Operations Grounded

"Attention passengers: Aeromass flight 12 to Boston has been delayed indefinitely due to weather." Roy Biggens switched off his microphone and straightened up.

"Roy, there's nobody in the terminal to make the announcement to if you haven't looked" Helen chastised from behind the lunch counter.

"That, Helen, is the sound of a professional airline."

"That, Roy, is the sound of someone who likes listening to his own voice" quipped Joe Hackett as he stepped out of the office of Sandpiper Air.

Roy switched on his microphone again. "I do not" he said before switching it off again.

By this time Joe had made his way over to the large glass double doors that led out to the tarmac, only to have his brother Brian walk in from the outside.

"How does it look out there Brian?" Joe asked.

"It looked a lot better with me out there, that's for sure. Oh, you mean the weather! I thought it was lifting for a moment, but the next moment it came in even heavier. I think we're going to be grounded for a while Joey. Only a fool would try driving to the airport right now."

"…thanks for driving me to the airport today" Faye Cochran was saying over her shoulder as she walked into the waiting room at that moment. "I'm just a bundle of nerves driving in fog this thick."

"It's bad, that's for sure" said Antonio Scarpacci as he followed Faye into the building. "But it's still a lot better than driving Carlton Blanchard somewhere."

"Carlton Blanchard?" Helen asked.

"Carlton? Where? Let me hide…" Antonio said as he looked around wildly.

"You mentioned him. He's probably home asleep right now" Helen assured him.

"You're not just saying that to set me up?" Antonio didn't want to take any chances.

"Even my cousin Beevo wouldn't drive in this" Lowell Mather said as he came in from the hanger.

"Your cousin must have gotten the smarts in the family," Roy said "to stay home on a day like this."

"Oh no, that's not it" Lowell explained. "He can't. He crashed his car when he skidded into a hydroplane."

"You mean he hydroplaned and skidded into a crash" corrected Joe.

"No, he skidded and crashed into a hydroplane. Took out the boat and the trailer it was sitting on."

...

An hour later the group was sitting in the waiting area. Everything that could be cleaned was cleaned, the phones were silent, and no one had braved the weather knowing that nothing was moving in or out for a while.

"I'm bored" said Roy. "It's only 8:30 and I don't eat my first lunch until 10."

"I've vacuumed my cab out twice waiting here" Antonio added. "If I do it again I'll probably wear out the upholstery."

"I know what we can do. There was a thing we did in NASA to kill time and sharpen our minds."

"That explains why you dropped out" guessed Joe.

"Ha ha. Its called a story with a hole, and its like a mystery you have to solve."

"Anything but that" groaned Roy.

"I could bring out my new song book and we could sing show tunes!" suggested Faye enthusiastically.

"Let's hear your thing Hackett" Roy decided quickly.

"Okay," Brian explained "here's what we'll do. I'll give you a situation and you have to figure out what happened. You ask me questions and I'll answer 'yes' or 'no'. If the question can't be answered yes or no, then I'll ask you to rephrase it. If I answer 'yes' you get to ask another question. If I answer 'no' or 'it doesn't matter' then it goes to the next person. Here's the pitch: A man is writing a letter, the power goes out and the man dies. Are you playing Lowell?"

"Yes. No. Wait, I thought we were supposed to ask the questions."

"I just wanted to know if you were playing the game or not. You look busy." Lowell had been coming in and out of the waiting area while working. He currently had a carburetor in his greasy hands that he was tinkering with.

"No, you guys play. I'll listen when I can; I need to go get a smaller screwdriver."

"Okay Antonio, you go first" Brian said as he started the game off.

"Was it a letter to his family back in Italy asking why no one remembered his birthday?" "No. Faye?"

"Was he writing a letter to the power company? My second husband almost died that way." "No. Helen?"

"Would he have died if he hadn't been writing the letter?" "No. Joe?"

"Did he have a brother that played stupid games when he got bored?" "It doesn't matter. Roy?"

"I don't know. Was he writing a letter as part of his work?" "Yes." "Now we're getting somewhere" Roy said smugly. "Did he work for the government?" "No. Antonio, we come back around to you."

"Did he work for a business?" "Yes." "Did he own the business?" "Yes." "Did he own a power company?" "No. Faye?"

"Did the letter kill him?" "No. Helen?"

"Did he eat Helen's cooking?" Roy interjected.

"If that's a serious question you'll have to wait your turn Roy. Helen?"

"Would anybody object if I killed Roy? That's not my question!" she said as she waved her hands. "Okay, was he at home when he died?" "No. Joe?"

"Did he die because it got dark when the power went out?" "No. Roy?"

"Did the power go out because of an accident?" "No. Antonio?"

"Was the letter to someone he knew?" "No. Faye?"

"Was it daytime?" "Yes." "Did the power go out because of a mechanical breakdown?" "Yes." "Did anyone else die?" "No. Helen?"

While the others were asking questions Antonio looked outside at the fog. It was still really thick; a plane could be flying above the airport and you could hear it but not see it even if you looked up.

He started to grin with an idea; it could be, it might be, it had to be. He got excited waiting for his turn again. Meanwhile it was Helen's turn.

"Was he in a building?" "No. Joe?"

"Was he in the open?" "No. Roy?"

Don't get it Roy, Antonio thought to himself. Ask something stupid.

"Was he in a vehicle?" "Yes."

No! He almost had it. Come on Roy, get sidetracked.

"Was he writing out a lunch order?" "No. Antonio?"

This was it. "Was he in a plane?" "Yes." "Was he skywriting?"

Brian said nothing for a moment, then burst out with a "YES! Antonio wins, and your prize sir is absolutely nothing! Congratulations." Brian got up and patted him on the back, while the others got up and mumbled about finding something else to do.

Lowell said "Don't look at me, I didn't work on that plane" and wandered off back to the hanger.

Antonio was left sitting along. But he had his small victory for the day, and for that he was grateful. That and the fact Carlton Blanchard wasn't around. That man asked TOO many questions.

"Hey Antonio," called Helen from behind her counter "come over here and I'll give you a free donut for getting the mystery right."

Small victories were great, but achievement AND a donut was even better.

The End

A/N: Wings is a show that I liked when it was broadcast, and I managed to watch most of the episodes. Thanks to reruns and DVDs I've gotten to see them all now. Although I really like Antonio's character, I still think the Joe/Helen relationship arc was the best part of the show, with Joe's heartfelt proposal to Helen the pinnacle.