The Ballad of Mitch and SoHee Read online

  Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Chapter Forty

  Chapter Forty-One

  Chapter Forty-Two

  Chapter Forty-Three

  Chapter Forty-Four

  Chapter Forty-Five

  Chapter Forty-Six

  Chapter Forty-Seven

  Chapter Forty-Eight

  Chapter Forty-Nine

  Chapter Fifty

  Chapter Fifty-One

  Mitch Mythic

  Book 5:

  The Ballad of Mitch and SoHee

  By

  Paul Ormond

  Paul Ormond

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2020 by Paul Ormond

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any manner without written permission of the copyright

  owner except for the use of quotations in a book review. For more information, address: [email protected]

  FIRST EDITION

  www.paulormondauthor.com

  Cover art: Stuart Bache

  Your dedication here.

  CHAPTER ONE

  UNDER THE COVER of night, the convoy hummed across the open water at an elevation of a few hundred feet. XiaoFan peered out of the window of the decaying soviet transport and watched the ocean heaving underneath the vehicle, breaking waves and cold indifference.

  “Not much farther now,” Ramon said in her ear. “I can see the coastline up ahead.”

  “I’ve got to get out of this truck,” Sanchez said, his voice crackling over the airwaves. “My ass is killing me. Those communists sure don’t give a damn about comfort. I think this seat was made from recycled batteries and broken dreams.”

  “That was arguably poetic, Sanchez,” Christine said as the dark outline of a mountainous coast rose out of the horizon.

  “Don’t encourage him, Christine,” Ramon said, cutting her off. “We need to get these trucks into the warehouse without attracting any attention. How are we looking on the radar?”

  “I’m not picking anything up, but we should keep an eye out,” Christine said. “There are a lot of eyes watching. Even though we’re cloaked, we’re still moving objects. We don’t want anyone uploading our landing to mindTV.”

  “We definitely don’t want to go be going viral now,” Ramon said. “Let’s just get to ground and out of sight. It’s a good thing I back-doored the plan with a few alternatives, or we would’ve been burned for sure. I won’t let Artim’s betrayal hold us back, but we can never forget that there are traitors among us.”

  “I told you not to trust him,” XiaoFan said.

  “I didn’t have much of a choice. After we brought Christine in, things snowballed fast. Before I knew it, we were pulling heists all over the world. And when I caught word of that mine in Siberia it seemed to good to be true.”

  “And it was,” Christine said. “Artim sold us out.”

  “You don’t have to remind me,” Ramon said. “I was there. It’s a good thing we brought along XiaoFan, or we’d all be getting waterboarded right now. But what’s done is done. We didn’t get caught, and I’d like to stay that way. The government is hunting us and we know they have operatives working both sides. Once we unload this material, we’ll vanish. I’ve got a safe house set up, and new identities ready, so stay focused. We’ve come too far to screw it all up now.”

  “Take us in then,” Christine said.

  “According to my nav, we should be seeing the structure now,” Ramon said.

  “Whoa those are huge mountains,” Sanchez said.

  “It’s Alaska,” Ramon said. “Everything is huge.”

  “Those mountains we saw in China were big too,” Sanchez said.

  “That was the Himalayas,” Christine said.

  “What’s a Himalaya?”

  “Only the biggest mountains in the world.”

  “Sorry, I didn’t know you were a mountain expert, Christine. I can’t open my mouth without getting my head chewed off in this group.”

  “That’s cause every time you open your mouth, something stupid comes out,” Ramon said. “You can gawk at the mountains all you want after we make the drop off. But for now, just keep quiet.”

  As they passed down a narrow fjord lined by tree-covered slopes, several lights flickered in the distance at the base of a mountain.

  “This is Santa Claus, coming in with a bundle. Are the elves ready to make some toys?” Ramon said into the radio.

  “The elves are excited for Santa to arrive at the workshop, but does the wind still blow from the West?” a voice said in response.

  “As the sun rises in the East,” Ramon said. “Is our uncle visiting with the sculptor?”

  “He says the marble is too expensive. We should purchase a cart instead,” the voice said in response. “Bring the sleds into the shed one at a time. We need to make room for the reindeer.”

  “You heard the man,” Ramon said before he brought his vehicle into a hovering position. “Follow me to the ground and park the trucks next to each other.”

  “Lead the way, Captain,” Sanchez said, pulling up next to Ramon.

  “I like the sound of that,” Ramon said while he lowered his vehicle.

  “Where am I supposed to park this thing?” XiaoFan asked as she hung in the air.

  “Put it down right next to the other ones,” Ramon said, leaping out of the truck and looking skyward. “We’re going to get them inside in a bit, but we just need to get out of the air for now.”

  “All right, I’m bringing it down,” XiaoFan said, lowering the transport.

  “You’ll be fine, XiaoFan,” Christine said. “I’m right beside you. Let’s go down together.”

  “I don’t need anyone to hold my hand,” XiaoFan said. “Just throw me a bone now and then.”

  “We know you are more than capable of handling yourself, XiaoFan,” Ramon said. “I’m sorry for not informing you properly.”

  “Did you hear that,” Christine said. “He apologized. I think that’s a first, XiaoFan.”

  “Men can be trained just like any other animal,” XiaoFan said, jumping out of the truck.

  “You’ll need to give me a less
on,” Christine said.

  “I’m sure you already know how,” XiaoFan said, turning to face Ramon. “Now, where the hell is your contact. I think we need to get out of sight.”

  “Right you are,” Ramon said, scanning the darkness. “Here he comes right now.”

  A thick figure emerged from a small doorway at the side of the warehouse and ambled toward them with a visible limp.

  “You’re a little late,” the man said as he turned on a flashlight and aimed it at Ramon.

  “Whoa don’t blind me, Wayne,” Ramon said, covering his eyes.

  “Sorry, I’ve got to check. Everyone is on high alert,” the man said, lowering his flashlight. “The Bear switching sides has put everyone on edge.”

  “We’re well aware of that,” Ramon said. “And the longer we sit out here in the open with these Russian transports in your yard, the sooner we’ll be drawing attention. The eye in the sky is always watching.”

  “You don’t need to remind me,” the man said. “I’m the guy that helped make most of that stuff.”

  “Yeah, everybody knows about you and your security clearances,” Ramon said.

  “And look at all the good it did me, sitting by myself in the middle of nowhere,” the man said before he turned to the warehouse. “Come on, let’s get these trucks inside. I’ll open the door. Bring them in one at a time. We’ll have to park them side by side, or we’ll get in the way of the drones.”

  “Wouldn’t want to mess up your army,” Ramon said. “We’ll bring them in. Just show us where to go.”

  “That should do it,” the man said while XiaoFan pulled her vehicle to a stop next to the others. “Didn’t expect such a little girl to handle a truck like that.”

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to disrupt your views on women. Are there any socks you would like me to repair?” XiaoFan said after she jumped out of the truck.

  “I do, actually,” the man said.

  “Apologies, Wayne,” Ramon said, cutting in. “We are happy that you were gracious enough to accommodate us. My companions have been through a number of difficult ordeals in a short amount of time and it appears they have forgotten their manners.”

  “I understand how they feel,” Wayne said before he stepped into the light revealing a bearded face, worn with age. “But I don’t think it is necessary to be rude.”

  “I didn’t know it was rude to assert one’s equal standing,” XiaoFan said without looking Wayne in the eye. “I am unused to your customs and ways.”

  “What she means to say is she is sorry for how she acted,” Ramon said as he shot a look at XiaoFan.

  “Apology accepted,” Wayne said. “I’m sorry if I came across as an old coot, which I am. I get that these girls don’t want old men like me saying what we think, but I can’t help if I think it. You all just flew these old trucks in off the ocean. That’s not something you see every day. Nor do you see a young lady driving one for that matter. I’m sorry if I acted surprised.”

  “You see, it’s just a matter of perception,” Ramon said. “But you’ll have to forgive us.”

  “I understand you’ve been through a lot,” Wayne said. “And I’m not the kinda guy to get butt hurt because of the things people say. Besides, we’ve got bigger fish to fry. Let’s have a look at this cargo you got. It’s going to take a full fleet to get it all dispersed, but lucky for you a fleet is what I got.”

  “What is he talking about?” Christine asked.

  “What I am talking about is my life’s work,” Wayne said.

  “It’s a good thing Wayne is on our side,” Ramon said. “He’s got a unique skill set that is about to come in handy.”

  “What kind of skills does he have?” XiaoFan said.

  “Engineering mostly,” Wayne said. “But I have been known to dabble in programming. These days I mainly tinker, though.”

  “There’s no reason to be vague now, Wayne,” Ramon said. “This guy happens to be ex-NASA if I’m not mistaken.”

  “I was only a contractor,” Wayne said. “But If I had’ve known they would steal my work like they did, I would’ve never gotten involved with any of that stuff.”

  “Wayne is one of the top aeronautic designers in the world,” Ramon said.

  “Correction, I was one of the top aeronautic designers in the world,” Wayne said, cutting in. “Now, I’m happy to live off the grid away from all the madness.”

  “And he is happy to help us in our time of need,” Ramon added.

  “I’m happy to stick it to the government if that is what you mean,” Wayne said.

  “We’ll be doing more than that,” Ramon said.

  “Just tell us what is going on,” XiaoFan said.

  “Distribution,” Ramon said. “We can’t fly across the world dispensing our goods like Santa Claus. If we keep flying around like we have been, we’re bound to draw more heat. We may have gotten away with it a couple times, but I don’t think that will last much longer. This is where Wayne comes in.”

  “And what exactly does Wayne have that can benefit us?” Christine asked.

  “It’s a good thing you asked, little lady,” Wayne said. “Sorry, I’m old and I can’t help myself.”

  “Apology accepted,” Christine said. “I guess we have to forgive old people and their transgressions from time to time.”

  “I’m glad you are so understanding of the elderly,” Wayne said. “Now let me show you what this old man has come up with that can benefit your little venture.”

  “Show us what you got, old man,” XiaoFan said before Wayne hit a button on a post to his left.

  Several racks of light lit up the warehouse, revealing a long row of towering shelves. On each rack sat thousands of minuscule cube-like objects arranged in neat rows.

  “What in the hell is all that?” Sanchez asked as he peered at the objects.

  “That is how we’re going to deliver our army,” Ramon said.

  “But what are they?” Sanchez asked.

  “Unmanned Aerial Vehicles,” Wayne said. “But most people call them drones.”

  “What are we going to do with a bunch of drones?” Sanchez asked.

  “I just told you,” Ramon said. “This fleet is going to deliver our packages.”

  “Who are you delivering this all to?” XiaoFan asked.

  “To our army,” Ramon said.

  CHAPTER TWO

  “NONE OF THIS makes any sense,” Sage said after he threw his VR googles aside.

  “I don’t think it’s supposed to make sense,” Gareth said, peering at his screen.

  “But I thought there was supposed to be information in these Easter eggs.”

  “There is information, but I don’t think I have the means to translate it. It just seems like streams of code. Some of it looks like coordinates, but I’m not sure.”

  “We can’t just sit here and stare at it. There’s got to be something we can do.”

  “It’s probably just going to take a little time. I’m sure we’ll be able to figure out how this all connects.”

  “I just hope we’re not too late.”

  “I don’t think you should pin your hopes of finding Mitch on what you heard in a video game.”

  “I know it sounds insane, but there’s got to be something to it. I told Candace I’d meet her back inside after we unpacked the egg. I’m going to jump in and tell her what we found.”

  “I’ve patched the data into our party page as the egg instructed me. It will be interesting to see what impact it has on our builds.”

  “I’ll let you know, but we should be careful. The last thing we want is all of Deathworld knowing that we found an egg. Even if we get superpowers, I don’t think we’ll withstand an onslaught of noobs trying to jack us.”

  “We’re all going to want to keep a low profile, that’s for sure.”

  “I’m only going to pop in for a second,” Sage said, reaching for his headset. “Hopefully we don’t run into anything heavy duty.”

  “Be care
ful, and don’t do anything stupid,” Gareth said while Sage hit the activation switch.

  A brief flash jolted Sage as he dropped into a portal. Unfamiliar lines of code streamed behind the loading screen while he slid down a long dark tunnel. Before he had a chance to make sense of what he saw, he fell into an opening imbued with light and landed in a moss-covered forest.

  Rolling to his knees, he wiped himself off and scanned past the thick tree trunks in search of danger. With nothing in sight, he got to his feet and pulled up his HUD. A message from Candace sat at the top of his feed. Clicking the icon, Candace’s face appeared before him.

  “Meet me above the lake. You know the spot,” Candace’s floating head said.

  After closing down his HUD, Sage stepped off of the path and pushed through the woods toward the rock-strewn hilltop overlooking the lake. As he ran, Sage felt electrical sensations running down his limbs. Looking down, he was amazed to discover his armor had changed. His old steel plates had vanished, replaced by a form fitting, low-poly exo-skeleton. He paused to examine his suit, but he his spine stiffened when he heard something drop to the ground behind him.

  “Nice outfit,” a voice said. “Not sure if that space suit will fit in with the whole board and sword thing they’ve got going around here.”

  “Could say that same to you,” Sage said before he turned around to face Candace. “I see we have the same designer.”

  “I’m guessing this has something to do with the egg,” Candace said, her armor gleaming in the evening light, dark silver clinging tight to her willowy form.

  “Gareth followed the instructions, as vague as they were,” Sage said. “All I saw was a bunch of code. But it looks like something happened. So much for keeping a low profile.”

  “I checked it out in my inventory. The script was really vague. Something about finding friends in time of need. I think we’ll be able to cloak, and I’m pretty sure there are going to be some serious perks with this stuff. We’ll just have to be careful not to attract any attention. Let’s get to the lookout. There’s something else I want to show you.”