Chapter 18

Roger stood for a few moments, simply looking around inside the aircraft before climbing into it.

He beckoned to the others and they soon joined him on the wooden platform peering into the plane's interior.

Rachel quietly remarked, "This thing's pretty deluxe for a military plane, it's really more like a flying motorhome than a warbird."

"If you overlook all the guns and the bomb bays this thing had!" remarked Roger with a grin.

Climbing inside, they clambered all through the roomy interior making notes of the overall condition of the air frame and the control wires they could see.

Henri muttered, "So far, all looks well wizout lookingk too hard at ze plane."

"Kinda my impression too." remarked Roger, "We'll have to look inside the wings and check the spars for corrosion. Then check all the hydraulic lines and electrical harnesses."

He looked over at Hector and declared, "We'll need to give this a pretty thorough going over, it should take us about a week."

Hector smiled and replied, "Take all the time you need. I'm sure my daughter can keep your ladies occupied, there is lots to see here."

Roger grinned and remarked, "Freya will have quite the travel report to share with her class at school. It was her teacher's condition for letting her miss school for a week."

Rachel hearing this, chuckled and said, "No wonder she seems so subdued about being here, she has to write a report on her adventures."

Roger smiled and said, "She always gets a little quiet when she is experiencing lots of new things."

It was Rachel who noticed the long, green painted wooden boxes stashed under the bunks in the central cabin.

Roger whistled and commented, ".50 caliber machine guns, I wonder if these are included in the sale?"

Hector replied without hesitation, "Yes, everything you see in here is included and whatever we may find associated with this plane. It all has to go."

Roger merely shrugged but said nothing more about the boxes.

Climbing up into the cockpit, the two men were relieved to see that all the instruments were undamaged and the controls appeared intact.

The windows would need a bit of cleaning and one panel was sun crazed and would need replacement.

The tarp draped over the cockpit had helped protect the interior, it was plain that someone had planned to restore the plane but had run short of funds.

Leaving the plane, they scrounged up a couple of ladders and soon Roger and Henri were standing atop the plane, slowly walking back and forth, looking it over.

Henri grinned at his old friend and remarked, "Zis reminds me of when we got my old Antonov out of Ukraine, no?"

Roger laughed and replied, "Except then we were kind of in a hurry, the Georgians were almost within artillery range and we had to be a little more tolerant about the plane's condition."

Henri grew somber and muttered, "Zat plane, she was good to me."

He turned and spat, "I curse ze names of ze barbarians who stole her from me in ze name of zehr god." and he spat again.

Roger turned and spat too in soldidarity with Henri before saying, "You can take small comfort in knowing that those same 'barbarians' were later shot down in that Antonov, killing all aboard."

"Zhere is zat." muttered Henri, "Alzhough, I would have preferred to 'ave my beloved Antonia and zhey were shot down in anozher plane, no?" He finished with a grin.

Roger simply smiled and replied, "I can appreciate your sentiments there, my friend."

They took a meal break at a nearby restaurant and while Hector was away talking to his daughter on the phone, Rachel leaned close to Roger and asked, "So what do you think is in those green boxes I found?"

Roger shrugged and replied, "Without opening them, I can't be sure but those boxes were marked "Machine Gun, .50 caliber 1 Each" this plane was armed with eight of them and if those crates do have machine guns in them, it could make things a bit ticklish back home." He grinned and remarked, "We could sell or trade those off to a weapons museum or serious collectors for some real cash. Those guns are typically worth about 50 grand each and selling eight of them would cover the cost of refurbishing the plane, hell if we remove and sell the turrets that could just about make the whole thing a real bargain."

Rachel smiled slightly and asked, "So your intent is to demilitarize it?"

"Yep, we don't need armament and lightening the plane would allow auxiliary fuel tanks to be made and installed for long flights. Probably wouldn't hurt the fuel consumption either." remarked Roger.

Hector returned and was all smiles as he reported that Freya and Miriam were enjoying the world famous Brazilian beaches and Freya had met a local phenomenon named Eliza who stood almost 206 centimeters tall and was only fourteen years old.

He held up his phone with a photo of Freya standing next to a towering, slender beauty who smiled shyly at the camera.

Hector remarked, "Eliza is a bit of a local celebrity because of her great height, I'm sure your Freya did not expect to meet a girl taller than herself."

Roger smiled and replied, "Freya is still growing and we figure on her reaching nearly 244 centimeters by the time she is fourteen and topping out at around 275 centimeters, or nine feet tall as we measure it in the States."

Hector looked at Roger skeptically and asked, "How can you predict she will get to be so tall, will she still be able to even walk at that height?"

Roger held up an index finger and said, "Give me a moment."

He took up his smartphone and scrolled through it for a few moments until he stopped and with a smile, showed the photo to an unbelieving Hector Contreras.

Hector stared at the photo for a few moments and asked, "Where is this, and who are these people?"

Roger smiled and replied, "This is up in Canada and these people are Jotuns or Norse frost giants from the Norse myths. It turned out they are real and fled northern Europe for friendlier neighbors. Freya is my sort of foster child while she lives with me. We are interested in the plane because it can be modified to allow her to stand up inside it when she is fully grown."

Hector muttered, "And with it being amphibious, you could land it anywhere in Canada. Very clever."

He grinned at Roger and rubbed his hands together briskly, "Well then, shall we get back to the plane?"

A quick stop at a hardware store to get some flashlights and a short drive back to the air base later, they took the flashlights and were once again, peering into the darkened recesses of the bulky Martin Mariner PBM-5.

A battery charger was brought out and hooked up to the plane's electrical system.

It was set at 24 volts and turned on, the system lights came on and the various gauge needles quivered, it was seen as a good sign.

The auxiliary hydraulic pump motor made working noises and Roger made a note to get some hydraulic fluid into the system ASAP.

Henri examined the tires and declared them unfit, as they were likely over twenty years old and he would not attempt to fly with such old tires.

They were still at it when Alicia's car pulled up and the ladies got out.

Freya looked up at the bulky aircraft and remarked in wonder, "Tis sae big an' it can lan' oan water?"

"Yep, it's the main reason why we're looking at it." Roger said as he grinned at his towering companion, "Go on inside and take a look around!"

She smiled at him and nimbly climbed into the big seaplane.

Hector shook his head and said softly, "It's hard to believe she's only eleven years old."

Roger smiled and remarked, "I've lost count of how many times I've had to explain why she is so tall, and as she gets really tall, she will be attracting all kinds of attention. Good, bad, and indifferent."

"I don't envy you my friend." replied Hector in sympathy.

Roger could only shrug in reply and say, "Its not bad, Freya's a pretty good kid and I really can't complain."

It was getting dark when Hector declared, "I think we've done all we can for today as far as inspecting this aircraft."

Roger and Henri nodded in agreement, they both had taken literally hundreds of photographs and jotted down many pertinent notes about what they had seen.

Hector made a quick phone call and shortly afterwards, a van pulled up and a uniformed driver got out.

He opened the passenger side doors and stood smiling.

Hector smiled at them and said, "Raul here will drive you back to your hotel, while my daughter will drive me home."

Henri held up his hand a moment and Hector asked, "You have a question?"

"Will we be looking inside ze storage sheds for any additional items associated wiz zis plane?" Asked Henri.

Roger chimed in with, "Yes, will we be able to look for the engines? They just might be sitting in storage and somehow got missed."

Hector smiled and replied, "We will be returning here tomorrow morning and yes, we can look inside the storage sheds."

The drive back to their rooms was quiet as both Freya and Miriam were tired from their beach excursion and sat lost in thought.

They thanked Raul for driving them home and wished him a good night, then entered the hotel.

The restaurant was not too busy and they stopped and ate a light dinner.

While they ate Rachel asked, "You guys climbed all over that thing, tell me. What do you really think?"

Henri sat for a moment before he said,, "Ze price is almost too good to be true and ze plane is in better condition zhan I expected."

He glanced around briefly and said in a lowered voice, "It's almost as if zhey want to be rid of it, zhat it is more trouble zhan it is worth."

Rachel looked over at Roger and with one raised eyebrow asked, "Rodge?"

Roger dabbed at his lips with the napkin, took a sip of his coffee and replied," I have to agree with Henri here, it was regularly maintained right up 'til it was retired. I want to see if the engines are around and in serviceable condition, if so, it might be easier to simply fly it back, rather than trying to ship it."

Roger smiled and said, "Tomorrow, I'm going to sneak a peek inside those green boxes you saw Rachel. While I don't seriously expect to find inside what it says on the box, if they do have what they say on label inside. Those could be sold or traded for a whole bunch of things, like a set of tires and or converting the engines to fuel injection."

"Why fuel injection?" asked Rachel.

"Two words," replied Roger, "Fuel consumption. Less fuel consumption means more savings and a longer range between stops."

Looking thoughtful Rachel asked, "If we find the engines, what next?"

Roger answered, "We check to see if they're serviceable, if they can be used, I guess we can borrow some tools and put the engines back on. If we can't borrow any tools, Henri and I will have to go back home and get our own tools. Of course if we have to go that far, we'll enlist some help and get things done that much quicker."

Roger had mixed feelings as he watched Alicia Contreras drive off with Freya and Henri's wife Miriam on their way to see some of Brazil's famous jungle.

He climbed into the van with Rachel and Henri, closed the sliding door and buckled in. Hector Contreras drove them to the air base and the waiting Martin Mariner PBM-5.

Shortly after they arrived, Rachel engaged Hector in conversation while Roger slipped into the plane and soon, he was hunkered down next of one of the long crates preparing to open it.

The crate opened up with creaking hinges, which to Roger's point of view, sounded like all the world could hear him opening up a crate on the sly.

There, laying in its wooden bed, was a heavily cosmolined Browning M2 machine gun caliber .50 with spare barrel.

He ran a quick mental calculation and realized that if the rest of the crates held the same thing, he was looking at the price of a spare set of engines, plus tires and fuel injection modifications.

Closing the lid, he resealed the crate and went back outside to find Henri.

Not seeing Henri nearby, Roger noticed the open doors on a nearby storage building and soon found the three of them staring at a couple of large round containers painted in olive drab.

Joining them, Roger asked, "Have you opened them yet?"

Henri grinned at his long time friend and replied, "We were waiting for you to join us!" Hector smiled at Roger and said cheerfully, "It seems our original letter was incorrect, the engines are here, they're just not attached to the plane in question!"

Roger glanced around and noticed two large, four bladed propellers leaning against the wall. He grinned and remarked, "I see the props are here too."

He air quoted "For Sale: Slightly used Martin Mariner PBM-5...Some assembly required." Roger looked at the others and simply said, "Does all this seem almost too good to be true? I had the impression that this thing was lying in some jungle swamp somewhere, instead what I'm seeing is a halted restoration project with all the main components ready for assembly. I can't help being a little hinky here, it's just too convenient."

Rachel looked steadily at Hector and said frankly, "Roger has a point, it does seems a little too easy, not that we're complaining mind you, it just seems that there is more to the story."

Hector smiled sadly and said quietly, "The plane did belong to the Brazilian Air Forces and it was maintained by them up until just before it was moved here. It seems that the head of a drug cartel is interested in acquiring it and I don't want to see it in the wrong hands. That is why the original letter says the engines are missing, it was to throw them off the trail a bit." He smiled at them and said, "I want you to have it, the Brazilian Air Forces want you to have it as well. I've heard about your work and this plane will be a big help to your work, will it not?"

Henri smiled and replied, "If ze air forces want us to 'ave ze plane, why not just give it to us?"

Hector chuckled and replied, "We have to make it look like a legitimate sale to a fellow museum. Our local politicians are taking bribe money from the cartel like so many other officials have done. I f the plane is already sold and gone out of the country, then it will be a fait accompli and regarded as such."

Rachel asked quietly, "How much time will we have to do this?"

"Three to four weeks at the most, I'm afraid." replied Hector.

Roger whistled and commented , "Damn, that doesn't give us much wiggle room for error. If we can get some help and the right tools we can do it, provided we're not interrupted and assuming that everything's in order.." he looked at Rachel and said glumly, "I'm gonna have to ask you to take Freya home to her people, that way if something bad happens, she's home safe."

"She's not going to like it." remarked Rachel.

"I don't care if she likes it! This is not a decision I'm making lightly, I want her to be safe, not scattered all over some jungle somewhere." he shot back brusquely.

Henri smiled and also said quietly, "I am afraid, I will be asking you to to do ze same for me. Miriam knows ze dangers involved and she will understand."

Hector said quietly, "I would suggest you leave as soon as possible without saying anything to anyone and we can arrange for their luggage to follow later on." he took out his phone and called his daughter.

A few moments later he said simply "When you are finished showing them our jungle paradise, please take them to the dinner party at the museum."

He paused a moment to listen and replied, "Oh, don't worry about their changing, it's not a formal affair. You have the invitations."

Hector ended the call and said cheerfully, "Everything's now in motion. Alicia will now take them to the airport and put them on the first plane back to the states, she has their tickets and boarding passes. With no luggage, they'll simply board the plane and go."

Rachel commented, "Now about the sale? Yes, it's a deal, we'll work out the money details later and you need to get me to the airport ASAP!"

Hector grinned and remarked with a wink, "Congratulations, you now own a Martin Mariner...Some assembly required!"

He turned to Roger and Henri to say, "I can get you help, I have some volunteers at the Aereo Museo who want to see this plane go to a good home as badly as I do. Tools are in the maintenance shop, will that be enough?"

Henri grinned and said, "Yes, zhat will be fine, zhat and a little good French wine?"

Hector smiled and handed over a large key ring, "These are the keys to every door here, what you do with them is your business."

There was a brief flurry of handshakes and heartfelt hugs from Rachel and soon, they watched Hector's museum van disappear over the hill above the airstrip.

Roger felt a pang of regret at his decision to send Freya home without so much as a hug or an explanation like he did, but he knew it was a sound decision...He'd beg forgiveness later.

Hefting the key ring, Henri grinned and said, "Let us go exploring ze facility!"

The next couple of hours were spent opening doors and getting an idea of where the things they'd need were.

Roger started up the forklift and drove it around a little bit, playing with the controls to get a feel for it.

Henri grinned when he found the special socket adapter that went over the end of the crankshaft for removing and installing the engines and Roger commented, "We will be taking that back with us as part of the deal."

Henri smiled and said, "I think we can use zhis to see if ze engines will turn over."

Roger grinned and said, "We've got nothing else better to do tonight, let's test your hypothesis!"

They returned to the shed and unsealed the engine containers, lifting the top off the first one let out the cloying scent of preservatives and they set the top to one side to admire the engine.

There in its cradle, sat a Wright-Cyclone 14 cylinder radial aircraft engine awaiting installation.

Roger grinned at Henri and commented, "This is better than Christmas!"

Henri grinned back and placed the socket tool over the splined end of the crankshaft.

Roger grinned as he and Henri took hold of the adapter and heaved. There was a moment of hesitation, then the engine slowly turned over as the two of them grunted in their exertions. It was quite the effort to turn over the engine with just the two of them and the minimal leverage gained by the socket adaptor.

After a couple of muscle straining complete rotations,

Roger stopped heaving and declared, "Well, this one seems to be good!"

Henri grinned and remarked jokingly, "Can we assume zhat ze othair engine is also good?"

Roger laughed and replied, "Believe me, I can appreciate your feelings, but we do need to check the other one out too."

Henri chuckled and retorted, "I was just, as you say, 'testing your resolve'!"

Roger grinned and replied, "Very funny, Henri."

They repeated their performance with the second engine and had the same results to their great relief.

Replacing the engine covers, they locked up the shed and were heading back to the hangar when Roger's phone rang, it was Freya.

Turning away, Roger answered with an apology, " Honey, I'm truly sorry about sending you off like this, but we have to get you two out of here. The museum told us we only had a few weeks to get the plane out of here and it was implied that a drug lord was interested in this plane."

Freya's voice sounded very small and tinny as she replied, "Rachel explained it tae me oan th' way tae th' airport. Please be verra careful an' Ah'll be at haem waitin' fur ye."

Roger felt a pang in his heart and said, "I'll be careful and I'll come home as fast as I can, I promise."

He paused a moment and said, "I miss you already, you know that."

"An' Ah miss ye too!" replied a teary sounding Freya.

"I'll call you again when I can and I'll let you know how we are doing. Oh! Could you tell Rachel that we managed to inspect the engines and they seem to be in good condition?" said Roger in earnest.

"Ah'll tell 'er th' guid news aboot th' engines. Take caur ay yoorself eh?" replied Freya and she hung up.

Roger looked up at Henri and said, "I had Freya tell Rachel the engines seem to be fine and we'll keep them posted on our progress."

Henri grinned and held up his own phone and remarked, "I just got off ze phone myself."

He shrugged and said quietly, "My wife, she will require some special attention when I get back."

Roger smiled at his long time friend and replied, "Miriam is a very special lady and you really lucked out when you met her."

Henri laughed and retorted, "And you have a young giantess who loves you and she won't always be a child zhat you can put off because of her youth."

All Roger could do was blush in response and mutter, "Don't remind me, Ayesha and Mia both ganged up on me and said pretty much the same thing to my great embarrassment, and George, the little weasel, agreed with them!"

Henri burst out laughing, much to Roger's annoyance and eventually commented, "Zhey are right you know? Ze girl does love you and only wants you to be happy."

"I thought you were on my side?" grumbled Roger.

Henri grinned again and remarked teasingly, "I am on your side, but zhis... Is too hard to resist!"

Roger shrugged and replied, "Go ahead, have your fun, meanwhile we need to find a place to sleep!"

Shortly after that, they found a room with several beds set up in it, a wall locker had a stack of wool army blankets and they each took a couple to use.

Sleep eluded the two men that first night alone, torn away from their loved ones by a series of odd circumstances.

Roger fretted that he had not adequately explained it to Freya, the necessity of sending her home so abruptly without even a proper goodbye.

To his amazement, Henri eventually slept quite peacefully while he flopped and turned half the night.