Title: Paraguay didn't solve anything - Part 8
(I made a slight error in my last posting. The name of the CIA front for their top-secret flight operations at Diamond Lake is Para Vida not Froltech. Oopps!)
***************************************
Somewhere over the Pacific Ocean
2145 Zulu
"Mission aborted, Spectrum," said Blaisdell's voice over his headset. "This is Zebra base."
If Harm was able, he would have smashed his fist with great satisfaction into the high-tech console of this multi-million dollar, air-breathing Hyper-X aircraft.
This was the third day in a row that the Aurora got no further than fifteen minutes in the flight plan. A bird strike on take-off the first day had wrecked havoc to the composite material of aircraft's superstructure. The deformation had created vibration and over-heating problems as it approached the demands of super sonic speeds. Hypersonic was out of the question.
"Take her back to base," said Blaisdell. "We'll try again tomorrow."
"Frustrated?" Harm heard Andy Watson's voice on the intercom.
Harm snorted as he made a smooth turn back toward the runway at Diamond Lake.
"Must have a hot date for Christmas," said Andy. "Me? I've got Mom and Dad trained. They don't expect to see me until I show up at the door Christmas Eve."
Harm was silent. It was Tuesday and Mattie would be looking for him. At the rate this was going, he would be lucky to be home by the end of the week. He needed to be home long before Christmas Eve.
"Tell me again why this mission is so important?" Harm said.
"Further analysis of our last ground penetrating radar images revealed that not all of the tunnels are contaminated with water," said Andy.
"Why were the tunnels filled with water in the first place?" Harm had spent the last three days with total attention on the beleaguered jet. There hadn't been much time for anything else.
"Geologists believe the source of the water to be subterranean. The tunneling equipment inadvertently hit an underground aquifer of sorts. Happens all of the time in Potash mining. This brackish water is under pressure and once released can render a tunnel or mine-site useless."
"But now they think some tunnels are dry?"
"Yup. Somehow, they were not connected to the damaged tunnels. They continue to pose a threat."
"How long you think before they sort out the issues with this bird?" Harm's gloved hand moved over the instrument panel in preparation for landing.
"Hell, how would I know? I'm just a pilot, not the engineer. Did I ever tell about the time we waited six months while Boeing engineers sat on their thumbs debating over a simple upgrade to a tail flap?"
Harm groaned in frustration.
***********
JAG Headquarters
Falls Church
1420 Zulu
"Ma'am?" Petty Officer Jennifer Coates was running to catch up to Mac before she left for court. Mac stopped and turned to face her.
"Do you have any idea when Commander Rabb is returning, ma'am?" she asked.
"No. The admiral was told today that his TAD had been extended. There was no definite return date as far as I know." Mac looked at her. "Why?"
Jennifer held out some pink message slips. "Mattie Grace has called three times today. She seems anxious to talk to the commander."
Mac looked at the scraps of paper. "Why don't I call Mattie after court? Maybe that will help."
"Thank you, ma'am."
***
It was nearly 1700 before Mac had a spare moment to sit down at her desk. As she sat down with a fresh cup of coffee, she remembered her promise to Jennifer. She picked up a crumpled message slip and dialed the number.
"Harm?" she heard a young girl's voice on the line. She must have caller ID.
Mac tucked the receiver under her chin as she arranged files on her desk. "Mattie Grace? This is Colonel Sarah Mackenzie with JAG. I was told you were trying to contact Commander Rabb?"
"Yes," Mac could hear the disappointment in her voice. "Is he there?"
"No, and we don't expect him back for a couple of days yet," said Mac.
There was silence on the other end of the line. Finally Mattie spoke "That's just great! I should have known better than to count on him. Why did I even believe for a minute he might come through."
Mac's brow creased. "This isn't intentional. Harm's been delayed. He would be there if he could."
"You can't say that for sure. Story of my life. Nothing was intentional but it's all screwed up anyway."
"Yes, I can say that for sure. Harm is taking your problems very seriously. It's just that there are some delays that even Harm can't overcome."
"I need him now!" The angry statement was shouted and Mac heard a stifled sob at the end. Mattie was crying.
She said quietly into the phone, "Mattie, why don't you tell me what's wrong?"
Her voice came back defeated. "It's just that I thought maybe someone cared. I thought maybe I had someone to count on."
"Tell me about it," said Mac. "I'm not Harm, but maybe I can help."
"I got a letter from the bank today," she said. The words started to rush out. "If I don't come up with $20,000, they are going to seize the assets of Grace Aviation." She was crying again. "I need to talk to Harm."
"What's the $20,000 for?" said Mac.
"I sort of missed a couple of payments on a loan," she admitted.
"When is the $20,000 due?" asked Mac.
"End of the month," said Mattie
"That's good. We have a little breathing space."
"Breathing space?"
"Some time to work on this. Harm told me that there is a guardianship hearing on the 24th?" Mac inquired. Gaurdianship was key. Harm would then have the authority to deal with banks and such.
"That's only a week a way! Is he going to be back in time?"
"I don't know," said Mac truthfully. She started to toy with an idea. "What would you think if I came down to Blacksburg tomorrow? Maybe I can help."
Mac felt confident the admiral would grant her leave time. The office was starting to slow down for Christmas and she hadn't had time off since last winter. She thought about the box of battered files and receipts in Harm's office. She could start tonight, then meet Mattie tomorrow.
"You would do that for me?" Mac could hear the disbelief in her voice.
"Sure," said Mac. Actually, Mattie, thought Mac, I'm not doing it for you. I'm doing it for Harm.
*****
Grace Aviation
Blacksburg, Virginia
1530 Zulu
Mac pulled the red corvette onto the tarmac next to the battered hangar. 'Grace Aviation' was spelled out on the side of the structure. She smiled. Parked off in the corner was a yellow Stearman. Harm's.
She climbed out of the car and started to walk toward the office. She had spent until midnight going through Mattie's files and preparing a plan of attack. She felt confident that she could help both Harm and Mattie. The only thing she needed now was a little more time. First things first, though. She needed to meet this Mattie Grace.
As she approached, a young girl with long curly sandy blonde hair came toward her. She held out her hand "Colonel Mackenzie?" she said. "I'm Mattie Grace Johnson."
"Call me Mac. It's good to meet you." Mac kept her voice pleasant.
"Can you wait just a minute? I have to talk with someone," said Mattie.
Mac watched as Mattie walked toward a small biplane. She could see a long black hose snaking from a tanker truck to the plane. A worn sign on the truck said "Ace Aviation Fuels." A burly man stood next to the plane.
Mattie looked angry. "Look, Mr. Gordon, I was talking to Andy at the Learjet center. His price for fuel is almost half of what you are charging me!"
The man turned his back on her and disconnected the hose. "Look girlie, that's the price. Take it or leave it. You want me to fill up the other one?"
Mattie's face was flushed. "Yes! But..." Mac watched the exchange. It was obvious the man was ripping her off.
"Mattie?" Mac said.
"Yes?"
"You having a little trouble with this gentleman?" Mac was now standing beside Mattie facing the florid-faced, squatty man.
"He's ripping me off! And I can't do anything about it!"
"Mattie, let me tell you something. I'm a lawyer but I'm also a marine. A female marine. You don't mess with a female marine lawyers. What ass we can't kick, we sue. Got it? Let me handle this."
Mattie stood back and watched.
"Sir?" said Mac sweetly. "Sir, I want you to treat this young woman with a little respect. I think you can lower those prices now, don't you?"
The man stood up and looked at Mac directly. "Why should I?"
"Cause I know that Mattie pays you in cash. And I also suspect that you don't claim much of that income on your business tax form, now do you? I have a good lawyer friend who works with the IRS. It would upset her to know how you are treating this young woman. You wouldn't want me to call her, now would you?" Mac stepped forward, arms akimbo, hands on hip and looked tauntingly at the man.
He flinched. Mac waited. Finally he said, "Well, I guess I could give you a 'good customer discount.'"
"Good," said Mac. She turned and started to walk away with Mattie. "Make the discount a fair one."
As soon as they were out of earshot, Mattie turned to Mac, her eyes sparkling. "That was awesome! Can you teach me to do that?"
Mac smiled. She was starting to see why Harm liked Mattie Grace.
(I made a slight error in my last posting. The name of the CIA front for their top-secret flight operations at Diamond Lake is Para Vida not Froltech. Oopps!)
***************************************
Somewhere over the Pacific Ocean
2145 Zulu
"Mission aborted, Spectrum," said Blaisdell's voice over his headset. "This is Zebra base."
If Harm was able, he would have smashed his fist with great satisfaction into the high-tech console of this multi-million dollar, air-breathing Hyper-X aircraft.
This was the third day in a row that the Aurora got no further than fifteen minutes in the flight plan. A bird strike on take-off the first day had wrecked havoc to the composite material of aircraft's superstructure. The deformation had created vibration and over-heating problems as it approached the demands of super sonic speeds. Hypersonic was out of the question.
"Take her back to base," said Blaisdell. "We'll try again tomorrow."
"Frustrated?" Harm heard Andy Watson's voice on the intercom.
Harm snorted as he made a smooth turn back toward the runway at Diamond Lake.
"Must have a hot date for Christmas," said Andy. "Me? I've got Mom and Dad trained. They don't expect to see me until I show up at the door Christmas Eve."
Harm was silent. It was Tuesday and Mattie would be looking for him. At the rate this was going, he would be lucky to be home by the end of the week. He needed to be home long before Christmas Eve.
"Tell me again why this mission is so important?" Harm said.
"Further analysis of our last ground penetrating radar images revealed that not all of the tunnels are contaminated with water," said Andy.
"Why were the tunnels filled with water in the first place?" Harm had spent the last three days with total attention on the beleaguered jet. There hadn't been much time for anything else.
"Geologists believe the source of the water to be subterranean. The tunneling equipment inadvertently hit an underground aquifer of sorts. Happens all of the time in Potash mining. This brackish water is under pressure and once released can render a tunnel or mine-site useless."
"But now they think some tunnels are dry?"
"Yup. Somehow, they were not connected to the damaged tunnels. They continue to pose a threat."
"How long you think before they sort out the issues with this bird?" Harm's gloved hand moved over the instrument panel in preparation for landing.
"Hell, how would I know? I'm just a pilot, not the engineer. Did I ever tell about the time we waited six months while Boeing engineers sat on their thumbs debating over a simple upgrade to a tail flap?"
Harm groaned in frustration.
***********
JAG Headquarters
Falls Church
1420 Zulu
"Ma'am?" Petty Officer Jennifer Coates was running to catch up to Mac before she left for court. Mac stopped and turned to face her.
"Do you have any idea when Commander Rabb is returning, ma'am?" she asked.
"No. The admiral was told today that his TAD had been extended. There was no definite return date as far as I know." Mac looked at her. "Why?"
Jennifer held out some pink message slips. "Mattie Grace has called three times today. She seems anxious to talk to the commander."
Mac looked at the scraps of paper. "Why don't I call Mattie after court? Maybe that will help."
"Thank you, ma'am."
***
It was nearly 1700 before Mac had a spare moment to sit down at her desk. As she sat down with a fresh cup of coffee, she remembered her promise to Jennifer. She picked up a crumpled message slip and dialed the number.
"Harm?" she heard a young girl's voice on the line. She must have caller ID.
Mac tucked the receiver under her chin as she arranged files on her desk. "Mattie Grace? This is Colonel Sarah Mackenzie with JAG. I was told you were trying to contact Commander Rabb?"
"Yes," Mac could hear the disappointment in her voice. "Is he there?"
"No, and we don't expect him back for a couple of days yet," said Mac.
There was silence on the other end of the line. Finally Mattie spoke "That's just great! I should have known better than to count on him. Why did I even believe for a minute he might come through."
Mac's brow creased. "This isn't intentional. Harm's been delayed. He would be there if he could."
"You can't say that for sure. Story of my life. Nothing was intentional but it's all screwed up anyway."
"Yes, I can say that for sure. Harm is taking your problems very seriously. It's just that there are some delays that even Harm can't overcome."
"I need him now!" The angry statement was shouted and Mac heard a stifled sob at the end. Mattie was crying.
She said quietly into the phone, "Mattie, why don't you tell me what's wrong?"
Her voice came back defeated. "It's just that I thought maybe someone cared. I thought maybe I had someone to count on."
"Tell me about it," said Mac. "I'm not Harm, but maybe I can help."
"I got a letter from the bank today," she said. The words started to rush out. "If I don't come up with $20,000, they are going to seize the assets of Grace Aviation." She was crying again. "I need to talk to Harm."
"What's the $20,000 for?" said Mac.
"I sort of missed a couple of payments on a loan," she admitted.
"When is the $20,000 due?" asked Mac.
"End of the month," said Mattie
"That's good. We have a little breathing space."
"Breathing space?"
"Some time to work on this. Harm told me that there is a guardianship hearing on the 24th?" Mac inquired. Gaurdianship was key. Harm would then have the authority to deal with banks and such.
"That's only a week a way! Is he going to be back in time?"
"I don't know," said Mac truthfully. She started to toy with an idea. "What would you think if I came down to Blacksburg tomorrow? Maybe I can help."
Mac felt confident the admiral would grant her leave time. The office was starting to slow down for Christmas and she hadn't had time off since last winter. She thought about the box of battered files and receipts in Harm's office. She could start tonight, then meet Mattie tomorrow.
"You would do that for me?" Mac could hear the disbelief in her voice.
"Sure," said Mac. Actually, Mattie, thought Mac, I'm not doing it for you. I'm doing it for Harm.
*****
Grace Aviation
Blacksburg, Virginia
1530 Zulu
Mac pulled the red corvette onto the tarmac next to the battered hangar. 'Grace Aviation' was spelled out on the side of the structure. She smiled. Parked off in the corner was a yellow Stearman. Harm's.
She climbed out of the car and started to walk toward the office. She had spent until midnight going through Mattie's files and preparing a plan of attack. She felt confident that she could help both Harm and Mattie. The only thing she needed now was a little more time. First things first, though. She needed to meet this Mattie Grace.
As she approached, a young girl with long curly sandy blonde hair came toward her. She held out her hand "Colonel Mackenzie?" she said. "I'm Mattie Grace Johnson."
"Call me Mac. It's good to meet you." Mac kept her voice pleasant.
"Can you wait just a minute? I have to talk with someone," said Mattie.
Mac watched as Mattie walked toward a small biplane. She could see a long black hose snaking from a tanker truck to the plane. A worn sign on the truck said "Ace Aviation Fuels." A burly man stood next to the plane.
Mattie looked angry. "Look, Mr. Gordon, I was talking to Andy at the Learjet center. His price for fuel is almost half of what you are charging me!"
The man turned his back on her and disconnected the hose. "Look girlie, that's the price. Take it or leave it. You want me to fill up the other one?"
Mattie's face was flushed. "Yes! But..." Mac watched the exchange. It was obvious the man was ripping her off.
"Mattie?" Mac said.
"Yes?"
"You having a little trouble with this gentleman?" Mac was now standing beside Mattie facing the florid-faced, squatty man.
"He's ripping me off! And I can't do anything about it!"
"Mattie, let me tell you something. I'm a lawyer but I'm also a marine. A female marine. You don't mess with a female marine lawyers. What ass we can't kick, we sue. Got it? Let me handle this."
Mattie stood back and watched.
"Sir?" said Mac sweetly. "Sir, I want you to treat this young woman with a little respect. I think you can lower those prices now, don't you?"
The man stood up and looked at Mac directly. "Why should I?"
"Cause I know that Mattie pays you in cash. And I also suspect that you don't claim much of that income on your business tax form, now do you? I have a good lawyer friend who works with the IRS. It would upset her to know how you are treating this young woman. You wouldn't want me to call her, now would you?" Mac stepped forward, arms akimbo, hands on hip and looked tauntingly at the man.
He flinched. Mac waited. Finally he said, "Well, I guess I could give you a 'good customer discount.'"
"Good," said Mac. She turned and started to walk away with Mattie. "Make the discount a fair one."
As soon as they were out of earshot, Mattie turned to Mac, her eyes sparkling. "That was awesome! Can you teach me to do that?"
Mac smiled. She was starting to see why Harm liked Mattie Grace.