Panthera Spelaea
Holy Mole-ey

“We stay in my office,” Art said. “If they drop men on the landing pad, it’s the best defensive point.”

“Not for me,” Ekatarina said. “I’m heading up to the flying bridge. I need a place where I can take off if needed.” She headed forward, using the internal stairs. No one would be going outside as the entire ship played possum. We were dead in the water, pretending as if the assault team had killed everyone and left us adrift.

After Ekatarina left, six fully armed crew members joined us in Art’s office. We could see the helicopters coming in low over the waves to our starboard side. I heard Zach’s voice over the walkie-talkie Art had on his belt. “What is the plan, boss?”

Art answered the call. “Let the helicopter land and discharge its passengers. The shooters on the upper levels are not to take them down until they lift clear of the ship. The last thing we need is a crash onboard.”

“Roger that, sir. How long before we open fire?”

“No one makes it to the interior of the ship, so when the first door opens, we open fire. As soon as the first shot’s fired, everyone opens fire. Target the people and any helicopters in range. Try to leave some alive for interrogation if you can.”

“Copy that. All team members hold fire until the interior is breached anywhere in the ship.”

Art put his crew near the doors and the sliding windows, moving them a few inches to give firing ports. He put us farther back. I moved a couch forward from the rear bulkhead, pushing the girls behind it. They could stay out of sight and cover the rear doors. I took a spot next to the wall, a bookcase providing some protection against incoming rounds. I kept my rifle at low ready, facing the door leading to the bow and the helicopter landing area.

I could hear the helicopter turbines as they came closer. “Two helicopters two hundred yards and closing, dropping ropes, the third is circling out of range. Be aware that hostiles may land on any topside deck.”

That wasn’t good. We were far better off with one helicopter at a time on the bow than three landing people at the same time. Duncan was nervous. “We could have problems. They could let those troops land anywhere.”

“My people are ready,” Art replied.

The lead helicopter was almost to the bow, flaring out as it moved to hover over the landing pad. Three men with rifles fast-roped to the deck, taking up defensive positions. The helicopter moved off, pulling up the rope as it went. “Three hostiles on the bow, four on the aft sun deck. Stay hidden until interior breach.”

I heard a rifle burst, three rounds above us. None of the crew hesitated; a hail of gunfire rained out to cut the three men on the bow to pieces. As soon as their targets were down, the crew members deployed forward out the door, taking positions along the rails to fire at the helicopter as it moved away. The fleeing helicopter was still in range of the assault rifles, even though the bigger rounds in the bolt-actions caused more damage. I saw a puff of black smoke come from the engine, proof something hit and caused damage. I fired quickly, aiming at the delicate blades and gearbox.

They couldn’t get away fast enough. With two dozen rifles aimed at it, the helicopter was toast. It started to rotate as the black smoke increased. Something seized up in the gearbox, causing the blades to snap off, and the helicopter plunged headfirst into the ocean.

I swapped magazines as I ran towards the stern, eager to continue the fight. I was distracted by the sound of a loud screech. Glancing towards the source, I saw a Golden Eagle flying away towards shore. “What the hell is Ekatarina doing?”

Duncan and Olivia were right behind me, and they didn’t know either. “Maybe her eagle took over in the excitement,” Duncan said.

By the time we cleared the aft superstructure, the fight there was over. The third helicopter, the one that never approached, was returning to shore. The second helicopter was leaking oil, a trail of black smoke following it as it fled. Zach’s voice came over Art’s radio. “Cease fire, cease fire! Safe and clear all weapons. All stations, casualty reports.”

The first report made my blood run cold. “Flying bridge has one dead, one missing. Grandpa Art, I need you up here immediately,” the female voice said.

Art headed for the stairs. The girls were running to catch up to me, and we followed Duncan, Olivia, and Edward up the two decks. We emerged next to the flying bridge, the alternate control station for the yacht above the enclosed bridge. I couldn’t see anything at first, just a bunch of people standing around a body. There was a lot of red blood.

Art had dropped to his knees, pulling the victim’s head into his chest as he let out a wail of grief. Duncan was holding Olivia up as she cried into his shoulder. Edward just stood there, shocked.

I took Anna and Svetlana by the hand and slowly approached. I froze when I saw Ekatarina’s face among the gore of a close-range rifle shot to the back of her head.

“We found our mole,” the Captain said with disgust. He pushed the body armor over, exposing the name inside. “My first mate, Todd Smallwood.”

Zach had it all figured out in seconds. “He shot Ekatarina in the back of the head, then touched her and took her Eagle.” He looked out towards the horizon to where the second helicopter had now crashed. “He served us all up in exchange for taking a Switcher.”

“Why?” I couldn’t understand it. I turned to Art, who had picked his friend up in his arms by now. “Why not take your gift and your fortune?”

“Because the rest of the family would kill him for it before he could change back,” Art replied. “Todd is smart. He knew that only the eagle shifter would be able to escape here when the assault failed again, and he knew Mikhail would blame him for the failure of both attacks.”

Zach agreed. “Since they attacked based on Todd’s intelligence reports, how do you explain meeting such formidable resistance?”

Art looked crushed. “He’s fucking DEAD. Kill him and bring him back to me. Mikhail as well; I want his fucking head on a spike for what he’s done today.”

My Lion was in full agreement.

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