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 2003-2006 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, 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, and all characters associated with ZZ Studios, James Sheppard, and Marvin Badger © James Bruner and appear here with his permission. Although characters from and events referring to Zig Zag the Story appear here, this story is not canon to that one, and the author will disavow any knowledge of this story. Sabrina Mustidalae © Eric W. Schwartz and appears here with his permission. Matt Barstock and Intermountain Charter, The Bitch, and her crew © Silver Coyote. See their story HERE.  Gail Rutherford © me and is not canon to any other story involving ZZ Studios. Aramis Dagaz © his player. Portions of this chapter parallel Chapter 29 of Aslaug’s story “Transitions” although neither story is canon to the other. Characters associated with “Transitions” are © Joan Jacobsen. See that story here.

Chapter 37

 Photo Op, Pt. 1

As Aramis stepped in the door of ZZ Studios, it took a second for his eyes to adjust from the outside light. He found himself standing in a wide lobby, with chairs and a low table off to one side and a receptionist’s desk on the other. There were several posters on the wall from the studio’s movies, and Aramis chose not to look too closely at them. Alex was walking up to the receptionist’s desk, where an attractive collie femme in her thirties sat, fully clothed to Aramis’ relief. He continued to scan the room, although the bright pink color of the walls took some getting used to. He nearly jumped as his eyes fixed on a tall figure standing in the corner. He relaxed as a closer look revealed it to be a life-size cardboard cutout of the studio owner holding a movie clap-board.

Alex nodded and gave a friendly smile as he stopped at the desk. “Hello Ms. Rutherford, how are you?”

The collie gave a broad smile, but she seemed a bit distracted. “Uh, doing great, Mr. O’Whitt. I’ll let Zig Zag know you’re here.”

“Thanks.”

As the collie picked up the phone to inform her boss of her visitors, Aramis joined Alex at the desk. Alex noted the rather nervous expression on the feline’s face.

“Relax Cadet; no one’s going to jump out at you here. Just behave like an officer should and you’ll be fine.”

“Yes sir.”

Aramis planned to do just that. It would be good for his cover to act shy and overwhelmed by the place. He decided it was a positive thing that Lt. Col. O’Whitt had brought him along. It gave his ability to keep his cover even under unusual circumstances a good workout. In truth, he was a bit intimidated. He’d been trained on how to handle subjects who tried to come on to him, but not for walking into a porn studio. He hadn’t seen anything untoward so far, but there seemed to be an almost palpable sexual tension to the place. It was setting him on edge a bit, so he had to be careful not to do anything to blow the image he was trying to project.

“Zig Zag says to come on back to her office, Mr. O’Whitt,” Aramis heard, breaking him from his reverie.

“Thanks, Ms. Rutherford. See you in a bit,” Alex replied amiably as he turned toward the back of the room. There were doors there that Aramis assumed led deeper into the building. The feline followed as Alex opened the door and entered a hallway. A young skunk femme was coming up the hall toward them. Aramis thought she looked rather out of place. She was attractive, but she seemed to carry herself in a kind of a shy way. Her look and bearing seemed to scream naiveté. Then he noticed she wasn’t wearing any pants! Alex didn’t miss a beat as they passed each other, just politely nodded.

“Ma’am.”

“Hi,” she replied absently, intent on whatever task or errand she was doing. Aramis let out the breath he’d been unconsciously holding. The femme was in fact clothed below the waist. A closer inspection as they passed each other revealed pants with pockets, but of a similar texture and the exact color pattern of her fur.

While the feline was still processing that encounter, Alex stopped in front of a door and knocked. A muffled feminine voice responded.

“Come in.”

Alex opened the door and walked in. Aramis followed behind, unsure of what to expect.

“Hi Alex, how are you?” Zig Zag said as she stood up to greet them. Alex stepped around the desk to hug his cousin, while Aramis swallowed hard and clamped his jaw shut. The tiger-skunk femme was several inches taller than he was, and absolutely stunning! He’d heard of her, but Aramis had never seen a clear picture of the famous Zig Zag. All he had seen were the grainy, blurry photos in the supermarket tabloids, and those many times had a paw blocking half the picture.

“I’m fine Zig, how are you doing?” Alex asked as he wrapped her up in a brotherly embrace.

“Very hectic, actually. Just got the script in this morning for a video we’re doing for one of our actresses. With any luck, it’ll never be released.”

Alex looked very puzzled as he and Zig Zag stood, still embracing each other as they talked. Aramis marveled at them. Many folks became uncomfortable rather quickly when touching each other, and most males would have been very excited by holding Zig Zag in their arms, but both furs seemed perfectly at ease in the friendly hug.

“You’re going to shoot a movie you hope no one ever sees? Now that’s an odd way of staying in business.”

Zig Zag laughed hard enough to cause them both to shake. The display of stripes in motion was quite dazzling, and Aramis had to force himself to look away so as not to be disoriented by them. He decided staying quiet and observing was his best course of action at the moment. The interplay between Col. O’Whitt and Zig Zag was fascinating. They had an obvious familial affection for each other, but at the same time it didn’t seem they’d known each other very long.

Aramis was snapped out of his thoughts as Alex and Zig Zag released their embrace and Zig Zag looked at the young feline inquisitively. She had a smile on her muzzle, and the gleam of very sharp teeth caught his attention. Professionally sharpened, his investigator’s eye told him. He blinked as he realized Col. O’Whitt had stepped back around the desk and was now introducing him.

“Zig, this is Cadet Aramis Dagaz, Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps. General Higgins asked me to deliver him from Cleveland down to the University of Cincinnati.”

“Cadet, it’s a pleasure. Can I get you two anything? Soda, water, maybe one of the girls or guys?” Zig Zag grinned mischievously at them.

Alex smirked as Aramis did a wide-eyed double take.

“Zig, not in front of the adetkay!”

Zig’s warm, rich laughter filled the room as Alex’s smirk turned to a grin. Alex then addressed the perplexed-looking cadet.

“Relax Cadet, she’s teasing.”

Zig Zag grinned toothily at both of them and shrugged.

Aramis managed a nod. Uhm, yes sir. Ma’am, if it’s all the same to you, I’ll just sit over here and stay out of the way. I don’t want to intrude on a family visit.”

Zig Zag shrugged again and turned her attention back to Alex. “Suit yourself, Cadet. Alex, as to the video, well, it’s a little complicated. One of my actresses has a father out in Denver who’s giving her a hard time. Tried to have her kidnapped, in fact. We’re making a little item starring his daughter that would ridicule, embarrass, and ruin him if it were ever released. Hmm, that reminds me, we’ll probably need the biggest jet you’ve got around mid-summer. That’s when we’ll confront him with it, I think.”

Alex’s face took on a concerned look. “Is that really such a good idea? Sounds like something the police should be handling.”

“Alex, this guy owns half the Denver police force. No, this is the only way to get to him and get him off her back without anyone getting hurt, I hope.”

Alex nodded after a few seconds of thought. “All right. One Gulfstream for a midsummer mission. Count me in, too. I’ll fly as pilot-in-command.”

“You don’t have to do that, you know. I can take care of myself,” Zig Zag said neutrally.

“I know, but yes I do. Family is family. We stick by each other.”

Zig Zag broke into a warm, dazzling smile. “Thank you, Alex.”

“Don’t mention it. Now, about your idea of using Stripes One in a photo shoot. Any ideas about when?”

Zig Zag looked down at her desk and checked the schedule she kept there. “Looks like there’s some slack in the schedule on Friday, if we can do it before noon.”

Alex pulled out his PDA and checked. “Sounds good. About ten hundred. That’s ten o’clock. Do you have an idea for a location?”

Zig Zag winked at him. “As a matter of fact, yes. After I mentioned it, and you seemed agreeable, I had Marvin do some checking around. There’s a nice open hangar at an airport near here. We’ll set up a backdrop and lights after you move Stripes One into place. Then take the shots. Mark, our photographer, says we can have you in and out in about two and a half to three hours.”

“All right. What airport?”

Zig Zag opened her mouth and froze for a second. “Great! That soon and I forgot. Hang on.”

She stood up and walked to the door. Aramis watched from his chair in the corner, impressed at the graceful way she moved. Opening the door, she stuck her head out and yelled.

“MARVIN!”

She then walked back and sat down at her desk with the same easy grace. In a minute or so, the badger appeared in the doorway. From his corner, Aramis blinked. The figure in the doorway was without a doubt the largest, most muscular badger he’d ever seen. If asked, Aramis would have guessed the fur to be a pro football player.

“Yea Zig? Oh, hello Alex. How are you?”

“Hello Marvin. I’m fine, and yourself?”

“Great. Hey, let me guess. You need the info on the airport for the photo shoot.”

Zig Zag grinned. “Now you know why I keep him around, Alex. This place would be a nightmare to run without him to keep everything going.”

“Flatterer,” Marvin said with a grin of his own. “Watch it or I’ll ask for a raise. Anyway, here Alex. I have it all written down for you.”

Marvin took two long steps into the office to give Alex a sheet of paper from the clipboard he was carrying. Alex looked it over and slowly nodded.

“Okay, Bolton Field it is. Plenty of runway for Stripes One. Using a hangar all by itself closest to the runway. Got it. Thanks Marvin.”

“No problem, Alex. See you, ah, when’s the shoot, Zig?”

“Friday morning at ten. Tell everyone to just show up here at nine, and we’ll get them ready and drive over there in rental vans.”

“Good as done. I’ll go call and arrange for the vans right now. Probably need a truck for the backdrops, supports, lights, and camera equipment, too.”

“Thanks,” Zig Zag managed to get in as the badger disappeared out the door. Aramis was rapidly becoming impressed with how the studio seemed to run. Easygoing, but with a definite professionalism.

“Then again,” he thought, “it would have to, or their movies wouldn’t get made, and ZZ Studios wouldn’t have the reputation it has.”

Alex and Zig Zag picked up the conversation, turning to talk about their family. Aramis politely tuned out. He started giving the whole visit some thought, and came to the conclusion that a simple “took a rest break at eleven hundred” would suffice for his report.

                                           #                                                                      #                                                                      #

Sabrina walked into the lobby, her mind still on the layout projects she’d been working on when Gail had called her. She walked up to the collie at the receptionist’s desk.

Hiya Gail. Okay, I’ll cover the front for you. What’s up?”

The collie jumped to her feet, slinging her purse onto her shoulder. “My youngest got sick at school. I need to go pick him up and take him to the clinic. The school nurse said he might have the flu. Thanks for covering for me, Sabrina.”

“No problem.” The skunk sat down at the place just vacated by the collie as Gail rushed out the door.

Sabrina smoothed down her pants, smiling a little. She most always wore ones like she had on, with a pattern that matched her fur. It was a habit she’d had since she was just a little femme, ever since she’d found the first pair like that. She got some curious or shocked looks, but she just laughed them off.

Breaking from her reverie and realizing she still had a huge amount of work to do, she set to her task, idly wondering who the two furs she’d met in the hall were.

A while after that, the front door opened and Gabrielle Ryder, the studio’s newest actress, walked in. Sabrina looked up to see who it was and smiled at the tall bronco equine.

Gabrielle returned the smile. “Hey Sabrina. Is the boss in yet?”

“Hi Gabrielle. Yeah, she’s in there, but she’s got some guests.”

“Oh, who?”

Dunno really. I’ve never seen them before. A tall white tiger, and a shorter feline of some kind,” Sabrina replied, pushing her glasses up.

“Well, let’s hope it’s just the Army placing a big order for next year’s shipment of tapes,” Gabrielle said with a wide grin.

“Army?” Sabrina gave the filly a questioning look.

“There’s a humvee parked outside, and it’s got military registration plates,” Gabrielle explained.

“I’m pretty sure I don’t want to dig any deeper than that.” Sabrina shivered involuntarily. Even though she did computer graphics work there, and maintained the studio’s website, the skunk still had difficulty at times coming to grips with what the studio actually did. “Anyway, they’ve been in there for some time. I don’t think it’ll be too long before you can go in.”

Just then they both heard Zig Zag’s exuberant laughter echo in the hallway.

“I think I just heard the door. Talk to you later.” The bronco waved and headed for the door out of the lobby and into the hallway.

Sabrina waved and, smiling to herself, went back to work. Gabrielle had certainly livened the place up since she’d been there. She’d heard that Zig Zag and the crew were even going to make a special video just for the equine. Sabrina shivered slightly again at the prospect, and then began concentrating on the cover layout for the video that had just finished production the previous week.

                                           #                                                                      #                                                                      #

“And so Izzy put the fur’s lights out with one kick almost straight up to the wolf’s jaw.”

Alex finished the story as he opened Zig Zag’s office door to leave. Aramis had stood with him as he and his cousin had said their goodbyes at least five minutes earlier. Then Zig Zag had asked how Alex’s martial arts practice had been going. He’d then regaled them with a tale about a street gang attacking his instructor’s school, and how his niece and the other students had defeated them.

Zig Zag let out an exuberant laugh. “Only you could tell a tale like that and have me believe it, Alex. I’d like to meet that niece of yours sometime.”

“I’ll see what I can do. Whoops, it’s almost noon. We’d better get going. I’ll see you Friday,” Alex said as he glanced down at his watch.

“See you then. Nice to have met you, Cadet,” Zig Zag replied as she turned to go back to her desk.

“Ma’am.” Aramis nodded politely as he walked out the door behind Alex.

As they walked down the hallway toward the lobby, Alex nearly collided with a blur of motion that suddenly came out of the lobby door. Both stopped abruptly. Outwardly, Alex showed nothing other than a quick blink. Inwardly, three things raced through his mind. One, the fur was an equine filly. That was attention-grabbing enough, as there weren’t very many sentient equines in the world. The luck of the genetic draw and natural selection had granted bi-pedal sentience to only three species. The Arabian, the Percheron (although some said they were so ill-tempered that their sentience was in doubt), and the Bronco or Mustang. This filly belonged to the latter group. The second thing Alex noted was that this particular filly was a very fine example of both her species and gender. Tall, shapely, with dark hair and sleek russet fur, and a white blaze down her forehead and muzzle. The third thing he noticed, and had to stifle a laugh, was that the filly was attitude from head to hoof. It was in her eyes, in her bearing, and on her T-shirt. The shirt was white with the fuzzy, blurred style of letters that made the message appear slightly out of focus.

The message was loud and clear though. “Your glasses steamed up.”

Alex recovered quickly. He raised his paw to his forehead, tipping an imaginary hat.

 “Excuse me, ma’am,” he said politely. “Didn’t mean to barge into you like that.”

The filly smiled. “It’s all right, sir. No problem. I could’ve watched where I was going.”

The femme stepped on past them, and Alex continued into the lobby. Aramis followed closely behind. He realized his eyes must be as big as saucers, and his tail was twitching nervously back and forth. The filly had caught him completely off-guard, and he was trying to get his thoughts back on track before he did something that might blow his cover. He had been looking down when Alex stopped, and as he’d raised his eyes to see what was going on, all he’d seen were legs that seemed to go on forever. They were topped by the briefest of skirts, and then a T-shirt that looked strained by its contents. The message on the shirt said its owner knew the effect she’d have on furs.

Aramis swallowed heavily as he followed Alex through the lobby. Alex noted the skunk they’d seen on the way in setting at the reception desk, engrossed in what she was working on.

“Tell Ms. Rutherford I said goodbye,” Alex said as he walked past.

“Okay, bye,” the skunk replied, barely having time to look up before Alex and Aramis walked out the door.

Outside, the day had grown quite warm. Alex adjusted the polo shirt he was wearing and headed toward the Hummer. Aramis was still struggling with the encounter in the hallway. Then something that one of his instructors had once said came to mind.

“Mr. Dagaz, if you’re undercover and something surprises you, catches you off-guard, or makes you uncomfortable, go with it. Real furs react with real emotions. Use it. If you’re always cool, calm, and collected, even when your cover wouldn’t be, folks will get suspicious.”

Aramis decided to go with what he was feeling, and reinforce his naïve young cadet cover with Col. O’Whitt.

“Sir, did you see that bronco?”

“I did, Cadet. What of her?” Alex was already thinking ahead to the rest of the drive. The question puzzled him. Of course he’d seen the bronco femme. He’d nearly collided with her.

“Did you notice… The young feline swallowed again nervously. “…her skirt?”

“I am not in the habit of looking at the skirts of young femmes, Cadet,” Alex said brusquely, attempting to maintain a professional bearing. He had, in fact, noticed the micro-miniskirt the bronco was wearing, but politeness precluded him commenting on it to anyone.

“But sir…”

“Yes, what?” Alex was starting to worry about the feline. If he’d made a comment about the femme in an appreciative way, or even a leering way, Alex would have understood that. He’d have corrected him, but understood. Cadet Dagaz, though, sounded rather uncomfortable.

“It was really short, sir. I mean … really, REALLY short, and she had …shapely legs, too.” The cadet fell silent, looking helplessly at a loss for words.

Alex took a firm, calm tone. “Is that really any concern of yours, Cadet?”

“Not really, sir, but … but …”

“What is it?”

Aramis took a deep breath, reminding himself of his cover story. “Sir… I’m eighteen years old, all right?”

The young feline looked like he badly needed a cold shower. The light went on in Alex’s head. Aramis was having a severe battle of conscience with the thoughts and feelings the stunning filly had brought up in him.

Alex stopped, stood at attention, set his jaw, and roared, “ATTEEEEN-SHUN!”

Cadet Dagaz snapped to a rock-still position of attention. Alex stepped up and bent down so he was nose to nose with the feline.

“YOU are a cadet in the United States Air Force. I expect you to behave with all the decorum and modesty that comes with that. You WILL control any such urges. You WILL think of engine schematics, if you need to take your mind out of the gutter. You WILL remember to treat ladies with respect and courtesy. You will NOT have unseemly thoughts about any femme you encounter. You WILL behave like a GENTLEFUR, Cadet Dagaz!”

Deep down, Alex felt bad for the young fur. He remembered that Aramis was Catholic, and he was clearly having problems with guilt for the direction his thoughts had wandered in. Alex could practically feel it oozing out of him.

Aramis looked relieved after Alex finished. “YES SIR!” he responded, loud and clear. The telling-to had snapped him out of his misery. Agent Dagaz had been yelled at by some of the best, and this tiger ranked right up near the top, partly because he seemed to have to yell so seldom.

Alex let his voice take on a more friendly tone. “Very well. At ease, Cadet.”

“Thank you, sir,” Aramis said gratefully as he relaxed out of attention. “I definitely needed that.”

“It’s all right, Cadet. We all need a good dressing-down sometimes.” Alex turned toward the Hummer and started walking to hide the grin on his muzzle. Aramis gave a pathetic mew as the remark brought the memory of the bronco filly back full force. He went right back to looking miserable as he went around and got in the vehicle. After they were both buckled in, Alex started the Hummer and eased out of the parking lot. Soon they were back on the interstate. Alex looked over and found that the cadet looked much better now that some distance had passed between himself and the incident.

“We should be there in an hour or so, Cadet. Do you already have quarters assigned?”

“Yes sir. I’m only sitting one class there. I need it for ROTC, and the college I normally go to didn’t offer it this semester.”

“What class?” Alex asked as his eyes swept the road ahead. Aramis noted the tiger put the same care and effort into driving as he’d expect a fighter ace to put into flying. Realizing a reply was expected, Aramis confidently stated the class he would attend while investigating its instructor.

“Techniques for Critiquing and Evaluating.”

Alex nodded, but then looked puzzled. “Isn’t that a third-year class? It was when I went through ROTC, but that’s been quite a while back.”

Aramis froze for a second, remembering that Col. O’Whitt was an ROTC graduate, and not from the Academy. The class was normally a third-year class, but he’d been told it wasn’t too unusual for a first-year cadet to take it. Quickly he went with that explanation.

“Yes, but my advisor wanted me to go ahead and take it.”

Alex nodded. “I see.”

The rest of the drive went without incident. The pair of felines exchanged comments on the scenery or other small talk. Alex had no trouble finding the college. He found the dormitory buildings, and pulled up in front of one with a sign over the door proclaiming it belonged to AFROTC Detachment 665. They got out and Aramis went inside for a moment to find out where his room was. When he walked back out, he held a set of keys.

“Colonel, thank you for the ride, and the very unusual visit.”

“You’re welcome, Cadet. Do you need help carrying your things to your quarters?

Aramis smiled. “No, that’s all right, sir. I’ll put it here and carry it in myself.”

“Well, then let me help you unload it, at least.”

Alex started lifting luggage and boxes out before Aramis could protest. Soon they had all of Aramis’ things unloaded and placed near the door. Aramis then faced the tiger and extended a paw.

“Colonel, it’s been an education and a pleasure. Perhaps I’ll see you again sometime.”

Alex gave the cadet’s paw a firm shake. “Cadet, it’s been my pleasure. Good luck with the class, and your career. God bless.”

“Thank you, sir.”

Alex nodded and climbed back into the Hummer. The few residents of the dormitory who’d bothered to look out figured it was just another student being dropped off, just as Aramis had hoped. As Alex drove away, and Aramis began to move his things inside, the feline smiled. Twice now he’d crossed paths with Lt. Col. Alex O’Whitt, and both times he’d been impressed with the fur.

“Maybe one day I’ll get to introduce myself as who I really am,” he thought as he carried another load upstairs to his assigned room.

For his part, Alex thought the whole affair had gone well, but something he couldn’t quite put a finger on didn’t seem right. If the cadet had been his responsibility for other than this short trip, he’d have pursued the feeling. As it was, he filed it away as something to pass on to Scatcat as his thoughts turned toward home.

                                             #                                                                    #                                                                          #

Jenna had just picked up a bottle of fur conditioner from the shelf when a bright flash startled her. She looked around to see the back of a canid of some sort disappearing around the corner at the end of the aisle. She sighed to herself and put the conditioner into her cart. The Furfemme pictorial had been out since last Friday, and so far the only result had been a few curious looks. She might have known the paparazzi would eventually show up.

Meanwhile, around the corner at the end of the aisle there was a loud thud. The eager photographer had accidentally charged headlong into a large grey wolf, resulting in the young dachshund landing solidly on his tail.

“Oh! Excuse me!” the wolf exclaimed as he held a paw down to help the fur up.

“Ouch! Sorry, my bad. I just got a picture of Miss Sunburst in the next aisle. Would you believe she was actually buying a bottle of the stuff? Whew, she’s a real looker! Much better in person than in her pictorial.” The dachshund gingerly wagged his tail as he got up.

The wolf smiled in such a way that the photographer became nervous. “Would you like to meet her?”

“Uh, yeah, sure.” The dachshund got the impression that declining wouldn’t be too good an idea.

“Good. Follow me. Y’know, if you sell or use that picture without her permission, she could sue you.”

“Huh? … nah, this is a public place. Anyone can take a picture here.”

“We’ll see,” the wolf stated flatly as he lead the way back to the aisle the dachshund had come out of. Again the photographer got the impression of a very controlled reaction. As they turned the corner, the beautiful tigress was still there.

“Hey Sweetheart, you know this guy?” the wolf asked as he walked up and took her by the paw.

Jenna looked the dachshund over with a scrutiny that caused the canid to fidget. “Hmmm … no, but I’m always willing to meet new folks. Hello, I’m Jenna O’Whitt. The big wolf here is Jack Lazarus, my fiancé.”

Jenna extended her paw to shake, but the dachshund was looking confused.

Ehrr, y-you’re not Kelli Karn, are you?”

Jack and Jenna looked at each other, and then back to the canid. “No,” they said in unison.

“A-and you weren’t in this month’s Furfemme.”

“No,” Jenna replied to his statement, giving him her best puzzled smile.

The photographer looked from Jenna to Jack several times, and then suddenly began back-pedaling up the aisle, almost colliding with two shopping carts as he went.

“I-I’m terribly sorry I seem to have made a mistake. Please excuse me, I’ll destroy the negative, I gotta go!”

At the end of the aisle, the dachshund turned and fled. Jack and Jenna looked at each other and then burst out laughing; drawing curious looks from the other shoppers. It took them a moment to recover.

“If that’s the worst I get from this whole Furfemme thing, then I don’t think I’ll have any problems,” Jenna managed to say as their laughter subsided.

“Indeed! Poor guy, I think he was actually scared,” Jack managed around a toothy grin.

“Well, what did you do to him before you came around the corner?”

“Nothing, I promise! He ran into me and fell back on his tail, that’s all. I even helped him back up.”

“Uh huh, sure. I guess that’s one way to stonewall the press.” Jenna giggled in spite of herself.

Jack gave a wry grin and quipped, “I’m a contractor, stone walls are right up my alley.”

Jenna rolled her eyes. “Okay, let’s not get too corny. Speaking of that, I need some canned corn. That’s over on Aisle Three. Four cans, please.”

Jack grinned. “On my way.” As he turned to go, he caught site of the Sunburst display on the shelf.

Y’know, you really are prettier in person. I can’t see your face in the ad.”

Jenna beamed, even as she made a shooing motion with her paw. Jack set off in search of canned corn, grinning broadly as he did so. As Jenna continued her shopping, she found herself humming an old love song.

                                           #                                                                      #                                                                      #

“Bolton Tower, November Charlie Four Niner Niner Sierra Tango is a civilian Tee Thirty-Eight, five out inbound for Runway Four with information Delta.”

Alex put the flaps down another notch, adjusted the throttles, and prepared to deploy the leading edge slats as he waited for Bolton Tower’s reply. He noted the proper sink rate on his VSI. Bolton’s five thousand five hundred foot runway wasn’t the shortest he could get Stripes One into, but it still required proper technique to land safely in that distance. He dropped the landing gear so his landing lights would be on.

Nine Sierra Tango, Bolton Tower has you in visual. You are cleared to land, no other traffic in the pattern at this time. Contact Ground on One Twenty One Point Eight when you clear the active.”

Niner Sierra Tango copies contact Ground after clearing active. Thank you.”

Alex heard the mic click twice as the tower’s way of saying you’re welcome. Stripes One dropped down the approach wings level and rock steady. Alex put the mains on the pavement just before the numbers and rolled out, using the entire rumway. He turned onto Taxiway Alpha One and toggled over to the ground frequency.

“Bolton Ground, November Charlie Four Niner Niner Sierra Tango is a civilian Tee Thirty-Eight, clear of the active at Taxiway Alpha One. Request taxi clearance to the hanger just off Taxiway Bravo.”

The response was immediate. “Niner Sierra Tango, you are cleared to taxi, Taxiway Alpha to Bravo. There’s a Follow-Me truck waiting on Bravo to guide you to the hangar. Welcome.”

“Thanks Ground, I can see the truck from here. Niner Sierra Tango.”

Alex raised his canopy and taxied the sleek trainer down Taxiway Alpha, which ran the length of the runway, parallel to it. Taxiway Bravo was the first turnoff he came to. Turning right, he slowed a bit until he saw that the driver of the guide truck had him in sight and was beginning to move. Alex followed behind and the truck led him through a left turn and into a large hangar. There a fur in a ramp worker’s jumpsuit bearing the same logo as the side of the hangar held his paws up to signal Alex in. He was directed onto a very large blue tarp laid out on the floor.

As soon as the fur crossed his paws and Alex stopped, two other furs ran in and put chocks on his main wheels. Alex shut down the engines, and more furs immediately began moving tall stanchions into place, for the backdrop, he supposed. His idea was confirmed as a moment later a blue backdrop with white, indistinct cloud shapes on it began to be raised. Others began moving stands and a boarding ladder into place.

Welp, here goes nothing,” Alex said to himself as he prepared to get out.

END OF CHAPTER 37

 

Home / Chapter Index / Chapter 36 / Chapter 38