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 2003-2018 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. Aramis Dagaz is© his player and appears here with his permission.

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 101

Stripes Before My Eyes

Jefferson Mastifson was awakened by the phone in his hotel room. He was in Cincinnati for a week for meetings with Barry Whitlock and other FAA officials, and a series of training classes. He looked to be bored to tears, but he had found a lovely little dessert last night, who left without a word sometime in the wee hours.

He got up, showered, dressed, and headed down to breakfast before going to the FAA District Manager’s office. As he sat down to wait for the young otter femme to come by and take his order, he contemplated the coming week. One thing that was due was his yearly evaluation. With the exception of the unfortunate unfounded charges he’d filed against O’Whitt, everything else should be exemplary.

He paused. Had it really been that long since he’d arrived in Lexington? Had it taken that long for O’Whitt to grandstand to his end? It always came back to O’Whitt. Everything in his life that had gone wrong came back to the hated tiger. And now he was gone. Again, Mastifson asked himself how to fight a ghost.

“May I take your order, sir?”

Mastifson looked up as his reverie was broken, and nearly jumped off his seat! As he looked up, instead of the otter femme, all he’d seen were black stripes on white fur. The shock was so great it took him several seconds to recover and realize it was a young zebra femme who stood before him.

She was dressed in a waitress uniform with an apron. Short sleeved, showing dazzlingly striped arms and legs. Still too much in shock to be angry, he ordered his breakfast with no trace of his fake accent.

“Ah, yes. Coffee, cream and two sugars, light toast, two eggs, scrambled, and sausage…please.”

“Right away mister,” she said cheerily as she turned to go. The flash of black stripes and white fur from her arms and legs still unsettled the Rottweiler.

He had to get a grip on himself. It would simply not do to be spooked every time he saw black stripes on white fur. He contemplated the femme as she worked her way around the hotel restaurant. It had only been about thirty years since the discovery of the sentient version of the striped equines living a tribal existence in Africa. He’d heard on the news that some were immigrating throughout the world, and soon they’d be as commonplace and mainstream as any of the few sentient equine species. Shortly he saw her weaving her way through the tables toward him.

“Here you are sir, my name is Nualla if you need anything,” she stated. He noticed now she had a slight South African accent. She set his coffee and breakfast down. Normally he would just command someone serving him, but he couldn’t muster it past the stripes.

“Uh, thank you, young lady.”

She smiled and turned away to get back to work. Mastifson settled in to eat, his mood now pensive.

#   #   #

Monday morning found everyone very busy, and crowded, at Kentiger. Alex and Corrie had called Billy on Saturday to tell him their news. Penny had nearly jumped through the phone with excitement. Alex had told Jenna and family in person Saturday evening, with congratulations given all around. Church had been exciting too, as they told of their engagement and Corrie told everyone of her decision. Everyone stopped to hug and shake paws. Sunday afternoon had seen Alex and Corrie spending some time planning and enjoying a quiet afternoon together.

Now, as Alex had walked in, he’d nearly run into Kathleen Killian.

“Hi Colonel great to see you excuse me I have to get this faxed right away talk to you later!” she said all in one breath as they stepped around each other.

“Sure thing,” he got out as she hurried on. Loni was at her desk, having a hard time controlling her laughter, a paw on her muzzle.

“Is she always going that speed?” Alex asked, a hint of teasing in his voice.

“No, she’s usually going faster. I swear she’s part border collie. She’s definitely keeping Billy on his toes,” Loni managed to reply, getting her laughter finally under control. “Oh, by the way, congratulations! Corrie already flashed that ring this morning.”

Alex couldn’t tell if that was said teasingly or not. “Yes, I know. I’ll take it to a jeweler at lunch. Know any good ones?”

“I do happen to, yes. He’s done some work for me, and it’s always done right at a reasonable price,” Loni replied. She pulled up her purse and located a business card, which Alex copied the info off of.

“Alright, great. What’s on the schedule for this week?” Alex inquired. Loni pulled up the schedule on her computer.

“You have two check rides to give tomorrow, and Allaistor called. Stripes One will be ready Wednesday. I think Corrie should be able to go with you to get her. That way you can fly straight up to Columbus and meet Zig Zag for that scene you two are supposed to watch. I already checked it with Corrie, and she said that’s fine. Zig Zag said Thursday is fine for her, too.”

Alex arched an eyebrow. “Is there anything else? That’s…that’s amazing, how well you have everything set up before we can even ask.”

“Just doin’ m’job, chief,” she replied teasingly.

Alex just waved and went on to his office. Corrie was working in a corner of Billy’s office, as he thought it might be too distracting for them both if she worked in Alex’s. He sat down and started prepping the forms for the next day’s check rides. Just before Lunch, the intercom line chimed.

“Yes, this is Alex,” he answered as he toggled the phone to intercom speaker.

“Alex, it’s Billy. Corrie and I are gonna drive down and check out work on the new building. Wanna come along?”

Alex grinned. “Yep, meet you in a couple minutes.”

“Great, bye.”

The line went off. Alex toggled it off on his end, locked his computer, and stood up. Stretching tall and shaking his tail out, he headed out to meet his fiancée and his partner.

#   #   #

“Oh…my…,” Corrie said as they pulled up by the construction site in Billy’s car. Gone was the old decrepit hangar, the trash, even the cracked and broken access road and ramp. The steel frame for the new building was in place, and the side panels mostly done. A little farther on, the forms were in place and the concrete going down alongside Taxiway Echo for the new heliport pad.

“Yep, they’re making good progress as long as the weather holds,” Billy stated.

“How…how did we pay for all this?” the lioness asked, looking a bit awed by the change.

“Let’s see,” Billy replied, grinning. “A grant from the airport board for facilities improvement, a grant from the city of Lexington for property improvement and derelict building removal, A grant from the State of Kentucky for economic development, and a federal grant for airport construction. We are building a heliport too, y’know.”

Corrie looked at him, still a bit at a loss, so he explained.

“I know you have a degree in aviation business management, but one of the things they don’t teach is how to get startup funds. Usually it’s done with personal capital and business loans. I’ve found it financially healthier to stay away from the loans as much as possible. Our capitol will be used for things like airframes, but if you’re going to improve something or hire furs, there’s all kinds of grants available if your business plan is sound.”

Corrie grinned. “I have to admit I didn’t know about most of that. I now see why you and Alex have made such a success of Kentigah.”

Billy smiled, shaking his head. “If you think I’m good, the new admin we hired is phenomenal. She found five more that I’d never heard of, got the applications out, and we’re waiting to hear back on them. If we get them, they’ll finish paying for the building, the road and ramp repair, the heliport construction, her first year’s salary, along with one or more of the pilots.”

“Coo, quite the powerhouse, eh? I’ll have to thank her if I can catch her,” Corrie replied teasingly. She then gave a speculative look.

“Do you think it’s time to staht shopping for aircraft and pilots?”

“Yes, shopping anyway. I don’t want to purchase or hire until we have some place to store the birds and the pilots to work out of,” Billy replied. Then to Alex, “You’re being awful quiet. What’s up?”

Alex half-grinned. “Keepin’ mah muzzle shut, jus like you wanted. Seriously though, it’s good to see Corrie smiling. The first time she saw the place I thought she was going to cry.”

“Too right! I just couldn’t see a thriving business in that mess,” Corrie added.

Billy grinned. “Never underestimate what a motivated team and enough cash can accomplish.”

Corrie and Alex had to agree.

#   #   #

Back in her cubbyhole of an office, Kathleen had gone as far as she could go. All the grants and programs to help new businesses she could find, at least the ones that didn’t demand control or too many rules, had been applied for. Thing was, it would be at least two weeks to a month before the answer came and the funds made available. She’d also been on the phone with Benchley and Sharpe’s legal secretary, Lily, working out the legalese of some of the applications. She’d been on the phone as well with the accounting firm Helipro was using, checking on the various tax breaks she found.

Now though, she seemed to have come to a halt for the time being. She was mentally running through a checklist to see what else might need done when a knock came on the door.

“Come in,” she called, wondering who it could be, as she thought everyone except Loni was out. To her surprise and delight, Rich Farraday stepped in the door.

“Uh, Hi Kathleen, ah, how are you today?” the ferret asked, somewhat nervously.

“Hi Rich, I’m fine. Hey, call me Kath, my close friends always do,” the collie avowed, looking demurely down for a moment.

“Would you like to go to lunch again, ah, Kath?” Rich asked, a bit shyly.

“Oh! More good lunch spots? Yes, I’d love to,” Kathleen replied. Now Rich took a step closer to the desk, shutting the door behind him.

“Great! Uh, h-how about dinner tonight?” he asked, even more shyly. As he said that, he produced a single red rose from behind his back and presented it to the collie. Kathleen gave a small gasp, and then reached out and accepted the flower.

“Oh! Why Rich, are you asking me out on a date?”

She had to fight to keep from laughing at the bright red blush that went all the way to his eartips.

“I, ah, well, ah…y-yes, yes I am,” the ferret stammered.

“Then I accept whole heartedly. What time?” Kathleen enthused. She thought for a moment Rich was going to fall in the floor with relief. He caught his breath and was able to speak again.

“How about eighteen hundred, er, six o’clock?” he asked, a bit less shyly.

“Twenty-four-hour clock is fine. Eighteen hundred it is. Say, I know you do computers, do you have any other interests? Anything I need to brush up on, so we can talk about something other than work at dinner?” Kathleen asked, becoming more at ease talking to the ferret.

“Oh, I play video games a lot. Skyfox, Felonious Felines, Skyround, Mass Element,” Rich replied, much more confidently.

“Ah? I love Mass Element! I’ve played all those, plus Killer Kalis from Kukamonga,” Kathleen enthused. Rich was impressed.

“I’ve only just started that one! Oh, this is so cool! But, I’ve gotta get back to work right now. Hey, does Orion Three software work for you for the scheduling program?”

“Oh perfect! That’d be great, Rich. See you for dinner!” the collie replied as she prepared to go back to work. While talking to Rich, she’d thought of what she wanted to do next.

“Great! See you then.”

Rich left the office and shut the door. He silently punched the air, a huge grin on his muzzle. He headed back to his office, passing Jackie Tortelli in the hall.

“Hey Rich,” she said as she reached him. “That’s a big smile.”

The tortoise-shell felid stopped to talk to the ferret. Rich saw more of Jackie than most of the rest of Kentiger. While Loni scheduled the flights and checkrides, Jackie kept track of the maintenance and aircraft inspection schedule. She also scheduled all the maintenance for the computers and electronic devices Kentiger used. She only worked part time, which with three kittens at home, suited her just fine. Rich saw more of her because his office was behind hers. Now, he just smiled broader.

“Hi Jackie, she said yes!”

The dark-furred femme angled her head quizzically. “Er, great! Who and what?”

Rich calmed down, realizing how he sounded.

“Uh, sorry. Kathleen, the new admin and dispatcher for Helipro. She said yes to going on a date tonight.”

Jackie just grinned and patted his shoulder, now understanding his excitement. “Ah? Well, good for you. See you later.”

“Yeah, later Jackie,” Rich replied, grinning nearly uncontrollably as he headed for his office. For her part, Jackie just shook her head.

“Love is in the air, again.”

#   #   #

Back in Billy’s office after lunch, he’d invited Corrie to pull a chair up closer.

“I’m going to call Fred Bostick, a friend of mine who’s an aircraft broker. He usually can find pretty good deals on pretty good airframes. Now, all I’m going to do is get started on seeing what’s available and pricing. I’m relying on you and Allaistor when he gets back to say which kind of helicopters are best for what we’re doing.”

Corrie looked at him a moment. “Well, when you said shopping you meant it. I thought we’d just look through Trade-A-Plane and see what was around.”

Billy grinned. “We could do that with an internet search, but with Fred we’re getting a good eye for quality and he does thorough research before he even recommends an airframe to us.”

Corrie nodded. “Okay, I can see that. That means we probably need to start taking resumés for pilots around month’s end or soonah.”

Billy tilted his head. “Ah…yeah, that’d be about right, but it’ll be January at least before we start flying unless Fred finds some immaculate airframes and we get some really great applicants. Later than that before we’re ready to start taking charters. I could be wrong, though, if we don’t have a lot of maintenance and training to do.”

Corrie nodded in agreement. She then brought up a different thought.

“You know, we could get anothah grant if we did medivac.”

Billy thought a second before replying. “I know, but medivac requires a flight nurse or paramedic and a chopper and crew twenty-four seven. Plus, there’s already a medivac service in this area. Between sight-seeing, business charter, horse owners, horse farm owners, college sports charters, photography support, and deliveries I think we’ll keep the birds pretty busy from the start.”

Corrie found herself in agreement. “Right then, so give your friend a call and let’s get stahted.”

Billy grinned as he clicked on the speaker phone and punched the number.

#   #   #

Mastifson sat across the desk from Barry Whitlock, enduring his one-year review. He’d sat stone-faced as Barry reviewed and removed the unfounded charges notation. There had been other complaints, at first, but those were now dismissed as well.

“Jefferson, the past six months and especially the last two months, you’ve been exemplary. I’ve even gotten a couple of calls commending you on your handling of matters. You’ve put O’Whitt and that incident well behind you. You’re fast becoming one of my best liaison reps,” Barry stated. Mastifson actually produced a slight smile and answered without accent.

“Thank you, Barry. I try to keep a tight ship.”

“You do well. Enjoy the rest of the week, and travel safe going home,” the Boston Terrier said in dismissal.

Mastifson nodded and stood, walking out of the office past the secretary. He had a course in the afternoon called, “Assisting the NTSB.”

“Quite an interesting course,” he mused to himself. The complimentary review had been a pleasant surprise. He walked on and found a quiet coffee shop to hang around in until time for lunch. He ordered a cup with his normal cream and two sugars, only to be sneered at by the barista behind the counter. The Afghan hound femme quickly made his order, took payment, and then turned her back on him. He in turn put his nose in the air and haughtily walked over to a corner table.

Opening the newspaper he’d bought before his appointment with his supervisor, he sipped his coffee and perused the headlines. The main one caught his attention, as it was about an Army NCO who’d attempted to sell classified documents to the Cubans. He’d been caught and was now awaiting court-martial. It went on to say that “intelligence services” had intercepted the documents and he’d been arrested returning to the U.S. from …Jamaica?

“Well, it seems perhaps O’Whitt did give his life for his country, if this was what he was caught up in,” the Rottweiler thought to himself.

Just then, a flash of black and white caught the corner of his eye. It had been on the street outside the coffee shop. He kept his cool a bit more this time, although he did almost spit his coffee. He stood and went to the window. On down the street he saw a short lapine doe. All white in color, she was wearing a dress with a stylized black and white pattern that resembled tiger stripes.

Sitting back down, he shook his head. He had to get his reactions to that pattern under control. It wouldn’t do for every flash of black stripes on white fur to continue freaking him out.

He thought about searching out a particular dessert in that color scheme, and perhaps being dominant over her would allow him to be rid of his reaction. Then the horrifying thought came that he might be in the middle of claiming his subject and look down to see O’Whitt’s face sneering up at him. The thought disturbed him so, he nearly got sick.

“No, no, no, no stripes!” He muttered to himself as he managed to calm his revulsion. He sipped his coffee and read on through the paper, but nothing else caught his attention. Soon his thoughts had gone far afield, away from stripes, tigers, coincidence, and conscience.

 

 

End of Chapter 101

 

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