The Chrononauts

Young John leaned against the tent pole of Krotan the Magnificent and watched the biplane skim twenty feet above the excited crowd. His mother gave him a wave and a stuck out her tongue as she stood on the plane’s upper wing.

Krotan watched with him, wearing his black cape and royal purple turban. Krotan chuckled. “Your parents are insane...you know that, right?”

John chuckled. “I never noticed.”

Krotan laughed. “That’s because you are the craziest of all.” There seemed to be more energy in the crowd than usual. John’s eyes scanned across the mob and saw four people that looked out of place.

John jutted his chin. “Check out those four people.”

Krotan nodded. “Oh, that must be the German baron’s family.

John looked at the wife and two kids. John watched them as they talked to his parents. “They certainly seem interested in the biplane.”

Krotan had an idea. “You could go over and practice your German on them.”

John chuckled. “Yes I could and my Greek on those three and my Latin on those two priests over there.”

Krotan gave him a devious smile. “Well maybe you should save your energy for tonight; I am giving you a calculus test.”

John cringed and shook his head. Krotan was a retired Harvard professor who lived near the Hollings family. He had been persuaded to join the carnival on its Massachusetts and mid-Atlantic sweep. His acute understanding of psychology made him a natural as a psychic reader.

John joined the carnival at the urging of his mother. Ten-year-old John was a very smart boy and was taught all kinds of things from the eclectic array of people who performed for the daily crowds. Karate and mathematics were two of his favorite subjects.

John wandered over to the fresh doughnut stand and got a cup of coffee to wash his cider doughnut down. He looked around quickly to make sure his mother didn’t see him drinking coffee. She didn’t. He was tall for his age and had light blonde hair and dark blue eyes.

They were planted on the Germans who were at the shooting gallery. John was surprised; the wife was a great shot. The husband was also excellent. The son was lousy and kept getting mad. He complained about the wind and a defective rifle. The little blonde daughter wanted to shoot but her father wouldn’t let her.

She looked around pouting and saw John watching her. John gave her a sympathetic smile. She stared at John for a few seconds and then at the ground with disappointment and kicked some dirt. An hour passed and the last airplane show started. John’s parents did their routine again. The German family was in the front row, watching with excitement. The little girl hopped up and down every time they passed over. John watched with Krotan as the plane landed. The plane taxied to a halt right in front of the Germans.

John’s father started his spiel. “And now, the youngest certified pilot in the United States, who was taught by Orville Wright himself, my son, John.”

He sighed and turned his Red Stockings baseball hat backwards and trotted over to the plane. He jumped in and chuckled as the little girl’s jaw dropped open in shock.

A couple men turned the tail around so the plane faced the breeze. He gunned the engine down the grassy field straight into the wind. The plane lifted abruptly and circled the field. He did some loops and the plane dove straight at the German family and the little girl.

All of them ducked quickly except the little girl. John chuckled to himself and said, “Brave girl.” He landed the plane gently and taxied to the front of the crowd. He hopped out to loud cheering. He sighed and gave the crowd a visibly embarrassed wave.

His father would begin to take people up in the plane for ten minutes at a cost of five dollars. The German father and son went up together. The daughter wanted to go up badly but the father wouldn’t let her. She looked extremely disappointed. Several other people went for a flight. The sun was almost down and it was John’s job to gas the plane and fix any small tears and cover it for the night.

Krotan looked at John and chuckled, “I know what you’re thinking. You would be grounded forever and start an international incident. He looked over John’s shoulder at the mother trying to console her daughter.

Krotan shook his head with a slight smile. “Boy she is really sad.” The mother caught John watching them and stared back at him for a moment. She walked over to the puppet show while her husband and son were back at the shooting gallery watching an Indian shoot balloons with arrows.

The Indian was really a physics student at Princeton who spent his summers with the show. John walked over to secure the plane for the night. He would fuel it up and check the oil. He then started fixing some small tears.

He was shocked when the little girl asked him what he was doing in perfect English. He looked around and saw the mother watching her from fifty yards away. The girl whispered, “She said I could look at the plane if I wasn’t a bother. My name is Anna.” She curtseyed slightly.

He smiled back at her. “I’m John.” He looked over his shoulder and saw the mother still staring at them. He noticed that the mother and daughter had on the same outfits, violet dresses and black jackets. He asked, “Could you put your finger on the corner of this piece of fabric for me so I can glue the piece, please?”

He glanced over at Krotan, who slowly shook his head from left to right. He held a fist over his head like he was hanging himself. John chuckled slightly and glanced back at the mother. She was looking over at the father and son. She turned back and stared at John.

He casually asked Anna, “Would you like to sit in the plane?”

She gushed, “Oh, could I really?” He showed her how they strapped people in. The mother was still staring at him but not moving. She seemed to have a trace of a smile.

Krotan was trying to dismiss a woman who was insistent on getting a reading. John jumped into the plane and turned his hat backwards. Anna had a shocked look and then a look of sheer excitement. She said, “But I only have five cents.”

John chuckled, “I’ll give you the sun setting discount rate.”

She giggled, “My father is going to be so mad.” She screamed with excitement when they went straight up in the air. He dove toward the ground and buzzed the crowd. He let her hold the stick a few times. He did loops and stalls. Twenty minutes later, he landed.

He could see a laughing Krotan giving him the hangman sign again. He undid the straps and let her out. The mother was talking to her husband, who was chuckling and didn’t look all that upset. The son, however, was another story. He tried to hit John several times with his walking stick but was blocked each time.

The father grabbed his son by the scruff of the neck and pushed him to the rear, scolding him in German. John spoke to the father in perfect German. “It is okay, sir, he couldn’t hurt me. He was protecting his sister.”

The baron switched to English. “I’m afraid you think too well of my son. Thank you for giving my daughter a ride.” He held out twenty dollars.

John smiled. “That won’t be necessary. Your daughter already paid me.”

The baron smiled at him and chuckled to John’s father, “That’s quite the son you have there, Mr. Hollings.”

John’s father laughed. “Yes, and I can assure you he will be justly rewarded.”

The baron smiled. “Don’t reward him too badly. His heart was in the right place. The baron’s wife smiled at John who blushed badly and looked away. She grinned. The baron shook the family’s hands. “We are taking a train back to Boston and a ship back to Germany on the weekend.”

They started to walk over to the wagon for a ride back to town. The daughter yanked on her father’s sleeve and whispered to him. The baron laughed and nodded. Anna ran back over to John. She curtseyed. “Thank you for the ride, John.” She took off her tiny amethyst ring and shoved it in his hand. She looked at him and hesitated, and then she quickly kissed him.

John turned bright red. She looked at him, confused, and then a big smile formed on her face. She turned and walked back with a noble dignity to her laughing mother. The wagon left with her smiling broadly back at John. Krotan also smiled at John, who blushed again. John, straight-faced and in perfect German murmured, “Not a word, Krotan.”

The years drifted by quickly. John was fourteen and frequently had to drive into town to buy supplies. He came back one day and could see white smoke rising from their carnival site. He stepped on the gas. As he came closer, he saw the burning plane.

Krotan grabbed him. “A freak gust of wind flipped the plane. They died instantly. They didn’t suffer.” John sleepwalked through the next few weeks. By the end of the month, he was back to normal but subdued. Krotan had kept a letter from his parents.

They had written instructions and left him money to go to his father’s older brother’s home in England. He was a lord. Krotan had a first-class ticket and a letter from the lord welcoming him into his family.

He smiled. “We will go shopping tomorrow. You can’t go over there in shorts.”

John sighed. “I hate shopping.”

Krotan laughed. “You better bring your hockey stick. You look pretty decent dressed up; you will need the stick to keep the ladies away on that ship.”

John chuckled. “I’ll send you a letter when I arrive in England, Krotan. Thanks for all your help.”

Krotan laughed. “And I’ll expect the letter to be in classical Greek.”

The train brought John to Boston and he was aboard the ship two hours later. His single cabin had a view of the ocean. The ship was not exactly in a rush to get back to England. John, likewise, was in no hurry to meet people he had only heard about. He took a nap in a deck chair and waited for the sun to go down.

Krotan was right about the ladies. John awoke to find three girls smiling at him. They were also blocking the sun. They looked at him like he was dinner and they hadn’t eaten in a week. The redhead ran her finger down his chest, saying, “Wow, you’re a cutie.” He spoke to her in German and pretended he didn’t understand English. The Germans were not liked very much. The possibility of a war was real in those days.

The black-haired girl sighed, “What a pity.” He had no more admirers that day. He chuckled as they walked away.

A few days later, in the German section of the ship, the three English girls looked for John. The redhead yelled, “Wait until we find that Yank, pretending to be German to get rid of us.” She continued to rant, “I’ll pull out every blonde hair on his bloody head.”

Anna looked up from her book. “I assure you he is not here. There is just my stupid fat brother and he has red hair.”

The auburn-haired girl asked, “Well, is he rich?”

Anna laughed. “Well, our father is a baron and he is rich. Trust me; there isn’t enough money in the world to put up with my brother’s shenanigans.”

The three girls laughed as Anna’s brother came through the doorway. He bowed. “Ladies, I am the only son of Baron Von Heisen.”

They laughed at him and the tall one said, “We see what you mean.”

He glared at his little sister. “I’ll get you for that, you little big mouth.”

Anna was curious about the Yank. She wandered the decks but didn’t notice anyone with blonde hair and young. Anna laughed. “He is probably just some poor guy that doesn’t like pushy Brits.”

She went back to her deck chair and her Mark Twain novel. She imagined she was “Becky” and John was “Huck.” She wondered what he looked like after all the years. She laughed; he probably wouldn’t even remember her.

Siegfried was still steaming at his sister. He was ogling girls on the upper deck when he saw a tall figure looking out over the railing. The German’s back stiffened and he shuddered. It was that American from the carnival in Kansas.

He knew better than to try to fight him. He was bulkier than the American but he knew that Chinese fighting. Besides that, Siegfried was a coward.

He thought about it; he could hire some boys to beat him up. He dismissed the idea because they might talk and his father might find out. John turned sideways and he saw his sister’s tiny dark amethyst ring on a chain around his neck and smiled.

John returned to his cabin after eating supper and saw a note on his dresser. Anna was on board and she wanted to meet him on the upper deck railing after sunset. He laughed. “Well, I better hide this.” He laughed and put the ring in his pocket.

He had to kill some time and took a nap. He wondered about the cloak and dagger? Maybe her father didn’t want her to associate with Americans, considering there might be a war brewing. After sunset, John stood at the railing and waited.

He watched the dim red dip into the horizon. Almost everyone was below at a concert featuring Rachmaninoff. He heard a shuffling noise and turned to see Siegfried’s smiling face. “You like to fly, American? Fly!” He pushed a surprised John headfirst over the railing.

He hit his head on the bottom rail but grabbed an open porthole on the deck below. Siegfried was shocked to hear someone yell, “Man overboard!” and the ship’s sailors quickly echoed the distress call across the decks. Someone yelled at Siegfried to stay where he was. He instead ran off into the evening fog.

The clattering of his steps faded away and the sirens replaced their sound. The ship stopped moving and a man screamed that there was a boy holding onto his porthole on the second deck. The man inside held on to his wrist. A crewman was lowered over the side and secured John with a rope. He had lost consciousness. He was carried to the ship doctor’s infirmary.

A witness gave a statement to the first officer. “A young fat man with red hair said, ‘Fly American! You like to fly.’ He ran into the fog when I yelled at him.” The doctor splinted the broken right arm and treated the boy for a concussion.

The doctor talked to the captain. “He might be out for some time, sir. He had some things in his pocket and wallet.” He handed a brown paper bag to the captain.

The officer reviewed the contents. “He is an American named John Hollings, who is staying alone in a first-class cabin. He is on his way to England. He has a couple of pictures: one is probably his parents and one of him sitting in a biplane. Check out the third picture, sir.”

The captain’s eyebrows rose. “Huh, an autographed picture with Orville Wright. ‘To my youngest pilot graduate ever, John. Congratulations, Orve’.”

The first officer thought aloud. “The man who pushed him knew he was American and that he could fly a plane. The man also was obviously not an American. There was a note in his pocket, too, from someone named Anna.”

The captain asked, “Did the witness see a woman on deck?”

“No, sir he did not.”

The captain pulled out a chain and ring. My little Anna was written in German.

The captain warned his officer. “We keep this quiet. If the man is German, it could cause trouble. See if there are any women named Anna on board and while you’re at it, look for red-headed German male. Check everything yourself and be subtle. Verify the people with your eyes only.”

Siegfried was smug all day. His sister and parents wondered why. The three English girls were talking by the railing near Anna’s deck chair. “I heard the captain talking about a man falling overboard and getting killed.”

The tall one said, “I heard he wasn’t dead and he might have been pushed. He will probably die. He is unconscious from hitting his head on the railing. I hope it’s that fake German boy who wouldn’t talk to us.”

An hour later, Siegfried walked by his sister, “Did you hear about last night? Some guy fell overboard and was killed.”

Anna laughed. “You are wrong, as usual. He is alive, but unconscious, and will probably die. They also say he might have been pushed.” She looked at her brother, who had been acting suspiciously.

He walked away, saying, “That is one less American.”

The first officer reported to the captain the next morning, “There are three Anna’s on board. One is German. She is the thirteen-year-old daughter of Baron Von Heisen.”

The captain thought for a moment. “Well, our victim is fourteen, so check her out...but tactfully, Jeff.”

The first officer walked around, greeting people on the deck, and saw a young girl in the German area reading Mark Twain in English. She glanced up at him. He smiled. “I love Mark Twain. I’m Jeff. Are you enjoying your voyage?”

She smiled. “I’m Anna. Yes, it is wonderful. The United States is certainly fast-paced. It is nice to relax before getting home to Germany.”

Jeff probed, “Have you made any new friends yet?”

She laughed. “My father doesn’t let me mingle. He is a bit protective. Oh, how is the man who fell overboard?”

That gave Jeff a chance to ask her about John. “He is a fourteen-year-old boy and he is in a coma, I am afraid. He also didn’t fall overboard; he was pushed. He is an American.” He noticed her reaction to that fact.

She smiled, “I am afraid I only know one American and I have not seen him in many years. I was only nine at the time. He had a pilot license and he was only ten.”

The first officer thanked her. “Your father has good reason to protect you. You’re a beautiful young lady.” She blushed and watched him casually walk away.

He reported back to the captain. “I don’t think she knows anything about the incident, but I am pretty sure she is the mentioned Anna.”

The captain frowned. “This could get sticky. Try to get a look at her father. See if he has red hair. Run into the girl again tomorrow and feed her a little more information.”

The first officer saw the little girl at lunch. She waved to him. He casually walked over to her, “Hello, Anna!” She smiled and introduced her father and mother. Her father was bald.

The girl laughed, “I have a brother, but he is off bragging to some unfortunate girl.”

Anna asked, “How is the young man?”

The officer said, “He is still in a coma; we think he could fly planes. He is blonde, about six feet tall, and on his way to England to live with his uncle. We found a letter that his parents were killed.”

Anna looked at her father. “Do you know who tried to kill him yet?”

He answered, “All we know is the person was heavy and had red hair. He knew him, too. Well, at least, the fact that he could fly.”

Alarmed, Anna looked at her father who also displayed shock.

The officer continued, “He had a small ring on a chain in his pocket.”

Anna asked, “Was it amethyst?”

Jeff answered quietly, “Yes, it was.”

She asked, “Can I see him?”

He shook his head. “I’m afraid he is still unconscious. He hit his head pretty hard when the red-headed man pushed him over.” She looked confused and then anger filled her face. Her father put his hand on her arm and patted it.

She pulled it away. “Well, you need a positive ID, don’t you?” He looked at the baron, who nodded slightly. She accompanied the officer to the room. The boy had a broken arm and a large bandage around his head.

She began to cry. “Yes, that is the boy I met, John.” He let her go back to her family.

The officer talked to the captain. “Anna identified him as John. The father is bald and his son wasn’t around. A person who knows them says the brother is fat and has red hair.”

Anna found her brother with his parents. She slapped his face. “You tried to kill John.”

He smiled at her. “It wasn’t me.”

She yelled, “They have a witness!”

The son argued, “No, they don’t; I was too far away.” His parents stared at him, horrified.

His mother yelled, “You tried to kill someone?”

Siegfried laughed. “So what if I did? I didn’t like him; besides, they don’t really have a witness. He insulted our family and you did nothing.”

The irate baron berated Siegfried. “He took your sister for a plane ride and you attacked him with a walking stick for no reason. You embarrassed our family. You are probably going to jail for a long time for attempted murder—and life if he dies.”

Siegfried whined, “You’re a baron; you can get me off if you wanted to.”

The captain came into John’s room and was pleased to see he was awake. “How do you feel son?”

John chuckled. “I feel pretty good; the aspirin helped a lot sir.”

The captain asked, “Did you see who did this to you?”

John shook his head slowly. “It was pretty dark, sir.”

The captain tried again. “What did he say to you?”

John said, “Sorry captain, I was daydreaming. He did say something.”

The captain said he would check on him later and walked out with the doctor. “He knows who did it. I wonder why he won’t tell us.” News soon got around the ship that John had regained consciousness.

The baron and his family came to visit him. The doctor stayed to change his dressing. The baron spoke. “My son Siegfried has something to say to you.”

John laughed. “Siegfried, I haven’t seen you in years! You finally are going to apologize for trying to hit me with the stick? Well, it’s about time.” Everyone looked shocked. The son apologized with a sigh of relief. He looked over at his father with a cocky smile. The baron’s look removed the smile instantly. The mother stared at John with a slight smile and tears. A smug Siegfried left.

The rest of the family stayed in the room. The doctor knew what was going on and decided to make his rounds. The baron asked, “Why didn’t you identify Siegfried? You saw him do it.”

John chuckled. “Four years ago, I took Anna up in the plane without your permission. Why didn’t you get me in trouble? If I identify him, I ruin four lives. If I do not, I save three lives. I’m sure Siegfried will screw up again without my help. So I am only returning the favor you did for me.”

The baron asked, “Why are you visiting Europe?”

John looked sad. “My parents got killed in a plane crash and I am on my way to live with my uncle, at least until I’m eighteen.”

The baron’s wife, Frieda, sobbed. “We are so sorry, John. If anything goes wrong, contact us. You have three friends for life.” She smiled at her daughter. “I think Anna might like to visit you for a while.”

John blushed. “Well, I can stand it if she can.”

Anna frowned, “She can.” She punched John in his good arm. He squealed like it hurt. Her parents left.

Anna smiled, “The doctor says you had my ring on a chain in your pocket.”

John blushed. “Well, I might have saved it for good luck.” She stayed an hour and kissed him on the cheek. She hugged him tightly and he screamed.

She laughed. “Oh, that didn’t hurt you.” She smiled and left.

The captain came in. “You did see him, right?”

John laughed. “Maybe, but trust me, he will get his.”

The captain chuckled. “You’re a better man than me. I would throw the fat little Hun in jail.”

Time went by quickly. It looked to the baron that war was coming. John told Anna he would try to write to her through the baron. She could try to write to him through Lord Hollings. The baron gave his daughter alone time the last day. She laughed, “Trust me; this is a first for my father.”

The ship finally arrived in England. John was met at the dock by Lord Hollings’ butler. John laughed. “I could have found the place, sir.”

A girl laughed in the touring car. “No, that would never do.” He looked inside and saw a well-dressed little girl. She looked at him top to bottom and chuckled. “I can see I will be very popular with the older girls in school this year. Hello, my name is Violet. I am the daughter of Lord Hollings. I also have an older brother named Edward. You are not going to like him. He is a louse.”

The butler let out a definite grunt at the mention of his name. John chuckled, “My name is John. I will try not to embarrass your family.”

Violet laughed. “Sorry, but that job has been filled by my brother. He is off playing rugby right now. He is not very good at it. She looked at John’s arm. “What happened to your arm?”

John laughed. “A German kid pushed me overboard while I was watching the sun go down.”

Violet laughed. “I gather a girl was involved somehow.” John didn’t answer but he did blush.

She giggled, “My father says we are going to war soon and we will get even with them for that.” They arrived at the lord’s home. It wasn’t a castle but it looked pretty close to John.

Violet laughed, “Don’t let my brother see that look. He is a pompous ass and will take advantage of you.” John was led in by the butler. Her brother Edward stood on the stairs. He looked at John’s broken arm. Violet jumped in. “Some German pushed John over the railing during the trip. It involved a woman, of course.”

Edward shook his head. “I should have paid him more money.”

John chuckled. “You should have hired a Brit.” Edward chuckled at that one.

Lord Hollings stood at the top of the stairs and greeted John. “Welcome to our home, John. I am sorry for your loss.” He had lost his wife, Lady Hollings, to influenza six years before.

Edward spoke up. “By the way, Yank, over here we dress for dinner.”

The lord gave Edward an icy stare. “You give him the correct clothing, Edward. You’re two years older but you’re both of similar size. Oh, and remember I will be at the table, Edward, so none of your shenanigans.”

Violet looked at a defeated Edward and laughed loudly. Violet showed John to his room. It was huge. She giggled. “Get used to it; everything is huge, especially my brother’s ego. Don’t trust Edward; he will be planning something nasty to do to you. Personally, I think Father hopes you can straighten him out a little. I am going to enjoy the process immensely.”

Supper was stuffed chicken, which made John feel better. Edward cackled every time John picked up the wrong utensil. Lord Hollings gave Edward a dirty look. “You are fourteen; is that correct, John?”

John nodded. “Yes, sir.”

The lord continued, “We will have you tested to see what grade level to put you in.”

Blushing, John said, “I am afraid I was home-schooled, sir.” Edward laughed aloud and shook his head.

The frustrated lord glared at his obnoxious son. “Well, for example, have you studied geometry?”

John looked surprised. “Well, yes, but a long time ago, I am afraid.”

Lord Hollings looked at him curiously. “Really? How long ago was that?”

John looked embarrassed. “Well, I think I was seven years old sir, but I remember most of it.” He glanced at Violet, who was grinning broadly at her brother.

The lord looked shocked. “Well, what were you studying this year?”

John thought. “I finished calculus this year. Languages—this year I studied Greek and Russian, chemistry, and a little physics—you know, the usual stuff, sir.” Edward sat there with his mouth open.

Lord Hollings asked, “What do you mean by ’languages this year’?”

John blushed. “Well, sir, I’ve learned two languages a year since I was seven. So I know French, Spanish, Chinese Mandarin, and Latin among others, but I don’t really count that one.

The lord said something in French to him. John laughed and answered him perfectly.

Violet couldn’t contain herself. “Didn’t you just start geometry, dear brother?”

Edward sneered. “He is full of it. Nobody is that smart.”

Lord Hollings laughed. “Well, I can tell you he speaks perfect French.”

John felt a lot better; Edward, not so much. The Lord saw an opportunity to knock his son down a couple notches. He was the smartest in his class and let everyone know it. Lord Hollings inquired, “Do you have any hobbies, John?”

John thought a minute and replied, “I train in martial arts; I collect rocks; I mountain climb. I also have a pilot’s license, but it probably isn’t valid in Britain.”

There were two months left in the school year. John’s arm and the cracked bone had healed. Lord Hollings decided he would enroll John in Edward’s class, but the school refused to just put him there.

One professor said, “He was home-schooled and is a Yank; how smart could he be?” Meanwhile, John helped Violet with her homework. He also started teaching her karate in the rose garden.

Violet brought him to the dean’s office to be tested. John was nervous. Violet laughed. “What are you worried about? They think Edward is a brilliant student. I will meet you under the old oak tree in the student park when you are done.”

The entrance testing took a lot longer than either expected. The dean had to bring in special people for tests that were typically taken for Oxford placement. John finally got done and took a nap under the oak tree. Violet wouldn’t be done her classes for another hour.

He seemed to be getting a lot of notice from the female students. As Violet made her way to the park, she laughed. “Oh good grief! I was afraid of this—bees to honey.” She shook her head and looked up at the sky. She noticed the girl Edward liked was one of John’s new admirers. That made her happy. She liked it when Edward was mad.

She noticed her father was in an especially good mood when she and John returned home. He smiled at Edward. “I heard that John is being placed in your class.”

All the instructors were happy. John would make Edward look like a fool. He had told John before supper that Edward needed to be put in his place. John smiled. “You gave me a home to live in. I will do my best for you, sir.”

Edward was irate. “I know this was your doing, Father. I will take care of him. You can count on that.”

Lord Hollings gave him a warning. “If you physically harm a hair on John’s head, you will be put in military school next semester.” There were rumors going around the school about how well John did in his testing. All the teachers couldn’t wait to see Edward taken down a notch.

Violet talked to John. “Watch out for him. He has others do his dirty work. He is a coward, which makes him dangerous. By the way, my father has decided to adopt you. Edward will go crazy when he finds out.”

His father told Edward the bad news. “You are the oldest; you will get the title when I die... provided you start acting like a royal. I have an alternative now.”

Violet was thrilled and gave John a big hug. John was shocked and embarrassed. “Sir, you didn’t have to do that.”

He smiled. “I did it for my daughter and myself.”

John smiled. “I will always look after Violet and the best interests of the family.”

Everything was quiet at home, a little too quiet. Violet was worried about John. “Edward is up to something; keep your eyes open.” The school semester continued on again. There was a lot of buzz in the air.

Edward tried to intimidate John by bumping into him in the hall and Edward ended up on his butt instead. John helped Edward back to his feet and brushed him off. “Are you okay, Edward? You should watch where you are going.”

Edward yanked his arm away. Several girls saw the confrontation and laughed at Edward. He whispered, “You better keep your mouth shut or some of my friends will shut it for you.”

John laughed. “You should really learn to fight your own battles. Everyone will think you’re a sissy.” Several students saw the encounter and smiled with approval at John.

Edward sneered, “Okay, you asked for it, Yank.”

The teacher was shocked to see everyone in class and sitting quietly. He grinned. “Apparently everyone knows we have a new student from America. I hope you will make John feel welcome.” Several girls giggled and smiled at him. The loudest giggle was from the girl Edward liked.

The first class of the day was mathematics. They were studying trigonometry. The teacher was especially cheerful since he was the one who had tested John in mathematics. There was going to be a bloodbath during today’s lesson if he was not mistaken.

He demonstrated several problems on the board and showed the class how to solve them. He put a few different problems up on the chalkboard for the class to solve. After five minutes, he asked for volunteers to solve them. Nobody raised a hand. He called on Edward to solve one, but he didn’t have a clue how and blushed badly from the embarrassment.

He called on John. “I know you’re two years younger than everyone else, but would you like to try?”

John solved the first in his head and gave the correct answer. This happened several times and an irate Edward finally went to see the school nurse for an earache. Everyone laughed at him as he left.

Apparently, most people didn’t like Edward. The next three classes went the same way. Edward finally demanded that they call on someone else. Several girls laughed at him each time he was wrong.

At lunch break, John took his sandwich to the bench under the oak tree. He was followed by a large number of young ladies. He tried to ignore them and eat his sandwich. Several of the largest boys in class surrounded him. The girls all watched from a distance.

John tried to ignore them but they wouldn’t leave. Finally John spoke. “Sorry guys, but I only like girls. Just because I am Edward’s cousin doesn’t mean I like men.” Several of the guys snickered at that one.

The biggest one spoke up. “We don’t like you showing us up in class.”

John swallowed his bite of sandwich. “It is not my fault the teacher is calling on the biggest idiot in the classroom.” A couple of the boys laughed aloud. John continued, “I assume Edward put you up to this. I know he is afraid to do his own dirty work. I hope he is paying you well.”

Another boy laughed. “Yes, quite well, Yank.”

John nodded. “That’s good, because I am sure he also told you I am trained in the martial arts.”

A curious boy asked, “What are martial arts?”

John smiled, “It is oriental self-defense. It means I will probably have to hurt you if I am attacked by all of you at once. I am better at it than math.”

John chuckled. “He did warn you about it, right?” The three boys looked at each other and laughed. They started edging towards John. He smiled. “I guess a demonstration is needed.” He walked over and picked up three red bricks from the edge of the path. He handed one to each boy.

“These are harder than bone, correct?” They smirked and nodded. He set two upright and the third across the other two. He promptly broke the top brick in half with his fist. The shocked boys looked at each other.

John said, “Edward does not care if you get hurt. He only cares about himself. Can you guys put the bricks back for me? I want to finish my lunch before I kick Edward’s butt in whatever our next class is.” That got a lot of laughs.

The leader spoke. “Um, you couldn’t teach us that, could you?”

John laughed. “Sure, I teach Violet every day at three o’clock in the lord’s rose garden.”

Edward didn’t know what to do; everybody liked John. He turned his attention to his little sister. She had deserted him just because he picked on her a little.

He noticed her class was watching a pair of hawks over on the chalk cliffs. He had to listen to her talk about the babies every night. He still had a group of boys who thought it was cool to have a future lord as a friend. They figured he would give them jobs when his father died.

He told them he was going to fix his sister. The next afternoon, John found Violet and her friends crying in the park. Edward shot the two adult falcons and now their babies would starve. Several of her friends tried to console her but to no avail. Edward stood on the walk with his friends and laughed at her.

John walked over towards him. Edward laughed. “I killed two birds; so what?? It was just a couple of stupid birds.” Four of his friends stepped between John and Edward. Two had switchblades out. John’s three students stepped forward.

He stopped them. “Just take care of Violet; this won’t take long. We have a school nurse, right, Dave? Go get her and tell her to bring lots of splints and bandages.” The four men stepped forward. One lunged with his knife. John ducked and broke his arm as he stuck his knife in his attacker’s own leg.

The second one got the same treatment but John threw in a shattered nose. The last two rushed together. A side kick removed four teeth from one and broke his jaw. The last man received a broken nose and two broken arms. The whole event took fifteen seconds.

Edward pulled out a pistol and shot at John. John took the pistol away and shattered his nose with it. Violet was shocked. “You tried to kill John. Wait until Father hears about it!” John’s three friends were in awe.

James said softly, “That was unbelievable, John.” The nurse and police arrived. Edward had taken off.

His four friends were quickly arrested. John looked at his sister. “Show me where the falcon’s nest is. I used to climb in America. They have a lot of mountains. The main problem here is the chalk wall is soft and not stable. There are no places to put in pitons to support my weight if the chalk is too weak.”

John brought Violet home and unpacked his second suitcase. It contained climbing spikes, pitons, and seventy-five feet worth of safety rope. John laughed to himself, “I didn’t think I would ever use these in England.” Violet waited for her father to arrive home.

John went back alone to the cliff. The sun would be going down soon. He attacked the cliffs from the top where he could tie off the rope safely. Several of Violet’s friends were at the bottom of the cliff, hiding in the bushes and waiting to see what happened. They expected John to fall to his death like all the others who tried to climb the crumbly wall of chalk. He carefully rappelled down from the top section of the face. He managed to get down to the nest and realized he didn’t bring a bag for the youngsters. He put the active little birds inside his shirt.

He heard a yell from one of Violet’s friends below. “Watch out! Edward is cutting your rope.” He tossed the rope over the side but John managed to secure his footing.

Edward laughed. “No one can climb down bloody chalk, Yank, especially not a bloody American. Now it’s time to take care of the lord who deserted his own son.”

John yelled down, “Go for the police and tell them to get over to Lord Hollings’ estate.” A girl ran off and her two friends ran to warn the lord and Violet. Edward started to leave. John let out a short yell that stopped Edward.

He called out, “Yank, are you still alive?” He moved to the edge of the cliff but couldn’t see him. He carefully walked down the rocky path towards the beach and finally saw John clinging to the cliff wall. He laughed, “You can’t stay there forever, Yank.” It was getting dark quickly. Edward headed towards home but the girls would beat him there.

Lord Hollings and Violet had gotten away safely. Edward emptied his father’s safe of a hundred thousand pounds and ran off.

Back at the cliff, John was slowly working his way down the cliff. He searched out flint nodules for his hands and feet that could support his weight. He finally reached the bottom. It had taken him a full hour. Lord Hollings, Violet and a constable arrived as he stepped onto solid ground.

John reached his bloody hand inside his shirt and removed two squawking adolescent falcons. Beaming, Violet took the birds into her soft green sweater. Lord Hollings looked up at the wall in the moonlight. He couldn’t recall anyone ever successfully climbing down it.

The trio headed back home with a police escort. Edward was long gone. The safe door was ajar. The officer asked Lord Hollings if he wanted to press charges for the theft. He thought for a minute and sighed. “I think not.”

The officer said, “So you want us just to charge him with the attempted murder then?”

John hesitated, “It was pretty dark out there. The rope probably got cut by a rock.” Lord Hollings gave him a surprised look.

John chuckled. “I think I am getting used to having people try to kill me.” They later heard that Edward ran off to France. John and Violet raised the two falcons. Violet named them William and Mary. They grew fast and nested in the ancient oak that had been alive since Richard the Third was king and grew among the carefully trimmed evergreens in the rose garden.

The two falcons would fly down and greet John and Violet whenever they came out to sit in the garden. They always had treats in their pockets and the two birds knew it. John sat with Violet in the garden, watching the sunset. John laughed at the birds looking in his pocket for treats.

He thought back to his younger years. “When I was little, my family let me stay with an Indian tribe one summer. The medicine man was a good friend of my father, your uncle. He said he was a shape shifter. That is someone who can change into an animal of some kind.”

John chuckled. “He could turn into a white hawk. I saw him do it. He had a scout put a picture of me on a rock five miles away. He made me sit on a log outside his teepee. That is a cone-shaped tent. He let me look inside. There was just a blanket on the ground. I went back to my log. He walked into the tent. I could see all the way around the teepee. After about ten minutes, a white hawk flew out.”

He smiled at Violet. “I ran over and looked inside and nobody was there. After a while, the bird flew back and landed on my log. It had my picture. It flew into the tent and a few minutes later the medicine man walked out, carrying the picture. He tried to teach me to become a hawk all summer.

He said that I would succeed before I left the Earth. He was sure of that. He said, ‘Hawks signify major events, flying toward sunrise for a new life.’ Towards the setting sun was for the end of a majestic life.”

The years passed by. John graduated from Oxford a year early. War broke out as Violet started her freshman year. Most sons of the upper class got commissions in intelligence or management positions. The brave ones joined the fledgling Royal Air Force as John did.

The average lifespan for a pilot in combat was six weeks. After flight school, John was posted to Sixty Squadron. He was surprised to see Edward was there and more shocked to see he had eight kills and was apparently an ace. Edward was not pleased to see John. “You are still alive, Yank? That’s a pity...you won’t be for long.”

Edward tried to get John assigned as his wingman. The commanding officer knew the family history and nixed that idea. John was assigned to Bishop, the highest ranking ace in the squadron. He would make sure there was no monkey business involving Edward.

Edward, as it turned out, liked to poach other pilot’s kills. Another pilot would risk his life and, once the German was wounded or his plane was smoking, Edward would swoop in and fire a few rounds so he could claim half the kill. Very few pilots liked Edward.

It became obvious after a couple of weeks that John was a gifted flier. He wore a maroon scarf with the Hollings coat of arms. He had eight kills after three weeks. John didn’t follow the planes down to the ground and kill the pilots, nor would he shoot pilots that parachuted out of their planes. The only exception was if the plane was on fire, and then he would put them out of their misery.

He was allowed to go out alone and patrol. Edward was not. The wing commander wasn’t going to have one of his best pilots shot in the back by friendly fire. In late July, John was up alone when he was attacked by four planes from the Flying Circus, a famous German fighter squadron. A fifth red triplane floated high above and watched the action.

The German in the red plane saw the British pilot was very good. He shot down two planes quickly by getting between them. He got on the tail of the third one but the last plane got on his tail. The pilot in the red plane thought the British pilot would break off. He did not. He shot the third triplane down. The fourth pilot shot John in the shoulder and his plane started to smoke. John still managed to outflank him and sent him down smoking.

The red triplane went into a dive and planned to try to shoot down the Brit before he killed his friend. He was shocked to see the Brit pull up beside the wounded German and lead him down to a flat landing spot. The pilot got out of his smoking plane and waved to the Brit, who waved his wings and headed back towards the French lines.

John was in trouble. Blood loss made him weak and dizzy, and he had trouble seeing where he was going. The red triplane pulled up beside him and fired a burst. It shocked John, who looked over and saw the laughing German who pointed in the direction of the French sector. He waved to the German with a questioning smile.

He led John right to the landing strip. The triplane waved its wings and flew by him. His squadron’s shocked pilots ran over and helped John out of his plane. The red triplane looped around and made sure he was okay. John waved to him as he disappeared in the clouds.

The wing commander came running over to check on John. He stammered, “That was the bloody Red Baron! Why didn’t he shoot you down?”

John grimaced. “I used to date his sister.”

The commander looked shocked. “Did you really?”

John laughed, “No, not really. That was a joke, sir. I don’t know why he didn’t shoot me down. I just shot down four of his triplanes.”

Edward was disappointed that John wasn’t dying. “You’re a bloody liar. Nobody could shoot down four triplanes in a month, never mind a couple hours. Who saw you? Where is the proof?”

John laughed. “Well, since you have to poach all your kills, there is always a witness for you: the angry pilot who risked his life to earn his victory. You know, the one you stole half a kill from, for example? I don’t count my kills. I couldn’t care less. I just want every one of my men to return safely.”

That night, there was the drone of a plane overhead. A package was dropped out and landed in front of the officers’ mess. The commander opened it. There were four triplane serial numbers. Three of them were charred. A note read, “Three of our pilots survived, thanks to your excellently talented pilot. He spared their lives so I spared his. Manfred von Richthoven.”

The commander gave Edward a very disgusted look. “I had already credited John with the kills. His word is enough for me.”

August was a terrible month for both sides. The Circus was losing many of their best pilots. Baron Von Heisen’s son got himself assigned to the Circus. It was a political assignment not based on talent.

Siegfried had gotten through flying school and was, in fact, a decent pilot. He bragged to everyone that he was requested by the Red Baron, which was a lie. His sister Anna was also a fine pilot herself and flew dispatches for the military, freeing up more men for combat.

Siegfried had not flown with the Circus since he arrived. There was one excuse after another. His father, the baron, told his son he would be kicked out of the squadron and court-martialed if he didn’t go up in the next seven days. The baron even sent his sister, Anna, to talk to him.

She begged him. “You must go up, Siegfried, or they will take you out to the firing squad.”

He laughed. “I am the son of a baron. They wouldn’t dare shoot me.” The alarm went on while she was talking. Siegfried crawled under his bunk. Anna gave him a disgusted look.

He sneered at her. “You go up if you think it is so easy.” She thought she could shame him into going. She put on his jacket and cap. She tucked her white hair under his cap and put on his goggles. She went up after the other planes were already in the air and tried to blend into the formation.

The Red Baron was surprised, but pleased to see Siegfried show some courage. They were rudely intercepted once again by John’s squadron. Everyone scattered. The Red Baron tried to keep track of Siegfried but got entangled with two Camels.

When he got away from them, he spotted “Siegfried” panicking with John on his tail. The wind caught Anna’s cap and blew it off, exposing her white hair. John saw it and paused to think. The Red Baron realized the pilot was Siegfried’s sister Anna. He tried to open fire on John but his guns were jammed.

He flew his plane forward and got between John and Anna’s planes. John was shocked. The Red Baron waited for his fate. John did not shoot. The surprised Baron looked behind and saw John wave at him with a little smile.

Anna’s plane was spilling smoke as she headed down to try to land the damaged plane in the hilly field. The Baron trailed her but was intercepted by a Camel. John followed her down to the ground. Anna bounced a couple times and flipped over. The Baron was forced to stay in the air with the Camel still chasing him. John landed near her and ran over towards her smoking plane.

He dragged her unconscious body from her plane and tried to carry her to a tree by a little brook. Her plane exploded behind him. A British Camel dove down and shot him in the back. The pilot, Edward, laughed as John fell to the ground. An iron-jawed Bishop blew Edward out of the sky. His plane exploded as it hit the ground.

John got up and took his last few steps. He dropped Anna on the ground and died in her lap. Anna awoke and saw John’s dead body. She screamed and hugged him. She removed her little ring and gold chain from around his neck and placed it on hers.

The Red Baron landed back at his home field. He had Siegfried dragged out to the runway and shot as a coward. His father would be told he died bravely. Only Anna would know it was a lie.

Violet was in her rose garden, entertaining her Oxford girlfriends. They were amazed that she had two falcons living in her rose garden. She told them the story about how she and John had saved them after Edward shot the young falcons’ parents.

One of her friends was becoming a veterinarian. “Even though you saved their lives, falcons are usually a skittish lot.” The girl was surprised to see a third bird, a strange white hawk. It was white off-season. The other two falcons were friendly towards it. She shook her head. “That is very strange; they are seriously territorial. The have been known to attack other birds ten kilometers from their own territory.”

To the surprise of everyone, the strange hawk landed on Violet’s shoulder and fished in her pocket for a piece of meat. He got it and flew up in the tree next to William and Mary. He hung around for an hour and finally flew off towards the setting sun.

A sudden realization hit Violet. She screamed and dropped her cup of tea. She ran in the house and saw her father looking out the window.

Her father spoke softly. “They are both gone. Edward shot and killed John while he was pulling a German pilot out of a burning plane. Edward was in his plane and he machine-gunned John in the back. Another British pilot saw him do it and shot him down.”

A month later, they got a letter from the Red Baron, saying how John had spared his life when he thought chivalry was dead. The years had flown by.

Detective Brady sat in his chair in the squad room staring at his terminal. “Something better happen soon around here. I am almost bored enough to join Facebook.”

Dave had just walked in. “Don’t do that. The government will know everything but the size of your tidy whiteys.” He laughed. “I take that back; they will even know if you wear them two days in a row.”

Victoria sat on Brady’s desk looking out the window. Grogan asked her, “Have you decided on where you are taking your vacation this year?”

Victoria laughed. “Well, there are still a few buildings still standing in Wyoming.”

Brady chuckled. “As long as it is quiet and warm and nobody is shooting at me, it will do.” Matt quietly stared at his computer as Mrs. B. came in to pick up Victoria.

Mrs. B. laughed. “Are you still checking out that ‘I Love Geeks’ website?”

Matt laughed. “Naw, I gave up on that. As soon as I told them I went to MIT, they figured I was a dork, even for a geek. Actually, I am looking at an article about a guy they found a couple days ago walking around in that freak snowstorm in Colorado.”

Matt chuckled. “He seemed to be in a trance of some kind. They followed his tracks back to a hundred-foot tall wall of rock. His first step was half on snow like he walked out of the rock wall. I thought it was probably a joke, but the article was posted in Scientific American and they aren’t famous for being idiots.”

Brady and his family went out to a steak house for supper. Victoria always got a T-bone steak to have a goody for Larry the German shepherd. They also always got an order of steak tips for Larry to “share” with Snowflake, their pet owl.

Larry was still working on the “share” concept, but the owl kept him in line. It was Friday night so twelve-year-old Victoria, who was a sophomore at MIT, was permitted to surf the web for fun. She was curious about the article Matt was looking at earlier.

She read the screen. “There was more information in a second article. The man had walked ten miles in a perfectly straight line which was virtually impossible. He also had no coat, hat or shoes in ten degrees below zero weather but maintained a core body temperature of ninety eight degrees.”

She chuckled. “He also had scars from three bullets in the center of his back and he was wearing an authentic World War One RAF uniform. He had some horse blanket money in his pocket that was period. He was being treated at an undisclosed Air Force base.”

Victoria whispered to herself, “I wonder why he is being held at a government base and under guard.”

Dave was in his apartment. He was also curious about the man and was doing his own research. He was always interested in government conspiracies and loved digging out little nuggets that caused head scratching among his peers.

He found out that someone from the Air Force base where the man was kept did a DNA family tree search for an unknown donor the day after he was found. The search was illegal and not done through approved channels.

The researcher had lingered on a connection to the royal family in England. They had downloaded some information. Dave had sufficient spyware knowledge to copy it. He should have worn gloves.

Luckily for Dave, he was paranoid enough to copy the information onto a thumb drive. He had his home computer lock-stepped with his work computer.

He was at work the next day and received an alert that someone had broken into his apartment. He drove home with Matt to check it out. His computer was gone but nothing else was missing.

Brady figured he should check out his house since Victoria was looking at the same event. He found her laptop on the floor and Larry chewing on a bloody and torn pant leg. Brady picked up her laptop and laughed.

There apparently was a tug of war over it and Larry had won. He brought it back to the squad room for Matt to examine. He copied the hard drive.

Dave was psyched. “See, I am not paranoid.” The police harvested the blood from the pant leg for DNA analysis. Not much more happened for a few days. Dave copied Victoria’s information on a thumb drive. He made ten copies and stashed the drives all over the place.

The DNA profile was submitted but got kicked back to them. Dave giggled. “That means a government agency is blocking it.” He still had the unknown person’s ancestry search log. The person was looking at the Hollings family tree.

Dave chuckled. “Huh, this family history should be made into a movie. Lord Hollings had a brother who went to MIT and for some reason became an airplane act in a circus with his family. He had a son who was a trained pilot at ten years old and he was trained by Orville Wright himself.”

Dave continued reading. “The parents died in a plane crash and the young boy was sent to live with his father’s brother, Lord Hollings. It gets interesting when the lord adopts the American. His real son tries to kill the boy but fails. He then steals a hundred thousand pounds from his father and disappears. The adopted son graduates from Oxford a year early. War breaks out and the adopted son, John, joins the RAF and is sent to the famous Sixty Squadron in France.”

Dave started laughing. “The real son of Hollings is an ace in the squadron but he got all his kills by poaching from other pilots. He is hated. Our hero becomes a real ace in just two months and doubles the kill total of the real son. Huh. John somehow becomes friends with the Red Baron. The Sixty Squadron gets into a major skirmish with the Flying Circus. A woman, for some reason, is flying for the Germans and her plane is shot up and crash lands. John, our hero, lands and pulls the woman out of her burning plane.”

He continued the story. “His dear brother, Edward dives his plane and shoots our hero in the back with fifty-caliber rounds from his machine gun. The leading ace pilot from the squadron, Bishop, witnesses the event and shoots Edward down, where his plane crashes and he is killed.”

He sighed. “John dies on the ground. Huh, there was no funeral held for John. That is strange, because he was an ace. But I don’t see any connection to the man they found walking in the snow. Maybe he is a relative or something. If John were alive, he would be around 125 years old.”

Dave recreated a clone computer with keystroke memory to keep at work that was matched to his home computer. He used it to research the incident and lockstepped it to his lab laptop home screen for easy access. He used a 64-digit prime number password.

Dave smiled. “Boy, there is a lot of chatter from that locked down airbase.” Matt had piggybacked the base commander’s e-mail feed.

Matt laughed. “Dave, you will be pleased to know the base is under some sort of attack. Let’s see: fifty men dead and the unknown man of yours and his personal doctor were both extracted from the base.”

Matt looked surprised. “Wait! I have a feed from our FBI friends; the assault units were CIA, according to Bob. He wants to know why we are interested in it.”

Dave shook his head. “Yeah, the CIA is tactless. They give real terrorists a bad name. Hey, I got something else from the Hollings family tree. The daughter, Violet, was killed by a lightning strike in her rose garden.”

Dave kept researching. “Uh, Matt, you talked to your sister the doctor recently?”

Matt looked surprised. “Yeah, I was supposed to have her fly in for a visit but she had to cancel. Why do you ask?”

Dave replied, “Well, the doctor taken with the unknown guy is named Doctor Meagher. It is probably just a coincidence.”

Matt looked concerned and sent her an e-mail. He got no answer. Calls to her phone went straight to voice mail. Matt called the UMass Medical Center and they said the government requested her help in an apparent abduction case. They told her the patient was under the influence of an unknown chemical agent.

She had been sent to the Colorado and Nevada areas. They expected her to check in but she hasn’t. Dave felt trepidation. “I knew it. Nevada has Area 51 and there is a saucer factory at sector four in Groom Lake.

Matt started to get worried. Mrs. B. and Victoria came in and saw the worried look on Matt’s face. Victoria looked at her mom and Brady. “We decided for our vacation that we want to go out west again.” She looked down at her phone. “They have ninety-eight dollar flights if we can leave on a Wednesday. Hey, tomorrow is a Wednesday.”

The chuckling captain was watching from his office door. “Whoever wants to go can go. God knows I need some peace and quiet.” Matt, Dave, and Harvard would go. Grogan could smell weirdness and would stay behind. He had a class on sexual harassment training he had to attend thanks to Dave’s joke of changing of the bathroom gender signs.

Brady talked to the FBI. They hated the CIA and assumed the Bradys and their friends would be screwing with them again. They wanted in and would supply a plane for the group. That was good news because Larry and Snowflake wouldn’t have to be caged.

The plane would be on standby at Worcester airport which would avoid the chaos of Logan and their famous lack of foreplay “Welcome to Massachusetts” cavity searches.

Meanwhile, Dr. Molly Meagher was walking around in a large locked patient room. There was a robotic camera that followed her movements in the room.

She noticed a young man lying unconscious in the bed below the camera. There was a full table of medical equipment and test apparatus. She ignored it all and just watched him breathe. He looked familiar to her and was definitely good-looking. She had been awake all night because of the firefight and fell asleep in a chair.

The FBI jet headed west. Larry the German shepherd and Snowflake the owl liked looking out the windows. After several hours, Victoria could hear Larry growling at something outside the window.

Bob told a concerned Victoria that was Captain Carl. “He’s flying an F-18 as an escort for us. I’ve known him for years.”

Victoria told Larry to stop his barking. He did not. Victoria looked out the window at the pilot, who was staring at the dog in one window and an owl in the next window. He was not smiling. Bob grinned and looked out the window to wave to Carl.

His face froze. “That’s not Carl.” The pilot gave Bob a forefinger salute with a sinister smile. He dropped back behind the FBI plane.

Thirty seconds later an alarm went off in the plane and it veered abruptly to the right. Dave started freaking out. “Some asshole is shooting missiles at us.” A rocket whizzed by the window.

Victoria smiled at Snowflake, “We have company.”

Her smile helped a tense Bob relax. He casually went forward to tell the FBI that Carl wasn’t flying the support jet.

Victoria looked guiltily at her mother. “Um, Snowflake wants to know if it is okay to, ah, have some fun before destroying the other plane?”

Mrs. B. looked at Brady, who shrugged. “I guess it is okay, as long as we aren’t shot out of the sky.” Snowflake hooted enthusiastically lifting her talons up and down.

Victoria stared at Snowflake and started laughing loudly. “This is going to be great.”

Everyone grabbed a seat and watched. She whispered to Mrs. B. “Record Dave. This stunt is for him. I’ll copy the event. Did I tell you Snowflake loves the Twilight Zone?”

Dave didn’t know what was going on. He hadn’t gone with them on last year’s visit to Yellowstone. He looked at Mrs. B. and she just yawned. Mrs. B. had Dave sit at the window seat in front of her. Dave waited nervously to be shot out of the sky.

He looked out the window and was surprised to see the jet that had been shooting at them pull up beside their jet. Apparently, the pilot in the other plane was equally surprised to find himself beside them. He kept looking down at his gauges and tapped them. A figure fell out of the air and landed on the wing of the FBI jet outside Dave’s window.

It waddled over to the window and pushed its face against the glass. It stared at Dave. It licked Dave’s window with a huge blue tongue. It went back out on the wing and tried to pull the panel off the top of the wing. Dave bounced up in his seat. “Look! Did you see that? It is some sort of giant gremlin.”

The other pilot saw it and was screaming frantically into his headset. The figure apparently heard him and walked to the end of the FBI plane’s wing. It jumped to the wing of the other jet.

Victoria laughed at Dave. “What? I don’t see anything.” The pilot beside them saw it. The figure pulled a whole section of wing panel off and threw it into the wind. Matt had found his radio bandwidth and they heard him screaming to his base.

Another section of his wing was ripped off. The pilot flipped the plane to try to dump the gremlin. It held on and got mad. It jumped on the cockpit and tried to pull it off. Then it tried to bite a hole through it. The pilot totally lost it and was waving his hands madly.

The figure went back to the wing and pulled an engine loose, which put the plane in a horizontal spin. The pilot tried to eject. The gremlin grasped the ejected pilot’s pod, preventing the parachute from opening. The pair disappeared into the clouds as the jet exploded. A laughing Mrs. B. completed the video of Dave witnessing the event.

Victoria had a video of the incident itself. Dave was still going crazy. Brady kept a straight face; he surmised that it was probably just a weather balloon or a giant bird. He told Dave, “Maybe you need a nice nap.”

Dave looked at everyone. They all looked calm, even Larry. He hesitated. “Okay, maybe the five coffees and two 5-hour Energy drinks were a bit much.”

Molly woke and saw a television monitor was now in the room. A panel opened on the bottom of the door and a tray of food was pushed in by a green hand. She stared at it with a shocked expression. She managed to squeak a “thank you” to the server.

The food served included all her favorites: grilled salmon, asparagus with a cheese sauce, and homemade lemonade. There was strawberry shortcake with real whipped cream to finish off the feast.

The general had watched the radar screen. “How do you miss a jet with a heat-seeking missile three times from a hundred yards away? And I thought I made it clear, no chatter on the damn radio. And how did they manage to destroy our F-18 with no weapons on board?”

The general swore. “You say that was our best pilot? What the hell was he screaming about? ‘Bigfoot’ was pulling his wing off! Well, he is dead; we don’t have to kill him. Screw it, put up all the jets. Somebody should be able to shoot those FBI assholes out of the sky.”