Brian shook his head and shrugged. As if to answer, the Jeep angled left, toward a row of dilapidated old hangars. "Geez, they're puttin’ us out in the slums."
“Well..." Jack paused to run his hand through his hair, "I don't really care, I just want to eat, clean up and get some sleep. I'm bushed."
"Yeah me too," agreed the copilot.
Fritz was getting impatient, he sat with his head on Jack's lap, staring up with those big brown eyes. He whined softly, wanting attention. The pilot absentmindedly stroked the dog's long snout to appease him. Fritz closed his eyes and remained quiet. The lights were on and the doors open on the very last hangar in the row. As the Jeep got closer to the lit building, he slowed, turned off his sign lights and sped away. A flight-line worker with hand lights guided Jack into his turn in front of the hangar. Jack reached behind him and switched off the air-conditioning unit, slid open the vent window and a rush of air off the port engine, flooded the cockpit. It felt so good, Brian reached over and opened his too. When the B25 faced away from the hangar, the line attendant signaled Jack to shut down. The tired pilot held the brakes. "Shut 'em down Bri." Brian toggled off the ignition switches, and Jack rotated the selectors for the fuel cut-offs and the magnetos. The engines sputtered then went silent as the props spun down to a whirring stop.
Amidst yawns and groans, the two men unbuckled themselves and secured all the systems. The crew groped their way through the darkened aircraft. Feeling for the belly hatch, Jack found the latch handle and opened it, dropping his flight bag to the ground below. Fritz anxiously pushed his way past the two men and dove through the opening and quickly disappeared from view. The two fliers dropped through the hatch one at a time, and Brian reached up to close it. "Too bad this thing doesn't have a lock on it, I'd feel better."
Jack shrugged, "It'll be alright, we're not goin' more than a hundred feet." Stepping out from underneath the plane, Jack stretched his arms toward the star-filled sky... "Aaarrruugh," he growled, releasing the tension from his body. Closing his eyes briefly, he inhaled deeply, breathing in the warm, moist air. The air was sweet and heavy. He stared up into the early evening sky, awed by its starry splendor. “Hmm...” he mused, “clouds are gone.”
"Geez, what a dump," grumbled Brian, breaking the silence.
"Huh?" Jack came out of his trance, "Oh, our accommodations, yeah, well, I've seen worse." He snatched his bag up off the concrete and strolled towards the open hangar.
"Where, Beirut?" The copilot glanced at the gaping holes in the roof as he walked behind the pilot. Jack snapped his fingers and the masked Shepherd quietly appeared out of the darkness, startling the mechanic in the dimly lit hangar.
"Sorry pal, he does that to everyone at first." The mechanic stood silently, unmoving, eyeing the pilot. Jack suddenly realized how much shorter than he, the mechanic was. Jack squinted to see facial features but the dim light defied his efforts. After what seemed a lengthy silence he decided to try again. "You speaka de Englais?" He hoped for English because his Latin vocabulary consisted of fast food menu items.
"Of course I speak English, you ass. And watch who you call pal, Mister Steele." The pilot stood wide eyed and a tad stunned as the mechanic removed his ball cap to reveal he, was actually a she. A quite attractive she at that.
"I, uh..." Jack cleared his throat, "ahem, yes, well that is I, um... you, I mean we..." He suddenly realized, he had absolutely no idea what to say. Not accustomed to being caught off guard, his tired mind finally caught up to shut off his runaway mouth.
Cascades of raven-black hair fell out from under the hat, and Jack offhandedly wondered how all that hair could fit under that little cap. A quick glance to his left told him the speechless, open-mouthed copilot, was as surprised as he was. Fritz harrumphed, he wasn't fooled at all. He knew all along and couldn't see how Jack missed such an obvious charade. The dog strolled past the gaze of the female mechanic and away from the trio. "Where does he think he's going?" said the girl, thumbing towards the dog's diminishing shadow.
Brian shrugged, not wanting to be left out, "Wherever he wants... pretty much."
Jack was fighting back the giggles, somewhat unsuccessfully. Regaining his composure and charisma, he got his mouth and brain in sync. "Look, let's start over again. Hi, I'm Jack Steele, pilot extraordinaire. This is my friend and trusty copilot and good friend, Brian Carter. The hairy guy exploring your hangar," he looked above him at the hole in the roof, "such as it is, is my dog Fritz. We are the crew of that fine aircraft out there…" He extended his hand. The girl took his hand, tentatively at first, then shook it in earnest.
"Maria Arroyo, nice to meet you..." she smiled. "I think." Standing this close, Steele could see her very well, even in the poor light. He stared into her dark eyes, still holding her hand. She did not look away. They remained there as if momentarily frozen.
"Ahem." Brian cleared his throat.
The man and woman recoiled, as if burned, suddenly feeling uncomfortable and not wanting to acknowledge what they both knew had just occurred. "Food," said Brian, patiently coaxing the conversation along.
"Ah, yeah, we could use a hot meal, a shower and sleep, lots of sleep," said Jack slowly, not taking his eyes off the young lady as she began removing her work coveralls.
"No problem..." she said. She wriggled out of her work suit and revealed a wonderful figure, obvious even under her street clothes. Jack felt mesmerized as he listened to her speak. He found her voice and Latin accent very pleasing. "The showers are that way through the office..." she pointed the way. "While you get cleaned up, I'll go get us all some dinner."
"Sounds like a plan to me," said Brian as he strode off through the office... what there was of it.
Fritz found the cots for the crew of the Sweet Susie. Bored with his exploration, he carefully inspected then chose one to curl up on. He laid quietly, with one eye open, casually watching Jack and Maria discuss available choices for dinner. The dog, sensitive to human emotions, could smell and feel the desire in the air and sleepily wondered what they were waiting for. Not able to resist any longer, the Shepherd dozed off and began to snore. The two people stood face to face without speaking. They had run out of things to say. The unspoken question was whether to make the transition from professional to personal. The only sound louder than their combined heartbeats was the dog's snoring. The pause became intense and uncomfortable. Maria stepped backwards. "Um... I guess I, um, I should um..."
"Go get the food?" said Jack, helping her along.
"Yes... yes, that's it, get the food..." she stared at him, backing up slowly, "I'll be right back!" She turned and ran from the old hangar.
Jack inhaled deeply, staring at the empty doorway. He picked up his flight bag and headed for the shower, wondering what would happen next and how he would handle it. Bingo! said the little voice in his head. Shut up, he told it.
■ ■ ■
Brian stretched out on his cot, tucking his hands behind his head, "Man, I'm stuffed. That was great, it really hit the spot."
"I'm glad you liked it," said Maria, somewhat preoccupied, although the copilot never noticed. Her mind was on Jack who had been distant all during dinner. Immediately after eating, he quietly rose from the table and went outside. The tall silhouette stood with his shaggy companion, out near the B25.
Maria turned out the hangar lights, so the copilot could fall asleep. She stood silently in the hangar's darkness, near the expansive front doorway. Almost transfixed, she watched the tall American pilot and wondered about his strange magnetism. No man from her own country had ever commanded her thoughts or desires like this before. Unbeknownst to her, Jack was thinking much the same thing about her. Not sure whether it was envy or jealousy she felt, Maria decided to re-route some of the attention Fritz was alway
s getting. She grabbed a folded blanket off the foot of one of the empty cots and strode out of the hangar. Steele could hear the light footsteps approaching from behind but chose not to turn around. He was watching the Shepherd rolling in the grass along the runway, enjoying his comical behavior. Jack could feel the girl's presence at his side, but he neither moved nor spoke. His heart quickened, but he fought to conceal the emotion rushing about inside. Aw, go on, goaded the little voice inside him. He ignored it.
Now it was the dog's turn to watch the humans.
With the blanket tucked under one arm, Maria stood beside the tall, silent pilot. Her heart hammered as she gazed up at his handsome profile. He stood so still he looked like he was made of granite. A gentle breeze rustled his open shirt, and Maria wanted to touch him, just to reassure herself that he was real. Unable to wait any longer, she reached out and touched his arm. The young woman was almost startled when he turned to meet her gaze. As he stared deep into her eyes, the blanket slipped from her limp hand, landing on the ground with a soft flop. "Do you..." her voice squeaked, so she drew a deep breath and started again, her heart racing. "Ahem... um, do you think I'm pretty... I mean, do find me attract..." Jack, smiling warmly, had placed his fingertips on her lips.
"How old are you?" Jack asked softly.
"Twenty-five," she replied, "why?"
"Well, I'm almost ten years older than you..."
Still holding his arm, Maria smiled sweetly. "So what?”
Jack was playing absentmindedly with the satiny, black curls of hair falling across her shoulder. His eyes flicked back to hers, as he ran his hand through her luxurious hair. Her eyes closed slowly as she lost herself in his touch. "That's all I needed to know," said Steele in a raspy whisper.
He ran his hand up the nape of her neck and buried his fingers in waves of silky, raven hair. The girl, trembling, exhaled softly, as she passed her hands across Jack's bare chest. Drawing her body against his, he closed his hand around the cascade of dark, flaxen hair. Pulling gently, but firmly, the pilot tilted her head back to view her upturned face, awash with moonlight. Still grasping her hair, Jack ran his lips along Maria's neck, biting softly. She sighed and her knees buckled when he pressed his lips against hers. Holding her body tightly against his, the duo melted together, and the rest of the world ceased to exist.
■ ■ ■
First light turned the inky blackness of the star speckled sky to deep shades of blue smeared with scattered gray-white clouds. Gentle songs of the first morning birds woke the sleeping Shepherd. Maria's arm was sleepily draped across the Shepherd's shoulder, and he crawled slowly out from underneath, not wanting to wake her. He stretched, glanced at the sleeping couple and strolled off to check his surroundings in the light of day.
When Maria woke, Fritz was nowhere to be seen. She checked her watch and silently chastised herself for sleeping so late, although it was only six-thirty. She pulled herself together, reluctantly leaving the still sleeping pilot and headed to the shower in the office of the old hangar. Maria passed the copilot as she raced through the hangar. Like Jack, Brian was still sound asleep. Maria wondered if this habit of sleeping late was a guy thing, because she had always been an early riser. Jack awoke when the sun cleared the trees and passed between the old hangars. It was like looking into a spotlight. He ventured a look at his watch and winced painfully. "Damn, seven in the morning!" Steele laid on his back watching the clouds pass slowly overhead, wondering if he could fall back asleep. The beam of sunlight coupled with the grumbling in his stomach told him that this would not be a likely option. Yawning, Jack stretched, pulled himself together, picked up the blanket and headed to the showers with Fritz following close behind.
"Holy cow, you look like shit!" said the ever cheerful copilot as he lay stretched out on the small cot.
"Thanks, but I feel better than I look," mumbled Jack, as he shuffled past, smiling wryly. Steele didn't often allow himself those pleasures because he was not yet comfortable with the idea of someone getting that close to him. He had let the intensity of the moment overtake him because he knew there was no chance of it progressing, given to their separate geographies. Jack reasoned that it would be a safe encounter.
"You didn't..." said the wide-eyed Brian.
"Well, I hadn't planned it, but yeah, we did... "
"Oh man..." interrupted Brian as he sat up on the cot, waving his arms, "I can't believe you. You are unbelievable! We're here what, four hours? And you end up...” he was shaking his head in disbelief, “Jiminy Christmas...”
“Jiminy Christmas...?” Jack sputtered, laughing, “Seriously? What the hell is that...? It's not Jiminy Christmas anyway, you freaking tard, it's Jiminy Crickets!”
“Fuck you, you know what I meant...”
Jack shrugged, "Ok, so you'd feel better if she looked like an ogre, right?"
"Never mind..." Brian flopped back down on the cot. "I wish I knew how he does it," muttered Brian out loud to himself. Fritz made himself comfortable on the empty cot while he waited for Jack to return from his shower.
■ ■ ■
Steele strolled out into the hangar, refreshed, clean and dressed. Khaki uniform shirt, dark blue Levis and boots. The only adornment on Jack's shirt was the silver pilot's wings, pinned above his left pocket. Jack plopped his flight bag on one of the cots, checked his reflection in the office window and headed to the chart table, which someone had thoughtfully loaded with breakfast items. Brian wandered up to the table looking crisp and awake. "Wow, nice spread! Good thing too, cuz I'm starved!"
"Yeah, me too, say who brought all this stuff anyway?" Jack lifted a jelly sweet roll of the selection and poured himself a glass of milk.
"Maybe your new girlfriend," said Brian, picking up a pastry and pouring himself a cup of coffee. Fritz appeared next to the table as if by magic and Jack slipped him a sizable sweet roll. Brian's eyes widened. "Y'know that overgrown hamster eats better than most people do..."
Jack shrugged, unconcerned. "So what, he earns it." He turned to the dog with a bowl of milk. "Right buddy?" The Shepherd gave no answer other than to happily consume the whole bowl of milk. “And she's not my girlfriend...” added the pilot, while handing the dog another pastry.
"Hi sleepyhead." Jack looked up to see Maria walking through the open door of the hangar from the plane, tool bag in hand. "She's all set, I checked all her fluids and looked her over real good. The fuel truck just left, Susie's tanks are full..."
There was a quiet sarcastic voice behind Jack saying something about fluid levels, dipsticks and someone else getting the once over... Jack raised his eyebrows, "Boy, you've been a busy little beaver."
Maria frowned in thought, "Huh?"
Jack wasn't sure which she had heard. He reached to wipe a smudge off her face, "Oh, um, never mind, forget it..." he looked past her, to the plane, "hey, who's that?" Brian stepped forward and Maria spun around to follow Jack's gaze. The coverall clad man exiting the open belly hatch saw he had an audience and began to run towards the departing fuel truck. "Hey you! What're you doing? Come back here!” he shouted. ”You don't fuel a plane from inside it..." he growled. Without a word exchanged, Jack and Brian sprinted off in foot pursuit before Maria could react or speak. With his long legs, Jack quickly pulled ahead of Brian. Fritz, eager to participate, passed between the two running pilots and accelerated ahead like they were standing still. The speeding Shepherd was closing the distance to the man in the coveralls with almost alarming speed.
A Jeep suddenly appeared, careening from across the field and slid to a stop, scattering pebbles off the asphalt. As the escaping figure jumped into the Jeep, he paused to draw a pistol from the pocket of his coveralls to fire at the running dog. But the Shepherd, rocketing across the ground, created an extremely difficult ta
rget. The driver sped the vehicle away just as the man fired, sending the shot harmlessly over the hangar. Fritz circled once and headed back to Jack and Brian standing next to the plane.
Winded, Brian stood bent over trying to catch his breath. "Whadd'ya... think... he was lookin' for?"
Jack wiped his forehead on his sleeve, "I don’t know, but I'm gonna' find out!” The pilot disappeared up into the belly hatch. "He found the carbines and the ammo!" he yelled down through the hatch. "Doesn't seem to be anything missing though." Jack fastened the top back onto the crate and re-secured the ammo boxes.
"Why was he looking in the first place?" asked Brian.
Jack jumped down through the open hatch to the tarmac. "Curiosity? I don't know and I don't care. We're not taking any chances, let's get the hell outta' here."
Brian nodded. "Good idea let's get our stuff.
Jack called the dog over to the hatch and boosted him up into the plane. "Fritz, you stay...” he told the dog, who peered down at him from the dark opening. “Watch the plane."
Maria met them at the doorway of the hangar, "I've seen him before..."
"Yeah? Who is he?" interrupted Jack.
The group talked as they hustled to gather their gear, "I think... I'm not sure, but I think he's a member of the Secret Police." Maria looked genuinely afraid, "They pretty much do whatever they want, they are very corrupt. They even deal openly with the drug cartels who move contraband through here."
Brian rolled his eyes and groaned, "Great, we're in the shit now...!” He stuffed his things haphazardly into his bag. “What do you think they want?"
"It doesn't matter want they want," snapped Jack, gathering their charts and flight log, "they're not going to get it. Let's get our stuff and get the hell outta' here!"
Wings of Steele - Destination Unknown (Book 1) Page 4