Who: Black Canary and Speedy, bit of Zinda Where: Africa When: August 22, 2015 (bit back) What: Black Canary and Speedy are playing delivery girls in hostile territory. Rating: PG-13
They weren’t supposed to be getting bombarded. They weren’t supposed to be getting shot at at all. Dinah grabbed an overhead cargo net, bracing herself as the plane lurched almost sideways. Only once it had straightened did she manage to throw Speedy the parachute.
“I wasn’t planning on going in hot, but looks like we’re not getting a choice.” At least it was night and their parachutes dark. Thank gawd for planning on the ‘just in case’ scenario. She pulled her own parachute on over her jacket, finding snaps and clicking them together. “Zinda!” She wasn’t sure if the woman could hear in the cockpit. “Can you make the cargo drop and get out?”
“Make sure your arrows are secure,” she noted quickly to Speedy even while tightening her fingerless gloves on her hands. “Cargo goes first. Then us.” She touched Mia’s jaw to turn her head slightly to make sure her com was firmly attached to her ear. “Hopefully we’ll stay in sight of each other, but make contact and tell me your coordinates if you can so we can start making our way to each other and the cargo.”
~~~
Until Mia had moved in with Oliver, she’d never been on a plane. She’d had a touch of anxiety about her first flight, but it really was nothing. However, being in the plane with Zinda at the helm brought those feelings back up as the plane lurched back and forth.
Thankfully the chutes were dark and they’d be landing some distance, Mia didn’t like the idea of floating down the in air as an open target.
Mia was adjusting her own parachute, she actually had to attach her quiver to her leg, but it would work for the jump.
“Yes, mom.” Mia quipped, flashing a full smile. It did kind of amuse her a little. Occasionally even Oliver might act like this was her first rodeo. Mia stepped up to the open side of the plane. She took a huge breath and let herself fall.
It didn’t take too terribly long to finally touch down in a field and wait for Dinah’s descent to finish.
~~~
She only smirked back at Mia at the ‘mom’ snark. Dinah stayed behind just long enough to get assurance from Zinda that she’d be fine before she leaped after the cargo and Speedy. She counted the seconds before pulling her chute, then turned about to guide herself where Speedy and the crates of supplies would have fallen.
She landed gracefully enough among the grasses, grimacing when something slithered rapidly away from her feet before shucking off the chute. She’d gather it up in a moment. Right now she was listening for an ambush. Sensing none, she hurriedly started gathering up the dark material, carrying it in her arms toward the crates.
“From what I could tell the missile launchers were around that ridge.” She pointed. “Which means there are probably ground troops heading this way. No one took any shots, but I doubt our boxes of goodies left the plane without being noticed.” She looked around pointedly. “Thankfully looks like we’re in the sticks. Less likely to be mines out here.”
~~~
Mia nodded. “Well, let’s get out shit and get going. We’re awesome but not exactly found by an angry armed army of people invincible, sooo…” She got to work on the box, and quickly lifted the lid. There were a couple of bags in there plus everything they might need in case they ended up down here for a couple of days.
She started loading up. “Still better than writing that paper I should have done this weekend.”
~~~
She hefted the other crate upright and opened it, pulling out the backpack and shouldering it before shoving the parachute in it. “I think it’s funny that you think you’re getting out of homework. There will be a long plane ride home in which you’ll be plenty bored.” The crates were compact, sturdy dark plastic things that stood only as high as her pelvis. She was looking thoughtfully around the terrain, then started dragging her crate toward a wash. “First things first. These are full of protein packs and medicine. We need to hide them so they can be recovered later. We are not nearly as close to the camp as was planned.”
It took the better part of an hour until the crates were hidden well enough and the drag marks covered to satisfy Dinah. She was certain they could relocate them again (and she had sent off their precise location in case there were issues with them getting to the refugee camp in a timely manner). Brushing dirt off herself, she hefted the insulated backpack onto her shoulders and tightened the straps. “Remember, these have the medicines that need to be kept cold. We don’t lose these unless it’s a last resort. We have seventeen miles to cover, and that while dodging hostiles and we lose a lot of our advantage once the sun rises.”
“So. Let’s book it.” She started off at a run, keeping to the wash, finding a pace that she could keep for miles. She had more experience in this type of field work, but Mia had been dumped into survival trained enough she had no doubt the younger woman could keep up and avoid twisting her ankle even in the faintly lit night.
~~~
This type of field work was newer to Mia. She was used to dealing with cities and organized crime. She was used to putting on an act to get information and solving problems. She wasn’t completely used to military like operations, and she sort of hated nature. However, when Dinah asked that she come along, she jumped at the chance. She’d been doing things for Oracle for awhile, but Mia could only describe them as more superhero errands than missions.
Mia hefted her own insulated pack to her back and nodded. Medicines were important, and anyone disrupting access was just the fucking scum of the earth. Running was fine though. Though it would still take some time to make it to the camp. Mia kept up, keeping her eyes peeled for anything strange. She was used to catching things with the slightest of visual cues in the city, but here there were too many animals or leaves blowing.
They got some ways before Mia slowed a bit, listening. She heard some rustling. “Dinah.” She whispered forcefully under her breath to get her attention. There was a distinct noise under all the nocturnal animals and foliage in the breeze. She thought it might have been an animal but it was too steady for that.
Her head motioned towards the steep hilly drop off as if to ask if they should duck under there. Mia would prefer higher ground though.
She pointed at her own chest and then up the tree off to the side. It was thick and would hide her. She heard it again and scrambled up the thick branches easily and disappeared. Dinah could follow or hide elsewhere. Mia knew she could handle it.
~~~~
Dinah had been hoping the change and the new sounds were simply animals and the approach of dawn. But no, Mia was right. When they slowed down, the quiet dark before things started to stir for dawn was broken by something else and the animals were shying from it. They were responding like a predator was moving among them.
Dinah listened carefully, and could finally hear the very quiet hum of a motor, quiet because it was idling along with its lights off most likely. That was some distance away, but not nearly far enough. If they advanced, they were likely to be spotted and tailed.
She nodded to Speedy, taking off into the bushes on her own, slowing immediately when she felt the stick of thorns. It was a good thing she’d worn the combat boots. She circled the thicket, listening to the scratch of Speedy’s hands and feet on tree bark.
If they were lucky, the search party would move on past their trail and they could pass behind them, their tracks effectively covered by their own and they could hurry on unharassed. If they were unlucky, the search party would stumble on them.
She touched her com, voice a whisper. “What’s the view like?” Dinah could hear sounds, but she couldn’t tell how many were approaching. She removed her backpack and pushed it slowly under the thicket.
~~~~
Mia settled on a rather large branch with good visibility and looked around. It wasn’t hard to spot given the lights. She watched them closely for a long moment, and she didn’t reach for her bow. She did have a fabulous vantage point, but they didn’t know they were there.
She touched her own comm. “Two offroad jeeps about a quarter of a mile up. First is loaded with four passengers and weapons, I can’t tell about the second because the view is blocked, but I’m assuming the same.”
She kept an eye. “They’ve stopped for some reason I don’t know if they’re lost or taking a break or what.”
~~~
“Hm. Jeeps we could use. Let me know how they move.” She started off around the thickets, swiftly racing a large circle around the jeeps. She was relying on Speedy’s eyes here, needing to know where the bad guys were trekking so she wouldn’t be spied or shot on. Thankfully, archers were keen on line of sight and angles. She wasn’t worried about being led astray.
~~~
Well it would be nice to have a jeep instead of jogging and ducking and covering for the next twelve miles. The downside of course was that a jeep would be heard just like it had been heard now. “They’re just talking right now.” She muttered into the comm. It took a long moment for two of the men to go to the back of the jeep in the back, and that was when she saw that they were detaching the spare wheel. She grinned.
“Okay, seems like the back jeep popped a tire. It must be one of the ones on the left because all the tires I can see are in good condition.” That did mean they were in distracted.
“And the first jeep is loading back up to leave. I guess they’re going ahead. and the other will catch up.”
~~~
They were indeed distracted. That’s how Canary came right up on the guys while they were busy scuffling with the tire while the other jeep drove on ahead. She tapped the fellow tightening the lugnuts on the shoulder, calling his attention up to her. The man blinked at the blond who was obviously not one of his fellow soldiers.
“Hey, thanks for changing that for me.” Then she kicked him in the face, immediately threw the tire iron that flew up from his hands in the air and chucked it at the man across from her. His nose crunched. The other fellow in the driver seat started to bring his gun around and she slammed the door on his knee and rifle and elbowed him in the face in nearly the same motion. Then she ducked as the fourth gunman standing on the other side of the jeep popped off a few shots at her. He looked side to side, trying to pinpoint where she’d stand up. Canary had slid herself under the jeep though, and her feet locked around his ankles and sent him down hard. She had her hand under the trigger a second later, shoving the butt of the rifle right back into the prone man’s face.
She heard someone stirring, but hummed casually as she rolled out from under the jeep and removed the ammo from the gun, waiting to hear the comforting fwip! of an arrow covering her and the tell-tale sound of another man down. Then she stood up, looking about at the men, two out cold, two groaning and prone.
Dinah grinned as she touched her com and started disarming the men. “I’d offer to let you drive, but those gunshots are certain to have been heard. You’re going to need to sit shotgun or I’m going to have to holler. Let’s be honest, though; you’ve got better range.” She slid into the driver seat and drove it about to pick up Mia.
“Let’s go get our crates.”
~~~
When it was apparent Dinah was going to take them down, Mia finally lifted her bow. She watched the scene carefully and it was only a few minutes before she had a clean shot and took it. It didn’t take long for Dinah to show up at Mia’s tree and the girl practically fell from the tree and straight into the passenger seat.
“This will be faster but they’ll hear us coming in this.” She pointed out, but at this point she figured it was a risk worth taking. “Well, let’s go help some people and kick some ass.”
~~~~
“See, it’s stuff like that coming out of your mouth that makes me happy.” She pressed the pedal down to the floor as she wheeled the jeep about. “Let’s show them how to really drive.”
So when they rolled into the refugee camp at last, both were grinning through dirt smeared faces, a column of smoke on the horizon behind them and a baffled watchman staring out past the barbed wire fence at them.
“Hey there.” She thumbed toward the two crates in the back, one tipped diagonally against the other. “Package for Doctors Without Borders? Postage paid. Just need a signature.”