Chapter 3

Five days after the guys took off for the wilds of Alaska, Red was packing up her spare gear in the Steerman. It had taken her the better part of three days to get the parts changed out and replaced, then most of the fourth day to get everything back together, tightened, retightened and checked again before taking it up for a flight to make sure it was working. And working it was. It was smooth and even on the turns, the engine sounding as though it was humming along with a steady base note.

Satisfied that it was in good shape, she took to buffing, polishing, touching up the paint and making sure that it was in good looking condition. Rachelle was to meet her at the air and road show with their display tent, gear and such. Not only was this show a way of displaying their business to the 'right' people but also a way of proving her flying skills. The other vintage piece going was the Huey but that was back at the Stars and Stripes hanger where Lex and the others had been giving it a good cleaning and checkup before the show.

She pulled the tarp off and pushed the Steerman out to the runway. Once it was in place, she went back to the hanger and started shutting down the lights and making sure both hanger doors were locked and secured before she climbed up into the old plane and settled in. She called out on the radio to the local tower of her being ready for takeoff since her flight plan was already registered. As she waited for confirmation, she slid into her heavy leather jacket and gloves, pulled on the leather hat and goggles that went with the whole effect. She wouldn't wear the whole outfit until tomorrow but she still would need this gear to keep her warm up in the air.

Clearance came through the radio and she acknowledged, throwing the switch to start the engine. It turned over the first time and the engine revved to life. Within seconds, she was ready for takeoff and already taxiing down the runway. With a slight shift to the stick as the speed increased the plane shot off the runway and climbed into the air. She smiled to herself. This was the thrill she loved, the joy of doing nothing but feeling free of all the worries that flooded the world below. Up here it was just her, the birds and the other daredevils that liked to break the laws of gravity.

She reached her altitude and leveled out, glad for the gear she'd donned earlier and turned the plane towards the southern side of Nevada towards Las Vegas.

One fuel stop later, Red arrived in the desert outside of Las Vegas where the airstrip had been recently cleared of all sand and debris and the track for the cars was also set up. The land to the north of the tracks and runway were already filled with many tents, trailers, people and noise. The south side of the tracks was where the large layout of planes sat. There were jets, planes, choppers and several different kinds of vintage aircraft lined up. The cars were basically kept with the show's tents until they were to come out and show off their stuff.

She got the clearance to land and she brought the plane in for a gentle landing, slowing it down once it hit pavement. She taxied to the place indicated by radio after she checked in and with a little flourish she got the plane up to the spot and spun it around so that all she had to do was push it into place. That was all the energy she had for showing off today. She was frozen and hungry. Though she loved to fly, this was not her favorite way to do it when the weather was starting to turn towards fall.

She shut down the engine and pulled herself up in the cockpit and turned so she could unload her gear from the back before she had to push the plane back. She didn't know if Rachelle had been watching the skies for her arrival but she expected to be on her own unless otherwise noted. She tossed out the army duffle bag and then pulled out a sports bag of gear that she carefully lowered to the ground.

She climbed out herself and the heat of the desert sands from that day made her just want to lay down and spread out in the heat for awhile to get her fingers and face to function again. She pulled her gear to the side and got out of the jacket and goggles then went to the landing wheels and began pushing it back into its slot. She felt the Steerman move but then it suddenly moved smoother and easier than it had before. She looked over to see a young man helping her. She kept pushing though until it was in place and then she stood up and brushed her hands off when she got out from under the plane.

"Thanks!" she said, holding her hand out to him.

He shook it and nodded, smiling a little as he looked the plane over, "You're welcome. Saw you come in. Nice plane."

She nodded, "Thanks. You here for the air or road part of the show?" she asked, her brain trying to register where she had seen his face before. She had a sneaking suspicion that she knew this guy or at least had met him before.

He shrugged a little and ran a hand through his hair, "I'm here to be a spectator and check things out," he said. He looked at her, "I'm Michael Bridges. I work for a small subsidiary of Universal Studios, here to check out flight companies," he stated.

She smiled a little as she shouldered her bag and duffle. "It's nice to meet you Michael. I'm Cheyenne Hawkes. I own Stars and Stripes Air Service out of Van Neuys, California." She smiled at him a little. "Listen, I've got to go check in. I'd be happy to talk about things later if you want to stop by but I'm half frozen and starving."

She didn't want to be rude but she was honest. She wasn't worried about making business contacts right now. Her only desire was that of a warm shower, hot meal and a bed for a nap.

He flushed a little, "Sorry. Didn't mean to keep you like this. I'll stop by later at your tent and we can talk some more." With that, he stepped aside to let her walk past and head off towards the tents.

She nodded, "Sounds good. See you later," she said.

Giving him a glance over her shoulder, she swore he looked like someone she'd seen before, but whom or where, she couldn't remember. He didn't put off 'bad vibes' as Erica liked to call them but there was something about him that tickled the back of her mind. Shrugging to herself, she headed across the tarmac and towards the registration tent where she quickly checked in and headed towards the Stars and Stripes display tent. .

Rachelle wasn't there but Lex was and he waved her in. "Hey! How's it going?" she asked as she clasped hands with him.

He was smiling. "Well we got here early this morning and got everything set up," he said as he indicated the inside of the tent. It was a 'work of art' so to speak. The inside had been painted to match the choppers they had with the red, white and blue. There were two long tables set up and draped to cover them to the floor. On top of them were posters and pictures of their facilities, their aircraft and their logo with a quick summary in a few short words as to what they did and where they were located.

Another poster had a logo on it for the 'Bone Yard' Vintage Aircraft Services. It was a drawing of a skeleton figure in a pose like you'd see a woman painted on the side of a plane in WWII. It had had been painted in a short dress that was a v-neck to show cleavage and heels. It had blonde hair done up in the period style and a flight cap cocked to one side. The name of the business was painted over the top of the skeleton at a curve as well as the underside in some form of cursive script.

Under the logo were pictures of the Huey, the Steerman, several of their other aircraft they had and her standing in full costume next to the Steerman. She blushed a little as she looked it over again. She looked at Lex, "Who designed the logo?" she asked

Lex chuckled, "A couple of us guys and then Rachelle took the best ideas and gave them to an artist for a concept design. It came back looking just like that and we decided to keep it. Hope you don't mind but it's very…eye catching," he teased.

She snorted, "I should say so. But, it's cool. Where's Rachelle? I need to get this stuff unloaded and talk to her for a few minutes."

Lex smirked, "She's probably at the camper we rented. She said it's the sixth one down on the third row. I'm sure she put up a magnetic decal on the door so it shouldn't be too hard to miss."

She patted Lex on the back. "You guys done good. Let's just hope tomorrow can bring us more business or at least a few contacts on where to get a hold of other vintage aircraft."

Lex nodded and smiled. He was one of the guys that had been around for a time and had served in the military during the Vietnam War. He was one of the lucky ones to get out of there without too many issues but she still teased him that he was one crazy redneck. He was the one that often flew the Huey when she wasn't around but he also had a knack for fixing things.

She waved to him and headed out to find their camper.