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 2003-2014 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 70
When I’m with You...
Friday had been uneventful, but now Friday evening had arrived. Alex was picking up Corrie at her hotel, and they were meeting Jack and Jenna at Rip’s for an impromptu double date. He was looking forward to a fun evening with the lioness now that the recent tension between them had been settled.
Alex pulled up in front of Corrie’s hotel. She was waiting for him by the lobby door, decked out in slacks and a dressy short-sleeve top. He made it around to open her door for her before she quite got there.
“Good evening, Love. How are you doing?” he asked.
Corrie took the last two steps very quickly. “Oh apples now. C’mere”
She kissed him soundly and then got in the truck. Alex, grinning broadly, made sure her tail was in and shut the door. As he climbed in behind the wheel, Corrie started the conversation.
“Luv, are you sore at all from last night?”
Alex ignored how that would have sounded to anyone nearby and replied, “No, not really. I work out doing katas like that a lot. You?”
“Coo, a bit, yes. Also got a few bruises from blocking those kicks. Remind me nevah to get in a real fight with you.” Her eyes told Alex that Corrie was teasing him a bit.
“Agreed. No fighting each other for real. Ever.”
Corrie decided to change the subject to something more upbeat. “Me lawyah called today. He thinks they’ll have the contract ready for Billy an’ me on Monday, so it looks like I’ll be heah ovah the weekend. Wanna go somewheah?”
Alex grinned ruefully. “Would that I could. Billy’s son and family are in town for the weekend, so I have to watch over things at Kentiger Saturday. How about a Sunday afternoon drive, or better yet we’ll go poke some holes in the sky in my other plane?”
“Oh your Skymaster? Sounds like a great time!”
The drive from Corrie’s hotel near the airport to Rip’s wasn’t long. Alex parked down the street and he and Corrie walked to the front of the restaurant. A familiar pair of faces were waiting for them.
“Hi Bro, Hi Corrie,” Jenna called as they walked up. Alex and she embraced as Jack offered a paw to Corrie.
“Jack Lazarus, and you’re Corrie, right? I’m glad to meet you, I kept missing you at church.”
“Glad to meet you too, Jack. I hope I’m the only lioness dating Alex,” she replied with a teasing grin. Jenna and Alex both snickered as Alex shook Jack’s paw and Corrie gave Jenna a hug. The two couples stepped inside to find Rip and Maria, the vixen who usually did greeter duty, waiting.
“Ah! Monsieur and Madame Lazarus! Bonjour, it is wonderful to zee you!” the bulldog enthused. “Ow waz ze ‘oneymoon?”
Both Jenna and Jack grinned, causing Rip to wink at them.
“Ho-hoo! Zay no more. Ze looks on your faces zay enough. Bon, bon. And ‘ow are you, Monsieur O’Whitt? And ‘oo iz zis elle jolie with you?”
“Fine, Rip,” Alex answered. “This is Corrie Patterson, my girlfriend.”
“Ah, pleased to meet you, Mademoiselle. Well, I ‘ave two ‘andsome gentlefurs and two beautiful ladies, where shall I seat you? I know Jack and Jenna like to dance a bit, yes? ‘Ow about you, Alex and Corrie?”
The bulldog’s brightly inquisitive expression, along with his high tone of voice, almost made Corrie laugh, but then she thought better of it. Instead, she looked at Alex questioningly.
“Well Luv, do you dance?”
Alex grinned. “I’m an Air Force Officer, Love. Of course I do. Ballroom style, anyway, how about you?”
Corrie did laugh now. “Surprising for an ol’ Aussie roughout, but yeah, I do. Being single in the clubs and bahs in the eighties and nineties, I kinda picked up a few styles.”
Rip grinned enough to wrinkle his nose. “Ah, then in by ze dance floor you go. Tonight’s band iz Retro-Go. Eighties and nineties stuff. I ‘ope you like dem.”
Rip led them back to the rear room with the dance floor. The band, a wild-looking bunch of various species, was still setting up. Jack and Alex held chairs for Jenna and Corrie, who gave Alex an exasperated look but took her seat anyway. Alex and Jack then got seated themselves. Joni, the slim bobcat waitress who’d waited on Jenna and Jack on their first date at Rip’s, stepped up and greeted them.
“Hello Mister, oh and Misses Lazarus! Nice to see you. What can I get you to drink tonight?”
The four ordered their drinks and began to converse excitedly about the week, the honeymoon, the trip to
“I’m beginning to worry that Tia is a magnet for trouble,” Jenna stated. “First it was that hoodlum at school she started taking martial arts to deal with if she had to. Then she gets involved in a gang fight at the martial arts school, and then that...whatever who thought he could attack us at the house.”
Corrie looked inquiringly. “Okay, I know bits and pieces of all that, but come again about a gang fight?”
Alex picked up the story, with Jack finishing with the arrest of Frank Branson. Corrie looked askance.
“Luv, are things always this dangerous around your family?”
Alex tilted his head, thinking, and then replied, “Well, yes. It seems so.”
Corrie grinned. “Good. It definitely won’t be boring around you then.”
They all laughed as Joni returned with their drinks and took their dinner orders. After she stepped away, and before the conversation could resume, a multi-colored mohawk wearing boxer stepped up to the microphone on stage.
“Awright, how’s Rip’s house tonight? You ready to rock out?”
A cheer went up from the room and the band began to play. Corrie grinned at Alex, and they stood to join several other couples out on the dance floor. Jenna and Jack just sat back, laughing and listening to the beginning beats of AHA’s “Take On Me.”
After a couple of songs, Joni arrived with their food and Alex and Corrie sat back down. The conversation continued in snatches, as between eating and the music it was hard to speak and hear. After they finished eating, the two couples danced a bit more. As the last long falsetto note of Sheriff’s “When I’m With You” faded, Alex excused himself and Corrie. He had to be up and at Kentiger early, so the couple left Jenna and Jack still dancing as he and Corrie walked back to his truck. As they drove to her hotel, Corrie let out a breath.
“Whew! Alex, that was bonzer fun. You dance very well.”
Alex grinned. “Thank you, and you, my dear. Those were some very sexy moves.”
Corrie blushed at his compliment. “It was just dancing. What’s on tap for tomorrow?”
Alex smiled at the quick change of subject. “I’m on Kentiger duty all day, or at least until the last flight is down. Still, stop in whenever you want. I’ll enjoy the company, and maybe we can walk down past Allaistor’s and look at your prospective business location.”
“Oh Alex! That’d be great!”
Alex pulled in at Corrie’s hotel and stopped. Before he could get all the way out, she jumped out and ran around the truck, wrapping her arms around his shoulders.
“Thank you for a very fun evening, Luv.”
She kissed him passionately, and then let him go. With a wink and a wave of her tail, she walked into the hotel and out of sight. Alex sighed, musing to himself that Corrie was quickly becoming the greatest adventure he’d ever had.
“As it should be,” he whispered to himself as he got back in and started his truck.
# # #
Saturday had dawned cool and drizzly. Unusual for Kentucky in late spring. Alex was sitting at his desk doing some fuel usage reviews. Loni was out at her desk, watching over the eight charters that were out. Only one was R.O.N.-ing (Remaining Over Night). Joe Eps, Roale Danner, and Rebecca DeLeon in a G-IV to Fargo, North Dakota. Three Citations and Four Kingairs were out to various locations, but they’d all be back by sixteen hundred.
Monday, if Alex could tear Billy away from prep work on his helicopter service, they were to do final interviews and make offers to the six pilots they were adding. Alex was looking over their resumés one final time, mostly for something to do. He was in mid-stretch to keep from yawning when the intercom chimed. Reaching down while still stretching, he toggled the speaker on.
“Ergh, yes Loni?”
He could hear a near giggle in the lynx’s voice.
“Corrie’s here. Do you want me to send her back or are you coming up?”
Alex grinned. Even on the weekend, Loni was always business proper.
“I’ll be right out.”
He shut off the intercom and stood up, completing his stretch all the way to the tip of his tail. Then he walked out front.
“...Yes, Billy asked if I thought I could handle both businesses,” Loni was saying. “But honestly, I think it’d be too much to juggle. Remembering the different fuel usage, pricing structure, maintenance schedule and such. I’ll keep my ears open, and let you both know if I hear of a good prospect.”
Alex stopped behind the counter, his paws on his hips. “Really you two, business talk on a Saturday?”
Loni flashed him a grin while Corrie gave a guilty shrug.
“Can’t help it, Luv. Now that this is really happening, I’m getting in a hurry. Flat out like a lizard drinkin’ as me uncle says.”
Alex chuckled and then gave a nod. “Good enough. Hey Loni? Corrie and I are going to take a walk down the ramp to look at the hangar she and Billy are thinking of locating in. Call my cell if anything comes up.”
Loni snickered and gave a wink. “Don’t hurry on my account.”
Corrie blushed and Alex managed to get a “Thank you” out around his own snicker. He stepped around the counter and took Corrie by the paw. As they walked toward the back door, Corrie snuggled into Alex’s arm.
“Bettah get some of this while I can. Don’t want to violate the company PDA rules.”
Alex looked at her inquiringly. Corrie gave a half-shrug and a sideways nod.
“The thought came to mind when..er, on the trip down. Most companies have rules about what is propah and allowed and what isn’t when you’re wearing the company logo.”
Alex shrugged and waved his left paw in a vague gesture. “Ours is pretty simple and straightforward. Don’t embarrass us. If what you’re thinking of doing would make your parents blush, don’t do it.”
They reached the back door to Kentiger’s hangar and stepped out. The sky was still overcast, and the day cool, but the drizzle had stopped and the previous low stratus had lifted a bit. As they walked on in the direction of Bluegrass Aviation, Alex picked the conversation back up.
“So, what prompted the thoughts of PDA rules?”
Corrie bit her lip a second, unsure of whether “outing” Patricia and Jackie was a good idea. Still, she trusted Alex, so she continued.
“When I met up with me ride down heah, Patricia Celine and Jackie Leeds were the crew. As I was walking through the FBO they were parked in front of, I could see them in front of the Citation. They had their heads together looking at a chart. Before I walked out the door to them, they...gave each other a quick little kiss. By the time I set foot on the ramp, Patricia was stahting her preflight and Jackie was waiting at the aircraft door for me to show up. Anyway, that’s what got me stahted thinking about PDA rules. I hope I didn’t get them in trouble.”
Alex took on a very stern expression. “How dare they...”
When Corrie looked aghast, Alex couldn’t hold it anymore and burst out laughing.
“Corrie, it’s fine. As I told someone a while back, I don’t care who dates who as long as it doesn’t interfere with them doing their job. Pat and Jackie have been a couple since well before I retired and came to Kentiger full time.”
Corrie looked relieved, and then she began laughing and lightly tapped Alex on the shoulder.
“You rat! That’s terrible, teasing me like that! What am I going to do with you?”
Alex pulled up short, causing Corrie to turn and end up in his arms. He kissed her tenderly and then let her go. There again was that very brief flash of her feeling trapped, but then she smiled. Alex smiled back and began walking. As she fell in step with him, he chuckled.
“Heh, what are you going to do with me? Break every PDA rule in the book at one time or another probably.”
Corrie looked askance, but then saw that Alex was still teasing.
“That’s right,” she replied. “We’ll be absolutely scandalous I’m sure. Why we...”
Corrie stopped short, as did Alex a step later. They had just gotten far enough around Bluegrass Aviation’s large hangar and the smaller hangars beyond to see the prospective location for the helicopter business.
And it looked absolutely terrible.
The old hangar had rusty tin in places. It looked like several panels of the roof were missing, and a couple of the windows in the large main door were broken out. The building was not very large, looking like one of the General Aviation hangars made about twice as large. The tarmac around it had grass growing up through cracks in several places.
Corrie was speechless, her expression somewhere between disbelief and horror. Alex found his voice and tried to find words to put the location in a better light.
“Well, Billy does seem to like fixer-uppers.”
Corrie shook off her shock. “Coo, that looks like way more fixer than uppah.”
“Do you want to look closer?” Alex was not really sure if getting closer would be safe.
“Er, yeah, I think I do. Maybe it looks bettah on the backside.”
Corrie was trying to picture a thriving helicopter operation, but the old hangar didn’t seem to have it in itself to transform into her vision. They walked slowly up to the main door. Alex wasn’t sure it would even stand up to being raised. Various small bits of trash had collected around the bottom of the walls. Peering inside through one of the broken windows, they could see small piles of trash and debris in the light streaming in through where the roof panels had been. The place stank of rust, old oil and grease, and moldy trash.
Walking around back, they found more trash, some old dry-rotted aircraft tires with no tread, and what might have once been a bicycle. The hangar was the last building on that side of the airport, with the perimeter fence, a road, and the grazing field of a neighboring horse farm beyond. The road leading to the hangar looked as dilapidated as the building, with cracks and potholes all through the pavement.
Corrie looked at Alex, disappointment showing in her eyes. “Oh Luv, I hope Billy realizes just how much work and money it will take to turn this into a propah business location.”
Alex gave a half-grin. “Believe me, he loves a challenge. Besides, he can probably lease or buy the property from the airport board cheap, and get an economic development grant to get the building done.”
Corrie was still looking very uncertain, but Alex grabbed her paw and looked at her very earnestly.
“Love, Billy has been running Kentiger for over ten years, mostly by himself. Before that, even while he was still on active duty, he was consulting with the other two owners and learning from them. When we bought the other two out, Billy took over running the business with me consulting. When I asked him if he was sure about this, heh, he said, ‘I’m too close to retirement to do silly crap.’ If there’s a way to get it all together, I have no doubt that you and he will find it.”
Corrie just looked at him for a few seconds, letting what he’d said sink in. Then she broke into a wide grin.
“Luv, I believe you. It may take seeing this sight become a good business location to make me believe Billy is a miracle worker, but I’m game if he is.”
The two began walking paw-in-paw back up the ramp, quietly discussing the ins and outs of the old hangar as a location for the business. If Billy could convince the airport board and the FAA to make the area beside the hangar as a designated heliport, it would allow their helicopters to take off and land directly from there and save them a very long hover-taxi to the main runway.
Seeing a Cessna 172 well airborne over the runway off to their left made both of them smile. Wrapped in each other’s company, they continued their leisurely walk back up the ramp past the general aviation hangars and Bluegrass Aviation
# # #
Jefferson Mastifson was actually smiling. He’d managed to have a Saturday off, and instead of fruitlessly watching Kentiger from across the field, he’d decided to go fly. The earlier low ceiling had lifted, and he planned on heading south and west toward Alabama to get away for a bit. He’d file for Birmingham after he got his Seminole ready and preflighted.
He was planning to have a nice dinner, spend the night, perhaps have a nice hookup for dessert. Perhaps just relax. Setting his network of contacts on alert for O’Whitt had done wonders for his mood. No longer was he just watching, he was setting a web in motion that he hoped would soon yield an opportunity to finally get the tiger where he wanted him.
He shook off the thoughts of revenge and focused back on opening up his hangar and preparing his aircraft. He had just used the manual towbar to pull the light twin-engine Piper clear of the hangar when motion down past the end of row of hangars caught his eye.
Walking past, paw-in-paw, was O’Whitt and the lioness Mastifson had seen with him before. At closer range, he could see she was quite...well-built and beautiful. She reminded him of a model he’d seen on a magazine cover a few years back, but he wouldn’t allow the thought that O’Whitt might actually be dating a magazine model. The pair were engrossed in conversation and didn’t seem to notice the rotweiller. They passed on, but Mastifson couldn’t help walking to the end of the hangars to see for certain where they went.
Reaching the corner, he peered carefully around. The two were walking at a leisurely pace on up the ramp toward the Kentiger hangar. Their tails casually moved with their strides, so that from time to time they curled one upon the other.
“So sweet I think I might puke,” the rotweiller muttered to himself as he turned to go back to his aircraft. His good mood threatened to evaporate, but the thought of flying and then possibly ‘dessert’ later brought the smile back to him. O’Whitt would get his soon enough. Then they’d see how well the lovely lioness liked him.
With that thought in mind, Mastifson smiled to himself a bit wider as he continued his flight prep.
End of Chapter 70