Iron Dragon Chapters 24-25
#12 of Iron Dragon
They repeated the same basic routine, except Amy was in one of the two bed rooms this time. Cindy had made preparations for the refueling of the gunship and gave the ground crew an approximate take off time for the following morning.
"I can sleep on the couch if you want the bed." Amy figured since she was the smallest it made the most sense as they walked into the small apartment.
"No need for that, he doesn't sleep." Sherman and Cindy headed to one of the two rooms.
"Don't be silly everyone sleeps." Amy was a little surprised when Nodrog set his bag by the couch and just sat down.
"You can have the bed. I really don't sleep." Nodrog smiled.
Cindy and Sherman laughed at her expression and Cindy closed the door behind them. After the two of them said good night.
"Oh, okay." Amy closed the door to her room after she set her bag down next to the bed. Having a hard time falling asleep, she slipped her hand down her shorts. Amy moaned softly as she played with herself. Her other hand ran up her stomach under her shirt and she licked her lips as she gently rubbed her small breast. Amy rolled onto her side as she worked two of her fingers inside of her.
She had not been with a guy and having been transferred to Sherman's odd unit she was a bit frustrated. Her imagination ran a little wild with thoughts of things the dragon or the wolf could be doing to her. Amy didn't know either that well, but she did find them both sexy, their well toned bodies, the way they carried themselves. And those eyes...
Nodrog sat out in the living room with the TV turned down rather low. He held a copy of the sheet they had found in the safe. There were more than five locations, a total of sixteen. The five were the only ones with the other codes. He didn't know enough about the tech to see what was wrong with them, he just knew something was not adding up. No matter how he hashed it out, he doubted he could get the other three to see what he was seeing.
They still might be heading into a trap, but for the life of him he couldn't figure it out. The girl and the sheet were connected, somehow. The fact that he could hear all three of them was also aggravating. He grabbed the sheet, his bag and headed out, maybe someone on the night shift could help him figure out some other meaning behind what he found to be gibberish.
Nodrog lucked out and flagged down the jeep running a patrol of the area. "Can you give me a lift to the night shift tech guys. I need some number crunching help. Swing by the gunship we came in on so I can drop this off."
"Yes sir, hop in its on the way to my next check point." The young man said.
"Thanks." Nodrog got in the jeep. After a short ride he put his bag in the gunship and then the MP dropped him off at the facility's computer specialist center. Only two Specialists and a single Officer were in the large control room.
"Can we help you Sir?" The Officer asked.
"Call me Nodrog. I want to see if you can cross reference this with any and all alpha numeric coding." Nodrog handed the sheet to the Officer.
"Are you sure? These are pretty clear coordinates and IFF codes." The Officer said.
"Something just seems off to me. Call it a hunch." Nodrog said.
"Might take a while." The Officer handed it to one of the Specialists with instructions to do what he had asked.
"Its all right I have all night." Nodrog pulled up a chair to sit down and wait for whatever they might find. It had grown early in the morning and some of the morning shift had begun to trickle in when they figured out a definite pattern.
"The computer insists this is correct, but none of us understand it." One of the Specialists said.
Nodrog got up and glanced at the screen and was a bit concerned himself. The computer had translated the numbers to the language of monsters. "I know that language, it would be my native tongue. Print out the whole translation for me."
"That cannot possibly be any language." The Officer said as the sheet was printing out.
"It is rare, and older than any other spoken language on this planet." Nodrog read the sheet over carefully.
"What does it say then?" The other Specialist asked.
"They are instructions. On how to get someone to do something." Nodrog figured out part of this small puzzle. The only reason the numbers were in that order was because of what they said.
Nodrog gave them a short translation of the strange language while the other three slept another few hours before getting up and ready to go.
"Wonder where he went." Amy thought aloud as she came out of her room to find Cindy and Sherman just finishing lacing up their boots.
"Your guess is as good as mine. Lets stop by the gunship and see if he is there before we go to the mess hall." Sherman said.
"Seems odd he would have taken off without saying anything." Cindy said as they walked outside.
"Depends on when he left." Sherman said.
The three stopped off at the gunship and found a crew all ready performing the pre flight checks and mounting a belly auxiliary fuel tank. Cindy asked them who had instructed them to do all of that. The lead ground crew told her Nodrog had ordered all of it at 0440 this morning.
"Not sure I like were this is going." Cindy said as they now rode over to the mess hall for breakfast.
"If he isn't one of us, how can he give those kinds of orders?" Amy asked.
"Because he has been given the same authority as Cindy and myself." Sherman said, while just as baffled as the other two.
"So you trust him?" Amy asked.
"With my life." Sherman said as the jeep pulled to a stop.
"What about you?" Amy asked Cindy as they got out of the jeep.
Cindy turned and looked back and down at her. "I feel the same. If you would have seen what we have, you never would have asked."
Amy quit asking any more questions as they went through the line to get their breakfast. She had to remember she was the outsider, not the dragon. If Cindy and Sherman trusted him that much she would too. Amy was a bit disappointed they had ran out of chocolate muffins all ready.
Nodrog watched their every move from the security hub of the base. Now that he had a little better idea he could now see the nearly hidden mistakes Amy made. It was in her body movements and the way she carried herself. She lacked a few of the usual subconscious things people do when they interact with people. Like looking up and to the right when they are lying or up and to the left when they tried to remember and actual fact. The little tells people give, that give them away, she didn't have.
"Thank you for your help. I have seen enough to form a conclusion." Nodrog said as he turned to leave.
"What is that sir?" One of the MPs asked.
"It is non of your concern and I will handle everything. Do yourselves a favor and forget I was even here." Nodrog opened the door and left the security hub. The guard outside radioed for a jeep to take him back to the chopper. He thanked the woman for the ride and sat down on the rear ramp of the gunship to wait for the other three.
They were a bit surprised to see him sitting on the ramp waiting for them after having been missing most of the morning. He made no movement as they walked up to him either. Sherman could tell he had figured something out just by the way he watched them. "You all right Nodrog?"
"I am." Nodrog eyed Amy carefully.
"I take it we are ready to leave." Cindy said.
"In a minute." Nodrog said. He then said a few short commands in his native tongue. Cindy and Sherman both covered their ears. The only movement Amy made was to reach for the pistol on her left hip.
In a much different tone of voice and now with blue glowing eyes Amy spoke. "You are not The General, how do you know those commands?"
Nodrog held up a hand to stop Sherman and Cindy. "I know those commands because I am a monster. The Iron Dragon Nodrog."
Amy released her grip on the pistol. "Identity acknowledged. I am to take you to my master."
"What's going on?" Cindy was still considering reaching for her sidearm.
"Seems our Specialist is under some kind of spell." Sherman he put his hand on Cindy's shoulder to stop her from reaching.
"Then lets not keep your master waiting any longer." Nodrog grinned wickedly.
"Very well if you three will board the gunship, I will take you to him." Amy walked over to the gunship cockpit and climbed in.
"Lets go." Nodrog stood up and walked up the ramp into the gunship.
"Do you still trust him?" Cindy asked.
"Yes." Sherman boarded the gunship as the engines whined to life.
"Just for the record I don't like this." Cindy followed him into the gunship.
"I will make a note of that." Sherman sat across from Nodrog. "You have some explaining to do."
Cindy sat next to Sherman and belted herself in as Amy spoke to the control tower in that horrid language. "That's why there was no record of a flight plan for the general's trips. The automated flight control system logged them under a different code."
"Which is why the computer system could translate the codes on our mystery sheet of paper. The computers all ready know it." Sherman leaned back as they took to the skies.
"Correct on both parts. Though Amy is not under any spell, to put it in simple terms she is a magically created puppet." Nodrog said.
"Then how did you figure out that Amy was not real?" Cindy asked.
"She is lacking some of the subconscious things everyone does. That and I can't read all of her mind except for the random jumble of thoughts someone put there purposely." Nodrog leaned forward with his elbows on his knees.
"Do you know where we are going?" Sherman asked as the gunship banked slowly to the right and picked up speed.
"Not a clue. That's why the extra fuel tank." Nodrog chuckled.
"That's just great." Cindy crossed her arms and hoped she would make it back to HQ in one piece.
On their way to an unknown location the three of them traveled in silence. Cindy and Sherman were a bit grumpy about the situation as Nodrog sat in quiet amusement. Back up in the city, Alice and Jenny had just gotten off the bus to pick up Alice's repaired car.
"Hey little lady I was just going to give you a call." Joe said as Alice and Jenny walked into his shop.
"Guess I just have good timing, Joe." Alice and Jenny walked up to the counter.
"I think more than just good timing." Wes said with a sly smile and a wink to the both of them.
"Sorry Wes, but she is all mine." Jenny teased, but had latched onto Alice's arm for good measure.
"Thought I heard Alice out here." Katie came out from the back. Unlike the Katie they worked with this one was a tall leopard anthro. Alice and Jenny both agreed she was pin up girl material. "Hello. Just finished getting the wax buffed out on it."
"The speed you can get body work done is amazing, I really appreciate it Katie." Alice said.
"You're one of our best customers, have to treat you like a princess." Katie put her arm around Joe. "Isn't that right hunny?"
"Of course dear. I printed out the event schedule for you and Jim. I think with his help we can run a second truck and play leap frog down the course. So we can cover both you and Wes on pit stops during the different stages." Joe handed Alice a couple sheets of paper.
"I don't see why he wouldn't agree. How much do I owe you for the paint?" Alice asked.
"Told you I would take care of it Alice. You and Wes are going to be representing our business, have to make sure both cars look their best." Joe said.
"Exactly. I changed the paint mix a little. Tried to get a little more depth in the candy coat. Little more gloss in the clear coat, really makes it pop. And it looks like its still wet, like it was just dipped." Katie spoke fondly of her work, and knew Alice to be a hard little mouse to please.
"Sweet, lets go take a look." Alice and Jenny followed the Amazon of a woman to the back of the shop.
Wes, Joe and a couple other guys watched the three gorgeous asses walk to the back of the shop.
Katie led them back to one of her paint booths. "Still waiting for the paint on Wes' Austin to dry but I left the metallic silver base coat and shot some candy green over the top of it. What do you think?" Katie asked.
"I really like it, I should come to you when I need to paint my nails." Jenny said with a giggle.
"That looks really good. How did you talk him into it?" Alice asked as she turned from the window.
"I didn't ask, he had suggested it. The candies really stand out in a crowd. Since both cars run with no sponsor logos on them, they will really stand out." Katie was pleased both girls liked the color.
The three women walked out the back of the shop to the gated lot they kept the cars in while waiting for work or to be picked up. Alice squealed with glee as soon as she spotted her Lotus. She actually let go of Jenny's hand and ran over to the car.
"You really out did yourself Katie, it does look like it is still wet. Simply a beautiful effect." Jenny and Katie walked up to the car.
"Coming from a non car enthusiast like you means a lot to me Jenny." Katie watched as Alice bounced around like a kid in a candy store.
"It's her favorite thing so I try and understand it. You don't have to be a fan to appreciate the hard work it takes to get this kind of result. I have seen a lot of your work from her dragging me to shows. Every time I think you can't do any better but you somehow manage to every time." Jenny didn't want to touch the car because even next to it, the car looked like the candy was still drying.
"Thanks. That's what I work for every time, to blow people out of the water with every car. Despite the simplicity of the paint on Alice's car, she is one of the hardest to please. Perfection is not good enough, it has to be better." Katie smiled as Alice quickly said 'oh my gosh' a few hundred times.
"I might be a little jealous." Jenny said.
"Why is that?" Katie asked.
"I don't get that kind of reaction after sex." Jenny said with a laugh as Alice tried to calm down.
Katie laughed. "I think you are being hard on yourself. Alice take a few deep breaths."
Alice stood still and did just that, she couldn't believe how good the car looked. Not a single sign of any repairs, even on the underside. "I am totally blown away. Thanks so much Katie." Alice practically threw herself at Katie and gave the tall woman a hug.
"Glad you like it." Katie hugged Alice back.
"Like it, I love it." Alice said with a big smile.
"Speaking of love, did I see a ring on your finger?" Katie asked. Alice and Jenny both smiled, nodded and both held out their left hands.
"I asked her yesterday." Jenny's tail nearly dancing behind her as she smiled brightly.
"Oh my gosh that's so sweet." Katie hugged them both. "So when is the big day?"
"When is what big day?" Joe asked as he and Wes came out to see how Alice liked the car.
"Our two little love birds are engaged." Katie turned and still held both tightly.
"I had wondered when one of you was going to ask the other. Congratulations." Wes laughed as Jenny and Alice got out of Katie's grip.
"That is some terrific news. Congratulations as well." Joe said and put his arm around Katie's waist.
"We haven't picked a day yet." Alice looked at her hand.
"Let me know first thing, my sister loves planning weddings and makes dresses." Katie said.
"Of course we will let you know." Jenny said.
"That is why we are out today, to get some announcements made to send to all of our family and friends." Alice said.
"Well then we will see you both later." Joe said.
Alice and Jenny got in the car and headed out. Both excited about the next chapter of their lives together. While they had not picked a date they had all ready picked a place. The little beach house Jenny's grandmother had given them.
A few days ago in the early morning before Nodrog had taken off with Sherman to find some answers Jenny had gotten up and went to talk with him. She felt she had to ask him out of courtesy.
"Something wrong?" Nodrog asked as Jenny walked around the couch and sat on his lap.
"No, I want to ask you something." Jenny leaned forward and kissed him.
"You can ask me anything you know that." Nodrog said.
"I want to get married to Alice. I wanted to ask if you would be okay with that. Since I love you too." Jenny said.
"Then ask her. If you feel that way don't wait." Nodrog hugged her. He was glad his involvement had not hurt their relationship.
"Somehow, I knew you would say that." Jenny kissed him again while she guided his hand under her bathrobe. It would be the last time they made love before she and Alice were engaged.
Now a hundred miles from anything Nodrog wondered if Jenny had asked Alice that question. They flew just above tree level under full power. Cindy was an excellent pilot, but Amy seemed to be able to hold her own as they dropped elevation dramatically following the contours of the earth.
"Any idea where we are?" Cindy asked.
"Not a clue." Sherman looked out the window as the trees and ground rushed past.
"We are only a half hour out from our destination in the Black Hills." Amy said over the head sets they were wearing.
"There you go, we are over the Black Hills." Nodrog chuckled because the name did nothing to tell him where that was..
"Are we being tracked?" Sherman asked as they encountered another abrupt elevation change.
"No, I have disabled the gunship's tracking and active sensors. We are traveling under full black out." Amy said.
"Was that part of your plan Nodrog?" Cindy asked.
"Hell I don't know what any of that means. Have a little faith." Nodrog chuckled as they pitched the other direction.
Amy piloted the heavy gunship through the narrow canyon leading to the hidden entrance to the base her master and The General had built in total secrecy. She jammed the throttle again to full power pulling back on the stick bringing the gunship to near stall around a sharp bend in the canyon. The rotors thundered and the engines screamed in protest as she piloted it on the edge of its performance.
The near suicidal pace was too stop anyone tracking or trying to follow them. Amy had flown this route a number of times with The General. It also was the only way to get a straight shot at entering the base.
A number of warning bells, lights came on again from the near stall and the active radar that lit the gunship up. Amy reached up and changed the radio's frequency and keyed the mic to give clearance codes. While the gunship sped to a cliff face at nearly full power. They confirmed her access and a gap opened up in the cliff as she kept the throttle at full power.
The landing bay was clear and Amy instantly cut the power and pulled back hard on the stick bringing the gunship to a quick stop inside the bay as the doors quickly closed behind them. She throttled down and set the gunship down softly. Reaching up to kill the engines and shut down the rest of the power.
Nodrog hit the switch to open the rear hatch and stepped out unarmed. Cindy and Sherman followed his lead and left their weapons in the gunship. Amy had climbed out of the cockpit and walked over to them her glowing eyes a bit on the creepy side.
"He will be here shortly." Amy turned to look at a large door that groaned open.
Cindy and Sherman stood nervously as another Amy walked over to them with a man much like the general in age and stature. They were accompanied by a giant white monster.
The group of three stopped a few steps away. Nodrog placed his hands together and bowed before the giant white monster. He said a greeting in their tongue.
The white monster returned his gesture and greeting. "It has been a long time iron dragon." Its accent slightly oriental.
"It has. Pang Zsu it seems your puppetry has improved greatly." Nodrog looked over Amy.
"You have very good eyes dragon. So you and Sherman must be the two that old fool was trying to bring here." The man standing next to Pang Zsu said.
"Yes we are and we would very much like to know why. You know our names what is yours?" Sherman asked.
"You can call me Freeman. We will give you answers, follow me." Freeman motioning for them to follow.
With the two Amys making sure they didn't fall behind Cindy, Sherman and Nodrog followed Freeman and Pang. "You're like my grandfather, no matter where we go you know someone there."
"Pang Zsu is yeti from the northern regions of China. We monsters always know someone, somewhere." Nodrog said.
"So I have noticed." Sherman said.
They entered a large conference style room and took a seat while the two Amys stood outside guarding the door. Freeman stayed standing while Pang took a seat. The older man rubbed his temples before he turned around a spoke.
"Mine and The General's methods vary greatly, I apologize for his actions. This was a private joint venture separate from the politics we each faced at the companies we work for. Despite what you think, we are not trying to take over the world or any other far fetched reasons. Both companies had a super soldier program and both got shut down. No one could see the other benefits such research could lead too." Freeman paused to gather his thoughts.
"While yes they had their military value, everything else was over looked. We are so, so close to applying the regenerative abilities of the soldiers to curing life crippling diseases and cancers. Those same abilities could be used by explores as the human race reaches farther out into space. We each only had one truly successful candidate. My own Lieut. Mauser is the same level as you are Sherman. With the two of you here we had hoped to find the missing piece to take it to the next step." Freeman said.
"Why did The General not simply ask then?" Cindy asked.
"You would have to ask the man himself. We don't know." Pang Zsu shrugged.
"Admittedly he might have still had ambitions of a super army." Freeman said sadly.
"Then what about me?" Nodrog asked.
"Because of what you are. I had thought given the right resources I could figure out how your metal flesh remained flexible and repaired itself. So we could apply it to armored suits or space going ships." Pang Zsu said quietly.
"You should have asked Pang Zsu." Nodrog said.
"Yes, I should have, but you have always been apprehensive to be subjected to scrutiny. I was not sure how you would react, I am sorry." Pang Zsu said and bowed his head.
"We won't force you to do anything. I will get your gunship refueled and Amy can return you back to your home base." Freeman said.
"Well that's all fine, but what do we tell our boss? He finds out the general was stealing to fund his own projects he might come down her and take it all back." Cindy was rather pissed off at their arrogance and didn't buy the good guy act for a second.
"Pang Zsu, they have all ready tried to do what you want. Once separated from my body, the metal returns to its natural state. You know why that is and why nothing would change that." Nodrog said.
"I know, it has always been a stretch. At least you understand." Pang Zsu said.
"I will let you take a blood and skin sample. Then we will return to our facility." Sherman said firmly.
Cindy was totally shocked and did not hide her feelings. "After all they have done you are going to let them get away?"
"They have done nothing wrong, only The General has." Sherman said.
"And I agree with that." Nodrog stood up. "A word alone Pang Zsu?"
"Of course." Pang Zsu stood up as well. He motioned for Nodrog to follow him and they stepped into another office as Sherman and Freeman headed out to get the two samples. The Amy that had flown them here took Cindy back to the gunship.
"What can I do for you iron dragon?" Pang Zsu said.
"You need not worry about me, I have found something to live for other then war." Nodrog looked out the window down at the landing bay.
"You have no idea how glad I am to hear that. I had wondered what took you so long to figure out the girl was one of my puppets." Pang Zsu said as Cindy and Amy walked into view.
"The ears and the tail threw me off. Truly one of your finest works." Nodrog said.
"You are too kind. There is only one flaw." Pang Zsu said.
"And that is?" Nodrog asked.
"She is attracted to you." Pang Zsu said.
"I don't see how that is a flaw." Nodrog said with a laugh.
"Make it two then. She is like us and will never age. Once you return give her these instructions." Pang Zsu wrote some things down on a sheet of paper.
Nodrog looked them over. "I will, it would be better if she returned here. They might want to take her apart and see how you made her tick."
"You really have changed Nodrog. You would never have worried about something like her before. Those two girls must be very special." Pang Zsu said.
"They are." Nodrog said.
"Then lets get you back to them." Pang Zsu turned to walk to the gunship. They met Sherman and Freeman in the large hall leading to the landing bay.
"What will you tell them Sherman?" Freeman asked.
"I don't know yet." Sherman turned and got on the gunship.
"Until we meet again, do take care iron dragon." Pang Zsu said.
"You as well." They both bowed to the other. He boarded the gunship and closed the hatch.
"Can you really trust him?" Freeman asked.
"Of course, we monsters keep our word." Pang Zsu said as the gunship took to the air once again. He was more than a thousand years older than the iron dragon and in all that time he only knew of one instance were a monster betrayed another monster.
In those thousands of years the iron dragon was the one who had been betrayed by another monster. To deepen the mystery, Nodrog claimed he did not remember who had done it.