Conflict Entered

Several miles to the West, Jake and his friends have settled into the boring routine of level flight. Jake and Corky are in the cockpit. Sarah and Louie are relaxing in the passenger cabin. They are all relaxing, enjoying the strains of Corky’s harmonica. It’s a sprightly tune and everyone enjoys the mood. Unseen by Jake, a small, dark airplane with a yellow brown nose and fierce eyes painted on the fuselage rises out of the clouds and opens fire on Goose from the blind spot below and behind. Sarah screamed. Jake pulled up abruptly and the brownish-grey aircraft with Bird face showing streaked by.

“Jake! That’s no … what did you call it … Jun – Jun – Jun …”

“Junkers.” Jake replied as he dove back into the clouds, hoping to lose the attacker. Once in the clouds, Jakes chopped back on the throttles.

Sarah found her voice. “Jake, that was a fighter.”

“Tell me about it! There must have been two of planes.” Jake brought the Goose into a nose-high attitude and held his airspeed just above a stall.

“The old man, mon ami. He said there were two devil birds, the mother and its baby.”

Jake nodded his head. “Sure, the armed transport for supplies and bombing runs and the fighter for close support and strafing. Be still for a minute.”  He opened his window, straining to hear any sounds outside the hull. Sarah started to speak, but Louie silenced her even before Jake could respond. Jake added just a tiny bit of throttle, forcing the Goose to crawl upwards, just above the clouds. The tail vertical stabilizer looked like a shark fin cutting through the wisps of clouds. There’s no sign of the aggressor.

Hoping he’s clear, Jake pulled above the clouds into clear air. A sharp rattle and a sudden stitching of holes in the wing let him know that he’s still in trouble. He dropped back into the clouds and turned to the right only to see tracers lighting the mists beside him.

Jake dove even deeper into the clouds, hating being blind, but needing time to think. He looked over at Corky. Corky’s face is white.

“I’m pretty sure it’s a Bf-109, Corky.”  

“How could a Bf-109 get clear out here, Jake?” Sarah struggled to keep disbelief out of her voice.

“It could have been delivered by freighter.” Louie is beginning to come to terms with the surprise.

Jake nodded. “Yeah, by freighter or by submarine. The Japanese have subs with hangers at the base of the conning tower. They could have brought one in with the wings in storage.”

Jake considered his options aloud. “He’s got more speed and maneuverability. We’ve got just enough gas to return to Boragora. I can’t hide from him the entire time, and I don’t have enough fuel to keep hiding in the clouds. I’m sorry, Corky.”

“You gotta do what you gotta do, Jake.” Corky sounded reluctant. Jack whined agreement from where he was huddled in the aft cargo hold.

Sarah and Louie look puzzled. “What does he mean, Jake?”

Jake’s face took a different look. Of the three people in the plane with him, only Corky had ever seen it before. Corky looked at his harmonica and started to play “Battle Hymn of the Republic.”

Jake looked to drop below the clouds, hoping his assailant is still looking for him to surface above the clouds. “Strap in everyone, this is going to be rough.”

He reached over and flipped up the red cover and armed the electronic firing mechanisms.

He pulled all the way back on the throttles and the Goose sank like a stone. He applied left rudder and right aileron placing the Goose into a steep slip. He still hoped to evade the Bf109. The takka-takka-takka report from astern confirmed his fears. Jake steepened the slip hoping to draw the Messerschmitt after him. The Goose plunged for the water, building airspeed. Jake blessed the makers for the inherent strength in the airframe as he exceeded the recommended speed for a dive. Now they’d really test their repairs.

“Jake, mon ami, I know the Goose floats, but I do not believe it will fly under water.”

Jake didn’t bother to answer. At the last second he pulled out of the dive, bare inches above the water. The 109 pilot was too good and managed not to pancake into the water but his prop spray was a clear indication of how close he came. With his higher airspeed he overshot the Goose. Jake pulled a sharp Immelman turn to run the opposite direction, using the time to gain just a little airspeed. He shoved the throttles all the way forward and the engines responded with a roar unlike any response the friends had heard before. He advanced the throttles past their stops and coaxed the salvaged bomber engines to full military power. Jake let the Goose gradually gain altitude. He hunched his shoulders, not liking the fact he was blind to the rear. He had no idea what the other pilot was doing. A gasp from Sarah back in the main cabin caused him to look to the starboard side. Flying along side the Goose is the 109. The pilot is looking in amazement that so ungainly an aircraft would dare to defy him. As they watch, he increased his airspeed and the Daimler-Benz DB-601A engine pulled the Messerschmitt ahead of the Goose. Jake backed off the throttles to give himself time to see what the other was going to do. That and try to conserve enough fuel to get home.

“Jake, do you think he’s going to give up?”

“No, he’s not going to give up. He’s got to eliminate us to protect his mission. And we can’t let him continue.”

“Jake, mon ami. As much as I abhor running, would it not be better to climb back into the clouds and lose him on the way to Boragora?”

 “It won’t work, Louie. He knows where we’re going. All he has to do is patrol clear air between here and there and pick us off at his leisure.”

“We could land and wait him out on the surface until he is low on fuel.”

“You forget, Louie, if we’re on the ground, he can still destroy the Goose and leave us stranded, if not shark bait. We can’t count on their not getting the Iron Annie back in the air. Besides, if we let him go, what will happen to the Reverend?”

“Jake, my friend. As much as I admire your flying skills, against an armed fighter, your Goose is a sitting duck.”

Jake replied with more confidence than he felt. “The Goose has a few surprises, Louie. You’ll have to trust me.”

Sarah looked disgusted. “There’s no island here to fake a crash So, are you going to point your finger out the window and go BANG-BANG?”

Jack barked twice.

Sarah looked back at Jack. “Jake, doesn’t two barks mean yes?”

Jack barked twice.

“Jack, you’re agreeing with me, right?”

Jack barked once.

“Jake, is Jack saying you can shoot him down?”

“This is not possible, mon ami.”

Jake looked back at Jack. All this talk is making him very nervous. He needed to focus on the coming combat. “I don’t think I have any choice, do I, pal?”

One sharp bark.

“Right. Thanks. Folks, let me concentrate on flying. You concentrate on praying. Try to find that plane.”

“No need, Jake. Look straight ahead.”

Corky’s finger almost poked the windscreen pointing at the growing speck directly in front of the Goose. The oncoming plane held its fire, and Jake thought of the old battle cry ‘don’t fire until you see the whites of their eyes’. Jake jockeyed the nose up and down, as if trying to figure which way to run. He pulled the throttles still further back, hanging above a stall, to gain another few seconds of time. He thought back to the sight of the twin tracers of their night firing tests. The oncoming fighter fired a burst that just missed to port. Jake resisted the temptation to turn. Why give him a better target. He continued to bore in. The oncoming pilot fired another burst that again just missed to port. Jake held his breath. He never liked playing chicken, but it is his only chance.

Believing that the pilot will try to scare him this pass, Jake waits. When the Messerschmitt is about 500 yards out, Jake slammed the throttles clear forward again. He pressed the button on the yoke. The sound of explosions filled the cabin. From the back Jake heard Sarah scream and Louie’s startled “Mon Dieu!”

He wanted to look, but couldn’t. Instead, he watched the tracers climb up to intersect the nose of the fighter. The startled pilot started to turn and Jake matched the maneuver, keeping the tracers pouring into the fighter. It started to smoke and one wing crumpled as the once beautiful bird tumbled down to the water.

Jake circled over the site of the crash. If the pilot surfaced, he planned to land and bring him aboard alive. There were so many questions to be answered. But there is no sign of life.

Louie finally spoke. “I cannot believe we are still alive.”

Jake held up his right fist, index finger extended, thumb sticking straight out. He blew imaginary gunsmoke off his finger tip. Then his face grew solemn.

“I didn’t want to do that.”

He pulled the Goose out of the turn and pointed it back toward Boragora. Louie gave Jake a long silent look and sat back down, fastening his seat belt without a word. Sarah started to speak, and seeing the expression on his face straightened back up with a worried frown on her face.

Relief

The uneasy silence was broken when the new radio in the Goose received its first message.

“Vurst Mate to Normandie, Over. Normandie, this is Vurst Mate. Do you read, over.”

Corky looked at Jake. “He sounds frantic.” The voice continued its calls.

Jake looked interested. “You better answer him.”

Corky picked up the mike. “Uh … Vusr…er…First Mate, this is Normandie. Go ahead.”

“Gott. Danke. Du bist still alive. Listen. Der is no time. You must hide. Land anywhere und hide. Perhaps he will return here und I can stop him.”

Jake took the microphone. “First Mate. This is the Captain, Normandie. What are you talking about?”

“Jake. You are a wonderful pilot, but he is armed and insane. He is a killer.”

“First Mate. Reverend. I say again. What are you talking about.”

“We missed the fiend. He was hiding in a cave. He is coming for du.”

“Who is coming for me?”

“ACH! Rolf. Der SS schvine that ran this airfield. He has a plane, a fighter. He is coming to destroy you. I tried to stop him. Land und hide.”

Jake started to reply when he felt a gentle touch on his sleeve. It was Louie. He was shaking his head side to side. Jake instantly understood.

“Reverend, it’s OK. We are OK. He found us.”

“Und du bist alive? Truly it was a miracle.”

“I’d agree, Reverend. He was too confident. He crashed into the ocean.”

“Vat? How?”

Jake shook his head. “He tried to force me down. He overshot and crashed into the water.” It was almost the truth.

“Und you are all right? Dat lovely Sarah is unharmed. Der Magistrate is still lucky?”

Jake laughed. “Yes to all of the above, Reverend.”

“Gott is gud. I vill say many prayers of thankfulness tonight.”

“That would be good, Reverend. But we should not spend too much time talking.”

“Ja, Jake. Now that I know you are vell, I can relax. Ve came down the mountain very quickly.” The voice sounded relieved. “Und, Jake …”

“Yes, Reverend?”

“Now would be a good time to consider the Examin.”

“Affirmative, Reverend. Over and Out.”

Jake replaced the microphone and returned to his flying. Silence permeated the cabin like a syrup.

Eins. He definitely felt the presence of God.

Zwei. Thank God his friends were still alive and the new shadow standing in his past was one he didn’t worry about.

Drei. Ouch. He wasn’t sure he wanted God to send His Holy Spirit to look at his actions, attitudes and motives. Jake reached up to adjust a throttle. I think the Reverend has too much faith in me, he thought.

Win and Lose

The late afternoon sun saw the familiar sight of the twin-engined seaplane setting down gracefully on the surface of the lagoon. Once again it taxied up to the dock. Corky and Jack followed the familiar routine of climbing out the nose and tying the Goose down to a bollard on the dock. He looked at the blackened edges of the wings and makes a note that he needs to cover that very soon.

Climbing out of the rear hatch onto the familiar surface of the dock, Jake jubilantly smiled around his cigar. He assisted Sarah from the hatch and offered a hand to Louie. Louie waved it away and stepped on the dock unassisted.

Jake studied him for a minute.  “You should have seen the look on your face.” He grinned like a boy who has played a huge practical joke on a friend.

“I was surprised.” Louie did not appear amused.

“I told you the Goose still had a few surprises.”

“Indeed, and so do I.” Louie looked at Jake. He took a deep breath and faced Jake with a face that was both sad and official. “I’m afraid I must commandeer the Goose, Jake. I can’t have an unauthorized armed gunship sitting at my dock.”

Jake looked disbelieving. “Louie, you can’t just take the Goose. That’s a bad joke, buddy.”

“Oh but I can, mon ami. She’s an unauthorized armed vessel in my territory. I cannot allow that.”

“But we did it for protection only. And it worked. Those guns saved yours, and Sarah’s lives, as well as mine and Corky’s.”

Jack’s low growl caused Jake to look down. “and Jack’s.” Two sharp barks.

“Oui, but I’ve seen you avoid trouble before, without guns. I think we were in greater danger, not less, because of them.”

“Jake, I told you he wasn’t going to be happy.” Corky’s mournful expression made him look even more like an unhappy bulldog.

“And I’m not.” Louie started walking toward the bar.

Jake held both hands out in appeal as he hurried to catch up. “But no one needs to know.”

“They will know. You did this months ago. And you should have told me.”

“I didn’t think I should tell anyone. I wanted to treat them as if they didn’t exist.”

“Indeed. And I salute your discretion; you have done a marvelous job of not revealing their presence. You still could have trusted me, mon ami.”

The appellation hurt. It touched the core of Jake’s guilty feelings about the whole event. At the same time, Josh had not wanted him to tell anyone, and the caution seemed to make sense. He walked a short distance without speaking. The others followed silently. Only Jack hurried on up the beach and under the doors of the bar. Jake looked over at Louie.

 “You wouldn’t know yet if we hadn’t been in so much trouble.”

“Oui. And I am very glad that you had both the guns and the ability to use them. I agree that we would have otherwise lost our lives. It still does not justify the existence of a disguised warship in my territory without my authorization. You have abused my friendship.”

Jake looked contrite. “I didn’t mean it that way. Things have been getting tense, and I had an opportunity. If you didn’t know, you didn’t have to defend or justify it.”

Sarah walked up to Louie’s other side and took his arm. “Louie, you can’t be serious. You can’t take Jake’s plane. What will he do?”

“I can, and I must.”

“I’m an American citizen. You can’t take my property.”

 “If you own the ship, show me the papers.”

“Louie, you know she was a wreck. I couldn’t get papers for her. I paid cash.”

“Exactamente, mon ami! Oui, I know you and Corky rebuilt her from a wreck, and of course salvage law should apply. As long as she was a mere cargo plane, I was perfectly willing to allow her to exist without proper papers. But turning her into an armed warship?” Louie paused and waggled an immaculately manicured index finger before Jake’s eyes. “That is a very different matter.” He stood straighter, reinforcing the official air. “You have a choice. You can allow me to claim the ship, or I must impound and ground the Goose.”

“Louie, what if I just took the guns out.”

“My friend, given a choice, I would not have wanted those guns on my island. Now, even if you dropped them in the deepest trench in the ocean, they still remain a legacy of the problems we know are coming. Now they are here, they are my responsibility. If you took them out, what would replace them?” Louie shook his head. “I agree that the need you felt was real. And my need to act is real. This acknowledges your need and my responsibility.”

“That’s not right, Louie.”

“Perhaps, on the other hand, a French official with a patrol craft, has the option of choosing whom he wishes as pilot, on the surface, and in the air. Then, you are under my protection. And as you said, it gives us a certain edge. We shall keep the secret of the Goose. Only we four will know the Tiger has teeth.”

“You’ll pay me to fly my own ship.”

“Not exactly, but your bill here at the bar is considerable. I believe we can make an arrangement that will be profitable to all.”

Jake thinks he sees a loophole. “And how to you plan to explain to your superiors that you now have an armed patrol ship without authorization?”

Louie laughed. “As with the ownership papers of your Goose, the papers regarding this requisition may never find their way to the right hands. And you will not be arrested as being suspected of piracy.”

Corky looked distressed. “Hey, Jake. I don’t want to be no pirate. Especially in the French territories. You know what they do to pirates here.”

The four passed from the bright sun into the shadows of the bar interior.

Louie placed his left hand gently on Jake’s right shoulder as he guided him to a quiet corner of the bar. “Jake, Jake, I do not like this any more than you. I believe you should have trusted me, but I also believe you had good reasons for not doing so. This is the best solution for a bad situation. It is the only way, mon ami.”

Sarah spoke softly. “He’s right, Jake. And you can still fly.”

Sarah had put her finger on the crux of Jake’s fears. Much as he dreaded the shadows of his life, there was one thing he feared far worse. Jake thrust his hands deep in his jacket pockets. “I suppose you’re right.”

 “Bien. It would be wise for you to start trusting me now.”

Gushie had wheeled up a tray with five long stemmed glasses, filled with Louie’s finest vintage. Louie lifted one and motioned for the others to each take one. “My dear friends, may I propose a toast? To the Tiger’s Teeth. May they never be bared again.”

Current Mood: content