... I know one who will be kept away from the Professor for New Year's Eve. Anyway, so the duos will be Suarez and Tokyo, Nairobi and Helsinki, Rio and Denver, Stockholm and Marseille, Bogotá and Palermo, Berlin and Tamayo and finally Ángel and Alicia.
I would like to remind our dear policemen that the helicopters are equipped with GPS. Therefore, there is no need to try to change direction, even though this is already impossible thanks to the route locked in the aircraft.
Have a good trip!"
Concluded Benjamín.

The duos gathered (more or less euphorically) and settled into their new aircraft.
After a few last-minute tips, they all fired up the engines of their respective helicopters, admiring the way they were gradually moving away from the mainland.

Yes, dear readers.
At this point, we are all worried about their survival.