Page 6 of Escaping my Dragon

“A few, like the power station, for obvious reasons.”

“Do I look like a terrorist, Captain?”

“You look like someone who shouldn’t be here,” was his flat reply.

I arched my brow. “Agreed. And yet, here I am. If we’re lucky, I’ll be able to quickly gather the evidence for my piece and get out of your hair.” Not that he had much. As with many in the military, he kept his short. Pity. His face might not have seemed so stony and square if the dirty blond stubble grew out and framed those rugged planes.

“Evidence?” he snorted. “I assure you, none of the rumors being floated are true.”

His reply had me shaking my head. “I think you mistake my purpose. I’m not here to prove those theories correct, but rather poke so many holes in them, those posting will be embarrassed enough to take them down.”

Only a subtle shift of his expression indicated his surprise. “You really think a television show can do that?”

He’d obviously never heard of or watched any of my episodes. “I’m more than just a tv show. Unravelling the Myths is a hit on YouTube, Spotify, and anywhere that can stream video or audio podcasts.” Then, because he didn’t seem suitably impressed, I added, “In the last year alone, I’ve averaged fourteen million viewers per episode.” I even had an episode that bumped Joe Rogan for a week—Did we really go to the moon?—a feat that had Giles practically swooning. To those wondering at the answer, watch the episode.

“The world has more than eight billion people,” the captain pointed out, unimpressed by my numbers.

“The majority of whom would never think of going to Antarctica, and thus, are not my target audience. My show appeals to those who are curious. The ones who need to be dissuaded from deciding to hop on a plane and be the next great Darwin.”

“These people aren’t scientists.”

“Never claimed they were. The opposite, actually, or have you never heard of the Darwin Awards?” Handed out to people who did the stupidest things and died.

“You really think you can convince them?” Ah, the skepticism. I dealt with it on an almost daily basis.

“Show them the truth. Make it undeniable. Will it be enough for the crazies? No. But nothing short of a tin foil hat and a straitjacket will stop them.”

He blinked at me.

I smiled. “Captain Harrison, may I introduce my coworkers? This is Joslyn Webb, my videographer, and Vernon Kilpatrick, my sound guy.”

The short and buxom Joslyn, with her curly blonde locks, grinned. “Hi.”

As for Vernon—who could have been Shaggy’s brother—he offered a wave.

The captain gave them the same unimpressed once-over. I swear he held in a sigh. “If you’ll follow me. We’re due to leave if we’re to stay on schedule.” He spun on his heel and stiffly walked in the direction of a large military plane.

My lips pursed. “He’s going to be a pain in my ass, I just know it.”

“He can be a pain in my mine if he wants,” murmured Joslyn. “Va-va-voom.”

The remark startled because, until that moment, I’d looked at the captain as an obstacle in my way but watching him pause to speak to one of the flight crew, I noted the breadth of his shoulders, the height as he towered over the woman bobbing her head, the leanness of his physique. Probably all muscle under that uniform.

“No banging the captain,” I warned.

“Why not? It might soften those rough and delicious edges,” Joslyn purred.

“Assuming he’s into women,” Vernon countered. “If not, I’m ready to pitch in.”

I put a hand to my forehead and held back a groan. “Would the two of you stop? No one is seducing the captain. The man is probably married, and the last thing I need is for him to get even more annoyed by our presence.”

“You’re no fun,” grumbled Joslyn.

“Fun is for later, once this job is in the can. Until then, we work and do our best to not piss off the captain.” Or notice his ass when he dropped to his haunches to pick up something on the ground.

No banging the captain, I mentally repeated, even as it occurred it had been a while since I’d been with anyone. Blame a lack of time and interest. Most men fawned over me, impressed by my notoriety. They didn’t see me as a person but rather enjoyed the attention that followed when we went out in public.

My last sexual partner had been… hmm… it took a while to remember Brian. A guy who worked for the marketing firm we used, who initially ticked a few boxes until a picture of me sleeping leaked. Thankfully, the comforter covered my naked bits, but the betrayal stung. Him getting fired did soothe my irritation somewhat but didn’t fix my trust issues.