by Leona Jarnefeldt 15th July 2021, 12:17 am
"Get out of there, Miss Jarnefeldt!" Mister Burke shouted into the headset. Leona was too busy aiming at the outlaws and firing back to heed his advice.
"I can't get out yet, Mister Burke. I can't take off without the men being able to shoot me in the back before my flying summon can even clear the ground!" Leona informed him that she was effectively trapped. A rifle bullet whizzed by her right ear and she ducked. She fired three rapid shots at the shooter and hit him in the right shoulder once, causing him to yell in pain and fall from his horse. She heard a SLAM over her headset like he had slammed his hand on the desk and heard a muttered curse.
"Understood, Miss Jarnefeldt. There is nothing I can do on my end, so you will have to fight your way out." Mister Burke informed her that no rescue was coming for her, so she would have to fight her way out of the ambush.
"I'll find a way to escape, Mister Burke. I just need to make an opening so that I can fly out of here." Leona informed him. Moments after that she felt a bullet graze the top of her left shoulder and her rifle momentarily dipped to the ground from the pain in her left shoulder. She clenched her teeth and raised the rifle again, aiming at the man who had grazed her. She fired five shots at his head and hit with one of them, knocking him from the saddle.
Leona saw the rest of the men charging at her and noticed the sand they were kicking up. That gave Leona an idea.
Why not use her Storm Impact spell to kick up some sand to cover her escape?
Leona lowered her rifle, moved two steps forward, formed her left hand into a fist, channeled silver magic into it, and slammed her fist onto the sandy ground, kicking up a dome of sand that the riders rushed through. She heard the sound of neighing and saw the horses approaching her, so she needed to act fast. The first order of business was to secure the carrying case.
Leona looked around and saw the Orion's carrying case, which had been moved about three meters behind her by the Storm Impact spell. She ran over to it and picked it up by the handle using her left hand. She then ran back over to Winged Lion, aimed the Ranger Laser Rifle towards the sand cloud, held down the trigger, and fired into the rapidly fading cloud of sand without aiming. After three seconds of shooting she then turned around and hurriedly climbed onto Winged Lion's back.
"TAKE OFF!" Leona telepathically ordered him. Bullets whizzed around her as Winged Lion ran forward and flapped his wings. After about five meters of running he leaped and began flapping away from the gunfire. Leona did not dare look back at the outlaws as she flew away and gained altitude.
"Where are we going?" Winged Lion asked her once they were ten meters above the ground.
"To Shirotsume!" Leona answered as bullets flew around her and Winged Lion. The summon wordlessly banked left and made a beeline for the destination as bullets continued to fly around them. Leona could not wait to be out of the line of fire. The outlaws were firing away at her on the ground below and were missing by a wide margin, but she would not feel truly safe until she was in Shirotsume.
-Shirotsume, Mister Burke's home, two hours later-
"Welcome back, Miss Jarnefeldt. I see that you managed to fight your way out of the ambush. And you also retrieved the Orion's carrying case. That is wonderful, Miss Jarnefeldt." Mister Burke greeted Leona in the third floor meeting room of his home. Leona was hot, tired, and more than a little sweaty. She also wanted to treat the grazing bullet wound on her left shoulder. But before she did any of that she had to hand over the Orion and the company iLac he had loaned her. Now that her job was done she turned off her SHG-IV Smart Glasses.
"Here you go, Mister Burke." Leona said, handing off the case to him with her left hand. Mister Burke took the case into both hands.
"Thank you, Miss Jarnefeldt. Now let us see if the Orion is still in there." Mister Burke said. He carried the case to the desk he had given his briefing from and turned it away from Leona, then produced a white keycard from his suit's pants pocket. He swiped it through the keycard reader and a soft BEEP was heard. He undid the latches on each side of the case and opened it.
"Excellent work, Miss Jarnefeldt. The Orion is still in the case and it is safe and sound." Mister Burke said to her before closing the case. Leona had already seen the heavily redacted schematics for the weapon, so she was not sure why she was not permitted to see the actual weapon. However, she was not going to argue with him. Leona took off her backpack and opened it, then fished out the burgundy iLac he had loaned her.
"And here's your iLac back." Leona told him and handed it to him. He smiled.
"Thank you, Miss Jarnefeldt. And here is your payment for a job well done." He said. He produced a bag of Jewels from a drawer in the desk and handed them to Leona. The weary Wizard Saint gratefully took them.
"Thank you, Mister Burke." Leona thanked the client for the payment and the job opportunity. She put the Jewels inside the backpack, then closed it up and put it on her shoulders. She winced in pain from the grazing bullet wound on her left shoulder.
"Should I need your help again I will contact you, Miss Jarnefeldt. Please keep any and all knowledge of the Orion to yourself. I bid you good day." Mister Burke requested that Leona keep her knowledge of the Orion secret before dismissing her. The Wizard Saint waved goodbye and left the meeting room. She was going to go home to Silver Wolf Guild Hall and get the grazing bullet wound treated, then go to her room and sleep for the rest of the day. That was the best way to end such a brief but exciting job.
[Post Word Count: 1,074]
[Post Word Count: 3,550/2,500]