Chapter Twenty-seven
Hunter and Jim climbed onboard the jet. Hector stood a distance from the nose while John and Charlie positioned themselves on either side of the runway at the wingtips.
“You want to do this?” Hunter asked Jim. “Since you’ve obviously done it before?”
Jim stared at him for a moment and exhaled.
“It’s fine by me,” Hunter said.
Jim finally nodded. “Okay. I can do that.” He sat in the captain’s seat and Hunter slid into the other.
The women stopped their rummaging at the sound of the jet engines firing up and turned to watch.
“What are they doing?” Betty asked.
“I don’t know,” Samantha said. “I guess they’re checking it out.”
Diane took a few steps forward and looked more closely. “Jim’s in the pilot seat,” she said.
“He is?” Betty asked. She and Samantha stood watching as the jet slowly began to move backward. Hector used hand signals while Charlie and John stood at the wingtips keeping an eye on each engine, while listening and watching for any possible abnormality.
Hector finally crossed his arms over his head. The plane came to a stop, its rear wheels at the edge of the packed airstrip. They kept the engines running but chocked the wheels. Jim and Hunter strolled over to the women, looking hopeful.
“We were wondering what you were doing.” Diane smiled at her husband. “Nice job, honey.”
He took her hand and gave her a quick kiss. “Thanks.”
“So now what?” Samantha asked.
“We need more wind,” Hunter said. “A good stiff headwind.” He looked at the sky and the clouds moving in.
“If that storm is coming this way, it may give us what we need,” Jim said. “As long as it’s blowing in the right direction. We won’t be able to make this work if all we get are crosswinds.”
“Yeah,” Hunter said. “And as long as it isn’t just bursts of wind. That could be dangerous.” He looked at his companions. “We might as well wait on the plane. We’ll be more comfortable, warmer, and ready at a moment’s notice.”
Jim looked at his wife. “So what were you all up to?”
She smiled. “We were scavenging. Looking around the debris for anything that we thought might be useful.”
“And?”
“Nothing, really. The explosion obliterated pretty much everything, other than big stuff. If there is anything worth retrieving, it’s either all buried under the rubble or shredded.” She picked up a torn piece of fabric then tossed it down. “A curtain of some kind, I guess.”
Hand in hand, they wandered toward the jet. “So honey,” she said. “How did it feel?”
“How did what feel?”
“You know what I’m talking about. Being at the controls.”
“It was just a simple powerback, that’s all,” he said then grinned and gave her hand a squeeze. “It felt good.”
It had been thirty minutes since they performed the powerback. With the engines still alive, the men went through the preflight inspections of the jet both inside and out. Charlie removed the wheel chocks and stowed them while Hunter and Jim went through the cockpit checklist a second time making sure they were familiar and comfortable with the sophisticated systems.
The storm was moving in and the wind had picked up considerably buffeting the aircraft. Betty looked at her best friend seated across from her. “Sam? Those other guys were going to blow up the plane, weren’t they? With us on it.”
Samantha didn’t know how to respond.
“John?” Betty asked, leaning forward and tapping him on the shoulder. “Weren’t they?”
“Oh, I don’t know, honey” he said.
“But they poured gasoline or something all around it.”
“I wouldn’t worry about that.”
“But can we still catch on fire?”
“No. We’re fine. Just relax. That’s all evaporated by now.” He half-turned around to look at her. “You’re in good hands. You have five skilled pilots onboard. It’s all going to be fine.”
She nodded and leaned back in her seat staring out the window at the wind-whipped trees. “It sure is getting windy.”
“That’s good,” John said. “That’s exactly what we need. Lots of wind.” He watched out his window as well.
Hector made his way to the cockpit. “How much longer do you think?”
“Not sure,” Hunter said. It’s windy, but gusting. We need sustainable wind coming right at us to make this work.”
Hector stared out at the runway. “How about if I go out and check the wind direction? I’ll give it the grass test.” He smiled.
“Yeah, I’m surprised there isn’t a wind sock out here somewhere,” Hunter said.
Hector agreed but said, “Ham didn’t want to draw attention to the strip.”
Hunter looked at him and laughed. “It’s not like it’s a big secret,” he said. “Airstrips are pretty recognizable from the air.”
“I know, but without the wind sock, and all the trees, he hoped most pilots would pass on by. Plus it’s pretty obvious that it’s a private airstrip.” He watched the clouds building and blowing in. “I’ll be right back,” he said. He opened the cabin door and set the stairs.
“Where are you going?” John asked.
“Checking the wind direction.”
“You need help?”
“No. Stay inside. I won’t be long.” Hector hurried out and stood in front of the plane for a moment then walked to one edge of the strip and yanked up some grass. Tossing it up, he watched it blow around and scatter.
He looked toward the cabin remains and scoured the debris, then grabbed a piece of cloth and hurried back. He tied it to a tree bough and stood back watching. Moments later ran back to the plane.
“That was clever,” Hunter said once Hector was back onboard.
“Not perfect, because it’s too low, but it’s better than nothing,” he said.
Hunter and Jim watched the cloth intently, waiting for an indication the wind was beginning to blow more steadily. Finally, they looked at each other and nodded.
“It’s now or never,” Jim said as rain drops began to fall on the windshield.
“Now or never,” Hunter repeated. He gripped the throttle and stared straight ahead.
“You ever flown one this size before?” Jim asked.
“Twice,” Hunter said. “I toyed with the idea of getting one a couple of years ago but decided I like what I have. She gets me where I need to go.” He looked at Jim and suddenly asked, “You want the Captain’s chair?”
“No thanks. Powerbacks are one thing, but it’s been too many years since I’ve sat in that seat. I’m fine right here. I trust your skills.”
Jim called back to everyone. “Belt up! We’re taking off!
The women sat up straighter and tightened their seatbelts, exchanging nervous glances. Samantha and Betty reached out for each other and held hands. Everyone else sat quietly.
Hunter stared down the airstrip that was now getting damp again from the approaching storm. “I sure hope we can get her up,” he said, “or this is going to be one short ride.”
“You’ll do fine,” Jim said. “It’s going to work.”
Hunter took in a deep breath and let it out slowly then he and Jim maintained firm pressure on the toe brakes. Hunter pushed the throttles forward feeling the harnessed power escalate. He fixed his gaze on their departure path. “Ready?” he asked.
“Ready.”
With both engines screaming, he and Jim released the brakes. Hunter pulled back on the yoke. The jet jumped into action beginning its race down the airstrip picking up speed as rain pelted the windshield. He and Jim held their breath as the powerful jet quickly approached the furthest end of the runway and the tree line.
“Come on, baby,” Hunter said pulling back on the yoke even more. The trees loomed ahead as the nose o
f the jet rose. The back wheels were off the ground seconds later. Jim raised the landing gear immediately to reduce drag as Hunter pushed the jet into a powerful climb, its underbelly barely nicking wind-whipped tree tops in the process.