The Liberty Lurkers and The Enola Gay

As the Enola Gay flew, the crew sat in silence at the loss they'd just suffered. It had been hours and things had begun to look grim. That maneuver the Ghost had pulled had cost them a lot of fuel and with no clearings in sight, it seemed the Enola Gay was doomed to slam into the ground below after she ran out of fuel.

"There, on the left, looks like a farmer is out with his combine. Those lights should be plenty for us to land." said Jarrin back in the cockpit.

"Good, because we're running on fumes here, hold on everyone, this is gonna get rough."

The farmer below was listening to the weather when the Enola had passed low enough for her to see and hear.

"Oh Curtis, seems like we'll have company for the night."

She looked at an old picture of her late husband who'd died during the initial invasion of the US by its own troops. She stopped pointing her headlights towards the large part of the field. The Enola Gay barely skimmed over the combine as it touched down tearing up a few swaths of crops she had yet to harvest.

The farmer hopped out of her combine and ran over to the bomber that had just touched down in her field.

"Hello? Hello! Is everyone alright?"

The door opened for her to be greeted by guns and a bunch of young adults barely into their twenties.

"Oh my.."

"How are you with?"

"Pardon me?"

"Ma'am, forgive my gunner, but we need to know your allegiance."

"We'll if it helps, you boys must be from that broadcast the President was talking about, the ones fighting back, right?"

"Who's asking?"

"Barbara, owner of this here farm. I was rooting for you guys..."

"Barbara?" asked the Ghost stepping out of the Enola

"Oh my..." she said hugging the Ghost "Child, I thought you'd been killed for sure."

"No ma'am, thanks to the military training I got back in 2019, I survived. Although, I would prefer if you refrained from using my name, call me by my title, or just Ghost."

She smiled and hugged the group.

"Boys allow me to introduce the woman who made the finest Zucchini bread I've ever eaten. This Is Barbara, my old neighbor from when I was a kid."

"Ma'am, forgive my earlier rudeness."

"It's alright child, Curtis would've loved to see you again."

"What happened to him?"

"Killed, US Soldiers gunned him down for not coming inside."

"I-I see."

"Well, enough about that, I'll pull your plane in back, the NWO will be looking for survivors. Head on inside now."

As the crew walked inside, they noticed one very big thing, for this sweet, old, southern black lady was strapped to the teeth, guns and ammunition were everywhere, and newspaper articles of each of their old battles for Ottawa were posted on a corkboard.

"Ghost... can we trust her?"

"Yes, they killed her husband... he was like a second grandpa to me."

"Point taken, but we have no fuel, no communication, nothing. Hope's run dry on this well." Said Jarrin

"There has to be a way."

"I'm not sure Ghost, this seems like a tall order, even for you." added one of the Floridian gunners

"I can do it."

"No, no you can't. Man this ain't Ottawa, it's game over! They nuked our island, we've lost!" added another

The Ghost left the house heading for the bomber when Barbara walked in.

"Listen up y'all, that poor boy. What the hell do you think he went through?"

"We don't...."

"I do. Y'all thought this was just some random field he chose to land at?"

"Then why did he ask about your husband?"

"I spared him the truth. The same bastards that killed Curtis, killed his parents, killed his grandparents, he's got nothing left to lose but y'all and you're killing his vibe. That boy, has read more than enough books to understand this situation, and with his training, he's prepared, why do you think he dropped a nuke on them? He knew the risks, he's hurting, and none of y'all have even considered why or how many of those bastards he's executed."

The room was silent as Barbara lectured the crew.

"Did anyone even ask him if he was okay? I know he's asked each of y'all over a dozen times. Lord knows he only to on this mantle, this vigilante form because of all of you, he lost people he couldn't protect. Now you're all he's got. Go on out there and apologize to him. I've got a surprise for y'all."

They all walk over to see a horrifying sight. The Ghost has his small knife out, carving lines into the palms of his hands, tears rolling down his face.

"HEY!" yelled Jarrin kicking the knife away from him.

"I FAILED YOU ALL! I DESERVE THIS!"

"Man, you didn't fail, we did."

The Ghost looked up in silence at his crew.

"We never check on you, we're a bad crew, and not to mention, you survived alone, while the rest of us managed to live large with the Overlord."

"You're wrong." the Ghost said quietly

"What?"

"I wasn't alone... there's someone... someone I'll go psycho over losing."

"Then get up and fight for her."

"Man, you're the fucking Ghost of Ottawa, show these bastards why they picked the wrong people to fuck with." added Jarrin

The Ghost stood up and bandaged his hands as Barbara walked up with some Zucchini bread.

"Y'all good?"

"We're back Barbara."

"Good, cuz I've got AV Fuel, and a contact waiting for y'all at the Smithsonian."

The crew all looked at the old lady smiling.

"What? You thought youse was the only fighters in the whole US?"

"No ma'am."

"Good, now get that plane ready for takeoff, and count me in on your mission."

The crew smiles as Barbara opens her barn doors revealing a Huey helicopter.

"Get ready boys, we're gonna show those bastards just who they messed with. BATTLE READY IN 10!"

The Ghost took a moment inside to ready himself. Mask on, coveralls buttoned, and bandages freshened up. "I am back, and I will protect her... even if it costs me everything."