Amerika
Page 40
In my wanderings through the mansions many side rooms, I came upon Juan Trippe sitting quietly by himself, taking in the celebratory activity with those piercing black eyes of his that never missed a trick, or an opportunity to advance his airline across the chessboard of big business. He spotted me, and with a fractional nod of his head motioned to the empty chair beside him.
We sat in silence, each absorbed with the conversational buzz and excitement that comes when a hundred people are jammed inside a mansion filled with strong drink and even stronger feelings.
Trippe cleared his throat and I fastened my seatbelt.
‘Captain Carter, I want you to know that you will always have a place with Pan American Airways.’
‘Thanks, sir. But when I quit, I quit for good.’
‘We need experienced captains like you.’
‘My daughter needs a father.’
Another stretch of silence. Somebody somewhere started singing Dixie, and others whistled and joined in. Soon a fiddle took up the tune.
Trippe said. ‘I still can’t believe you pulled it off.’
‘Makes two of us.’
He chuckled. ‘Who would have thought the Dixie Clipper could be a bomber.’
‘Not me that’s for sure.’
He cleared his throat. ‘I understand that the President offered you a commission in the Army Air Corps. A full colonel, no less. Congratulations.’
‘Thank you.’
‘Never made more than lieutenant back when I was in the navy.’
‘That’s okay, you’re a general of industry now.’
He laughed and then stood up. ‘My offer still holds. Abby will be grown up all too soon. When that day comes, the captain’s seat is yours, should you ever want it.’
I thanked him, but wanted outside instead.
Except for the blackened tree stump here and there, the deepening twilight revealed no trace of the Nazi attack. I made my way down to the dock to check up on my beat-up little S-38, now moored in the same spot as the late, great Dixie Clipper. She looked like a bathtub toy by comparison, but she was all mine - and the bank’s too, of course.
The aircraft mechanics had neatly repaired the twenty or so bullet holes she suffered during the attack. I ran my fingers over the cotton fabric patches but felt no rough edges that would catch in the wind stream and rip them off. This kind of craftsmanship was a fading art, but on Couba Island, alive and well.
Ava’s voice startled me. ‘We’ve got mighty good boys.’
‘They’ll be needed elsewhere soon enough.’
‘How soon?’
‘We’ll find out at eight o’clock.’
President Perkins was scheduled to make a radio address to the nation before a joint session of congress. It wouldn’t be about the budget.
Ava shifted her arm sling and flexed her wrist. ‘They told me to keep exercising without fail.’
‘Still hurt?’
‘Only when I do this.’
‘Don’t do that.’
Her smile was a crescent moon in the shadow of the wing. ‘So, do I call you colonel or Sam?’
‘Either will do.’
‘You accepted the commission?’
‘Surprised?’
She shrugged. ‘I know how much Abby means to you. And you’ve done more than enough for your country, I should think.’
I pretended to examine a fabric patch on the fuselage, but I was really buying time to collect my thoughts.
‘I took that Buenos Aires trip for the sake of my career. I’m taking this commission for the sake of America. Abby will understand the difference. Maybe not today, but one day, I hope.’
Ava touched my arm. ‘I can help her understand if you’d like.’
I took a quick breath and she said quickly, ‘It’s not what you think. I mean as a friend of the family. Nothing more. ‘Aunt Ava,’ if you will. Whatever you want, Sam, I’m happy to do it.’
‘That’s kind of you.’
‘Thanks.’
‘But that’s not what I need.’
‘What do you need?’
‘This.’
I took her in my arms.
Where were you the night President Perkins made her speech? My guess is that you were among the tens of millions of Americans across the nation listening to their radios, waiting to hear the ‘swoosh’ of her fiery torch. Me too, except instead of being stuck in Buenos Aires, I was here on Couba Island, with Abby, Rosie, and Ava by my side in the midst of a crowd of determined people long past surrender, determined to fight instead.
Two minutes past eight o’clock, after a breathless introduction by a radio announcer who could have used a stiff drink to calm himself down, the network broadcast shifted to Independence Hall in Philadelphia, where President Perkins addressed a joint session of congress to finish what FDR had begun eight months ago. Her voice was clear, calm, insistent and firm:
‘December 7, 1941 - a date that will live in infamy - the United States was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.
‘December 8, 1941 – a date that will live in far more infamy, our nation’s political and financial capitals were deliberately attacked and destroyed by Germany.
‘As your president, confronted with Adolf Hitler’s threat to attack even more cities, I declared a state of neutrality to exist between the United States and the Axis powers.
‘I did so to spare tens of thousands of innocent American lives. But in doing so, we nearly lost the very soul of our Constitution. That is why I come to you tonight to announce that the time of sacrifice has ended, the soul of our Constitution is alive and well, and the time for retribution has come!’
Shouting, cheering, applause, all across America I figured. When it finally subsided, Perkins continued:
‘Because of the heroic action of a brave group of American citizens, supported by members of an organization called the Sons of Liberty, and our own armed forces, I come to you tonight to declare that the imminent danger of nuclear attack on our soil has ended.
‘And while I can announce tonight that our nation is safe from the Damoclean sword of nuclear destruction, never before has there been a greater challenge to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, not only for America but for our allies around the world, who at this very hour struggle against the dark forces of fascist dictatorship.
‘Any delay on our part to join the fight guarantees the victory of savagery and barbarism over peace and prosperity.
‘Therefore, tonight, as your president, I ask members of congress to declare a state of war to exist between the United States and Germany, Italy, and the Empire of Japan.
‘No matter how long it may take to overcome this invasion of evil upon righteousness, the American people will win through to absolute victory and ensure that this form of treachery shall never endanger the world again.
‘There can be no blinking at the fact that by declaring war, our people, our territory, and our interests are in grave danger. But with the unbounding determination of the American people, we shall gain the inevitable triumph - so help us God.’
Paul Lally is an Emmy award-winning, television and film writer/producer/director. He lives in New Hampshire.
His previous novel is SILK
Find out what’s coming next at:
www.paul-lally.com
or
Write him at:
paul@paul-lally.com
Table of Contents
AMERIKA
CONFEDERATE STATES OF AMERICA
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