Dimensional Travels: World at War-Chapter 76: The Wind is changing

Eric sat at the table in the morning. It was his day off, so he sat with Liara in his arms, playing with her ears as he sneaked some bites in. He caught himself looking at her pinched face, and the different faces she kept making made him chuckle. "Still finding out how your face functions, sweetheart?" He asked gently, eating a bagel.

Jessica walked in, her hair up in a messy bun while she grumbled. "Morning." And sat down.

"You’re off today?" She asked, wide eyed as Eric was not in uniform.

"Yeah. With things settling down for the moment, General Milano has ordered a rotation of off days for leadership. We will each get one day off per week, but we will all stay on call. I could be called in at any time."

Jessica smiled, grabbing his arm. "Finally! That means mom and I can go get our nails done!" She squealed happily.

Eric shook his head as he kissed the teenager’s head.

"I know you guys have been looking forward to your nail date for a long time. Let Mia wake up, and you two can go."

Eric watched as Jessica scampered off, chuckling as he stroked Liara’s hair. "You and I are gonna have a lot of fun together." He whispered.

A toot answered him.

"Thats a start."

At night, Jessica and Mia returned to a quiet house with the lights off. In the living room, Eric sat with Liara against his chest. They were both asleep, with Liara’s head held against Eric under a blanket. The scene made the women swoon. Mia smiled, with Jessica taking a picture. "You’d never know he is such an asshole at work." Jessica whispered, and the two shared a smile.

Then Eric’s phone rang.

"The world never stops spinning." Mia muttered while grabbing the phone. It was Milano. "General Milano? This is Mia Dryer."

"Mrs. Dryer? I hope you are doing well, and actually, it is better you answered. There is a woman here that the men found on a mountain. She has been hysterical ever since we rescued her. For one month we have been trying to assure her she is under no threat of harm. Today, she finally relented. She is stable, but there is one problem..."

"She wants to talk to you."

Mia sat in shock for a few minutes as Jessica went to her room. She looked at Eric and Liara, and then exhaled. "Yes sir." She finally responded. "I will be there asap."

Mia looked at Jessica. "Watch them. When your Dad wakes up, tell him I am at HQ."

Jessica hugged Mia in response. "Be careful."

Mia stroked the girls hair softly, kissing her head. "I will. I love you."

After Mia left, Eric stirred.

He turned to Jessica. "What happened?"

"General Milano called. Apparently the woman we found on the mountain asked for her personally."

Eric paused, freezing in time while Liara cried out. Her fists beat against Eric’s chest. Eric smirked. He stroked the child’s ears and stood up. As he swung Liara, he looked outside. Two Humvees were escorting his truck in the direction of Hood Hill.

"She will be fine. You do not know this yet, but Mia ran the entire intelligence section at Riemskin. When we first began working together, we taught each other doctrine and tactics."

Jessica was shocked as her eyes followed the three vehicles until they were out of sight. "Mom is amazing too." She whispered quietly.

"What, did you think she was a housewife sitting in a kitchen all day?" Eric laughed. "Before I integrated with the mana of this world, I had never beat her in a sparring match."

Jessica looked at him with eyes wide, her mouth gaping open. "What?"

Sarah sat while looking down at her hands. Her heart pounded against her chest as she looked around the room. Four guards covered each corner. Even though she wasn’t chained, she felt like she was. She looked up at the door. "When will she be here?" She asked. "He’s going to come... He’s going to come... He’s going to..."

Her voice trailed off as she looked off at the distance. The room changed into the slope of a mountain. She felt the rocks scraping off her skin as her bodly slid down the mountain. The feeling of burning ants ripped through her body again and again. "Please Goddess... Anyone... Please save me. I will spend the rest of my life making up by helping to kill that monster."

Her vision went black.

She exhaled, grabbing the desk when a doctor called for her. "Ms. Sarah?"

Sarah nodded, clenching her fists. "I’m okay. I apologize."

The doctor nodded to her, smiling gently. "No one here can fathom what you went through ma’am. Take all the time you need to process. If we need to wait longer, it is okay."

Sarah shook her head, clutching her dress. "No. She has to know now."

Mia walked into the room and gazed at the soldiers at the corners. "You may leave." She stated flatly. The soldiers looked at her in confusion before she looked at the one closest with a cold glint in her eyes. "I didn’t stutter, and my husband said my English is perfect. So, leave. Now."

The guards nodded, scampering out of the room. She then turned to Sarah, her eyes widening. "Sarah?!" She rushed up to the young woman, hugging her tightly. "We thought you had been lost. What the hell happened?"

Sarah hugged Mia back, her body shaking as she leaned into the other woman’s shoulder. "I was made his advisor after infiltrating." She whispered. Her body shook. "I had to destroy all evidence I was with Riemskin..." 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

Tears fell from her face. "Oh God... is... is Maythan okay?" She sobbed against Mia’s shoulder. "Please tell me Maythan and the kids are okay."

Mia smiled and stroked Sarah’s hair. "Yes sweetheart. Your husband and kids are okay. They are safe at port."

Sarah collapsed against Mia. Her breath came out sharply as her tears were wiped away by Mia.

"Mia..."

"He has a compound full of their weapons. Before he tried to kill me... They were practicing on how to use them outside Brishian city. They sent that last Army just to test how this unit fights."

"And he knows about your husband."

Mia took a sharp breath, hugging Sarah tightly. "Thank you for telling me." She whispered back. "Do you want to go home, or do you want us to bring them here?"

Sarah calmed herself as they parted. "I would like to see them, if that is okay."

"Ahem." A voice called from the shadows, and a tall figure appeared from the other side of the observation room. Mia’s eyes flicked to the glass.

"You’re impossible."

Eric was standing there, his arms crossed as they stared at each other.

Sarah chuckled, her trembling body relaxing. "Oooh... He looks pissed."

Mia scratched her neck, looking at the ceiling. "Yeah, he might be."

"I’m coming in."

After Eric entered the room, he nodded to Sarah. "Hey Sarah, it is a pleasure to meet you. I’m Eric. Mia’s husband." They shook hands and Eric sat down next to Mia. "So, what does Heith know about me?" He said, his arms folding against his chest.

Sarah took a deep breath, the anxiety slowly leaving her body as she felt her body lightening.

"He know’s you were the one that took out the Brios, and that you handled the defense outside of Vegas. He wants the heroes to try to kill you."

The door opened quietly. The room stood in silence as boots stepped confidently against the cement. "Leave." A voice commanded to the guards outside the door. No one questioned the order as steps echoed across the hallway. The man pulled up his own chair, and Milano looked at Eric.

"Dryer."

Eric nodded. "Sir, the prince knows about me, and is planning to send more heroes at 6-8 in order to target me for assassination."

Milano sighed as he looked between the three people in front of him.

"Get the names and appearances of all known heroes in the empire to Esponia. If these people show up, detain them. And for God’s sakes, dryer, stay at home for once."

Eric grinned, and Milano sighed again.

"Fucking Delta." He groaned before turning to Sarah. "We will get your family here and provide housing for you. Your information will be vital for our survival as well as yours."

Once back at home, a stare off was taking place in the kitchen. Mia was staring at Eric, and he was glaring at her. "So, were you going to tell me?" He started, his hands gripping the table.

"I had it handled, dear." She responded, her hand inching towards a frying pan. "And besides, you wouldn’t have told me if you were the one asking the questions, would you?"

Jessica and Liam sat on the couch, playing with Liara and whispering to each other. "Next dinner date is on me if Mia hits him with the frying pan."

Jessica smirked and smacked Liam’s hand. "If you didn’t pay, my dad would kill you."

Liam chuckled. "I think you’re right."

The staring match didn’t end until early morning.