A Little Becky Will Do
By Douglas Helm and "Tuxedo" Will Wolfshohl
Those characters that are original and the story "A Little Becky Will Do" are copyrighted ©2009-2010 by Will Wolfshohl and Douglas Helm.
This story and our other Sailor Moon stories reside at our Shoujo Fiction dot com website.
Chapter 2 "Loading Up"
By the following morning, the rain had stopped. The kitchen at Higher for Hire was silent save for the sounds of two people eating breakfast. Baloo yawned and drank some of his coffee. Setting his mug down, he balled his paw into a fist and leaned his cheek against it while closing his eyes.
"What are you up, Papa Bear?" his companion finally asked.
"Thought maybe I'd get my engines revved up before the boss lady and the 'Yellow Flash' show up." The big bear opened his eyes when his young navigator snickered. "Maybe Beckers'll see sense for once."
"Ms. Cunningham's all right, Baloo," Kit protested. When his large friend grunted, he remarked, "I don't see why you and her fight over Molly anyway. You don't fight over me... much."
Baloo straightened, drained the remainder from his coffee cup, and poured himself a refill. "Well, Little Britches, I tell ya how it is. See there's a lot of difference between six and twelve and I ain't just talking about the inches neither." He grabbed a slice of toast, took a bite, and continued, "I know you're a responsible kinda guy. More responsible than me most of the time. You've been looking after yourself most ways since you were little. Me and Beckers get ta arguing sometimes over the fact that she thinks you still need babying but I don't." He sipped more coffee and took another slice of toast. "The few times you've done dumb things... Well... Me and Becky agree." He shrugged then. "'Sides, she relies on you to keep me on course and flying level. For life, well I'll correct your course now and then but I ain't your autopilot."
Kit pondered what the older bear had said. 'I suppose Baloo's right in a lot of ways,' Kit realized as he ate some cereal, 'Ms. Cunningham does try to mother me. It's nice sometimes but...' He really didn't have a frame of reference though; he'd never had a mother. The closest he'd ever come before Baloo and Rebecca to parents had been some of the older air hobos. They'd looked after him when he was little (like Molly) but once he'd gotten older, they allowed him plenty of freedom. Like those hobos, Baloo allowed him to make his own mistakes and helped keep the bigger ones from becoming fatal. 'Becky wants to keep me wrapped up in packing, just like she does Molly.' Shaking his head, he asked, "So what about Molly, Baloo?"
The big bear sipped some more coffee and then replied, "I look at how Becky handles the scrapes that Molly gets into and then I think about how my momma would've reacted. A parent's got to help their kid plot a flight path through life, give 'em the skills so that they know how to get out of trouble."
"And Rebecca isn't doing that?" the preteen bear assumed.
"Aww, she does all right most of the time, Kit. But like yesterday, instead of putting her foot down, she gave in. That'll lead to some crashes later on and I don't think Molly will be able to walk away if that happens."
Kit was strongly reminded of that one weekend. Baloo and Rebecca had gone to Winger City on an overnight business trip leaving him to babysit Molly. At the time, he was proud they had trusted him with the job even if it was just babysitting and Wildcat would still have to check on them.
Nevertheless, when a man from his past had suddenly showed up at Becky's apartment door, Kit had panicked and ran away, not knowing that Molly had tagged along. The bear cub had only discovered his young charge when he'd opened his trunk. 'Molly sure had a near miss then.' Molly had bullied him into returning to Cape Suzette and on their way back, they'd been caught by a bunch of bandits. Somehow, they'd arrived back at the apartment just ahead of Rebecca and Baloo. 'It's a good thing we got Wildcat not to tattle on us...' Kit shivered. His boss would never let Molly out of her sight again if she'd ever learned what happened. He glanced up at Baloo and thought, 'I wouldn't want Baloo to find out about that either. He'd be madder than anything.'
"You okay, kid?"
"What?" Kit asked, startled slightly.
"You had this worried look."
Kit shook his head. "I'm fine, Papa Bear." Pushing his bowl away, he folded his arms on the table and asked, "So, if you were Molly's dad, what would you have done yesterday?"
Baloo considered and then standing offered, "Well, kid, let's put it this way. Pigtails would've been sent home with her own personal nightlight." With that, he put his dishes in the sink and then went out the back door. It took a few moments after that for the brown bear cub to decipher Baloo's meaning. When he did, the youngster was a little surprised. Baloo didn't seem the sort.
- - - - -
Rebecca Cunningham arrived at her business shortly after eight that morning. She swept into the office with a smile and a cheery, "Good morning!"
She was a little startled when Baloo answered with, "Good morning, Rebecca. You seem awful chipper today." The big bear glanced about and then cocked an ear. "Where's Pigtails?"
"Molly's at a 'sleepover' with one of her friends," Becky replied while walking to the desk, "Jillian said she'd sit Molly for me today until five if I agreed to sit Crystal next Tuesday."
Kit who'd been standing beside the kitchen door laughed. "You drank all that coffee for nothing, Papa Bear!"
"What?"
"Baloo got up early and... I think he said tried to 'get his engines revved up' so he could keep up with Molly today," Kit explained while chuckling. His friend's glare didn't faze him in the least.
"Well," Rebecca remarked with only a slightly teasing note to her voice, "Just think of it this way, Baloo. That'll be good practice for you next Tuesday."
"Har de har har," Baloo told Kit but then shrugged, "Thanks for the warning. So what else has you so chipper, Beckers?"
"Shere Kahn called me last night," the brown bearess began, "I just came from his office. He wants us to make a special cargo delivery." Then with a big smile, she continued, "He's even promised us a bonus to get it there on-time." Baloo who'd been leaning back in her chair bolted upright and Kit stopped his snickering.
'Uh oh...' "What's he want us to ship?"
"And where to?" Kit chimed in then wondered out loud, "Ya know, Ms. Cunningham, don't you think it's a little suspicious that he'd choose us when his own planes could do the job?"
"That's why I got the details first, Kit," the bearess declared while digging in her purse. She pulled out some pages and scanned them yet again. "Apparently, it's a prototype engine." She looked up at her crew. "He doesn't think the Air Pirates will know about this since it's been kept pretty hush-hush but he'd rather keep it low key... And besides, Baloo's had more luck fighting off Karnage's goons than most of his pilots."
As Baloo reached out and took the sheets of paper from his boss to peruse, she answered Kit's question. The youngster frowned and went off to pull one of his charts.
Baloo read it and whistled. "Well, I'm glad you didn't bring Molly today, Beckers."
"Why?" the brunette asked him.
"'Cuz me 'n' Wildcat will have to remove the bunk and clear everything else out in the cargo hold. Don't need to have Pigtails underfoot while we're trying to work. We'll also need to back the 'Duck up to the dock so we can lower the cargo ramp. No way this doohickey will fit through the side door."
Rebecca frowned. "The weight doesn't exceed our lift capacity, does it?" Baloo grinned at her and she grinned back. It had taken her a little while to get used to using such technical jargon.
"No, ol' Kahny probably knew it wouldn't before he asked ya... But depending on how they crate it, we'll want to make sure that thing's tied down but good." The gray bear shook his head. "Remember what happened the last time we were carrying something heavy and it rolled?" She did and the results hadn't been pleasant. Just then, Kit came back into the room carrying a map and looking fairly content. "Well Britches?"
"Straight in and out run, Baloo," Kit declared. "No problem. We'll need to fill up at Louie's though."
"Why?" Rebecca asked. Not that she doubted his navigational skills but the preteen had a weakness for Louie's sweets like Baloo did.
"Safety, Ms. Cunningham." The bear cub explained, "We could probably just get from here to Shere Kahn's warehouse on Pearl Fish Island and back on a full tank but if we hit any trouble like headwinds and stuff along the way... I'd rather we have the extra fuel and Louie's Place is in that direction." He glanced at Baloo. "So what do you say, Papa Bear?"
"I'd ask Becky, kid. She's flyin' this run." Both Rebecca and Kit blinked and then regarded each other before glancing back at Baloo.
"Me?" Becky asked.
"Sure, Becky, I promised you some flight time and this delivery seems like a milk-run to me," Baloo commented as he looked at the chart Kit had. "I've been over that way a few times. We shouldn't have any trouble except maybe a good blow and if that happens, I ain't gonna let the Seaduck go, not this heavily loaded."
"So, Ms. Cunningham, should I plot a route via Louie's or a direct run?" the young navigator inquired.
"Louie's Place," Rebecca answered but quickly added, "But we're just stopping long enough to refuel."
"Yes, ma'am." Kit looked unhappy; Baloo only nodded.
"I take it you're coming with us, Baloo?" she assumed.
"Unless you want me minding the store?" Baloo offered.
"No, it's not that... It's if something happens... Well, I'll be the first one to admit I'm still wet behind the ears when it comes to flying."
"Fine, Beckers, I'll go get Wildcat and we'll rig the third seat in the cockpit. In the meantime, here you go, captain." He handed the bearess his pilot's cap.
"And I'll call Jillian and see if she'll keep Molly through supper. That should give us enough time."
"Careful Beckers," the gray bear cautioned, "You might be in for a real sleepover... Actually, that wouldn't be too bad." He pictured the cute six year old bunny-girl. "Crystal's a nice little girl." 'A lot less energetic than Pigtails.'
Kit who was safely out of reach quipped, "You just like her calling you Gran'pa!" Baloo glared after the preteen who dashed up the stairs.
"Just take it as practice for when he has kids," Rebecca offered with a giggle. She giggled again as Baloo went outside grumbling to himself.
- - - - -
Rebecca dried her hands and then checked her watch. "8:30... half an hour to go," she told herself as she left the bathroom on the second floor of Higher for Hire. 'Stop acting like this is your first mission! What are you going to do if you ever need to fly solo?' She tried to picture an instance when that would ever happen and couldn't. She was distracted from her thoughts as she passed the small bedroom that Kit and Baloo shared.
Her navigator was stretched out on his stomach on his hammock frowning down at a map. 'I wonder if he's found a problem?' the mother of one asked herself and softly entered the room. Kit didn't look up from the chart, apparently didn't even realize that she was there. As Rebecca drew closer and could begin to make out some of the names on it, she didn't recognize any of the island names. "Planning your annual treasure hunt with Baloo already, Kit?" His reaction was interesting. He covered the map as if he'd been caught with something obscene.
"N-No," the bear cub said in a squeaky voice, "I wouldn't want to take Baloo there."
'Curious,' she thought but a possibility struck her and she couldn't resist teasing the cub, "Ah I see... you're planning your first date. I don't think Baloo will be happy if you sneak off with the Seaduck though."
"Ms. Cunningham!" Kit whined his face going a brilliant red, "I wouldn't take the Seaduck... Papa Bear would kill me!" She noticed that the young man didn't deny the possibility of a date however.
"Well, I suppose I could fly you out if..." Becky volunteered.
"It's not for a date!" the cub hissed and stuffed the map under his pillow.
Curious now, Becky settled herself onto Baloo's bed and asked, "So, what's so special about it, Kit?" The youngster pushed himself up and shifted uneasily. "Air Pirates base?" she guessed.
"No," Kit answered while shaking his head, "That's south."
"Then what?" the bearess asked in frank curiosity.
The twelve year old shifted again and then sighing explained, "It's where I grew up, Ms. Cunningham." She was thankful she was sitting down; a feather could have knocked her over. "Please don't tell Baloo." He clearly hadn't wanted to tell her.
"Why ever not?"
"Papa Bear... he wouldn't understand."
Rebecca thought that was the stupidest thing she'd ever heard. Nevertheless, the bearess had a lot more tact than Baloo so asked instead of arguing, "What got you thinking of your home?"
Kit shrugged. "Baloo and I were talking this morning about family and stuff, Ms. Cunningham. That got me thinking I hadn't seen the other Air Hobos in awhile." He mentally crossed his fingers at telling that fib. "I had never plotted a route to it before, at least with a real map and stuff, so I thought I'd give it a try while we were waiting for the cargo to show up."
"And what family stuff were you and Baloo talking about?"
"Just stuff," Kit replied simply.
"About Molly?" she guessed. Kit didn't say anything but he didn't have to, his guilty reaction revealed volumes. 'He's kind of like Baloo in some ways,' she considered. Smiling softly at the preteen cub before her, she offered, "That just tells me Baloo cares, Kit. He wouldn't get so annoyed at me if he didn't care about Molly." Getting up, she left the young bear alone looking thoughtful.
- - - - -
Baloo had nearly reached the front entrance of Higher for Hire when Rebecca came out of it. The bearess glanced at her watch and then up the street. "Any minute now."
"Easy Becky." Baloo smiled. She sounded nervous. 'Better give her something to do,' he thought. "Tell ya what, why don't ya preflight the 'Duck?"
Rebecca whipped around and stared at him. "Why? What's wrong with it?"
Baloo blinked. "Nothing... Beckers, is there somethin' you're not telling me? You seem awful jumpy for just a milk-run."
She made a face but then sighed. "Just excited I guess." She grinned up at him. "You know how I get, Baloo. I'm not a natural born pilot like you are, or Kit for that matter."
"Li'l Britches?" Baloo countered, "He's NOT a natural flyer."
"How can you say that?!" the brunette demanded, "He knows far more about airplanes than I do!"
The big bear chuckled and put a hand on Rebecca's shoulder. "Becky, Kit's the best navigator I've seen but there's knowin' and doin'. You've done a lot more doin' than Kit has when it comes to planes." He was not going to tell her about Kit's little adventure with Colonel Spigot. 'She'd ground him for sure.' "He's got a lot of book smarts but I wouldn't hand him the keys to the Seaduck." 'Yet.'
"Really?" she asked him.
"Really," Baloo agreed and then decided he'd offer a bit of advice, "Now see, I know the 'Duck's quirks. But a good pilot always checks his plane before a flight. Do it now while we're waiting and do it again after the cargo's loaded."
"So, what should I check, Baloo?" she asked him.
"Get the kid. He'll tell you." Baloo watched his boss wander off to find Kit and started humming to himself as he settled his bulk against the wall. He looked up at the blue sky with its streaks of white clouds and sighed in contentment. Next, he lowered his gaze and silently watched the harbor's bustling activity. Finally, his gaze slid over to the Seaduck, his pride and joy. 'First time I met Beckers, I hated her... Well, not her but the thought of her. Being bossed by a skirt?' He snorted. 'I thought I'd never live that down.' The few times that he'd managed to wangle ownership of his plane back, it had proved fleeting. It always somehow found his way back to Higher for Hire, usually leaving him broke in the process. 'I care about them though... even Pigtails.'
He briefly wondered if Molly had asked her mother when she was going to marry him. She'd asked Baloo that question out of the blue one day and Baloo had nearly had a heart attack. There had been no easy way to tell the little girl that he didn't want to marry her mother. He saw Rebecca as a friend, not a romantic prospect. So instead, he told the little girl that Rebecca would demand a classier guy than him and left it at that.
'Becky was sure mad when that loopy stunt pilot insinuated that me and her were married...' That thought led him to remember the time he and Rebecca had to pretend to be married to fool the Cape Suzette military. 'Thank goodness Molly wasn't there!'
He was pulled from his thoughts by a noise. Turning his head, he saw a truck coming down the street. "Well," Baloo commented to himself, "This looks like our cargo."
Ten minutes later, Rebecca Cunningham was standing beside a stern looking tigress while three large wooden crates bearing the Kahn Industries logo and markings of "EXPERIMENTAL ENGINE" and "THIS END UP!" were heaved into the Seaduck's hold by several burly men who could easily pass for Thembrians. As she was watching the loading operation, she heard a high-pitched whiny voice through the noise say, "Careful!" In her agitated state, it reminded her somewhat of Molly. She whipped around prepared to be angry with her pigtailed daughter only to instead see a familiar fox in a lab coat buttering a piece of toast. "I nearly dropped my toast!" the fox exclaimed.
"So, Dr. Zivaldo," Kit casually remarked ringing alarm bells in Rebecca's ears, "This is your new engine, huh?"
"Hmmm?" the scientist asked from around his slice of toast, "This is very good... What was the question?"
Baloo offered from his position by Kit, "Did you invent this new engine?"
"New engine? Oh yes, yes, I did... I think I did."
"You think?" Kit commented and then inquired, "So you started designing this after the shrinking ray?"
"Shrinking ray?" The fox laughed. "What a silly idea! That only happens in the comics!"
The three bears stared at each other but then the twelve year old asked, "Doc... remember you used your shrinking ray to shrink Molly... Ms. Cunningham's daughter?"
"I did?" Zivaldo asked in confusion.
"Yeah doc," Baloo supplied. "And then you built that doohickey over there, right? What's she like? Lots of horsepower I bet."
Dr. Zivaldo took on a slightly panicked expression. Then almost as if from nowhere Rebecca saw him produce another slice of toast. "Is this is a multiple choice question? Oh I hate multiple choice questions!"
"Dr. Zivaldo did design the engine prototype," the tigress explained and then coolly added, "Your job is to ship it... not inquire about its specifications. Come along, Doctor." With that, she dragged him off, the entire time he was muttering something about an idea for solid-state circuits.
"Loopy as ever," Becky offered to her crew after joining them.
"You can say that again, Becky," the big gray bear agreed while watching with a paternal eye as the second crate was pushed into the Seaduck's hold, "I wonder if they got Ace to test it out first?"
"Ace who?" Rebecca asked.
"Ace London," Baloo answered distractedly.
"Ace London?! You know him?!" Kit exclaimed eyes going wide. Rebecca could tell that whoever this Ace London was, he likely had something important to do with airplanes.
"Sorry never heard of him," Rebecca quipped.
"Never heard of him?" Kit squeaked. "Ms. Cunningham, he's only the coolest most famous test pilot in the entire world!"
"More like biggest ego in the entire world," Baloo corrected with a snort.
"Nobody's ego is bigger than Karnage," the bearess countered.
"I dunno, Beckers. Ol' Karnie looks almost sane beside London."
"How can you say that?" Kit protested.
"Kid," Baloo said, turning his eyes away from his plane, and regarding the younger bear, "The last time I met London, he mixed up our cargos and instead of just tellin' me what had happened, he started shooting at the Seaduck."
"Well if it was a top secret piece of equipment, he probably was afraid you took it," Kit speculated. "And he does all sorts of dangerous things. Ace London has to be the bravest guy in the whole world!"
Rebecca wasn't going to let that one slip by without comment. "And did this Ace London show up when the Air Pirates were blasting Cape Suzette?"
"Well... no," the younger bear admitted.
"Or how about when me and Molly were being held by Karnage?"
"No..."
"No, he didn't. Baloo did, when he didn't have to." She gave the big bear a quick glance and then supposed, "Baloo's probably had a lot more adventures than this Ace London has. When this pilot starts to do as much as Baloo has, then I might be willing to agree with you." Both males were looking gob smacked. "Now, go review your route."
"It's fine, Ms. Cunningham. I've..." Kit whined while taking on an annoyed expression.
"Was that a request to stay here with Wildcat, young man?" his boss asked sweetly.
Shaking his head, the twelve year old grudgingly retreated into the building looking confused. "A bit harsh don't you think, Rebecca?" Baloo asked her once the cub was out of sight.
"Sometimes that young man doesn't appreciate what he has right in front of him." Turning, she went inside the hold to make sure that the cargo was secure.
- - - - -
Louie looked up from the bar of his establishment when the door opened and let out a whoop at the sight. "Well, if it ain't my old pal Ba-loo. How's it going, Cuz?"
"Hey Louie," Baloo said with a grin and a wave.
"And if it isn't Ms. Rebecca Cunningham as well? And my man Kit? And..." He stopped looked about warily and asked, "Now where is that little firecracker of yours?"
"Molly?" Becky guessed with a chuckle, "At a sleepover."
"Which translates into being babysat for the day, Louie," Baloo offered his longtime friend.
"So what can I get ya?" Louie asked. He glanced between his friends. Baloo seemed relaxed. Rebecca who was wearing Baloo's pilot's cap seemed very pleased with herself but Kit seemed to be a little down.
Rebecca glanced at her watch. "Lunch, if it's not too early, Louie. I'll treat." The ape noticed the preteen perk up at the mention of food.
'He is a growing boy,' Louie thought. He was about to say something when Baloo spoke up, saying something that nearly knocked him off his stool.
"What about our schedule?"
"It's 11:30 now, Baloo. If we say take forty-five minutes for lunch, we can be there and back before Molly comes home. Jill said she'd drop Molly off at seven tonight and even if we're not, Wildcat is there."
"Beckers... normally, I wouldn't turn down food but don't you think that Ka..." he couched, "Our client would want us to make the delivery as soon as possible?"
'Baloo?' Louie thought in surprise, 'Being responsible?!' He knew his big friend could be if push came to shove but this was unheard of! "Where you going?" he asked while rubbing the bar counter with a cloth.
"Pearl Fish Island," Kit answered before turning to Baloo, "Come on, Papa Bear, Ms. Cunningham's right. Even with lunch, we'll have plenty of time." The youngster grinned. "You can't tell me you're not hungry. You got up early."
"What?" That escaped Louie before he could stop it.
"He did," Kit said and then continued, "Well more because he thought he needed a head start chasing Molly than anything else."
"Well, he is getting old."
"Hey!" Baloo protested while Rebecca and Kit laughed. He glared. "Louie, I'm not old..." He narrowed his eyes. "In fact, you're older than me."
"Shoot, Cuz, that don't mean nothin' I do aging better than you do, that's all. Look at my aunt!" This of course provoked more laughter. Baloo might have commented but his stomach rumbled at that point.
"Well," Becky announced while patting her employee's belly, "That settles that. The 'big guy' has spoken." As Baloo and Becky went off to sit at a table, Louie pulled Kit aside.
"Hey kid, did Becky hit her head or something?"
"Nah, Baloo's letting her fly and she's happy that it's going so well."
'I never thought I'd see the day,' Louie commented to himself while turning to prepare his friends' orders, 'Something bad's gonna happen... I just wish I knew what that was.'
- - - - -
"I wonder how powerful that new engine is?" Kit mused as they slowly climbed away from Louie's Place.
Baloo covered a yawn before answering. "It'd probably be pretty bodacious knowing Dr. Zivaldo..." Baloo guessed from his place behind the bearess then snickered. "If it didn't fly apart first." Then seriously. "We'll never know though. By the looks of it, that thing would never fit on the Seaduck."
"Why?" Rebecca piped in, glancing over her shoulder from the left seat.
"I dunno, Papa Bear. If you had two of 'em, you could mount them on the wings or maybe you could mount the one up top," Kit speculated.
"It's not where to mount it, Li'l Britches, that matters," Baloo pointed out. "Sure, you could stick one on the roof or maybe replace the engines on the wings if you had a couple and the wings could take it. It's what you'd lose that'd make it not work for the Seaduck."
"Come again?" Becky asked, turning her eyes to the big bear, "You'd lose something mounting an engine?"
"Sure, think about it, Beckers... You might get more speed out of her and might even let you carry more weight but it'd probably suck up gas worse than Danger Woman does Frosty Pep." The others laughed at the analogy. "But maybe Becky can convince old Kahny to let us borrow it for the air show coming up in a couple months. That'd be the place to show it off." 'And finally shut up Ace London.'
Becky offered with a grin, "Maybe if Clementine agrees to fly in the All Female Air Race with me, I'd be willing to ask Shere Kahn to let us test it out for him." She then pushed the yoke forward to level out the plane.
"Clementine? Never heard of her." Kit wondered, "Who is she, Ms. Cunningham?"
"She's..." Becky began but Baloo cut her off.
"Just a pilot Rebecca met," Baloo supplied. 'The last thing I need is for Kit to find out I dressed up like a girl so I could keep an eye on Becky.' He decided to offer his boss a compromise. "I'm sure she'd be willing to do it... 'Though she is shy and retirin'."
"Shy and retiring?" the bearess asked incredulously. "Baloo, she got her picture on the front page for slugging Cool Hands after we won."
Baloo opened his mouth to respond when something blew out the pilot side window. Rebecca whipped around, rolling the Seaduck hard to the right. It was the only thing that saved her as several more bullets slammed into the underside of the fuselage.
Coming next in Chapter 3 "The Little Things in Life"
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