"Gaovulte's Bones!" Grimm cursed under his breath. Then, a litttle louder he said, "I thought you Vanguards were supposed to be professionals! And here I find myself cramped in a tiny plane with a group of whiny children!"
Lykopis' steely gaze never wavered from Reilly as she responded to Grimm. "Is that why you're here? To whip us into shape like some demented drill sergeant? Is that why Prometheus sent you to us? Because I'll damn sure tell you right now I'm more than a little sick of your mouth."
"Prometheus? Prometheus?!" Grimm asked, before bursting into a fit of laughter. "You assume much, Princess. I never said Prometheus sent me here."
"But Ozzy said. . ." She replied, turning away a bit as Reilly moved a hand towards Lykopis' knife.
"I wouldn't." Phil warned him. Raising an eyebrow for effect (which was completely lost on Reilly since he was blind).
"What did Baxter say to you, Princess? I'm curious. What did he say about me?"
It was at this moment that a large shadow passed over the small Cessna, darkening the entire plane.
"I think we have a bigger problem." Icarus called from the cockpit.
************************************
Simultaneously
"Raptor Corps, attennnnshunnn!!!!!!!" The older man in the blue military type garb sounded as the corpsmen did as he ordered.
"You all know the drill. Grissom Montag is paying us quite a bit to ensure that these criminals do not make it out of Europe alive. Kavanaugh. You're in charge here. Don't screw up, boy."
"I won't, sir." Kavanaugh answered, his lip wavering just slightly. He hoped the officer didn't notice.
"Raptors, dismissed!" The officer called as the squad ran towards the loading bay. Each man pressed a small bird shaped fetish on the left breast of his uniform and was instantly covered in light weight plastisteel armor as silvery wings sprouted from their arms.
The loading bay of the ship opened as the Raptors launched themselves into the air, taking flight and circling the small plane carrying the Vanguard members.
Pulling their weapons from their holsters, the Raptors began firing upon the craft from all directions as Icarus struggled to keep the plane in control.
"Phil, a little help up here?" Icarus asked as Smith made his way back up front and slid in next to the Russian.
"Their craft is massive." Lykopis looked upwards out of one window.
"What suggestions do we have for dealing with this?" Reilly sat now with his arms folded.
"Well, I could open the door and throw you at them. . ." Grimm offered.
"Your humorous quips are less than effective." Reilly shot back.
"Who said I was joking? C'mon, killer. Let's go take a trip." Grimm smiled a bit. "First one to the ground alive wins."
"Down!" Lykopis shoved the two to the ground as bullets ripped through the body of the craft before it soared upward and reversed, heading for the larger craft's open bay area.
"What are you doing, you maniac?" Phil asked as Icarus released his seatbelt and formed his hands into guns again.
"Just keep us on course, Phil. We're can't outrun them in this crate. I'm gonna step outside for a bit."
"You're insane, Sidewinder!"
"Like the rest of us aren't!" Sidewinder jumped out the door, aiming for the nearest Raptor as Phil piloted the small Cessna into the larger crafts open area, looking for a safe place to land.
Several Raptors followed the craft in, firing upon it the whole time.
