12213/Please Fasten Your Seatbelts

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Please Fasten Your Seatbelts
Date of Scene: 21 September 2020
Location: Archie Goodwin International Airport, Gotham
Synopsis: Zinda meets June to fly her out to the latest infiltration mission.
Cast of Characters: June Connor, Lady Blackhawk




June Connor has posed:
    22:00. That was the time they were supposed to depart. June wasn't there and it's now 3 minutes past departure time when the high pitched whir of an old motorcross bike can be heard, not seen, peeling across the tarmac. The sound is soon dwarfed by a passenger jet screaming down the runway as it makes its landing in the night.

    As the plane taxis to the left, the bike with no lights on peels off to the right toward the blackhawk's landing place, the rider highlighted occasionally as she passes in front of a runway light, blone and red striped hair bursting behind her like fire. The sound returns as the plane becomes distant, and the little bike comes crackling to the stop as the engine is disengaged. The young woman has a black backpack strapped to her back, but the piercings and shredded Offspring T-shirt says she's more ready for a metal concert than a covert op.

Lady Blackhawk has posed:
    The plane is a PC-24, an executive jet that is light and fast and known for having an excellent range. Other than the numbers on the fuselage, the only markings on the plane are the vintage Blackhawk logo. Zinda didn't see the bike, of course, at least not until she taxis the plane around and towards one of the civilian hangars on the edge of the tarmac.

    The engines wind down slowly and the door pops open, light flooding the area as a blonde wearing a black military flight suit and leather jacket descends. Zinda squints, looking around and following the sound of the bike shutting off. "Who's there?" she calls, in an accent thick from the Antebellum South.

June Connor has posed:
    June is just swinging her leg over and off the bike when she is illuminated, leaving the bike unceremoniously not in a parking spot. "You Blackhawk?" she asks, her jaw smacking on some gum. She seems to assume the positive, walking without discretion toward the plane. She stops at the base as Zinda descends, casually hooking her thumbs in the shoulderstraps of the backpack, which also snaps around her hip.

Lady Blackhawk has posed:
    The blonde tips her pilot's cap, which also has the Blackhawk logo, and she flashes a grin that's worthy of a magazine cover. "Well y'all know the right words, at least." she offers, striding towards the younger woman and away from the plane. As Zinda moves, June would likely notice a two-gun holster rig under the open jacket as well. "C'mon, sugah. Call me Zinda, if ya' want." Jerking a thumb towards the hangar, she tilts her head and offers. "Our ride for tonight is this-a-way." And with that she changes course.

June Connor has posed:
    "Aight, I'm June," comes the response. She follows suit, her eyes constantly checking about her as someone who might expect to be attacked at any moment. She doesn't look afraid, just intentional about keeping her surroundings in mind. She continues to smack her gum, but doesn't instigate any smalltalk while en route to the prepared aircraft.

Lady Blackhawk has posed:
    Over to the hangar they go, where Zinda opens a locked side door and leads June inside. The overhead lights are on, but tinted red for night ops. Sitting close to the door is a dull-black helicopter, military-grade Blackhawk class for those who know, with neither insignia nor letters. Zinda waves to a man standing beside the bird and he responds almost casually. "Pre-flight's all set, Miss Zinda. She's ready when you are."

    Most pilots do their own pre-flight check, so it says a lot that Zinda trusts this man. "Thanks, Jack. I'll warm up the engines while you wheel her out." Gesturing towards the wide-open door, she offers to June. "Go ahead and get comfy, honey. An' you'll wanna strap in."

June Connor has posed:
    June looks up at the rotors on the helicopter. "Like, never been on somethin' like this but once," she admits. "Fucker's a lot bigger than I thought." She unbuckles her bag and tossed it onto the floor of the blackhawk before hopping up onto it, giving a glance at Jack as if sizing him up in case of a fight. She glances around, having little clue regarding most of the interior's purpose. She picks up the bag, and moves to the seating behind the cockpit. "Shit, that's a lot of stuff, You really know what all that means?" she asks, looking at the countless dials and switches.

Lady Blackhawk has posed:
    The Blackhawk helicopter is big, with internal seating for 10 more people besides June. She would also notice the large guns slung under the fuselage. The seats are simple benches, although comfortably padded. And all in black on black on black. Zinda straps into the cockpit and starts flipping switches, going through her cockpit preflight checklist while the overhead door slowly rises.

    "Oh yeah, sugah. Don't mind all the dials an' such, the basics ain't changed much in decades." The engines slowly whine to life as Jack pushes the big bird out of the hangar with one of the tractors. A voice sounds in the cockpit. <Okay, Miss Zinda, you're clear. Godspeed.>

    The big rotor begins to turn, and Zinda calls back to June. "Ah hope y'all are set to do YOUR part, sugah. I can get'cha there an' provide some close support if ya' need it. But if y'all are callin' me for help, then this train has probably gone way off the rails."

June Connor has posed:
    June drops the bag unceremoniously in front of her, and finds one of the seatbelts to buckle into. "I know my shit," she says. Though her attire makes her look like someone who hasn't done any prep at all. She unzips the bag, and pulls out a few images of the location. It looks like a farm complex in upstate New York. "This is what the place looks like," she yells out, handing the images to Zinda. "SHIT THAT'S LOUD!" she says, not aware of any more effective means of communication.

Lady Blackhawk has posed:
    The rotor picks up speed and the whole bird rumbles with the acceleration. "Ah'll put 'er on whisper mode when we glide in to drop ya' off." she offers. The tail flaps flip up and down as Zinda tests the last few controls, wheeling the big bird around and onto the runway. "Gotham Tower, this is Blackhawk Zero-Seven-Niner, requesting clearance. Over."

    "Show me once we're airborne, sugah. Ah got the map reference, but we ken' get more specific." Pause. <Blackhawk Zero-Seven-Niner, you are clear for immediate takeoff.>

    "Okay, now, here we go." There's plenty of runway ahead for a smooth takeoff, but that's not what happens. Nope. Forget the runway. The chopper roars and Zinda pulls back on the stick, the big bird LURCHING suddenly vertically into the night sky.

June Connor has posed:
    June looks down at the satellite images. Yeah, guess Zinda has to do that whole take-off thing. She sits casually, trying to see out the windshield, the kid in her only partly repressed by the bad girl attitude. She's gonna ride in a helicopter! Then it takes off, and there's the sudden feeling of her guts flinging into her feet, and her eyes go wide. "Shit!" she cries out, free hand grabbing the seat next to her as they take off into the sky.

Lady Blackhawk has posed:
    Once they're clear of the airport, which takes all of five seconds, the chopper tilts forward and accelerates. Zinda laughs from the cockpit, looking back in the mirror at her passenger as the big bird settles into level flight. "Still with me back there, sugah?" The ground moves away below... awfully fast... and the lights of the Eastern Seaboard fill the view out the window.

    "Ah got standard ordnance port-side in case y'all got a can ya' need openin' an' non-lethals to starboard. But a 20 millimeter beanbag still hurts like th' dickens. ETA is... 20 minutes, if ya' need any prep." Pause. "We thank you for choosing Blackhawk Air whenever your travel plans call for air travel. Now kick back, relax, an' let us do th' rest. An don't leave your gum under th' seat."