Dragon 3 Chapter 7 (Patreon)

“What do you mean, you don’t have a grenade launcher? That’s basic equipment. I thought you were professionals.” Morgana stared at the table, which now had an assortment of handguns and a few semi-automatic rifles.

“We operate a guard service, not a fucking military armory.” Scarlett was getting angry at Morgana’s assessment of her weapons. These girls and their guns.

Morgana grudgingly decided on the two largest rifles and a few loaded magazines. “This will just have to do. I can’t believe we are going after fucking templars with these pea shooters.”

Scarlett cocked her hips and crossed her arms. Best we get out of here. I knew that look.

I picked up a single handgun and checked it over before sliding it and a spare magazine into my pants. “You had a nun outfit. I assume that wasn’t for theatrics?”

It was time we started talking about a plan rather than just vague ideas of sneaking to her tree. “You also need offerings for your tree.”

“Have those.” She patted her chest. “I’ve kept a close eye on the place for a very long time. Right now, it fronts itself as a charity drive organization. There are a few ways we could get inside. It could be as court ordered community service, a customer, or a volunteer.”

“Okay, but how do we get past the fact that you’re blue?” I poked one of her pointy ears sticking out of her silver hair.

She slapped my hand away. “I do occasionally have to go out during the day.” Pulling a pendant out of her bra, she clasped it around her neck. As she did it, her skin tone changed down to a pale but human color, her eyes turned dark chocolate brown, and her hair was a dry blond. “See?”

Her ears still poked out of her hair, but she could cover those with the nun outfit or any winter hat. “It's a wonderful enchantment. Only has a tiny pulse of magic every minute or so to keep it up. It’s very hard to detect, even if you are looking for it. Although I lose a bit of my extra flare.”

I stared at her, still caught off guard by the sudden change of her appearance. Scarlett had to nudge me back to attention. I quickly jumped back into the conversation. “Okay, so we volunteer there. I’m going to guess a tree soaking in celestial holy water isn’t exactly out in the open?”

Pale Morgana grinning back at me was a little disconcerting. “Yep, so we sneak around. Or, we use our plan B.” She patted the bag of guns. Morgana took off the pendant, returning to her normal blue self while in Sentarshaden.

I looked back at the rest of my crew. “All of us?” Jadelyn wasn’t really a fighter, and she was famous enough she could get recognized.

“No, we’ll have to sit back and let you go undercover.” Scarlett said grumpily. “Jadelyn can’t go in there, and I have to stay with her.”

“I’m sure you’ll be able to find something to do in Sentarshaden.” I said, rolling my eyes.

Jadelyn looked a little hurt as she crossed her arms, and I realized that it was in fact our honeymoon. I had been so caught up with Morgana, I’d missed giving her the attention she may need as a new bride.

I tried to backtrack. “Either way, once this is done, I expect to see the city with you and really celebrate with all of you.” Grabbing Jadelyn’s hand, I ran my rough thumb over the back of her hand.

“Don’t worry.” She smiled. “We can always go on another trip later. I just want you back safe.”

Morgana slung the bag onto her back. It clattered as its lethal cargo flopped around. She nearly toppled over as the weight settled on her shoulder.

“Fuck.” I jumped forward, grabbing her and the bag before she hit the floor. “Let me carry things, and I’m driving.”

She frowned but let me take the bag. The other girls watched as I half carried her out of Jadelyn’s home.

We’d make this a short trip. We’d get in, get Morgana to do her tree magic, and hopefully get out with a much healthier Morgana.

And once we were back, we could explore Sentarshaden like actual tourists.

Morgana managed to throw herself into the car while I threw the bag of guns in back. I moved quickly, sliding into the driver’s seat before she could get impatient. I resisted the temptation to push the big red button. Even though it was almost mocking me to press it.

Morgana slid into the seat next to me, and we rolled out of Jadelyn’s place.

I had to be careful as I drove. The slightest tap on the gas really kicked the car into gear. I found I couldn’t even apply steady pressure in the city traffic.

“So, how do we get out of the city to Austria?” I realized that we’d gotten to the city via the train.

“We’ll still train out. I’ll just zap the car into a spatial pocket when we take the train.”

“That’ll tax you, and you are barely holding it together.” I realized.

Morgana was unamused. “Some things need to be done.”

We pulled up to the train station and true to her word; she managed to stash it away in a spatial pocket. But doing so had her falling over, and I had to pick Morgana up, carrying her onto the train.

She was like a helpless blue kitten in my arms.

“Don’t look at me like that.” Morgana was unamused by my sympathy.

“Then don’t let yourself get this bad again. I care for you Morgana.” I pressed.

“I know.” She refused to meet my gaze. The hardened fighter of paranormal legend was blushing. “I care for you, too.”

***

We drove along the highway through the alps, having already crossed into Austria.

Morgana was resting in the passenger seat, having been worn out from storing and removing the car with her spatial magic. She’d been asleep for most of the ride with how much it had taken out of her.

I wish there had been more time to talk on the way, but she wasn’t well. That would have to wait until she was better.

She was looking pale in a way that made my heart ache for her. I needed to help her recover if it was the last thing I did.

The car did not blend in as we raced across Switzerland, taking the most terrifying road I had ever driven on.

But the conditions weren’t making it any better. I was combating winter weather and a mountainous road filled with switchbacks, while driving a car that had no business on anything other than freshly cleaned asphalt.

I breathed a sigh of relief when we made it, barely, to the small town of Galtz just as the alps settled down to slow rolling hills.

“Let’s hide the car. It doesn’t exactly sell our new cover.” I said, driving through the town. I looked around, realizing there wasn’t going to be a great place to hide it. It wasn’t as if Galtz had a parking garage we could stuff it in.

“There. That barn looks abandoned.” Morgana pointed to the side, where a lone barn sat unattended next to a dilapidated farmhouse.

Cringing, I drove the car through snow. I swore it was about to get stuck every few feet.

We managed to make it halfway to the barn before its wheels spun out.

“Get out and keep watch; tell me if you see anyone.” I pulled the keys and hopped out of the car, leaving it in neutral. Looking both ways and trusting my dragon instincts, I was fairly certain nobody was watching.

Grabbing the bumper, I let my body fill with draconic strength as I lifted the car’s front and hauled it the rest of the way to the barn. There was a chain lock on it, but that did little to stop me as I snapped it with a quick jerk.

Inside the barn there was some equipment sitting idle for the winter, but plenty of space for me to drag the car inside.

Once the car was in place, I opened the trunk, grabbing out our two big hiking backpacks. We could have used the spatial artifact, but for our cover, it would be odd if we didn’t have luggage.

“Coast is still clear; this is a sleepy little town.” Morgana waited outside as I closed the barn doors. I used the same chain to relock it, bending the broken ends together until they’d hold.

“That’s fine. That makes it a perfect place for a backpacking couple.” I bumped her hip. “Put on your backpack.”

The packs had miscellaneous items, but mine was largely loaded up with guns, and Morgana’s stuffed with blown up plastic bags. Morgana didn’t travel with less than a small army’s arsenal, and she couldn’t carry much right now.

I looked over as she put on the backpack, once again finding myself doing a double take. She was already ready wearing her pendant to look human and decked out in winter gear, a fluffy hat hiding her ears.

We’d changed her cover to a couple backpacking through Europe, so that I had a clearer role to play. Her being a nun didn’t leave me with many options.

We’d tell the charity that we were willing to work for food as we passed through.

Heading out on foot, we continued into town with nothing but two bulky backpacks on our back.

The town was filled with tiny one-story homes nestled up close together for warmth. But there was also a massive building that stood out with a sign that read ‘Angelic Service’. And beyond it were more buildings that together had more space than the rest of town.

It was a small campus.

I wondered why nobody questioned that it was an odd place to put such an extensive business.

I got a few odd looks as we walked through town, but no one seemed overly concerned to see two backpackers walking into town.

When we got to the Angelic Service storefront, I pulled open the door and rubbed my hands together as we walked in. “Hello, we were wondering if you needed two helpful hands?” I caught the first person who gave off a supervisor vibe.

“No, we are fully staffed.” Greg, at least according to his nametag, said before looking up and seeing the two of us. “Oh, visitors.” Rubbing his chin, he glanced back and forth in the store. “You know, we might be able to put you two to work hauling boxes in from the delivery truck. I normally unload them, but they are heavy.” His English was rough, but understandable.

“That would be great; we’re happy to work for food.” I offered.

“I figured you might.” He said. “The truck will be here in about ten minutes. We just need to unload it along the back of the building.”

“We shouldn’t bring it in?”

“Nope, they aren’t for us. They’ll go back to the campus; those guys will bring out trucks and grab it. The security back there is insane. They won’t let the delivery trucks back there, so we unload here.” He went back to work, seeming to not think the extreme security was anything of concern.

But it had probably been that way for so long that nobody questioned it anymore.

I jerked my head, and Morgana followed me out back, where we dropped our oversized backpacks.

“So, are we going to unload these boxes?” Morgana asked, wrinkling her nose at the idea.

I kept my head up to make sure no one else was out here listening to us.

I scanned around. There was a fence topped with angled barbed wire nearby, separating us from the rest of campus. I could probably jump it if needed.

“Now it is the time to make the plan. What do you think of their security?” I shifted my eyes to look for enchantments. Thankfully, there was only magic that I could sense on some of the personnel and deeper in the campus.

“The tree is in there.” She pointed towards the campus. “But the security here on the perimeter is false.”

“What do you mean?” I looked at the fence and the security post, trying to decipher what she was saying.

She nudged me and pointed, making touristy gestures at the whole complex.

I caught what she wanted me to see. Past the basic security, there were so many cameras that every angle must have been covered twice.

People walking the campus seemed like they were going about their day, but paying closer attention, it was the same dozen or so people. They were constantly flitting between buildings, and I started noticing bulges under their shirts where they had concealed weapons.

I sighed. I should have known they’d try to keep things somewhat undercover and less noticeable.

Morgana gave me another nudge, and I followed where she wanted me to look after giving it a moment. Up in several of the buildings that looked like old office buildings, there were men stationed behind tinted glass. I didn’t want to know what kind of firepower they held.

“Shit.” I spat. “This place is a fortress.”

The squeal of a big rig’s brakes pulled my attention away from the compound. A semi came rolling up to the store.

“That must be our job.” Morgana watched as it passed us and came to a stop, blocking our view of the compound beyond.

“Let me handle the heavy stuff.” I stepped away from the wall and waved at the driver, who hopped out.

“I got forty-eight pallet crates.” He looked around for something. “Usually there’s more of you.”

Shrugging, I played it off. “Guess just the two of us today.”

“A few of these are heavy as shit, but you should be able to manage the others. Let me get the ramp down.” He fiddled with a metal ramp that folded out the back. Then he threw the truck door open.

Square wooden crates about three feet wide were stacked up in the back, with big inflatable cushions keeping them in place.

Clambering up the ramp, I grabbed the first one. It wasn’t too heavy, and whatever was inside rode very well as I picked it up. It must have been well packed.

“Strong.” The driver whistled. “Lady, help me with some of these so I can get on my way.”

It wasn’t too hard moving the crates out and stacking them up until we got to the back. The last four crates felt like they were full of lead.

As discreetly as I could, I drew on my draconic strength to help. I tried to look strained as I dragged them out, huffing and puffing for effect.

“Alright, if you’d sign here.” The driver pulled out a sheet.

I hesitated, not wanting to sign anything, but Morgana saved me. “The boss inside will sign.”

“Suit yourselves.” He went into the Angelic Service store.

“These are weapons.” Morgana said as soon as he was out of earshot. “The heavy ones are ammo. Crack that one; I want to see what’s in it. But don’t break it. We can hammer it back down.”

I got my fingers in the lip and strained, pulling the nail out of the crate and lifting the corner enough for Morgana to peek in.

She let out a soft whistle. “Hammer it back down.”

Using my fist, I smashed the lid back on. “What are we dealing with?”

“RPGs in that one.” Morgana eyed the stack of crates and bit her lip. No doubt it was a tempting load to steal. “Looks like these are shipped quietly through some independent trucking service. Surprised they don’t have more rigor around this.”

“Maybe that just keeps it quieter?” I suggested, also finding it odd. But delivering weapons through a charity drive wasn’t a bad cover.

They were moving the weapons right under everyone’s noses. Either they kept it all casual to keep the secret or they’d grown too confident.

“Either way, this place seems more actively militant than I expected. The last time I was here, it was always more of a research and development arm.” Morgana nipped at her lip and showed off her fangs unintentionally.

“Keep your mouth closed.” I tapped my own canines.

She paused before realizing what I was saying and covering them again. “Idle habits.” She replied, lost in thought. “We’ll have to see if there’s some way to sneak in.”

I looked down at the heavy crates that she assumed were ammo. I tilted my head, looking between them and our bodies. They were just big enough it might work.

“This is going to sound stupid, but how about we hide ourselves in the crates? The truck is blocking the view. Do you have enough left to use your spatial magic to get rid of the contents?”

Her eyes darted back and forth until she cursed, nodding. “These two. Crack the lids. And put a few boxes on top of mine once I’m in.” She flicked her finger, and our backpacks disappeared. Morgana visibly sagged at the effort and had to hold on to a crate while I went to work.

I ripped open the two crates she’d pointed to, and she vanished their contents before she sagged and grabbed the edge of a crate to steady herself.

I was worried about her, but we didn’t have time to stall. She’d done her part, and now I could help. I deposited her in the straw-lined crate and knocked the wooden lid back closed.

Stacking two boxes on top of her, I readied myself to get in the other.

I jumped inside, but figured out the gap in my plan the second I was settled. I didn’t have a great way to get the lid closed again.

Partially shifting my hand, I worked my claws into the wooden lid, trying to pull it down as tightly as I could. It wasn’t perfect, but it would have to do.

“Alright, thanks for the helpers.” The truck driver’s voice was muffled through the box.

The truck's diesel engine rumbled and the air brakes puffed as he continued on his way.

“Huh, where’d they go?” The supervisor’s voice wandered around the boxes. “Must have been too much for them. Didn’t even try to get their food before they bailed.” He sounded tired. Clearly, we weren’t the first workers to leave partway through.

I sat there in silence, realizing the part of my plan I hadn’t thought about. Waiting. I was going to have to sit here without anything to do.

I was tense. It felt like at any second someone was going to pop the lid on my crate, or I’d hear Morgana cry out as she was discovered.

My beast was riding just under the surface of my skin, ready to shift and tear the templars apart. Waiting was eating at me, my anxiety building.

So, when another rumbling engine pulled up, I was almost relieved.

Several thuds announced what sounded like a number of men jumping out of the back of a jeep.

“Check the manifest.” Someone barked.

Near my crate, I could just make out the rustling of paper. “Two, four, six, eight… All here, boss.”

“Grab them. The armory will inventory when we get them there.” The first voice said.

Grunts started near me as the men started moving the boxes. I suddenly realized that I was far lighter than a crate of ammunition should be.

As quickly as I could, I added more mass to my body. But I only had so far I could expand within the box.

Thinking quickly, I took out the spatial artifact and started pulling out water bottles I had packed in the event of an emergency. Morgana would have to figure out her own solution.

This was definitely not the emergency I had been thinking of when I packed them, but it might just work. They were the densest items I could think of that I had in bulk.

Hopefully, it would be enough to fool these men, because I was out of time.

“Alright, this one‘ll be heavy.” A voice came right beside me. I froze, trying to keep my weight as still as a crate full of ammunition.

“On three, two, one. Lift.” Two voices grunted, and I felt myself lift up as I was finally dumped onto the bed of some truck.

I was braced, ready to act if we were discovered, but everything stayed quiet. Morgana must have figured something out.

“Three more and we’re heading back. Make sure to tie them down.” The boss reminded his men.

I nodded, glad I wouldn’t be spilling onto the road after all that work.