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 2003-2010 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. Wanda Vixen © Chris Yost and appears here with his permission. Sabrina Mustidalae © Eric W. Schwartz and appears here with his permission. This story is not canon to Sabrina Online the comic, or Sabrina Online the Story, either. Matt Barstock, Angie Rockwell, Intermountain Charter, The Bitch, and her crew, and Jerry Kitt © Silver Coyote. See their story HERE. Gail Rutherford © me and is not canon to any other story involving ZZ Studios. Gabrielle Ryder and Jean LeBrun © Aslaug, from her Transitions stories. See them at her site, The Axe Shed, available from the links page.
Author’s Note: Lewiston, Maine’s airport, identifier KLEW, is actually uncontrolled. That is, it has no control tower. Poetic license was used for this story, so Alex and company talk with a control tower whilst aviating there.
Chapter 57
Faith
Corrie had her arm looped through Alex’s as they left the church. It had seemed to take hours for everyone to come and meet her. Several had introduced themselves before what Alex had called Sunday school. Corrie’s parents hadn’t been particularly religious, and she herself hadn’t been in a church more than a dozen times in her whole life. Those times had been mostly for weddings and funerals.
“What did you think of the service?” Alex asked, almost as though he’d read her thoughts.
“Interesting,” she replied, a pensive look on her face. “I liked the music, especially the more peppy tunes, and I now know what folks mean when they pass the plate. The sermon was . . . enlightening. I nevah heard about forgiveness the way the preachah said it should be practiced.”
Corrie went silent as she contemplated what she’d seen and heard. Alex smiled as he guided her to his truck.
“We really haven’t talked about faith before, so I was hoping you’d like this little church. Do you believe any certain way, religiously?”
Alex still smiled, but Corrie could see a hint of concern on his face. Corrie smiled back as he opened the door for her. She waited until he’d gotten in and settled before she answered.
“Nah, nevah had much time or inclination. I’m not totally sold on the idea of God as such. I know there’s something biggah beyond just us. The universe is too orderly and beautiful to just be some happy accident, but I’m not sure if God as He’s presented is the true answer or not. I do spend quiet time by meself on a regulah basis just meditating on things like that.”
Alex nodded as he started the engine and waited as another car pulled out of the lot. When he’d started moving, he picked up the conversation.
“If you have any questions, or want to talk about it some more, I’d be glad to anytime.”
After a moment’s silence, Corrie looked over at him questioningly. “Well, is that it?”
Alex glanced her way after he cleared traffic and pulled out of the parking lot. “What do you mean, Love?”
Corrie raised an eyebrow and gestured with her paw in a vague way. “Well, no sermon? No trying to recruit me or sign me up or whatevah it is you need to do to become a Christian?”
Alex was silent for a couple of minutes as they drove, deciding on the best way to answer. This was something that he wanted to give Corrie his full attention on. She looked a bit apprehensive as he pulled to the side of the road and stopped the truck.
“Love,” he said earnestly. “I’m not sure what you’ve heard or experienced with Christians before. The news media tends to portray us all in a bad light. Lots of folks give their opinion about Christianity without actually knowing much about it. Many furs who call themselves Christians also do more harm than good to our reputation. First, and really foremost, is that we aren’t any of us perfect. Anyone who claims to be is lying to themselves and you. Second, while it is part of our faith to tell others about Jesus, we aren’t called to force it on anyone. That’s why I only said if you want to hear more, I’d be glad to talk about it. The best testimony about Christ and Christianity I can give is how I live my life and how I treat others. If I’m doing that right, I shouldn’t have to preach at anyone. If I’m not, I could shout from the highest rooftops until I’m blue in the face and do nothing more than offend everyone. I love you, Corrie, but that doesn’t give me the right to push my faith on you. If you want to know more, great, but it’s up to you.”
Corrie had listened to Alex with a growing sense of wonder. Every religious fur she’d met in the past had wanted to go on and on about how their view was right and everyone else was wrong, and that she was doomed if she didn’t join up with them right then and there. They hadn’t made much sense to her. Now here was Alex, willing to let her decide for herself and providing a great example instead of a verbal tirade. She decided this was something she had to meditate on a bit before she was ready to ask questions.
“Luv, I appreciate that. I’d like to think about it a bit before I start asking questions.”
Alex smiled and put on his signal in preparation of pulling back on the road. It was then that he noticed a deputy sheriff’s cruiser stopping behind him. The lights came on, so he put the truck in park and turned off his signal.
“Corrie, there’s a small black folder in the glove box. Please put it on the arm rest between us and relax. There’s a deputy sheriff behind us with his lights on.”
Corrie looked askance as the blue lights illuminated the truck’s interior, but she quickly did as Alex had asked. Alex watched in the side mirror as the deputy, a slim fox todd, approached the driver’s side door with his paw on his sidearm. Alex rolled the window down and placed both paws on the steering wheel.
“Afternoon folks,” the deputy stated as he peered in the open window. “I’m Deputy Williams, Clark County Sheriff’s Office. Having a problem?”
Alex looked up with a friendly smile on his muzzle. “No Deputy, we were on our way home from church and my girlfriend asked me a question that required my full attention to answer. I thought it best to pull over. We had finished talking and were leaving when I saw you pull in behind us.”
The deputy let out a breath. “Whew! Glad you noticed and stopped. I was gonna check on you, and when you suddenly put on your signal I was afraid you were going to run or something. May I see your license, registration, and proof of insurance?”
“The registration and insurance card are in the folder on the armrest. My license is in my wallet, hang on a second.”
Alex carefully retrieved his wallet and then passed his license and the vehicle registration and insurance card to the todd. The deputy went back to his car to make the radio call verifying the information. In a couple of minutes he returned.
“Here ya go, Mr. O’Whitt. Sorry for the inconvenience, but we’ve had a problem with burglaries along this road. We think they pull over and case their targets before they hit them. You two have a nice afternoon.”
“Thank you,” both Alex and Corrie replied. The deputy grinned as he turned away.
“Nice accent.”
The two felines looked at each other, and then burst out laughing. Alex got them back on the road, and the deputy followed them for about a half-mile before he turned onto a side road.
“Only we could stop to have a chat and have the police check on us. Good thing we weren’t making out or something,” Corrie chimed in, still grinning. Alex just laughed as he drove on.
# # #
The two felines spent a quiet Sunday afternoon getting Corrie ready for the trip home the next day. Alex called his aunt, and she convinced the two to stop by Charleston on the way north. Talia promised she’d meet them at the airport for an early brunch. Billy also called to make sure they weren’t leaving before he came in the next morning. They ate supper in Winchester and then Alex dropped Corrie off at her hotel. He picked her up at 0600 the next morning and they headed to Bluegrass Field. They were the only ones there as Alex went through his final flight planning, but Billy walked in at 0715.
“Morning, you two. I’m not gonna have to censor the security camera tapes, am I?” he teased.
“Oh yes, it’s scandalous! It’d make Alex’s cousin blush,” Corrie zinged back. The second of shock on Billy’s face made Alex nearly double over. Corrie just smiled and went on with the takeoff performance calculations Alex had been showing her. After both males recovered, Billy motioned for Corrie to follow him.
“Corrie, I’d like to talk to you privately for a minute.”
Alex looked on curiously as the two headed back toward Billy’s office. They were gone for several minutes, so Alex shrugged and went on with his flight preparations. They returned to the planning room a short time later, but neither one said anything. Alex was very curious, but he didn’t want to pry if neither one wanted him to know what they’d talked about. Instead he got ready to go to Stripes One.
“Ready, Corrie?”
“Sure thing, Luv,” she replied as she gathered her jacket.
Alex turned his attention to his partner. “Billy, we’re ready to go. I’ll see you tomorrow afternoon.”
Billy nodded. “Have a safe flight. Corrie, it’s been great meeting you. I hope to talk to you soon.”
Corrie extended her paw. “Thank you. I’m sure you will. I don’t think Alex is going to let me stay away for too long.”
Billy shook paws and then smirked at Alex. “Yeah, sounds about right. See ya soon, then.”
Corrie nodded and she and Alex left the office area for the lockers. They donned their G-suits and harnesses and retrieved their bags from Alex’s truck. They proceeded to the ramp where Stripes One sat waiting for them. It only took a short time to get things loaded and do the preflight. They climbed aboard and got the engines started and soon were taxiing out to the runway. Alex noted the time of their takeoff as 0803.
The morning was pleasant for flying, although the promise of storms along the northeast corridor loomed for later in the day. The hop from Bluegrass to Yeager only took around 30 minutes, so Alex kept the altitude down to 9500 feet. He called and received clearance to take a bit of a sight-seeing detour. He dropped south a bit to show Corrie the New River Gorge and the bridge over it east of Beckley. Then they went north to the Greenbank area and the National Radio Observatory. They viewed the large radio telescopes off to the side since overflight was prohibited. Then back east and an approach into Yeager. The thumbnail look at Alex’s home state took a little less than an hour. It was almost 0930 when he set the mains on Runway 23.
Alex taxied to the general aviation ramp and parked where the ground fur indicated. After the usual shutdown and disembarkment, the two felines shed their flight gear and stored them in the aircraft. They walked to the FBO office so Alex could arrange for fuel and pay his ramp fee. As he and Corrie turned away from the counter, there in the lounge stood the skinniest, sternest-looking old tigress that Corrie had ever seen. The elderly feline’s expression softened as she looked at the pair, and the hint of a smile began to show on her muzzle. Alex stepped forward and embraced her.
“Hello, Aunt Talia, it’s great to see you again. How are you?”
“And you, Alex. I’m doing alright, staying busy. This must be the young lady you spoke so highly of.”
Corrie stepped forward and extended a paw to Talia as Alex stepped aside. “Hello, mum, I’m Corrine Patterson.”
Talia nodded and shook the proffered paw. Corrie had thought it imprudent to use her nickname in introducing herself. The elderly tigress still had a firm grip. For his part, Alex was feeling a bit behind the curve as Corrie had introduced herself before he could. Talia’s smile was warm and genuine as she released the pawshake.
“Welcome to West Virginia, my dear. It’s wonderful to meet you. You must be a special lady. Alex is so picky; we wondered if he’d ever find someone he liked.”
“Aunt Talia!” Alex exclaimed, though without much enthusiasm. This was the tack he figured she’d take. Corrie smiled impishly.
“Well, it’s good to know I passed a right hard test to get selected, ah, who’s we?”
The wink Corrie gave Alex let him know she was teasing him. Alex winked in return, acknowledging the teasing. Talia’s smile broadened.
“Oh, I love your accent. We, as in his father, who’s passed on, and I. I thought Alex said you were from Maine?”
Corrie laughed. “Oh, I am. I was born in
Talia was taken aback. Then she laughed heartily in return, although it sounded a bit wheezy at the end.
“I’ve lived in West Virginia my whole life, so yes, I suppose I do have a bit of an accent.”
Corrie now winked at the tigress. Alex rolled his eyes as Talia laughed again. The group made their way out to Talia’s car to head into Charleston for something to eat. So far, the meeting was off to a grand start.
# # #
“Hi Mom,” Tia greeted her mother as she got in the minivan. Jenna noted in her side mirror that Andrew was coming up the sidewalk and would also be getting in the vehicle in a few seconds.
“Hi Tia, how was school?”
“Fine. We learned about gunpowder residue in forensics class. Oh, and I talked to Mr. Grizwald. The school board approved my early graduation.”
Andrew opened the sliding side door and got in as Jenna expressed her delight at Tia’s news.
“Oh, that’s wonderful! So, that’s when, next year?”
“Yep,” Tia replied proudly. “Only bad thing is, I’ll only be sixteen. I can’t go to the Academy until I’m at least seventeen. I’ll have to wait a year.”
Jenna looked over at her daughter. She was very happy for her, but she was also a bit concerned. A year at loose ends might not be a good thing for someone as energetic and inquisitive as the young tigress.
“Okay, any plans for that time?”
Tia nodded enthusiastically. “Oh yes. I’m going to help Sensei Quai teach, and I should have my license by then, so I’ll build some hours. I also want to take some prep courses. Maybe if Miss Corrie comes down here by then, I can take some helicopter hours from her, too. And—”
“Alright, alright, I can see I don’t have to worry about you getting bored or just wasting time,” Jenna laughed.
Tia shrugged. Making plans was what she and her friends did. As far as she knew, all four of them would graduate early. Jenna made sure everyone was securely belted, and started the minivan. She was about to pull out of the parking spot when her cell phone rang. She put the vehicle back in park and checked the number before answering.
“Hello, Jenna here, is that you, Kelli?”
The voice of the young Cairn terrier was panicky to say the least. “Oh Jenna, I’m . . . I’m sorry to bother you, but I didn’t know who else to call. My folks live in Seattle, they can’t help. I, oh God, Randy Biggs has been shot. His secretary just called me to say the police were on their way to arrest me! Jenna, I didn’t do it! I haven’t been anywhere near him since he tossed me over for his latest sucker. Oh, I mean starlette. What do I do?”
Jenna’s eyes were wide. This was absolutely the last thing she’d expected to hear. Her mind raced. How could she help? She believed the femme, but what could she do? Tia was looking at her with concerned curiosity. Jenna realized her expression must look a sight. She mouthed silently to her daughter.
“Randi Biggs has been shot. This is Kelli. She’s been told the police are coming after her for it.”
Tia oh’d and then blinked. This sounded like a real mystery that her mother would need her help with. Tia thought fast, and then mouthed back to her mother.
“Tell her to stay put. If she runs it’ll make her look guilty. When the police get there, cooperate, but don’t admit to anything.”
Jenna repeated that advice to Kelli, and then added, “Hang in there, I’ll be up as soon as I can.”
Tia mouthed out to her mother, “We will be up there as soon as we can. You’ll need my help.”
Jenna paused. Tia was well ahead in school, and she could probably take a short break without jeopardizing her standing. Plus, something like this was right up Tia’s alley. There was also the wedding preparations, which Jenna hadn’t even considered before saying she’d come to Kelli’s aid. Biggs’ operations and Kelli’s apartment were in Cincinnati, so it meant traveling out of town. Still, it was only a little over two hours driving time.
Jenna mouthed, “Okay, we’ll call it a forensics field trip.”
Tia mouthed silently in return, “Mr. Lapinovich will go for that, especially if I can make a story for the Mystery Digest out of it.”
Jenna nodded and returned to Kelli, who’d been snuffling and saying, “Oh God,” like she was going to launch into a sermon.
“Kelli, it’ll be okay. Ah, how will I know where to come to bail you out? Oh, thanks, Tia. Kelli, do you have a lawyer?”
Tia had indicated to her mother that Kelli would need a lawyer. Kelli managed to answer. “Uh, no.”
“Okay, well, don’t be uncooperative, but don’t answer anything directly until you have a lawyer with you. Ask if they’ll wait until we get up there. I’ll ask our law firm to recommend someone in Cincinnati.”
Jenna heard the Cairn sniffle out something that sounded like an okay, and then let out a gasp as a loud knocking was heard in the background.
“Oh! Uh, I think that’s the police. I have to go.”
Jenna tried to reassure her before they hung up. “Take it easy, Kelli, we’re on the way.”
The line clicked and the cell phone went silent. Jenna put it down and looked critically at her two cubs.
“Andrew, when we get home, pack enough for a few days at Sal’s house, if his mother doesn’t object. You think she’ll have you?”
Andrew looked up sharply and saw that his mother was teasing him. “Oh sure, ship me off to a house full of Mongooses while you two road trip. Nah, that’ll be fine. I’m sure she won’t mind.”
Focusing on Tia, she said pointedly, “Call Mr. Grizwald, and then go down the list of your teachers. Make-up work. Go!”
Tia began a series of rapid-fire calls as Andrew started planning what to take to Sal Idiri’s. Jenna’s face took on a serious look as she pulled out of the parking spot and drove for home. What would Jack say, and what had she gotten herself and Tia into?
# # #
“My Dear, it’s been wonderful meeting you,” Talia said as they prepared to part company. Lunch had been an exercise in two feline femmes verbally circling each other, both with Alex’s best interest at heart. In the end, Alex felt they both respected each other, and that Talia accepted and probably was taking a liking to the lioness
“Likewise. Alex has such a great family and I’m honored to have met them all now, thank you.”
Talia nodded, but Alex could see she wanted to speak to him privately. He turned to Corrie.
“Love, can you go check weather for us? I need to talk to Aunt Talia a moment.”
Corrie smiled knowingly at him. “Don’t burn me ears off. I’ll see if those spring boomers are going to give us any trouble.”
The lioness sauntered off toward the building and the flight planning room. Alex returned his attention to his aunt as she prepared to return to her car and leave.
“Alex, she’s a lovely femme, but are you really sure? I can tell she cares for you, and you for her, that’s not in question. She hides it very well, mostly, but she has issues. I noticed it mostly when she was dealing with the males at the restaurant. She was very reserved with them, even when they were being friendly. Ahm, I’m not sure how to put this, so I’ll just ask. Are you sure she isn’t a lesbian?”
Alex nearly swallowed his tongue. After he sputtered a second, he managed to reply. “Talia! No! Well, not that she’s said. I know she’s dealing with some problems from past relationships, but she hasn’t indicated to me that she has any problem with that and males and, well, us.”
“Now, now, don’t be upset, I just had to ask. I didn’t really think she was, but with femmes today, you could get surprised. Besides, without your parents around to embarrass you, that’s my job now.”
Alex did a double-take and realized his aunt was teasing him severely. He decided to return the favor.
“Oh, I knew you’d find us out. Truth is, Corrie has four hot gal-friends and we all get together in a pile and romp for hours.”
Talia looked at him incredulously for all of half a second before she grinned. “Touché, Nephew. Not that you need it, but you have my blessing.”
Alex smirked a second, and then smiled. “Everyone seems to think we’re already engaged or something. We haven’t even talked about marriage yet.”
Talia smiled in return, hugged Alex, and kissed him on the cheek. She released the embrace and got in her car. As she started the engine, she fixed him with her “teacher’s eye.”
“You will.”
Alex just smiled and waved as she drove away.
“She’s probably right,” he mused as he turned to go catch up with Corrie.
End of Chapter 57