Draconic Amnesty

Chapter 17 - Antarctica

Elias poured another shot of Jim Beam and handed it to his boss. Howitzer rested the glass on his stomach and leaned back in the recliner. After watching Enzo’s video for the second time in Yuki’s home theater, Elias could have used a drink himself, but he needed his mental faculties.

“I’ll never forgive that bastard.” Howitzer’s thinning hair glistened with sweat, his face red with anger. “We gotta find him. You hear me, Elias? We gotta find him.”

Elias plopped down in an adjacent chair and cradled his forehead in his palm. He wanted to kill Enzo just as bad as Howitzer, but other thoughts occupied his mind.

“Hell, they shoulda never captured us in the first place. Caught me off guard is what they did. Waitin’ in my house by the time we arrived. How’d they find —” He shifted in his seat. “You even listenin’ to me, boy?”

“Enzo knows where this place is too,” Elias said, emotionless.

“Good.” Howitzer pulled out his Colt Anaconda. “Let him come. Saves me the trouble of trackin’ him down. And that’s exactly what we’re goin’ to do.”

“Yeh.”

“What’s wrong with you, boy? Get yer act together. Now’s not the time to be mopin’ ‘round with yer thumb up yer ass. We gotta —”

“There’s something else I need to do first.” Elias stood and picked up the briefcase full of dragonspirit.

“Don’t you dare mention her name again.” He downed the rest of his drink. “I’ll shoot you in the leg before I let you go chasin’ after Wren. She’ll come back in her own time.”

“I don’t trust that guy...Ostyth.”

“She flew to Antarctica. You hear me? Fuckin’ Antarctica!”

Howitzer was right, of course, but Elias couldn’t get Wren off his mind. She didn’t want to go with Ostyth; her eyes had said as much. She was hiding something from him, but she’d saved his life and he owed her as much in return. That must be why he couldn’t stop thinking about her. “I’ll just take a plane —”

“It’s a fuckin’ no-fly zone you idiot. Other than military, no one’s allowed within miles of that continent. Unless you plan to hijack a transport aircraft at Fort Lewis, ain’t no way yer settin’ foot in that wasteland.”

“How far away is Fort Lewis?”

Howitzer jumped out of his chair, ignoring the glass as it toppled to the floor. “You deaf, boy?” He poked a finger in Elias’s chest. “Ain't you listenin’ to a word I been sayin’?”

Elias grabbed the larger man’s wrist and lowered it. “Keep yourself alive while I’m gone.”

“You done lost yer mind. Done fallen in love with that girl. She ain’t human. Can’t you see that?”

“Bye.” Elias strode toward the door.

“Fuck. Just hold on a second.” He pulled out his phone. “Let me make some phone calls.”

“I’m not waiting.” Elias kept walking.

Howitzer followed. “Fine you asshole. I’m ridin’ with you. I owe you one, so I’m going to help yer ass out. Ain’t no way you’d make it to Antarctica otherwise. Hell, I don’t even know if I can pull this off.”

***

The Boeing C-17 contained eight snowmobiles, seven infantry, two pilots, and one civilian. Wearing a paratrooper uniform, Elias matched the other soldiers, save for the missing parachute. In spite of his reluctance to make the two hour drive with Howitzer, Elias was thankful for his boss’s contacts in the Defense Department. He’d been allowed to board the flight with the primary mission of delivering drasp stock and snowmobiles to a military installation on the Antarctic coastline.