There’d been a bunch of appearances, and autograph signings, way more than any race I’d won in Australia. For two days after Halloween.
I mean, yea, its supposed ta be the top three from all the age categories, even if the loser just bailed after I crushed him. Not like I’m salty about that or anythin’.
Bloody fuckin’ awesome though ta constantly hear Dad talk about me being “Da Bomb.” Side swipes like winnin’ this was better than the run Bryce made back home years ago. Its weird……like its some sort of competition when we all know I’m the GOAT.
He’s doin’ better with all this stuff…….even if he really doesn’t like crowds. Mainly girls coming for the sigs anyway…..a few cute lads though. Probably too much ta hope that Dad didn’t see me add a couple ta Snapchat….at least he didn’t crush Bobby’s throat when he moved his chair a little closer durin’ the last session……I mean, he’s bloody sic. Like what am I goin’ ta do anyway, just ring up the ‘ole squad an’ say, hey, come on over an’ hang with Naoki an’ Hamilton an’ me? I’m Red Widow an’ this here is Ghost Venom, my dad? Nah, he left it at throwin’ some shade at him…..surprised Bobby didn’t burst into flames. He’s gettin’ better I guess.
Least he didn’t bring out the voice from the ship. Now I definitely know what his “STFU up and listen” voice is. I mean, its not like I’m a Zip Ghost anyway…..but……
Still…it may not be the Red Widow, but Livy Smith, US Southwest Motorcross Regional Champion has a pretty dope sound ta it, even if Livy Anderson’d be better.
We headed out that night. Dad drove, like last year. He said we were doin’ somethin’ different an’ somethin’ the same. Drive part of the way ta a National Park in Arizona. Said we’d all seen plenty of desert back home that we wouldn’t miss anythin’ until mornin’. All he really said was that we’d go skydivin’ on my birthday…..an’ that we’d stay gone for another week or so ta include his. I’d got him ta blurt out the surprise about the parachutin’ last week when he’d been tired and arguin’ with Henri. I feel kind of bad about it, but it had been funny at the time. He’d been tight lipped since though. Which was ok. I mean, last year’s surprise had been the snowboardin’ an’ the concert. Even if it ended with the Evil Titan stuff…..an’, well, things had been tense after that for awhile between Mum an’ Dad. Parents always thought kids were blind.
When I woke up in the back of the SUV, the sun was risin’ in the east, an’ we were no longer drivin’. The back hatch was open, and Dad was already haulin’ stuff out ta the…..
“Where beyon’ the Black Stump exactly ar’ we?”
“Coconino National Forest…….Northeaster’ Camp Site.”
“Campin’? In Winter? Bloody Awesome!”
“Might be cold if ya don’t get yer tent setup, a’ leas’ come nightfall.”
“Daaaaad. Why isn’t Mum helpin’?
“Because she’s got me…….”
“Yea, but I’ve go’ a’ amazin’ Da who’ll set mine up too, righto?
“Yer part right, ya got a’ amazin’ Dad who says get off yer ass an’ set up yer ten’ so we can go hikin’ after I make breakfast. Unless ya don’t wanna eat?”
He was in a mood alright. Most times I can get him ta do things for me, but not when 
he’s in teachin’ mode. Ya just have ta figure out what he’s teachin’ first. “Fine, ya stubborn wanker.”
“Takes one ta know one…….”
“Real mature response Da……”
“Takes one…..
“Yea, yea, I’m comin’.”
We stayed for two days, and two nights. Never once went into town. It was pretty awesome, cold at night, warm durin’ the day for hikin’ an’ some rock climbin’, nothin’ major but no animals really trying ta kill us, other than a few poisonous snakes who seemed ta avoid Dad out of some sort of familial bond or somethin’. Kind of creepy in a way. I mean I know he gets a lot of his powers from some sort of snake crap, but no one has really ever let me in on the details. Maybe one day.
The marshmellows were kind of a corny touch the second night, but…..Dad was super relaxed for once. Away from all the people, away from everythin’ I guess. Thankfully I bathed in the hot water spring before he and Mum had the two bottles of wine……definitely didn’t want ta go in there again. Bad thing about the quiet of the wilderness. Ya can hear everythin’. They didn’t even seem ta care. I couldn’t turn my headphones up high enough.
But…..I was happy they’d found each other again. Whatever happened before.
The next day, my birthday was fuckin’ awesome. I mean, not the gettin’ up at the crack of dawn, but Dad was true ta his word. We all jumped, even Mum, although Dad made me jump with him on the first jump, from this little plane that took off from a strip outside some small town called Winslow, Arizona.
The descent was……..I don’t know how ta explain it…..amazin’? Bloody fuckin’ amazin’. Tope. Fuckin’ bonzer an’ ripper combined with bloody awesome. Just no words.
“Mum……can we go again? Can I jump myself?”
“This is yer Dad’s surprise, baby, but…..I’m guessin’ so,” and she nodded back towards the strip in the distance as the plane touched down.
Dad just stood there and smiled like a brain damaged ‘roo. “We goin’ again, right Da?”
“If you wan’ kiddo. Happy Birthday!” Then he crushed me with a hug and an “I love ya, Livy.”
This time, I hugged him back. “Love ya, too, Da.”
We jumped four more times that day. I think I stressed Mum out a bit on the last one, but I wasn’t scared. Dad was there.
I love jumping out of a plane. I think I always have. Even when I’ve been blown out of a plane, and most recently when Alliance 2 went down and I was in free fall without a chute. I guess that makes me crazy. Ta me, it’s peaceful.
I can’t even explain how I happy I was that Livy loved it too. I thought she would. She’s an adrenaline junky like me, which could be bad. Probably will be bad, but I was trying ta at least show her the right way ta do these things. The safest way possible. I know Henri thought I was insane, but I made her take all the safety courses every time we did something. Plus my trainin’. And where relevant, from her Mum, and uncles, and when the big guns were needed, just call her Gran.
That’s why she wasn’t panickin’. So much like me. So much like her aunt that she never knew, well, as far as I know they never met. Guess I’d have ta ask Amelia sometime.
I’d insisted on the mics and helmets for the jump. I loved adrenaline. I wasn’t stupid. Although maybe I needed ta talk ta Amelia about making sure she wasn’t broadcasting when she hyperventilated.
“Ok, kiddo, listen to me.” Her primary chute had deployed for about ten seconds, but now was flappin’. “Hit the quick release above yer left breast,” my voice was calm as I hit mine and began ta dive towards her below.
“Done, sir.” I loved how she dropped int’ a low, but excited tone of voice. Like she’d been workin’ on bein’ more calm soundin’. Just like the ship. Just like most of the trainin’ runs with Bryce into the city as Red Widow, like they thought I didn’t know about those. “Good, good,” as I saw the flappin’, failin’ chute separate from her plummetin’ body, then saw her automatically flip an’ then straightenin’ her body out into a flat fall.
“Now, right hip, there’s the green emergency pull, yank on that, there ya go, kiddo,” and I breathed a small sigh of relief as her secondary suit billowed out above her. Two seconds later I pulled my own and we floated down fifty feet apart, a couple thousand feet ahead of her mother. I was probably goin’ ta hear about it tonight.
Besides, nobody needs ta know who packed those chutes right? I mean, I had the remote for the secret tertiary chute right here.
We’d been goin’ ta stay the rest of the afternoon, an’ jump one more time, having packed our own parachutes, but since nobody knew that but me, I just canceled that part after the fifth jump. I can learn not ta push all the limits. Sometimes. Well, occasionally.
We pulled into the Wig Wam Motel in Holbrook, Arizona later that day.
After I got our key, an’ pulled over in front of the massive constructed Wig Wam, I opened the door, I stepped inside ta let Amelia an’ Livy pass me. “Well, least its not a tent.” Amelia said, before turning into me, smilin’. “It’s cute,” an’ then kissed me lightly on the lips.
“This is more like it…..” Livy said, jumping up and down on one of the beds…… “reminds me of….” then she paused., “well, its cool.”
Shakin’ the awkwardness off, “Hey, we ca’ log into Netflix, plus they got free wifi, an’ there’s a heated pool. What else da we need?”
“Can I go ta the pool, Mum? Looked like there were some other kids there.”
“Sure, but no where else!”
Livy threw her duffle bag on one of the beds, grabbed her suit and was in and out of the bathroom in a flash.
As the door slammed shut, Amelia said, “I’m all sticky from sweat, I’m goin’ ta hop in the shower.”
As she turned to grab her own bag, I stepped in behind her, “Ssshower can wait…..,” an’ I let my tongue flcker out and caress the back of her ear. “Ya sssmell sssexy ta me…” as my hands slid around her waist grabbing the edge of the long sleeved T-shirt an’ pulling it over her head with one hand, the other move up an’ under the sports bra she’d been wearing for the jumps.
“Livy could come back……”
“We got plenty o’ time for a naughty. Ssshe didn’t take a key,” I whispered, pulling her around, an’ then kissing her deeply, thrusting my forked tongue deep into her mouth.
Livy’d picked the place for her birthday dinner, an’ in San Diego she’d grown ta really like Mexican food, especially spicy Mexican food. Romo’s Cafe in Holbrook had been an amazin’ choice, an’ we had tried a lot of food, an’ I’d eaten the rest after everyone got their fill.
The restaurant staff didn’t even blink when I ordered all those enchiladas ta go even after we…I… had eaten so much at the restaurant. Even with Livy’s sarcastic bottomless pit jokes.
Livy ripped through the gifts when we returned to the room. I watched, contentedly, I had purchased the airpods, an’ had gone with Amelia one of the times to buy clothes, although it saddened me when we had picked out the black dress. Not because it wouldn’t look beautiful but because she didn’t attend school, there’d be no dances to wear it too. Still, I guess Amelia’d been right when she said every woman needed a good black dress, just in case. I fought the melancholy then, an’ did again as she tried it on for us. Bittersweet, thinking of all the birthdays I had missed, mixed with the joy of being here. I attempted ta mask it, but I could tell that Amelia saw through me, as she did more an’ more often.
“I know this next one isn’t Innocence of Riddles, but……I thought it might be fun. Ta wrap the trip up with,” I bumbled through as Livy wripped open the last package.
“Pentatonix? Sic! Next week? Where’s Sandia?”
“Its in New Mexico. Alburquerque, ta be exact. I thought we could go for a couple days after the skiin’ ‘n Taos.”
“Skiin’? Snowboardin’? Can we do the snowmobiles too?” Livy literally bounced on the bed as she asked.
“We can do anythin’ yawant……We have a whole week there after we arrive tomorrow evenin’.” Looking at Amelia, “They’ve got this whole artist community an’ shops too, supposedly. Open late during ski season.” She smiled slightly, but her eyes glinted.
“I……I thought maybe we could make this a’ Anderson family…….our branch of the Anderson family…..tradition. I know it sounds cheesy I suppose…..ya know, goin’ forward I mean. This week of our birthdays…….or as close ta it as possible……skiin’ and snowboardin’ somewhere.” Both of them were quiet by then……lookin’ at me. For a moment….I thought I had fucked everythin’ up, but then the first pillow hit me followed 
by a rocketin’ teen.
No matter what, my daughter eventually found a way to make me laugh.
I’d asked for ice cream. We’d almost cut it too late, gettin’ there before closin’ time. Port Hedland was massive compared ta this little town.
I shouldn’t have been surprised that Dad knew what time they closed. I’d never had Superman ice cream before. Bloody awesome. Didn’t seem as cool when you live with the Superfamily though.
“Hey, Da.” If my syllables were a little garbled around the mouthful, who cared. It was my birthday. “Thin’ Uncle Bryce would be ‘n the market fer some Silver Spyder branded ice cream. Maybe a little Red Widow red, black and white marble.”
He smiled back at me in the mirror as we sat in the car, “Yea, an’ how’d that taste? Rasberry, mint chocolate an’ vanilla cream? Guess that might not be bad.”
“Hmmm…….well, that seems…..odd, but yea, sure why not. How about Ghost Venom? ”
Dad snorted, choking a bit on his ice cream. “Ya really think people would want ta eat something with Venom ‘n the name?” Dad never really wanted any publicity. He’d probably have hidden the whole idea of Ghost Venom if he could.
“Sure…….haven’t ya ever seen chocolate ants?”
“Yer messin’ with me. Who the fuck eats ants willingly? I’ve eaten some strange shit durin’ trainin’ an’ missions, doesn’t mean I want ta fuckin’ put chocolate ‘n it an’ eat it voluntarily.”
Sometimes my Dad just doesn’t get the joke……but Mum answered, “How about lemon an’ lime sherbert with a hint of amaretto for a bite?”
Dad just shook his head…..”Ya guys are just yankin’ my chain. What’s wrong with just gettin’ a banana split with strawbery, chocolate and vanilla……”
“Nobody makes a six pound banana, Da.”
“Hey, that’s not true……I was watchin’ some food show the other night…..”
“Wait, what……”
“I was bored…..an’ hungry.”
Mum said, “What…… I don’t get an ice cream…..for puttin’ up with you two all the time?”
“Sure thing, Mum……Plain old vanilla…..”
“Why ya little ‘roo…….” an’ I didn’t see the soggy napkin before it hit me in the face.
“Ya, I don’t think yer Mum’s that vanilla……not anymore.” Then Dad started laughin’ an’ laughin’.
“Gross……why da ya always have to make it gross…….” as Dad leaned over an’ kissed Mum…..
“Come on, stop it. Its my birthday, for fuck’s sake.”
Dad chuckled again……”Yep, just remindin’ ya how ya got here kiddo.”
Even though it had been my idea, there was only so much shopping I could tolerate. “I’ll be right back, babe. I’m going to run back to that shop an’ get us hot chocolate.”
They both nodded, obsessed with the American aboriginal artwork. Well, appearin’ ta be obsessed. Which was good.
It seemed wrong ta disappear…..but not in this case. It didn’t take long to move the two blocks down an’ way from the coffee shop.
The bell dinged quietly as I walked into the store……and dinged again as I walked back out, five minutes later, very pleased with myself.
So was my family, when I arrived with the peppermint hot chocolate. They still hadn’t moved.
“Are ya sure she’ll be ok?”
“Yer ok with with everythin’ else but not with her stayin’ in the hotel room by herself for a few hours while we got out to a nice dinner and the band that’s playin’ in the bar in a couple days? We’lll be downstairs…….its a casino….there’s security everywhere.”
“Its just……
“Amelia, I’m finally beginnin’ ta accept all this. For fuck’s sake I let her help earlier this month, help ya an’ me assault a ship at sea an’ attack pirates……an’ yer worried about her safety in a nice suite for a few hours?”
“No, I mean, no, not really, just a feelin’, Brett.”
“If we have ta cancel, we’ll cancel. Let’s plan it an’ wait an’ see. Ya deserve this. I deserve this. We……deserve this.” In that moment, her heart melted, he seemed so……eager, but tired at the same time.
“Of course, yer right. Keep the reservations.”
Energy thrummed, pulsing within her skin. She twitched. She’d listened to her Dad give the orders, but hadn’t recognized him, and yet, somehow, deep inside she had.
There had been more people on the bridge than she’d seen before, not that her experience of twenty minutes meant anything, but several didn’t appear to be doing anything right now.
“The plan will be as follows. Morgensen,” and he nodded at a slight woman of Asian descent, you will lead Team 2 on RHIB 2. You’ll take Dao and Yakovitch with you, and Coreman will be your driver.” The four glanced uncertainly at each other and she recognized then that most of the people on this ship didn’t really know each other.
“I will lead the primary assault team from RHIB 1, with Coakley as my pilot, Smith as the mission medic and my backup.”
She started to get angry, he was going to leave her behind, after all his bullshit of how well she was doing, and….she missed the beginning of the relevant statement and finally realized they were talking about her and refocused.
“Mr. Smith, your…..” Chief Roberts paused, “trainee has done a fine job so far, but to solo that type of aircraft, in a storm, its…….no offense, Miss, but sir, its insane.” She paled, then flushed, torn between anger, panic, and agreement.
“No offense taken, Chief,” she heard herself say, in a relatively calm voice she pulled from somewhere. She missed the very slight turn of lips on her father’s face before he spoke.
“I don’t disagree, necessarily, Chief. Any other obvious objections or concerns to the plan? Given the obvious, insanity, of this objective, I am certainly willing to listen to suggestions for improvement. No? Ok, then I will briefly explain because, as Chief Roberts as so eloquently and politely stated,” and he actually chuckled briefly, “this plan has a lot of insanity to it.”
“First, I can’t offer you more money beyond what your current terms or contractor options are with Foster Industries or its subsidiaries. I can promise that I will personally inform Dr. William Foster of your extra efforts and see what happens. That’s the best I can do. But all of you, at one time or another, served your different countrys in some way, and did it well, or you wouldn’t be here at all.”
He paused for a slow count to twenty. She felt like to took forever, and tried not to fidget.
“Fine, then, to start. Olivia is by far the less experienced pilot. But, she is what is so rarely encountered, she is also a natural pilot. Born to fly, race at high speeds. Whether she was or she wasn’t, we do not have the other resources to board a vessel in a hostile action without me. While everyone selected has trained to some degree, I will be equally as blunt as Chief Roberts. If this was a sea rescue only, a damaged ship, willing passengers, there is a great amount of experience on this ship, starting with the Captain. Unfortunately, it is not. My intelligence indicates that there are a number of pirates, at least thirteen remaining on board. As such, our boarding teams are outnumbered at least two to one.” Several of the personnel on the bridge shifted slightly on their feet at the confirmation of the numbers.
“So…..here is what we are going to do….”
She blinked, and stirred, and she was flying, listening to the comm chatter, Chief Roberts 
sitting in the copilot beside her, two volunteers from the aircraft maintenance crew in the back. Two thousand feet in the air, too high as far as she was concerned, circling in lazy patterns about the two RHIBs below. She should be down there, no matter what her Dad had said. But she had promised.
“Its time, Ma’am.”
“Alright, Chief, let’s do what I do best. Be annoying and distracting.”
“Of course, Ma’am,” the Chief chuckled, before flipping a switch, “IMS Rustom, IMS Rustom, this is US Navy Flight Wolf 359, responding to your distress call, please respond.” The Chief continued to murmur into the communications channel, as she took the heavy chopper down into the wind, approaching the merchant ship heading west across the increasingly heavy seas. If her Dad wanted her to be distracting, she could do that. Plus she got to fly. It kept her from thinking, or screaming, out loud in panic. She could do this. She had to do this. All those people. Mum…..Dad…..all of them were counting on her. She wouldn’t let them down. If the pirates were looking up at her, they wouldn’t be looking down the side of the ship, hopefully.
She woke briefly, twisting in the bedsheets, not quite coming to full wakefulness, heard her Dad laughing in the other room at something her Mum said, then falling back under the spell of sleep, exhausted from the last three weeks.
She didn’t have time to watch. Keeping the chopper in a circle around the ship, angled so Vasquez could see, and provide cover fire from the weapon in the door if necessary. She could hear though. Her Dad launched the assault of course, per the plan. Morgensen’s team was slower, inexperienced, but eventually over the side.
At some point the stress of the worry, the constant updates, it all began to blur together, even when a voice, it had to be Mum, mutter, “Oh, my god…….,” followed by the sound of someone else, she thought it was Morgenson, vomiting on an open mic, then a cold voice, her father’s chilling voice, “Dao, stay here and assist Smith, Morgenson, guard the hatch.”
“Wolf 359, show medical team remaining in bow section 21B, treating survivors, combined assault team moving to the stern…..” The massive explosion vaporized the bow…..throwing shrapnel directly at the chopper, flames and smoke rising rapidly into the sky, the pressure wave slapping at the chopper. The automated systems beeeping and flaring. She didn’t even have time to scream before the chopper and her crew slammed into the ocean.
“Shhh……I’ve got ye kiddo, Livy…..I’m right here. Relax…..its ok……” For a long minute she didn’t know where she was, an’ fear an’ panic an’ pain rampaged through her but then slowly, she relaxed, calmly, her body wrapped in the strong arms of her father as he murmured quietly.
“Mum?” she asked hesitantly.
“She’s in the other room, in the shower.”
Long minutes passed, before he said, “Ya wanna talk abou’ it?”
At first, she just shook her head. Then, slowly, she told him. He listened, letting her ramble, holding her. She couldn’t see the pain in his eyes, the guilt. Nor did she see her mother standing in the door, listening quietly, dressed for their date, although he did, looking at her.
His voice was quiet when she finally stopped, an’ he asked, “Ya know, right, it’s just a nightmare? Nobody else died, ya helped rescue an’ transport the people we found. I won’t say that there weren’t some sick things on that ship, but everythin’ was as good as it could be on somethin’ like that, righto? Pirates…..arrested for the most part. Even the ship was saved.”
“Yea, yea, I know, or I believe ya, it just seemed so real.”
“I know, kiddo, I know. Trust me, I know.”
She couldn’t see her Mum at the door smiling sadly, nor did she see her walk away from the room, when her Dad said, “Its still early kiddo, go hop in the shower, get dressed. Change of plans. We’ll make it three tonight. Put that dress on ya got, it’ll be good. Then we’ll find something ta do after dinner……”
“Ok….” for once she didn’t argue, or spout back, but she didn’t move, safe in his arms.
“Kiddo,” he paused, “I’m so, so, so proud of ya. Yer amazing….all you’ve done an’ just ten days ago, turnin’ fifteen.” he kissed her lightly on the head. “Come on, go shower, get ready.”
“Dad…..”
“Don’t worry, I’ll be here. Yer Mum will be here. Always. I promise. An’ we will always, always, love ya. No matter what.”
She got up, crawling out of the bed and the safety of his arms, before collapsing into them, cryin’ softly. “I know, my little ‘roo, I know.”
It took a few more minutes, but she finally headed towards the shower. When the music started blaring from her phone, I got up from her bed and walked through the door 
across the small living room into the other room of the suite.
She smiled gently at me. Even as I smiled at the stunnin’ sight before me backlight by the bright lights of the bathroom.
“Seems a shame to waste all that effort,” I said an’ I didn’t even try ta hide the pain from my voice, letting the ragged emotions shudder through me as I stepped into her, kissin’ her lips briefly before taking her into my arms for a long minute for somethin’ I rarely did, a comfort seekin’ hug.
“It’s not yer fault, Brett.”
“Of course it is, ‘melia. It may not be all my fault, but she’s just a teenager. Far younger than either ya or I when we joined the army. Don’t give me all the excuses about what all she wants ta do. Just because she works hard an’ is talented, doesn’t mean she should be where those situations can happen.”
“Brett….”
“Don’t worry, baby, I’m not goin’ on another rant about gettin’ her away from all this. Even if I want ta. Chalk up another point for the old visit to the brain doc.” I walked back towards her, and this time, after I kissed her long and deep, “I sure was lookin’ forward ta tonight, both the dinner and the…..dessert.”
“Go finish getting ready. I’ll call and change the reservation.” As she closed the door to the suite’s master bathroom, he pulled the ring out of the pocket of his slacks. Smiling faintly, he opened the room safe and withdrew the small case holding his backup before sliding the ring into the lining, and slowly shut the safe until the quiet click seemed to echo through his mind.
“It seems you are adapting to our sessions then, Brett, if you averted another emotional outburst by suggesting we should discuss it,” Downs said.
“Is that what I’m doin’, Doc, or am I just buryin’ it to avoid talkin’ about it with my family?”
“Acknowledgment of the issue, and waiting to discuss to avoid ruining the last night of your family’s vacation is not the same as burying the issue, Brett. It shows real emotional growth.” The smiling doctor paused, writing something into his journal.
I stopped pacing, looking out the window of the doctor’s office.
“Do you, Brett Oliver Anderson……”
“Brett?” From the sound of his voice, I could tell that it was not the first time he had said my name.
A feminine echo from the same dream, “I do.”
“Sorry, Doc, just daydreaming a bit I guess.”
Last Dreams 