FIRE ON HIGH
“Fire On High” is a work of fiction, and any resemblance to any person living or dead is purely coincidental. All characters and settings © Tigermark 2003-2005 unless otherwise noted. Request permission before using them, please.
The characters of Anatol Altaisokova and Melinda Altaisokova are my names for characters © Max Blackrabbit. They appear in this story with his permission. The characters of Brandy, Maxwell, and Tonya and Zig Zag are also © Max Blackrabbit and appear here with his permission. Events and information relating to Tonya, Anatol, and their family are presented here, but are not to be considered canon to those characters or any other story but this one. ZZ Studios © James Bruner. Matt Barstock and Intermountain Charter © Silver Coyote. See their story HERE.
CHAPTER 25
KENTIGERS
“Ahhh,” Anton sighed as he sat down in his chair. He and Alex had just arrived home from the airport. Alex had set their bags down and excused himself to the restroom. The flight back to Charleston with his son had been wonderful, although he knew his announcement had caught Alex off-guard. The wide-eyed stares his son’s new plane had garnered were worth the trip by themselves.
“You know,” Anton mused to himself, “I really don’t feel all that tired, either.”
“Good,” Alex responded as he walked into the room, “then you feel like maybe continuing the family history?”
“Ack! Sometimes your hearing is too good for my own good. Well, why not? You have your recorder?”
“Right here in my bag.” Alex went to his bag and bent to retrieve the recorder and its AC adapter. He then walked over and plugged the device in and placed it on the side table next to Anton’s chair. He then sat down on the sofa next to it. He switched it on and stated the date, who was speaking, and “session two” into the recorder.
“Okay Dad, ready when you are.”
“All right. Now, where did I leave off? Oh yes. Papa, Mama, and Talia in
“As with most who came to
Alex interrupted his father’s talk for a moment. “Dad, why didn’t Grandpa go get it corrected? He always spoke very good English as far as I can remember. He had an accent, sure, but his words were easy to understand.”
“Ah, easy for you and me, but some didn’t really want to understand. At that time, Papa had a very thick accent. Also, in those days, it was the early fifties by then, the Korean War was going on, and the fear of communism was pervasive. You can imagine how someone might react to hearing Russian in a group of Irish immigrants. Papa said he felt fortunate , by the attitude he saw in the fur, that he let them in at all. Anyway, by the time he understood what had happened, everything official had the O’Whitt name on it, and he decided under those conditions that the new name would serve him and his better. ‘A new country, a new name,’ he said.”
“Times were still tough for them, then. I remember Papa talking about how, even though he made more than the miners, the company still wouldn’t let him get ahead. Talia, who’d had visions of being treated like a princess after Papa’s tales in
“The rest of our side’s story you pretty well know. I was twelve when we moved to Elkview after Papa found a better job during a long strike by the miner’s union. I was in high school when I met your mother. She and her family had emigrated from
Anton stopped and worked his jaw a second. “I think I’ve had enough for now, Son.”
“Okay Dad,” Alex replied as he reached for the recorder. Before he could turn it off, though, his father spoke again.
“Next time I’ll relate some stuff about you when you were younger.” The older tiger then winked. Alex looked askance for a second, and then switched off the tape.
“Don’t give me that look,” Anton admonished. “It’s only fair, since you’re making me do this, that I tell a few things on you for the record, too.”
Alex thought a moment, and then shrugged, giving his father a sheepish grin. “All right, just don’t go making stuff up just to make it sound better.”
Anton grinned back. “Now would I do that?”
Alex smirked and was about to reply when Blake jumped up on his lap and mrowed to be petted. Alex began to lightly scratch under the kaht’s chin as he replied to his father. “You know you would. Now that we’ve got you talking, you love to tell a good story. I’m glad though. Tia and Andrew are learning more about the family’s history than I ever knew. I should tape you with them sometime, too. Heh, so you had to defend Mom’s honor a couple of times, eh? Guess I’m not the only one in this family who was a fighter in school.”
Anton nodded. “Yep, but I was defending a femme’s dignity, not getting mad over a few names from furs too ignorant to know better. So what if they made fun of your tail? The femme’s sure seemed to like it. Ah, but that’s for the next taping, eh?”
“Yes, for the next session.”
The two fell into a companionable silence. Anton looked a bit tired now, and Alex lapsed into thoughts of his high school days as he stroked Blake’s fur and they waited for Jenna and company to arrive. Alex had been picked on quite a bit for his fluffy snow leopard’s tail. He’d had more than a few scuffles, and at least two knock-down drag-out fights. He’d been fortunate that he hadn’t learned the military way of sharpening his claws yet, or he may well have killed the last fur he fought. It was his junior year, and one particular fur, Dennis Purley, had hassled him about his tail for the previous two years running. Always enough to make him mad, but always stopping short of instigating an actual fight. Dennis had been calling him Fluffy and insinuating he was, well, a female feline. Alex had ignored it, told him to stop, and come close to taking a swing at him on several occasions. One day Dennis had thought it would be funny to grab Alex’s tail and floof it, rubbing it the wrong way. That mistake cost the Dalmatian a trip to the ER, and nearly got Alex expelled. Only after several others vouched that the canid had grabbed Alex first did the school officials settle for two weeks detention instead. Alex now smiled ruefully. Dennis hadn’t had a clue as to how fast a tiger that’s just had his tail rubbed the wrong way could spin and strike. Alex had laid a claws-out hit across the side of the canid’s head, knocking him to the floor and laying open his ear. The scratches weren’t deep, but wounds to the head bleed profusely. After that, and all through his senior year, everyone decided his tail would not be a good target for poking fun at.
Alex’s thoughts trailed off into mundane things as Anton enjoyed the quiet. They spent nearly two hours this way before both Alex and Blake’s ears perked up. The kaht jumped off Alex’s lap as the sound of a car door reached their ears. Alex got up and went to open the door. Tia came bounding in first, wrapping Alex in a quick hug with an excited look on her face and her tail twitching.
“Uncle Alex, how was the flight over? That takeoff was really cool. How fast were you climbing? How far into the clouds did you go before you leveled out? What—.”
“Whoa, Tia!” Alex interjected, bringing her to a halt before she talked herself out of air. “You’ll get to see tomorrow. We’ll go fly after lunch. I checked the weather before we left the airport, and it looks good. The front that’s coming in should pass through overnight.”
Tia beamed and then headed for the restroom. Jenna, Talia, and Andrew walked in then. Jenna smiled at Alex and hugged his neck while Talia patted his shoulder.
“Cool takeoff, Uncle Alex,” Andrew said, giving a smile and a thumbs-up before heading for a chair. At his mother’s insistence, he’d left the video game in the van for once. He said hello to Anton and the two began to talk quietly.
“Thanks, Andrew,” Alex called. Jenna, who still had her arms around his neck, looked earnestly into his eyes.
“Thank you. For Jason. I know this was tough, and partly done for him.”
Alex smiled warmly and patted her back with his paws. “Don’t think a thing of it. This is what was meant to happen, and I’m quite sure I’m doing exactly what’s best.”
Jenna hugged him again and then joined Talia as they went to fuss over Anton, inquiring if they could get him anything or if he was hungry or hurting. Andrew perked up at the mention of food as Anton gave Alex a slightly put-out look. Alex had an idea, and acted upon it quickly.
“Dad, now that I’m retired, why don’t you come out to Winchester and stay a while?”
Anton smiled, but shook his head. “Thanks, Son, but no. I might come out for a brief visit for a couple of weeks, but nothing too long. I’ll fight this fight here, on my home turf.”
“Yes he will.” Talia emphasized. They all looked at her, and Alex could see the stubborn determination in her expression. “Alex, you’ll not barge in here and take him somewhere else to spend his last days! He’s staying here where he’s comfortable and I can watch out for him.”
Alex and Anton both flinched as Talia’s words registered with Jenna, Andrew, and Tia, who’d just walked back into the room. With tears welling in her eyes, Jenna wrapped her arms around Anton. Tia and Andrew both followed suit.
“Dad,” Jenna sniffled, “is that what Dr. Gailton told you at your appointment?”
With a sigh, Anton replied, “Yes. The Chemo worked a bit at the start, but by the end, the cancer was growing again. He said anywhere from a few months to a year. As I told Alex on the way over today, let’s not make this a time of gloom and doom. I want to enjoy the time I have, and leave good memories when I go on to be with the Lord.”
Jenna nodded as her cubs murmured their agreement. While the elder male of the O’Whitt clan was wrapped in the embrace of his daughter-in-law and grandcubs, Alex motioned for Talia to follow him. She did so, although she could tell that he was not pleased. He led the way to the kitchen, where he poured two cups of coffee. He handed one to his aunt, and then sat down at the table, motioning for her to sit also. She sat down, and the two tigers locked eyes. Talia was always amazed at the cool ice-blue color of Alex’s eyes, but now they seemed even cooler than usual.
“Aunt Talia,” he began, his manner calm. “I know that wasn’t intentional, but that is no way to break news like that. Dad told me while we were in the air, and he was adamant about telling Jenna and Tia and Andrew in his own way and in his own time. Why did you react so harshly? Did you think that I’d let anything happen to Dad if he stayed with me a while?”
After a moment, she replied. “I’m sorry for letting my tongue get away from me.” Alex could still see the stubborn set of her jaw, so he waited for her to continue.
“Anton may go downhill very fast, and very soon. If you take him away to Kentucky, he could get too weak to travel and then be gone before I could get there. You haven’t been around much, and I won’t let you take him down there to die. His friends, his family, and his church are all here.”
Alex was silent a moment, thinking. He then spoke in a gentler voice. “And you, his big sister. I wasn’t trying to steal him away; I just thought he might like to visit us before . . . he can’t. No, I haven’t been here as much as I’d have liked, so you can’t blame me for wanting to spend as much time with him as I can now. I don’t want to fight about this, and Dad made it clear that he wants to stay here, so I won’t mention it again for now. I would like for him to come and visit with me and Jenna and the cubs before long, though.”
Talia looked at him dubiously for a few seconds, but then her lower lip began to quiver and tears welled up in her eyes.
“Alex,” she managed to say in a shaky voice. “He’s going away. The Lord is going to take him away, and I’ll be alone.”
Alex put a gentle paw on his aunt’s now trembling one. Now he understood where the stubborn will to keep his father at home came from. Talia, dour, stern, strong Talia, was afraid. She was afraid of being alone, and afraid of losing her little brother.
“Aunt Talia, the Lord is calling him home after a long, full, productive life. I’m going to miss him like crazy, but I don’t have the power to prevent him from going.” Tears now welled up in Alex’s eyes, also. “Nor would I. He’s worked hard. If it’s now time for him to go to his rest, then all I can do is be here with him as much as possible until then.”
Talia nodded, regaining her composure. They could hear Jenna and the cubs laughing with Anton in the living room. By silent consent, they both stood to go join them.
“Dad always could find a way to make a bad situation better,” Alex commented as Talia put an arm around his shoulder and hugged.
“Yes, he could always find a good thing in any situation.” She agreed. Together they took their coffee and headed for the living room.
# # #
Saturday afternoon had turned out clear and cool behind a fast-moving cold front. Jenna and Talia were still busy fussing over Anton, and Andrew was involved in doing some constructive research on cancer. He was checking all the latest information available on the ‘net using the laptop Jenna had bought for him at the start of school. Alex had taken the chance to abscond with Tia to give her the ride in Stripes One he had promised. They’d driven to the airport, and now sat in the flight-planning area as Alex showed her the ins and outs of planning their flight.
“Okay, now we’ve calculated the minimum acceleration check speed, which we should be traveling at by two thousand feet down the runway. This is our Vee One, or the speed we need to take off. This is Vee Two, the speed we need to take off on one engine. This is our go/no go speed, where we decide whether to takeoff or stop if there’s a problem. This is our refusal speed, the highest speed from which we could stop in the remaining runway.”
Tia goggled a bit. “Wow, can you really keep track of all that?”
Alex smiled. “It becomes second nature. The numbers are in the back of your mind as you roll down the runway, and you tick each one off as you go. If something is wrong, you instantly know whether or not to abort, or if it’s too late to abort, either push on or eject, depending on how bad the problem is.”
“Okay, what next?”
“We go double check weather and file our flight plan. Ready?”
The young femme tiger looked quite mature in the flight and G-suit she wore for the flight, except for the kitten face that would show under the helmet when she donned it. Alex caught a glimpse of what she would look like one day if she followed her plans. They walked over and checked the weather computer, and then went to the desk and filed the flight plan with a badger femme who looked them over curiously as she typed the info into her computer. They then walked out to Stripes One. Alex had called for boarding stairs and a fuel truck, and he activated the switch that opened the canopies while they waited for those to arrive. He’d had Tia carry her own parachute out, and he showed her where to lay it while they did the pre-flight routine.
Once the boarding stairs were there, Alex showed her how to turn the main power on and insure the fuel and oxygen levels indicated correctly. He then turned the power back off and they began the pre-flight inspection. Tia followed as he checked along the aircraft under the wings and in the gear wells, removing pins and covers as he went. That done, he stowed the pins in their proper compartment. The fuel truck arrived, and he told Tia what to look for as the ramp fur topped off the fuel tanks. Once the fueling was complete, it was time to get in the aircraft. Alex helped her strap on her parachute, and then put his own on.
“Okay, let me help you up into the cockpit and get you settled in.” Alex offered his paw at the base of the steps leading up to the front cockpit. Tia was wide-eyed for a second. Alex could fly just as well from the rear cockpit, so he wanted Tia to have a good view.
Quickly recovering, she winked at her uncle and clambered up, by-passing his paw. Teenagers in her age range tended to be a bit awkward from the changes their bodies were going through, but Tia showed no signs of that as she gracefully settled into the seat. Alex smiled and climbed up to help her fasten her belts, don the helmet and connect the hoses and lines, and settle her tail in the cradle in the back of the seat. He then stepped over and into the rear cockpit. He settled in and put on his helmet, fastened his seatbelts and connected his own lines and hoses. He flipped the main power back on and keyed the intercom.
“All right Tia, let’s go through the cockpit checks.”
“Okay Uncle Alex.”
Alex now grinned. Jenna had let him in on something, and he intended to use it.
“Listen TC, to expedite communications, we use call signs. Call me Ice.”
Tia, taken aback that her uncle knew her own call sign, stifled a giggle. “Okay Ice.”
“Good. Now, follow what I say, but don’t touch anything unless I tell you to.”
“Copy, Ice.”
Alex now went through the instrument checks and set the frequencies they’d need into the stack of radios, repeating aloud each thing he did as Tia followed along. Once that was done, he signaled the ramp furs to remove the boarding stairs and prepare to pull the wheel chocks.
“Okay TC, ground says we’re clear to start engines. Signal the ramp guy.”
Tia made a paw signal to the wide-eyed retriever in front of the aircraft, and he raised his paws and gave the engine start signal. He would watch the outside of the aircraft for any sign of trouble as the engines spooled up.
“He’s signaling to start, ah, Ice.”
“Copy start. First we flip the switch to activate the starter.” She heard and felt the starter motor begin to turn the engine, forcing compressed air into the combustion chambers. “Then we turn on the igniters.” Alex pushed a button on the panel. “Then we crack the throttle about this far, up to idle.” Tia saw the throttle by her left paw move forward a small amount.” Tia could feel a deep rumble as the fuel now in the combustion chambers lit. In a few seconds, the engine RPM’s reached idle speed, and the exhaust gas temperature for that engine reached the bottom of the normal range on the gage. The process was repeated for the second engine.
“Okay TC, now we go through the control checks.” Alex coached her through the paw signals to be exchanged with the ramp fur as they made sure Stripes One was ready to fly.
“TC, place your right paw on the stick, left on the throttles, and your feet on the rudder pedals. Follow my inputs, but be careful not to fight me on them.”
“Okay Ice,” she replied, and kept her paws and feet on the controls for the rest of the flight. Alex called for clearance to taxi, and when that came, instructed Tia on how to signal for the chocks to be pulled. The retriever pulled the chocks and put them in the back of the ramp truck before turning to wave as Alex fed in a little more power and began to taxi toward the runway. Soon they were holding at the threshold of Yeager’s main 6300 foot runway.
“All right, everything’s go. Call for takeoff, TC.” Alex saw her helmeted head nod.
“Yeager Tower, Niner Sierra Tango is a Tee-Thirty Eight with information delta. Requesting takeoff clearance for Runway Two Three.”
The tower controller was a bit taken aback by the young, feminine voice coming from the tiger-striped T-38.
“Ah, copy, Nine Sierra Tango. You are cleared for takeoff. Contact Departure Control on One Twenty Eight Point Five.”
“Niner Sierra Tango, copy cleared, will contact Departure Control on One Twenty Eight Point Five,” Tia replied. Alex was impressed at how grown up his thirteen year-old niece sounded. He taxied the aircraft onto the runway, using experience and what he could see around Tia’s head to line up with the runway centerline. He stood on the brakes, said a quick “here we go!” and pushed the throttles forward into afterburner. Stripes One squatted on her gear as the thrust built. Tia let out a gasp as Alex released the brakes. A few seconds of rapid acceleration later, they were airborne. Tia watched in rapt fascination as Alex expertly toggled the gear and flaps up. He raised the nose and they climbed rapidly as they passed the end of the runway and flew out over the valley that Charleston sat in.
“Wow!” was all Tia could say. Alex talked with Departure Control, and shortly they turned northeast and headed for an area just north of Grantsville. There a rough box formed by a military training route and three Visual Flight Rules Airways was usually devoid of traffic, making it an excellent aerobatics area. It only took about fifteen minutes at their three hundred knot speed to reach it, so they’d have plenty of time and fuel to play with.
Once there, Alex looked around to clear the area. “TC, see any other aircraft?”
“No Ice. Nothing that I can see.”
“All right, ready?”
“Yes sir, Ice. Let’s go!”
“Let’s start out with a nice loop, then.” Alex talked through the maneuver as he did it. “First we lower the nose a bit to build the airspeed. At five hundred knots indicated, we bring the stick back to our lap.”
Alex heard Tia suck in a breath. “Remember to grunt and push with your stomach muscles to counter the G’s. We should pull about five in a loop. All right, over the top and we ease off the stick a bit so we don’t overstress the aircraft.”
Tia watched as the terrain went from below them to over their heads. They were perfectly wings-level as they arced across the top of the loop. She found herself feeling weightless for a few seconds as they started down the back of the maneuver.
“The nose comes back toward vertical, and the G’s start coming back on as we start the pull up. Aaand there we go, back wings level at our starting altitude.” Alex smiled in his mask, satisfied with a well-performed maneuver.
“Wow! Ice, that’s great! Can we do another?” Alex could hear the excitement in her voice. They did two more, with Tia doing most of the last one.
“Ready for a roll, TC?” Alex asked next.
“You bet!”
“Okay. Of course, the first thing we do is check to make sure no other aircraft have wandered into the area we’re flying in.” Alex saw Tia’s helmet rotate around in all directions as she looked for any other aircraft.
“Looks all clear, Ice.”
“Good. Now, we put in a little throttle, raise the nose about five degrees, and put the stick over about this much.”
Tia gave a soft ‘Oh!” as the sky and ground switched places. Alex rotated the aircraft once, smoothly returning to upright and wings-level. By the fourth one, Tia was performing the maneuver with minimal help from her uncle.
“Ice, how fast can Stripes One roll? We don’t seem to be using very much, ah, what’s the word?” Tia asked.
“Deflection, and no we aren’t. Stripes One can roll almost as fast as a stock T-38. With the larger wings, it slows the roll rate, but not by much. Want to see?”
He could hear the anticipation in her voice as she replied. “You bet!”
“All right. First, put your head right up against the right side of the canopy.”
Tia glanced around slightly as if to ask if Alex was kidding, but then complied.
“Like this?”
“Yep. Now stay like that. Here we go!”
Alex deflected the stick full left, and the horizon spun crazily around, so fast that Tia couldn’t count the revolutions. When Alex centered the stick, they had rotated well past wings-level, and he had to correct back.
“Holy Shit!”
“TIA!”
“Uh, sorry Uncle, ah, Ice. Wow! That was extreme!”
“Yep,” Alex grinned again. “Now, want to see what a stall is like?”
“Okay,” Tia responded. Alex put in some throttle and they climbed up to seventeen thousand. Stall recovery in a regular T-38 required a lot of finesse and altitude. He had read the test report on how Stripes One handled it, but Alex wanted to see for himself.
“Here we go, TC. Wings-level, throttles to idle, nose up slightly now to let the speed bleed off. We’ll try a clean stall first.”
The airspeed trailed down, and after a few seconds a raucous buzzing alarm announced the imminent stall. The altimeter began to unwind rapidly as the aircraft began to roll left and right about thirty degrees, mimicking a falling leaf. In a standard Talon, it would go to about sixty degrees. Alex dropped the nose and fed in throttle, and was pleased to see he didn’t have to use afterburner to recover. They had still lost over five thousand feet in a few seconds, but it was a great improvement over the stall habits of the stock T-38.
“Okay TC?” Alex asked.
“Ugh! I think my stomach is still up at seventeen.”
“Heh, it’ll catch up,” Alex chuckled in reply.
Tia started as a computerized feminine voice suddenly sounded in their earphones. “Ice, bingo fuel.” Alex had arranged for the alarms to have a custom sound, rather than the standard repeating message. He reached up and toggled off the alarm.
“Sorry TC, time to go home.”
“Okay Ice. Thank you. It has been a fantastic ride.”
Alex grinned broadly as he turned Stripes One toward Charleston.
“On that I totally agree.”
# # #
Alex pulled up in front of the hangar at Kentiger Executive Air Service in his old “farm truck.” The time at his father’s had flown by, with them managing one day of fishing and several of talking and just relaxing. It was now Friday morning, and he’d flown home to Lexington the previous afternoon. Billy had said he’d fly Alex back to Charleston early next week so he could drive his regular pickup truck back. Today was to be his first day “on the job.” He had a check ride scheduled with Duncan Jetter in the Gulfstream IV for the afternoon. That would free him up to fill in on charters and also to start doing sales calls next week.
“Yep, with two new birds to feed that only produce interest and not revenue, I’d better get going on bringing in more business,” Alex thought as he parked in the slot now designated for him. He got out and stood for a moment, looking the hangar over. His Air Force career, as far as regular active duty went, was over, and this would be his new life, as far as work went. He took a deep breath and headed for the door.
He walked into the hangar and on toward the office area. There he found Loni Lyntica working away on the crush of paperwork required to keep a charter service operational.
“Good morning, Colonel O’Whitt. Welcome to Kentiger,” she said cheerily.
“Good morning, Ms. Lyntica. Thank You. How are you today?”
“Fine, thank you. Mr. Panelli is already in his office. He said to send you on back when you got in.”
“All right. Oh, do I need to do any paperwork with you right now?”
The lynx looked thoughtful for a second before replying. “Hmmm, not until the check ride this afternoon. Then you’ll have to sign that off. Everything else is already done. That’s why I got you to sign or fill out a thing or two each time you’d come in the past few months.”
“Great! I was hoping there wouldn’t be much more. Talk to you later,” Alex said as he turned and walked out of the main office and down the short hallway that led to Billy’s office. He noted a door right beside Billy’s with a new name plate on it.
“Alex O’Whitt,” he read to himself. It didn’t sound nearly as ostentatious as he’d feared. He knocked on Billy’s door and went in.
“Billy Panelli, Mister Alex O’Whitt reporting for duty.” Alex grinned as he stepped up in front of the tiger’s desk.
Billy looked up from what he was working on. He looked Alex over, gave an off-paw salute and replied, “Bout time.” He then smiled broadly, his tail waving behind his chair in a slow, relaxed way. “Welcome aboard full time, Alex. Have a seat. I’ve worked out some preliminary sales calls for next week. Rich Farraday put the finishing touches on your new laptop yesterday. He said the manual with it would get you going.”
“Great! I’m rarin’ to go!” Alex opened the computer Billy had pushed across the desk at him. For the next forty-five minutes they talked about schedules, aircraft utilization, training, and costs.
“Ahh,” Alex said finally, twisting a bit to relieve a kink in his back. “Think we’ve covered everything?”
“Yeah, I think so. I need to get back to this contract I was looking over when you came in. You’ll probably want to get some lunch before your check ride with Duncan. Why don’t you go check out your office and start getting settled in, and we’ll go grab a bite in an hour or so.”
“Sounds good. See you then.” Alex stood and closed the computer. He picked it up and walked out as Billy bent to the document that was awaiting his attention.
As he got to the door of his office, Alex heard Loni’s voice rise as she talked to whoever was out in the main office. The note of her voice was angry, and the reply had a condescending sound to it. Alex put the laptop down in front of his door and walked down the hall. He stopped where he could see what was going on, automatically blending into the shadows so as not to be seen. Loni was on her feet, backed up to her desk, her short tail flicking back and forth in agitation. Facing her, but not touching her was a skunk with dark hair and a medium build. Alex recognized him from his employee photo as Glenn Mustid. He could hardly believe what he was hearing from the skunk.
“C’mon, Loni. I’ve been nice, and asked and asked. You’re absolutely gorgeous, and I won’t take no for an answer anymore. Go out with me.”
He had started to take a step close to Loni when she held up a paw with a very sharp set of claws expressed.
“No Glenn! I’ve already told you, I’m involved with someone. Now go away!”
Glenn made to dodge around the paw as he spoke. “Who? You always say that, but you don’t ever say a name. I bet I could do you a whole lot better than him, whoever he is. Now c’mon, let’s—!”
The mustid stopped in mid-sentence as he felt the weight of a paw and the prickle of five claw tips on his shoulder. Momentarily confused, he wondered How Loni could have done that when he could still see both of her paws. She was looking rather wide-eyed, herself. Suddenly he was spun around and backed up to the wall. He found himself staring into a pair of the clearest, coldest ice-blue eyes he’d ever seen.
“Wh-, who are you?” he asked shakily.
“Alex O’Whitt.” The words were growled more than spoken.
“Mister, ah, Colonel O’Whitt! Now, hold on. This isn’t—.”
“Mister Mustid. Do you like your job here?” Alex emphasized the question with a slight increase in pressure on his claw tips.
The skunk blanched. Alex could see the skin go pale beneath Glenn’s facial fur.
“Uh, yes sir, I do.”
“Good. If you want to keep it, I had better not see you in this office again unless it’s on company business. I won’t tolerate sexual harassment anymore than I’ll tolerate sloppy flying. Is that understood?”
“Y-yes sir!”
“Are you on the schedule today?”
“No sir, I was—.”
“Then I suggest you go home as soon as you finish apologizing to Ms. Lyntica.”
The look on Alex’s face allowed no question. Glenn simply nodded. Alex released him and took a step back. The skunk began immediately back-pedaling for the door.
“Uh, I’m sorry, Loni, I meant no harm. Please excuse me I have to go.” He turned and fled through the main office door to the outside. Alex casually strolled after him and watched out the door as Glenn got into his car and pulled rapidly out of the parking lot. He then turned and walked back to the office, where he found Loni sagging at her desk, leaning on her chair.
“Ms. Lyntica, are you all right? He didn’t hurt you, did he?”
“Oh no, he didn’t touch me. It’s just such a relief. He’s been pestering me for several months, ever since he broke up with his girlfriend.” Loni eased down into her chair, shaking her head.
“Good. Well, if he starts hanging around or bothering you again, let me know. I don’t care if employees date each other, that’s none of the company’s business as long as it doesn’t effect how they do their jobs, but I will not tolerate harassment. Period,” Alex said as he turned to go have a look at his new office.
“Colonel, ah, may I call you Alex?” Alex turned to look at her. The lynx had composed herself and was preparing to get back to work, but she was looking at him with a quizzical expression.
“Yes, if I may call you Loni.”
“That’s fine. Alex, thank you.” She now flashed a dazzling smile. Alex nodded and smiled back in a friendly way.
“Just doing my job. Good admin furs are hard to find.” Alex turned and walked back to his office, picking up his laptop and going on in. The room was a pretty standard office. There was a desk with a phone and a computer, an executive style padded chair, and a small sofa along one wall. Several other chairs sat at various places, all within an easy pull of the desk. Other than the standard Kentucky Blue trim to the room and furnishings, the room was plain. Alex would have to bring his own personal items in to add some personality to the place.
Out in the main office, Loni really smiled. She realized that for probably the first time in her working life, she now had two bosses who seemed to appreciate her for her hard work and intelligence, rather than for her looks. It was a very pleasant change from the other supervisors and employers she’d had.
Just then, Duncan Jetter walked in the door on his way to prepare for his part in the afternoon check ride.
“Well! That’s quite a smile. Something good happen?”
“Actually, something terrible. Glenn Mustid was in here again,” Loni replied. Duncan’s ears went flat, and his tail twitched in agitation.
“I’ll SKIN that skunk if he got out of line with you!”
“He got quite out of line, but I seriously doubt it’ll happen again. Colonel O’Whitt overheard him and really came down hard on him. Practically threw him out of the office, and told him not to be in here unless it was on company business.” Loni still had a smile on her muzzle. Duncan looked puzzled for a second.
“Well,” he said finally, “I’m glad he helped out. He, ah, didn’t seem to want anything in return, did he?”
“Duncan! No! He was very much the gentlefur. Don’t be so insecure. You know, I think he knows about us.”
The leopard’s ears and tail had sagged at Loni’s admonition, but now they perked back up with curiosity. “Really? What makes you think so?”
“He made a point of telling me that he felt it was none of the company’s business if two employees dated, as long as it didn’t effect how they do their jobs. And no, that wasn’t a pass, he was just passing along his thoughts on it.”
“Huh. I may have misjudged him. I figured him for the typical playfur semi-absentee owner type, but he seems to really have things together and to be a real asset to the business, other than just a provider of capital. I guess the proof of that will come in this afternoon’s check ride.” Duncan had a thoughtful look on his face as he began to re-evaluate his impression of Kentiger’s co-owner.
“I suppose,” Loni replied, slightly lost in thought herself for a moment. After a short pause, she spoke again. “Duncan, you know what part of Glenn Mustid’s line was today?”
Duncan started out of his reverie. “No, what?”
“He said he could do better than whomever I was dating. I really wish I could have told him it was you. That would have really shut him up. I really wish I could tell everyone so stuff like that wouldn’t happen.”
Duncan swallowed, thoughts rapidly running through his head. He’d been thinking a lot lately, and he’d been waiting for the right time to tell Loni what conclusion he’d reached. Now seemed like the time.
“Sweetheart, how would you like to tell them you’re married?”
Loni blinked. Duncan never called her that in the office. What was that he’d just said? Had she heard him correctly?
“Duncan, did you—?”
“Yes I did.” Duncan dropped to one knee beside the desk. “Loni, will you marry me?”
Loni frowned suddenly. “Is this just because Glenn got out of paw today? Because if it is . . .”
Duncan took her paw in his and looked earnestly into her eyes. “No. I’ve been thinking about this for a while now. I’ve been trying to find a good time to ask for several weeks. I believe I’m ready to spend the rest of my life with you. I hope you’re ready, too.”
Loni paused for several long seconds, a neutral expression on her face. Finally, she moved both paws to Duncan’s shoulders.
“Yes.”
A warm smile spread across Loni’s face, matched by the one now on Duncan’s. They both stood and wrapped themselves in each other’s arms.
Alex, who had started out to his truck to start bringing in some personal items, grinned to himself as he turned back toward his office. He’d stopped right where the hallway opened into the main office, catching the question and answer the two at the desk had exchanged.
“About time, from what Billy said,” he said softly to himself as he let the pair have a few moments of privacy.
# # #
“Okay Colonel O’Whitt, show me the pre-flight checklist.” Duncan and Alex sat in the cockpit of Kentiger’s Gulstream IV, preparing to go on a checkride for Alex. The check was required by FAA regulations before Alex could fly the big twin-engine corporate jet.
“All right. Oh, and call me either Alex or Ice, Okay?” the white tiger replied. They had already done the walkaround on the outside of the aircraft, removing pins and covers as they went. Now it was time for them to go down the list of items to be checked in the cockpit, following the age-old litany of challenge and response. Duncan was already impressed by Alex’s knowledge of the aircraft, and by how smoothly he seemed to be transitioning from single-seat military fighters to the larger Grumman.
“All right, Duncan. Main power on?’
“Check.”
“Throttles off?”
“Check.”
And so it went. Alex continued to call off each item as he did it, and Duncan verified it and called out that it had been done. Soon, the checks done, communications and the navigation devices set, they were ready for engine start. Alex continued to act with an easy professionalism, and Duncan found himself being impressed even more.
“Okay, we’re ready to taxi. Call for clearance, please.” Alex had delegated the communications to Duncan.
“Bluegrass Ground, this is Kentiger Two One. We’re a Gulfstream Four on our ramp, request taxi to Runway Four.”
“Kentiger Two One, you are cleared to taxi, take taxiway Delta to Bravo. Hold short at Taxiway Alpha for further clearance,” the controller answered.
“Copy Delta to Bravo, hold at Alpha for further clearance, Kentiger Two One.” Duncan then addressed Alex. “Did you copy Alex?”
“Copy, Duncan. Here we go.” Alex eased the throttles forward and the Grumman slowly moved from its parking spot. He maneuvered out and along the taxiways to where Bravo met Alpha. He scanned, down the long taxiway that paralleled the runway, but saw no traffic.
“Bluegrass Ground, Kentiger Two One holding at Alpha for Runway Four.” Duncan also was scanning to make sure the taxiway was clear.
“Kentiger Two One, you are cleared to Runway Four hold mark. Contact tower on One One Nine Point One. Good day.”
“Copy cleared to Runway Four hold mark. Talk to you later.”
They taxied down the long Taxiway Alpha and stopped before turning onto the runway. There Duncan called the control tower.
“Bluegrass Tower, Kentiger Two One requesting takeoff on Runway Four with information Delta.”
In a few seconds, the tower controller answered in a smooth drawl. “Kentiger Two One, you are cleared for takeoff. Contact departure control on One Two Zero Point One Five.”
“Copy tower, Kentiger Two One,” Duncan replied, and then nodded to Alex. Alex released the brakes and moved the aircraft out onto the runway, lining up with the centerline. He then applied the brakes and held them as he pushed the throttles forward. After a second, he released the brakes.
“Kentiger Two One rolling,” Duncan notified the tower. The Grumman accelerated smoothly and in just over half of the seven thousand foot runway, they lifted off. Alex brought the gear up as they climbed out over the horse ranches to the north of the airport.
Once clear of the traffic around the field, Duncan put Alex through a battery of maneuvers and tasks. Racetrack-shaped holding patterns, timed turns, primary and alternate landing site requirements, and almost everything else in the company’s operating manual. To Duncan’s surprise, Alex not only performed each task well, but he also coordinated well with Duncan, who was also acting as co-pilot. Crew co-ordination was one of the things pilot’s used to flying solo usually had the most trouble with.
“Okay, one final thing,” Duncan said at last. “Engine fire, Port engine. Go!”
“Copy. All actions and radio calls to be simulated. Duncan, call ATC and declare an emergency. Handle the comm. Calling for engine fire checklist.”
“ATC notified, check. Here’s the checklist,” Duncan replied as he opened the special binder of emergency action checklists and gave Alex the correct one. Alex clipped it to the small board attached to the yoke and began to call out the actions he was simulating,
“Pull port fire handle, check. Throttle to cutoff, check. Reset indicator, check. Fuel cutoff switch, activated. Clear area for traffic, check. Transponder to emergency code, check. Duncan, ask ATC for nearest suitable landing. I’m announcing to passengers for seatbelts. Once the aircraft is stabilized, co-pilot or flight attendant rebrief pax on emergency landing and evac procedures. “
“Okay, that’s enough. Good job, Alex. Let’s head for home.” Duncan smiled. It was always nice to see a professional work.
“Okay. Thanks, Duncan. Call Center and let’s see how long it takes to get us back into the traffic flow.” Alex gave a rueful grin. If the late afternoon traffic was typical, they might have to do a few more racetracks before they got back to Lexington.
“Indianapolis Center, Kentiger Two One is a Gulfstream Four at seventeen thousand twenty miles northeast of Lexington Bluegrass, request eighteen thousand and to head direct Bluegrass for approach and landing.” Duncan called.
“Kentiger Two One, Center. Squawk two two five one.” Duncan fed the numbers into the transponder and pressed the ident button. After a few seconds, Indianapolis Center called back to them.
“Kentiger Two One, we have you twenty north of Bluegrass at seventeen. Cleared to one eight zero and direct to Bluegrass. Traffic shows a seven three seven ten south at one eight zero on approach to Bluegrass, another five west at three two zero heading north. Contact Lexington Approach when fifteen out.” The controller wasn’t overly busy, but didn’t seem interested in too much talk.
“Kentiger Two One,” Duncan acknowledged. They could hear a fair amount of radio chatter as it was approaching the time of day when many flights began arriving at their destinations.
During a lull in the radio exchanges, Duncan looked over at Alex.
“Alex, I wanted to thank you. Loni told me that you put Glenn Mustid in his place.”
Alex finished his instrument scan and glanced over at Duncan. “No problem. I want Kentiger to be a good place for its employees to work. That won’t be the case if there’s harassment going on. How long have you two been dating?”
Duncan was slightly taken aback. “Uh, we’ve lived together for about a year now. Is it that obvious?”
“Well, it’s none of my business, but it wasn’t hard to figure out. When you are around each other, it’s easy to tell you care for each other.” Alex was managing to appear as though he was totally concentrating on his flying, and giving Duncan his full attention at the same time.
“I, ah, proposed to her this afternoon,” Duncan said a bit sheepishly. “I nearly messed up and let the best thing I’ve found get away.”
“Congratulations! That is, if she said yes.” Alex flashed a grin to the leopard as he looked that direction during his normal traffic scan.
“Oh yes, she did! We haven’t talked about a date for the wedding yet, but probably as soon as we can arrange it.”
“You make a fine couple,” Alex replied.
Things then began to get busy as they set up for an approach and landing. As the main gear squawked onto the runway at Bluegrass, Duncan again looked over at his new co-boss.
“Welcome to Kentiger, Boss. I look forward to flying for and with you.”
Alex smiled as he taxied toward the Kentiger ramp.
“Thank you, Duncan. It’s nice to be a part of the family.”
END OF CHAPTER 25