by Robin Roseau
Zoe smiled. "I'd like to understand."
"I rather thought you might." She put an arm around Zoe's shoulders and then turned her to the two aircraft in this hangar. "There are nine of us. Technically, we could fly in two aircraft. Lara is the only one of us who can pilot the Seneca. That's this one with the two engines. Theoretically, it can seat six of us."
"Theoretically."
"Weight and where the weight is situated are also determining factors. The FAA defines an average adult as weighing 180 pounds. Clearly, I weigh significantly less than that, as do you." The she gestured to the wolves. "As you can guess, everyone else weighs about that or more."
Zoe turned to me with a raised eyebrow. I shrugged and smiled.
"They're all around six feet," Michaela went on. "I don't know if you've fully appreciated Elisabeth's physique yet."
Zoe blushed but admitted she had.
"Well, all those muscles are heavy. And fuel is heavy, too. So we aren't going to get six of us in the Seneca. If I'm one of them, we can fly five and light luggage."
"I think I see where you're going," Zoe said. "That airplane is smaller."
"It's only a tiny bit smaller," Michaela said. "That's a Bonanza. Theoretically, it holds six as well."
Zoe counted. "Nine. Five and four. And room for luggage."
"Yes. If I carefully measure everything and everyone, I can probably get all of us into both aircraft, but we'll be near maximum weight limits. This is a short flight, so if we could take off without full fuel. However, both aircraft are already fueled, and we're not equipped to drain gas back out of the tanks. But even if we could do it that way, Lara is the only one who can fly the Seneca. And of the two remaining pilots, I'm the only one who can fly the Bonanza."
With that she turned to Angel and offered a small glare.
"Don't blame Angel," Scarlett said defensively. "She's had more important things to learn."
"Why are you blaming Angel?" Zoe asked.
"Because Angel is our third pilot, and if she could fly the Bonanza, then theoretically, I could ride in the Seneca with my wife."
"Which still wouldn't satisfy you," Scarlett said, continuing to defend Angel. "Because you'd still have to ride in back. And besides, you would rather pilot the Bonanza than ride in the back of the Seneca."
Scarlett was right, and the other wolves chuckled.
Michaela turned back to Zoe. "So instead, Lara will pilot the Seneca with four of us. I will pilot the Bonanza with three more. And Angel and Scarlett will ride in one of the Mooneys in the other hangar."
"If you're only taking three, you could fly the other Mooney," Lara said, earning a glare from Michaela. She really, really liked the Bonanza. "Or not," Lara added.
That was when Portia spoke up. "It's a nice day."
Everyone turned to her.
"I could use the time," she added. Portia had learned to fly, but she was by far the least experienced of us. She was asking whether she could fly one of the planes.
Michaela turned to Serena who only said, "I'm with you. As long as you take off first and land last, I don't care."
Then she looked at me. "I suppose you want the front passenger seat of the Seneca."
It suddenly occurred to me I hadn't thought everything through. "Oh shit," I said.
Zoe moved to my side. "What?"
"Elisabeth gets airsick," Michaela said. "We never make her face backwards, and we try to give her a front seat. Unfortunately, there are no combinations where she can face forward and be seated next to you."
Zoe looked at me with a moment of panic. "Are we going to be in the same airplane?"
"That we can arrange," Michaela said. She turned to Lara. "I presume I'm flying the Bonanza."
"Yes," Lara said.
"I'd forgotten we had Portia now," Michaela said. "Elisabeth, do you care?" She was asking whether I wanted to make specific arrangements.
"Lara, Zoe and I in the Seneca," I said. "You and Serena in the Bonanza. Portia or Angel in the Mooney. After that, I don't care."
"Angel," Michaela said. "I could use some hood time. Serena, do you mind the back seat?"
"That's fine," Serena said.
If Angel was disappointed she wouldn't be piloting, she didn't show it. I think riding with Michaela made it easier. "What about Scarlett?"
"With us, and Karen with Portia. Three-four-two. And the luggage can go in the back of the Seneca."
Zoe leaned up to me and whispered, "Is it always this complicated?"
"No. It's usually more cut and dried. Michaela wanted Lara with her in the Bonanza, but we can't make that work, although Michaela isn't considering one last choice."
She heard me, of course, and her ears twitched. She cocked her head, then she turned slowly to look at Portia with a glance at Angel. She was considering letting Portia and Angel fly the two Mooneys, and she'd fly the Bonanza.
"Michaela," I said. "I really would prefer to ride with you or Lara as pilot. Please."
She turned back to me. "Right. Of course. We have a plan."
But she still made us weigh everything.
* * * *
Scarlett and Karen loaded the luggage while the four pilots held a discussion off to the side. Zoe and I stood together, watching everything.
"I've never flown in a small plane before," Zoe admitted. "I'm a little nervous."
"Lara has been flying since she was seven," I said. "And it's a beautiful day. We're flying from our home field to a very nice airport we know very well. I would rather Angel were piloting the third aircraft, but Lara and Michaela are both more qualified to assign pilots than I am. This will be Portia's first group trip as a pilot."
"She hasn't flown much?"
"I think about sixty hours. By comparison, Lara has a couple of thousand hours, Michaela has about seven hundred, and I think Angel is about two-fifty."
"I didn't think this would be so complicated. I imagined getting here and we'd all pile into some sort of business jet or something."
"Lara would love an excuse to buy a business jet, but we actually don't leave Wisconsin very often, and it would be complete overkill for flying to Bayfield. That's the longest trip we do more than every few years."
"With all her businesses, she doesn't travel?"
"Her businesses are all local."
"Vacations?"
"Those are the trips outside Wisconsin, and we tend to charter a jet."
"That sounds far more expensive than traveling commercial."
"It is, but it lets us maintain more control."
She shook her head. "We're from such different worlds."
Finally, about twenty minutes after Zoe and I had arrived, it was time to climb into the aircraft. I helped Zoe into the back seat of the Seneca and got her buckled in. Then while I climbed into the front seat, Lara poked her nose in and gave Zoe a thorough passenger briefing.
Ten minutes later, we watched Michaela take off, then Lara taxied us onto the runway.
"Zoe, all set?"
"I'm good," she replied over the headset.
"Elisabeth, did you want to fly?"
"What?" Zoe screeched from the back seat.
"Elisabeth is a fine pilot," Lara said. "Licensed or otherwise."
"I'd rather not, Lara," I replied.
Without another word, Lara pushed on the throttles, and we began thundering down the runway. As lightly loaded as we were, it took no time at all before we departed the earth and were climbing into the sky.
From the back seat, Zoe gave a shout of joy. "Oops, sorry," she added.
"Quite all right, Zoe," Lara said. "That's often my reaction as well."
She was actually seated behind Lara. I reached an arm back between the front seats, and Zoe clasped it. Lara noticed but didn't comment.
Over the radio we heard Portia announce, "Wolf Run area traffic, Mooney five-five-nine-wolf-run, taxi for takeoff, north departure."
"Portia, climb out in the pattern," Lara directed over the radio.
"Roger," was the reply.
We made our first turns. My eyes flicked to the east, and I saw the Bonanza flying wide circles around the compound, another five hundred feet above us. Michaela wasn't typically predictable, but on this one thing, she was highly predictable. She would fly circles over the house until Lara told her to turn north.
I imagined Nora was outside with Rebecca and Celeste telling them, "There's Mommy Fox, taking one last look at us. Wave at her."
And then I saw the Bonanza's wings rock, and Michaela was waving back at them.
"Give 'em an extra wing rock for me, Michaela," Lara said, and I could hear the love in her voice.
I felt bad we couldn't bring them. I loved my little nieces. But I didn't want them around Zoe until we determined what was going on.
We flew the pattern three times. Portia reported every one of her turns, which wasn't really necessary, but no one told her otherwise. Then she reported, "I'm behind you, Lara."
"All right, Michaela," Lara said. "Lead the way."
* * * *
We flew a very loose formation. Michaela was simulating flying in the clouds, so we didn't want to crowd her. And Portia didn't have training in formation flying. Lara told her to follow Michaela with a half-mile spacing, and then we followed Portia with similar spacing. Once we were on track, Lara said, "So, Zoe. How are you doing back there?"
"I'm great," Zoe said. "Thank you for bringing me. I love your airplane!"
"Thanks," Lara said. "So do I. It's one of my few luxuries."
"But..." Zoe said. "You're rich, right? Elisabeth mentioned a mansion."
"Ah, that's in town. We don't stay there much. I'd sell it, but it's been in the family for a hundred years, and it still gets some use. We actually live just five minutes from the airport. The house is big, but it's not a mansion. We're actually pretty down to earth. It's good to be close to nature."
"It sounds lovely," Zoe replied.
"We have some time," Lara said. "We can get to know each other a little bit. I would like to know what you see in my sister."
I didn't complain. She could ask whereas I couldn't.
Zoe didn't seem fazed. "Are you kidding? She's amazing. I want to know all about her."
Lara glanced at me meaningfully.
"You seemed quite taken with her on Saturday."
"You mean I couldn't take my eyes off her?" Zoe laughed nervously. "That's certainly true. The question to ask is what does she see in me?"
"Maybe she's as curious about you as you are about her," Lara said. She glanced over at my arm; Zoe still had possession of my hand, although I wouldn't want to fly the entire way like this. "She seems quite smitten herself."
I tried to decide how I felt. I wouldn't have used that word. Zoe was dangerous. We needed to know what was going on. But I was perhaps playing more than a part. I didn't need to sleep with her, after all. No, I'd done that out of joy.
I realized my head wasn't completely in the game. Was I making poor choices? I offered Lara my own meaningful look. She answered with a shrug. But I knew she'd be watching, and I also knew the fox never missed anything; she'd be watching, too.
"We both seem to be attracted to environmentalists," I said in explanation.
Lara chuckled. "I wouldn't have expected a trait like that to run in the family. But Zoe, you and Michaela do have some similarities."
"Like we're half your size?"
Lara chuckled again.
The two of them talked amiably until we began to approach Ashland. "I'm sorry, Zoe. I need to pay attention to my flying again. But we have all weekend to get to know each other a little better. I'll be on the radio now for a while."
A moment later she keyed the microphone. "Is someone going to announce us?"
"I was about to," Michaela said. "So impatient." A moment later, her voice sounding different as it came over the standard aircraft radio, not the scrambled radio we used between aircraft. "Ashland area traffic, flight of three, ten miles southeast, transitioning northbound for Bayfield. Ashland." There was a pause, and then I heard Michaela again. "Bayfield area traffic, flight of three, fifteen miles southeast, inbound. Bayfield."
Then ahead of us, I saw Michaela turn left.
"What's she doing?" I asked Lara. Madeline Island had been directly in front of us. I could see the south shoreline of Lake Superior and then, several miles past it, the island.
"An instrument approach," Lara said. "Straight in to runway oh-four."
"No way," I said. I keyed the mic. "Michaela, you are third to land."
"So go land," Michaela said. "And you're on CTAF. Niner-Foxtrot."
Oh hell. I thought I was talking over our private channel, but I'd just chastised her on a public frequency.
"Oops," I said just over the plane's intercom.
Lara shrugged. "No big deal."
Ahead of us, Portia had turned to follow Michaela, but then she turned back towards Bayfield. We followed her. I didn't like it. We were separating. Anything could happen. I tensed, but Lara reached over and patted my arm. "She flies all the time. She's fine."
"Is there a problem?" Zoe asked.
"My sister is protective of my wife," Lara said, "and prefers she would fly directly to the airport and fly big circles until the other two aircraft have landed. Instead, she's going to approach from a different direction."
I sighed. I hadn't realized I was this strung out. I wished I knew what Zoe knew.
* * * *
Zoe hugged Lara. "That was great!"
"I'm glad you enjoyed it," Lara said. "You're with me for a few minutes. Elisabeth has duties and won't respond well to distractions."
I decided Lara had that under control, so I paid attention to everything else.
Portia and Karen already had our hangar secured before Lara landed our aircraft, although we'd flown two circles in the pattern before Portia cleared us to land. As soon as I had climbed out of the airplane, Karen took off to check the nearby buildings. Portia set up a guard position, so I moved over to stand next to her. Together, we watched the airport.
All was quiet, which is what we expected.
"I'm sorry, Head Enforcer," Portia said quietly. "I complicated things."
"It's fine," I replied. "But watch the titles."
She glanced at Zoe, talking animatedly with Lara. "We don't have enough on the ground to properly secure the airport."
"You and Karen are more than enough," I told her. "We're very pleased to have you with us, Portia."
"Thank you." She paused. "Thank you for accepting me into the pack."
"You're welcome."
"Now, where the hell is the fox?"
"I wish I knew, but Lara doesn't seem concerned." I shrugged, pretending to be more cavalier than I felt. "Serena is with her."
"And Angel and Scarlett," Portia added. "Head Enforcer, permission to speak bluntly?"
I sighed. "Go ahead."
She glanced over at Zoe again. "You seem awfully attached to the nosy human. Is that going to be a problem later?"
"Lara will be making the final decisions," I said. I paused. "Otherwise, yeah. It would be a problem."
"And what happens to our relationship if Lara orders Karen and me to take care of it?"
"I'll probably be a right bitch for a few weeks, and eventually Michaela will let me have it. I'll apologize to everyone before finding a meaningful way to atone."
"Still speaking bluntly, but if she is a threat to the pack, because your judgment may be clouded, I expect you to include Karen and me in the conversations. And I will not remain quiet."
I glanced at her. She wasn't looking at me but was instead, doing her job, watching for danger.
I bristled a little. She was challenging my authority, and I had to push down the urge to put her in her place. She was probably expecting it, too. But she was right. So I told her that.
"I have one more thing to say." She paused, and then she glanced at me. "I am not challenging your authority."
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"Portia, I will always want you to voice your opinion. You wouldn't be on this team if we didn't have faith in you. I'm sure you have noticed who gets pulled into these conversations."
Portia hadn't been with us long, but she was exceedingly good, and she had perspective most of the rest of us did not. Increasingly so, pack decisions were being made by Lara, Michaela, Serena, Karen, Portia and me far more than any other combination. It was such a change from just a few years ago, where the female voices were in the minority, even after Lara had become pack alpha.
"I want to be clear," she said. "I do not want your position. I don't want Serena's, either. The fox won't respond to me the way she does to Serena, and we'd fight until she kicked me off her detail."
"She doesn't have that authority."
"Oh please," Portia said. "You know she'll get her way. How many times will she have to ditch us before you decide to give her what she wants if she'll just agree to behave?"
I sighed. "Twice."
"Once, because she won't just ditch us. She'll disappear for the better part of a week, and no one will know where she is."
I sighed. She was right again. Portia and I continued to watch for trouble.
A minute later, Karen came back into view, offering the "all clear" signal. Portia lifted a handheld radio to her mouth. "Michaela, you're cleared to land. Winds are from the northwest, almost directly abeam the runway. We used two-two, but oh-four is fine."
"Roger," Michaela said after a brief pause. "We'll be straight in. Please advise if there's any other traffic."
"It's clear now and no activity."
"Roger," Michaela said. "You'll be able to see us in about five minutes. Tell Elisabeth to relax."
Portia chuckled.
* * * *
We jammed into the two SUVs we kept at the Madeline Island airport and made the short drive to the ferry landing. We would have to wait ten minutes for the ferry to arrive, and Zoe leaned to speak into my ear. "May I take photos?"
"Just watch where you point the camera," I told her.
So she and I climbed from the car. I took her camera bags for her, and she pulled one of the cameras out. She eyed everything, then began taking photos of... almost everything.