Magical Mechanications Read Online Free Page A

they’d give us dainty little ladies,” and then Tink’s scowl turned into an incredibly bright smile, “until today!”
    Now it was Scarlett who found herself off-kilter. “I—what?”
    “Lieutenant, the Foreign Office and the RAC are working together on this mission,” Hemsworth began, pulling out a dossier from underneath the pile of photographs in front of him. “We need you back in the sky and over enemy territory. We have a mission for you. We’re ready to equip you with whatever you need.”
    “Reconnaissance?”
    “Not this time.” He presented her with the sealed orders. “All the details are there, but we need you to make contact with an agent deep undercover in Halle. You are to meet with this operative who will give you the schematics to this experimental fighter plane.”
    Scarlett looked at Tink. She could only assume her shock was just as visible as her mechanic’s. “Gentlemen, you have me at a loss. This is not what I do. I do aerial reconnaissance. You’re asking me to engage in espionage across enemy lines? Don’t you have spies that are better trained for this sort of operation?”
    “Lieutenant,” Barnswallow said, “this is where we need your particular skills as a pilot. We’re asking you to fly into enemy territory and fly out without detection.”
    “And if you are detected,” Hemsworth said, “we need a pilot skilled enough to either evade or take down the Big Bad Wolf.”
    “Take down the Big Bad Wolf?” Scarlett’s laugh was harsh, grating. “I didn’t outfly her. She let me go.”
    “Perhaps Captain Wolff saw something in you. Perhaps she recognized a raw talent in your skills. She could have shown a moment’s compassion as your Scout was hardly worth...” His voice trailed off. Apparently, he heard himself clearly.
    “You’re suggesting the Big Bad Wolf took pity on me?”
    Hemsworth went to answer, but he appeared to be searching for what to say. He looked to Barnswallow who simply shrugged in silent reply. “Well,” Hemsworth stammered, “I wouldn’t have put it that way…”
    “Lieutenant, perhaps you could come with us to your hangar. We are offering you an opportunity that I believe will be to your liking.”
    Scarlett had so many questions on her tongue, she could taste them. They all tasted bitter, and the longer they lingered on her tongue, the angrier she grew. They were going to bribe her with, from the looks of Tink bouncing on the balls of her feet, an upgrade to the Scout of some kind.
    “Fine, I will hear you out,” Scarlett huffed as she rose to her feet, “so long as you feel this little trip south of Calais wasn’t a colossal waste of time.”
    “I can’t wait for you to see this,” Tink squealed with delight.
    Then she sprinted ahead of the three of them. Scarlett and the two officers took long strides to the hangar but were not necessarily making a mad dash of it.
    “So you have an operative in enemy territory?” Scarlett asked. This was not an acknowledgement nor was it an agreement. I am just curious, she told herself.  “Why has no one else made contact? Why hasn’t anyone from the Bureau bothered to get these plans out before now.”
    “Lieutenant, the amount of bad information we receive from field reports is alarming,” Hemsworth said. “We are tired of chasing leads and believing intelligence that only cost lives in the end.”
    “You mean, like the Gallipoli Campaign?” Scarlett asked.
    She heard the footsteps behind her abruptly stop. She turned to face both officers, Barnswallow’s face beet root red as he looked upon her.
    “This is why you are being so careful, are you?” Scarlett pressed before resuming their walk to the barn. “I am a backwater, remote operation. Resources so threadbare they are a right joke. I have a team that is the best at what they do, and they make certain our intelligence is consistently trustworthy. This mission you want me to undertake, is one of those missions like Gallipoli.