The radio clicked, and Emma’s Falcon slotted back into formation. Joe looked up and over his shoulders. One British pilot hung from his parachute straps below and behind the bombers, watching as his plane spiralled into the desert, fifteen thousand … Continue reading
“Robber One, this is Yankee One,” Joe said into his microphone. “We’re going to give Charlie a hand real quick.” His radio clicked, and he looked over his shoulder. Emma gave him a wing waggle. He leveled off and said, … Continue reading
The g-forces pressed him deep into his seat, and the corners of his vision went black as he turned through one hundred eighty degrees. A pair of British fighters flashed by. Joe glimpsed a British pilot looking back at him … Continue reading
“Copy that,” Joe said. “Hit her engines, she drops like a rock.” “That’s right,” Cannon said. “Simple.” Joe eyed the British planes, still circling Sparrow. He counted sixteen, four bombers and twelve fighters, against Inconstant‘s fourteen fighters. The Long Nines’ … Continue reading
“Takahashi, take your flight up high and watch the Limey top cover,” Joe said. “Call it in if—” Stopping in midsentence, he squinted toward the British planes left around the zep. The radio clicked as four Kestrels climbed out of … Continue reading
Another pair of Kestrels launched. Joe’s Falcon swung gently as the deck crew moved it along the rails. Joe adjusted the shaving mirror clamped over his head until he could see Emma’s fighter, sliding onto the rails behind him. Two … Continue reading
Shaking his head, Joe stowed his start-up checklist. Down on the deck, a young woman caught his eye. Tomlin, he thought, one of the latest batch. She kept out of the way as best she could, heading aft with a … Continue reading
Joe stepped delicately from the ladder into the cockpit of his Falcon. Even so, it swung beneath his weight. Already, the other pilots were coaxing their machines to life, and the sputters as the engines turned over quickly built to … Continue reading
Cannon joined him and surveyed the chart. The wooden marker representing Inconstant sat at the far corner of the table. Churchill said, “There we are, seventy-five miles south of Alexandria, course due west. The British zeppelin is twenty-five miles east, … Continue reading
Cannon nodded to himself. He took pride in an efficient, well-drilled crew, and although this one, like all pirate crews, worked with a certain devil-may-care attitude, it fit the bill. As he made his way carefully down the ladder, they … Continue reading
