Beyond the Mirror
Copyright© 2012/2014
Chapter 11
Tom was up and around at six in the morning, had coffee made, and was down in his office a half hour later. He knew his friendly local pilot, Harry Guildford, was an early riser, so he called him first.
“Hello, Guildford Flight Services, how can I help you?”
“Good morning, Harry, it’s Tom. I thought I should call you and ask a few questions about your airstrip.”
“I thought you’d be calling me before this, especially when I heard about you inheriting ‘White Out,’ so I expect you’re calling to tell me what you’re going to do and how it will affect me.” Harry said quietly.
“Ah, you’ve already heard about that. I was wondering how to tell you that I’m a part owner in one of the planes you lease,” Tom tried to be diplomatic. “I was actually calling about the airstrip out there though. Who owns it?”
“It’s a group ownership, and three of us hold the title to the property, while I own the one plane and flying business, but why did you want to know that?”
“Do you mind telling me how much of the property you own?”
“Well, I own 51% of the property, which includes the major portion of the airstrip, the office building, and the hangars, but you could get that much from a title search. Is there something else involved here?”
“Yeah, there is. How well do you get along with the folks from ‘White Out?’”
“Absolutely no problem. They’ve been darn good to me. In fact, you must already know that I lease the Otter from them fairly often, and they do almost all of my mechanical work, “ Harry sounded worried. “Are you going to change that?”
“Nope, not if you don’t want to, but I was thinking about offering you a deal. I still have to talk to the other shareholders at ‘White Out,’ but I was considering the idea of letting you buy into the company. They say good things about you, just like you say good things about them, so that part of the deal seems quite straightforward. However, questions arise over how independent you want to be and how much your share would be worth.”
“Oh man, have you any idea how much equipment ‘White Out’ owns? I only have one little Beaver.”
“Ah, but you own the controlling interest in an airstrip which has an access ramp to a lake that is big enough for a float plane to land on, and that facility is within a few miles of a large town,” Tom chuckled. “Not only that, but I just bought a warehouse and office space in that town. Come spring, I’ll have a few loads coming through here that will need to be hauled by a large chopper. I need to arrange to have a place where it can land to pick up those loads.”
“Oh, I see, you want to expand and... ”
“Whoa, there! Don’t jump the gun on me, and I’ll explain.” Tom interrupted. “I remember you saying you’d like to fly more and do less paperwork, but as it is, you’re being held back by a lack of funding and staff to expand. If you buy into White Out, you’ll gain, not lose, I guarantee it. You’ll be flying planes more and a desk far less, since you’ll never have to worry about repairs or maintenance, and you won’t have to do as much paperwork. You might have a bit less control, but you’ll also have a lot fewer worries. I’m not going to be involved in bossing the people at White Out; I’m more of a backer for the company, and I won’t even be here during the spring, summer, and fall. Since I won’t be around most of the time, you’d be working with Jim Burke and his crew instead. You’d be handling the same sort of flights you are now, but spending more time in the air and less time doing the ground-based crap, because you’d have a full support team behind you.”
“You make the whole deal sound very tempting, but what do you get out of it?”
‘Well, I wouldn’t gain much, other than the fact that I’d be the major owner of the airstrip, but White Out would gain from it, and since I own a majority of shares in the company, I’d like the business to do well. On top of that, I have the mining business, which is theoretically based here in Bear Creek. My fiancée has a business here, and as of yesterday, I even own a local warehouse. On top of that, I’m negotiating the purchase of another helicopter, which I was thinking of basing locally.”
“Man, but you work fast!”
“Yes and no, Harry. I work fast when I need to, but I prefer to take things slow and easy. Later today, Dad and I are going to fly up and check out White Out’s operation, then we might fly to Calgary to look at that chopper I mentioned, which is why I phoned you this morning. I thought I’d check out your feelings about buying into White Out before even mentioning my idea to anyone else. If you’re not interested, I’d have to find an alternate base for that chopper, and that could be a real pain in the butt, considering local real estate prices.”
“Oh, I’m interested all right, but there are a couple of complications. You see, Dave Farmington and his wife own the other 49% of the place, but he had a heart attack last fall and can’t fly any longer. Dave did have a Cessna on lease, but since he can’t fly now, he let the lease lapse on it this winter, so it’s gone. I’ve been trying to find a way to buy them out, but haven’t been able to come up with the backing I’d need.”
“Well, if they want to sell their share, you can let them know that I’m willing to buy them out and become partners with you. Or if you’d prefer to go for the full deal, I’ll be buying you out as well. I’d be willing to pay a fair price for the place, but in your case, I’ll pay you with shares of White Out stock, then you’d not only be paid a regular wage, but as well as that, you’d be collecting stock dividends. Then, since I’d own the airstrip, I could lease it to the company, but White Out wouldn’t be facing a major cash crunch over the purchase. Instead, I’d have control of the property, and the company would have a guaranteed lease for a permanent base of operations. You see, there’s a possibility that White Out’s present lease won’t be renewed. If they have to move, I’d like to have the company end up with a more stable lease situation, and if I own the property, I can guarantee that.”
“Well, I don’t have any flights booked for today, so I could get my niece to come in to handle the office, and I could be involved when you talk to Jim and the crew at White Out. Oh yeah, I’d better ask you, do you suppose I could catch a ride with you and your dad when you fly up to see the folks at White Out? At least I imagine the KingAir I have tucked away in one of the hangars is your dad’s. I was out doing errands yesterday when it landed, but my niece left me a note that the plane was owned by Dunn-Redding. I’m guessing that it’s your dad’s and that it’s the bird you’ll be flying around in, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, that’s Dad’s plane and yes, we’ll be flying up to talk to Jim and that bunch, but since you want to come along, I take it you’re interested in my offer?”
“Hell, yeah! I love the idea and I know darn well that Dave and his wife will jump at the chance to sell out. I know they want to fly to Hawaii for a holiday this winter, but can’t really afford it right now. The reason I’d like to fly with you today is to talk to Jim about the idea, since I don’t want him to think you’re pressuring me in any way.”
“Well, I can’t see any reason that you can’t fly with us, but it is Dad’s plane. He’s not up yet and we do have a few other problems to handle this morning, so I’ll get back to you, okay?”
“Great, I’ll talk to you later then.”
Tom had just hung up when his dad knocked on his office door and peeked in.
“Good morning, Tom. I thought I might find you here,” Jack smiled. “I slept like a log, but found fresh, perked coffee when I went into the kitchen, so I knew you were already up and around. Are you already busy making deals?”
“Morning, Dad, you caught me at work and actually you’re right, I was just negotiating a deal,” Tom leaned back and stretched.
Then he explained what he was trying to do concerning the airstrip and Harry Guildford, even mentioning Dave Farmington and his wife.
“Hmm, I have a suggestion about that,” Tom’s dad said quietly. “Since you and your fiancée live here in Bear Creek and since JJ and Jesse seem to be fascinated with your gold mine, Kelly and I might be visiting more often. So, I’d like you to consider the idea of the family buying into the airstrip. Before you worry about it, we could buy out the smaller portion, leaving you in control. That way, your investment could be listed as a transfer of shares between staff and within one of your companies, so your tax burden would be far less. Not only that, but as an additional inducement to the Farmington’s, I could offer to fly them to Hawaii along with Kelly and me. Now, I’m not trying to stick my nose into your business, but if Dunn-Redding was a part owner, I could build a hangar here and have guaranteed hangar space when I fly up for a visit. As a bonus to that, of course, I’d feel less like an intruder on a private airport, and I might even be able to pay less money in landing and hangar fees.”
“Well, it’s worth some thought, but I’m of two minds about it,” Tom said uncertainly. “I suppose part of my reluctance is based on the arguments you and I have had in the past, so I’m hesitant to have you directly involved.”
“Well, why don’t we see if either Ann or JJ would like to invest in this venture then? My whole point in this is to make sure you retain as much free capital as possible, but at the same time, leave you in control of the major portion of the assets. Over the last few weeks, I’ve been astounded at how quickly you’ve made decisions and how each of them has made sound business sense, so what I’m trying to do is to offer assistance, not interference.”
“I’ll think about it, but right now, I need another coffee,” Tom sighed, then grinned. “To be honest, you’ve been surprising me since you’ve arrived. Do you realize we haven’t had one major argument since you got here?”
“Oh yes, I noticed,” Jack nodded. “But then you aren’t the kid I used to argue with either. You’ve become quite astute and very confident. I hardly recognise your actions as those of the young man who refused to listen to any advice I offered.”
“Ah, but you’ve changed too, Dad. You’ve mellowed,” Tom laughed as he led the way upstairs.
“Well, you two seem to be in a good mood this morning,” Tom’s mom greeted them as they walked into the kitchen, where Tom immediately wrapped Sandy in a hug.
“Actually, your son has already arranged to buy an airport this morning, and I’m in awe,” Jack winked at Kelly.
“It’s just a private airstrip, Dad. Since we don’t have a real control tower or anything along those lines yet. The office isn’t even continuously manned during daylight hours, which is something I’d like to change, but I don’t know if I can afford that right now. Actually, I’d like to do that if the funds are available, but that also depends on whether the rest of the people at White Out agree to shift the operation down here or not. If White Out does move here, I imagine we’ll have to build a proper control tower, then have someone operating it during daylight hours, but I doubt if we’ll put in runway lights or radar, at least not for a while.”
That statement started another discussion which lasted through breakfast concerning the pros and cons of White Out moving to Bear Creek as well as the idea of improving the airstrip.
After breakfast, Tom, Jack, Sandy, and Laura made a conference call to Frank Jamison and put a bug in his bonnet about the actions of Bulldog Petroleum and how that was tied to Sheridan Lister. When that call was done, Laura called her mother to have her find all the letters concerning specific requests or offers which had come to Sunrise Mineral over the last few years and fax them to Frank’s office. Sandy also arranged to meet with Charlie to give a deposition about her memories of Sheridan Lister’s actions and his involvement with BP; then that deposition would be faxed to Frank as well.
Meanwhile, Jack was calling the main office of Dunn-Redding to have his lawyers cooperate with the investigation. While he was on the phone to his Calgary office, Jack talked to JJ and Ann about investing in the airstrip at Bear Creek. Since Ann was coming to Bear Creek to work with Sandy, she jumped at the chance, teasingly telling her dad she’d see to it that he paid double the normal landing fee if he bugged her too much.
Because they’d been up and around early, it was only shortly after eight o’clock that morning as all of them were leaving the house to get on with their day. Laura gave Sandy and Kelly a ride to work. Meanwhile, Jack and Tom headed off to a meeting at the airstrip with Harry Guildford, Dave Farmington, and his wife. Tom had even arranged for Charlie to drop down and meet them there, warning him about the probable purchase of the airstrip so he’d be prepared.
Jack and Tom arrived much earlier than Charlie, though, but that was fine since Tom wanted to look over the whole setup. In the eighteen months that he’d been one of Harry’s customers, Tom had never been in most of the hangars or storage buildings at the airstrip. He’d seen the inside of the office, one small storage building, and the main hangar before, but that day he and his dad were given a quick tour through every building on the site. The only building which was well heated was the office. The main hangar was barely heated enough to prevent freezing, but that was only done to keep any planes stored there warm enough to start easily. That day included Harry’s Beaver and Jack’s KingAir. Since the other two large hangars and the two small T-hangars were empty, there was no heat in those.
Only one of the outer storage buildings was heated, but it was also the only building which contained anything that might be damaged by the cold. What that was surprised Tom, though. Sitting in the middle of the floor of that building was a half-built kit airplane, something called a ‘Murphy Moose’ which looked like a slightly smaller version of a Beaver.
“I brought in this small hangar for the single purpose of building this plane, so I pay rent to the partnership to have it here,” Dave Farmington said quietly as Tom walked over to look closely at the partially finished machine. “The incomplete plane and this building are for sale as well, but not as part of the deal for the airfield.”
“Pardon me?” Tom turned to look at the old man.
“Well, since this plane is being built from a kit, the government calls it an ‘experimental’ plane, which means it can’t be used commercially. However, when it’s finished, it will be almost as versatile and nearly as large as a Beaver, but won’t cost even half as much. In the original form, the Murphy Moose is a tail-dragger, but it could be fitted with floats or skis. Finished and fitted with the engine that I’ve bought for it, this plane could haul a pilot and up to five passengers, or a pilot and a little over half a ton of freight. In other words, I’d consider it to be a perfect plane for you, Tom, since it would allow you to get in and out of your claim any time the weather would allow you to fly.”
“So you’re suggesting that I should buy it from you then?” Tom had to smile at the idea, then he frowned slightly. “I do like the idea. Unfortunately, I don’t really have the time to spend on the job of building a plane, and on top of that, I have to consider the problem of licensing and insuring an experimental float plane. After all, I’d have to convert it to floats so I could land at the lease.”
“Ah, but you are young enough to easily get a pilot’s license, and Harry tells me that you have several aircraft mechanics working for your new business. Besides that, I’ll sell this kit to you for my cost, which is half of what I’d ask from anyone else, just because you’re doing my family a big favour by offering to buy the airstrip. Of course, as well as that, you almost single-handedly rid this town of that Lister fellow and his cohorts. He was a menace to the safety of the whole area, and I really appreciate the fact that he is no longer in the area or causing problems.”
“Well, it sounds like a marvellous deal, but right now I’m so busy that...”
“Excuse me for horning in, Tom,” Jack interrupted. “Mr. Farmington, just like you, I think this would be a perfect plane for Tom to own, especially since it can’t be farmed out and used by his flight business. In my case, though, I really don’t like the idea that any of my family members live out in the boondocks without a means of getting help in an emergency.”
Then Jack turned back and looked at Tom. “Tom, I’d like to pay for the plane as a gift, and it isn’t because you can’t afford it; instead, it’s because you need it. I know you’re busy right now, so I’ll even offer to hire a mechanic to work on it, and on top of that, I’ll arrange for both you and Sandy to have flying lessons at my expense.”
“Flying lessons aren’t a problem,” Harry broke in. “I’m a qualified instructor, and so is Jim Burke. I think Jim’s son, Ron, has his instructor’s qualifications for rotary, so Tom could easily get his license to fly choppers as well as fixed-wing. He’s the boss, so all it would cost him will be our wages, and those would be paid by the company.”
Harry turned and faced Tom then. “You need a plane, and there’s no way you can argue your way out of that. Your lease is eighty miles from the nearest doctor, and accidents are eventually bound to happen in one way or another. You need to have a way to get in and out quickly if anything happens. If you bought a Beaver, I’d be willing to bet it would be put into commercial service on occasion, which would leave you without a safety net. The Moose is a good plane which is perfectly safe and quite economical, but it can’t be used commercially, which means you aren’t going to lose that safety net. Even if you aren’t worried about yourself, think of Sandy - what would you do if you were out at your claim and she was injured?”
“Okay, I guess you’re right,” Tom sighed. “It’s just that I have so much on my plate right now that I’m feeling swamped, and this just adds another level to that load.”
“Tom, you’re the one loading that plate by taking on more tasks than you need to do,” Jack snapped sharply, so sharply that it stung Tom and reminded him of his father’s previous actions. “White Out is a fully functioning company, so you don’t need to make any changes to make it run more smoothly. You told me that Jim Burke and his crew ran it while Serge was in a care home, so you certainly don’t need to nurse-maid that business. This business was running fine under Harry’s management and it will run just as well under White Out; in fact, I doubt if it will change much in the near future. The building you just bought in town is really just for Sandy’s business, with a little extra storage and office space added on, so let her run the main floor and use the rest when you need it. The investigation we started this morning concerning BP is in the hands of lawyers, police, and investigators, so that shouldn’t need your attention. You don’t have to micromanage any of those businesses because you already know they’ll be fine. The only operation you really need to keep a close eye on is your gold claim and whatever you or others do there, but even that’s a simple operation and...”
“Dad, I’m not trying to micromanage anything,” Tom interrupted him and snapped right back. “I am trying to use what resources I have available as wisely as I can, and I’m trying to improve all the operations, but at the same time, I want to tie them together. That’s the point of buying this airfield and perhaps your helicopter. I know what I want to set up, and I only have another month or six weeks to have everything working smoothly before I head out to my claim. I need reliable transport for people and materials this summer, but I don’t want to interfere with the smooth operation of any of the businesses back here, which is why I’m worrying over things now. In other words, I want to expand the potential of these businesses without screwing up any portion of their old operation.”
“Oh, I suppose,” Jack nodded reluctantly. “It certainly looked to me as if you were trying to step in as the new boss and change things, just because you could. You may think a new broom sweeps clean and all that, but no one likes to work with a martinet.”
“You’re wrong, Dad. I’m not a martinet, just a cheapskate who wants to get as much as I can out of every dollar and each hour that I have available. Once I’m back in the bush, these businesses have to run themselves, because I’ll have other things to worry about. Harry has done an excellent job of running this business, and Jim has done the same with White Out, so I can’t see changing either one very much. The only reason I’m trying to buy the airport and associating this business with White Out is to take advantage of the mutual advantages which both companies will gain. The reason I want to see what machines and materials are available is to see what else we need to improve the operation of both businesses once they are combined.”
“Oh, then why are you thinking of buying that wrecked helicopter from me?” Jack frowned.
“Dad, we’ve already been over this, so you already know it’s because of the sheer amount of material that is going to be needed out on my lease in the near future. I need a machine that can haul in a sixty-foot-high tower and a wind-powered generator, but I can’t see how I can use White Out’s big SkyCrane without screwing up the present lease arrangements. In order to set that tower up, I’ll need to mount it solidly, and to do that, I’ll need concrete mounting pads, so I need tools, materials, and supplies to do that as well. The family who are coming to do that job will need a place to live, so I need to provide some form of accommodation for them. Besides, Laura has found a way to have the lease modified so I can hire someone to grow vegetables, and the family installing the wind-powered generator are gardeners and farmers. If they do decide to live up there and start a farm, I’ll need to bring in even more materials to build a permanent residence for them. Then, on top of that, JJ and Jesse want to come out again, Sandy wants to spend time up there, and even Laura wants to visit. Each and every person coming out there means more food and supplies that have to be hauled in. All of that doesn’t include any of the other material and supplies I need just to survive and improve the place either, but that comes to several tons in weight and quite a lot in volume.
“Everything and everyone requires transport, which means I need to divert a helicopter from White Out, hire one, lease one, or buy one. Meanwhile, you have a helicopter that you don’t want, and you owe me money from the sale of stocks - money which I’ve agreed to take out in surplus or unused material from Dunn-Redding. It sounds like a no-brainer for me to have my mechanics look at your wreck to see if it can be salvaged. If that chopper can be rebuilt, then we can turn it into an asset that we can use. We can even lease it out when I’m not using it.”
“Oh, I didn’t realize that you had so much material to move,” Jack said quietly while looking very thoughtful. “I suppose I was thinking of the fact that the first time you went in there with a mule train, you not only built a large cabin in only two months, but you also came out with a lot of raw gold.”
“Wrong!” Tom snapped. “When I first went in there, I had two mules and the supplies they could carry, which lasted me for almost four months. Then I hiked out and back with the mules so I had supplies for the next few months and was planning on hiking out for the winter, but the mules were killed by predators. Almost immediately after that, I got snowed in for four months. During those four months, I had to survive on what nature provided until there was a break in the weather, then I managed to hike out twenty miles across a frozen lake to get more supplies. I was taking a hell of a chance to do that, because I could have walked into an area of thin ice at any time. I got away with it that day, but I don’t want to ever go through that sort of thing again. What you’re referring to was my second trip in with JJ, Jesse, and two other men along with two months’ worth of supplies and materials, loaded on a whole herd of mules. What gold we brought out that time was what I’d spent a whole damn year blasting out of solid rock or panning out of freezing cold rivers. I don’t do what you used to do, which was to get the lay of the land, then leave and send in others to do a seismic survey or a closer examination. I did all of that long before I ever sold one stinking ounce of gold.”
“Which brings us back to this plane,” Jack frowned. “Either you buy it, or I buy it and give it to you. I don’t care which, but you need to have a means of transport up there, and you need to be trained to use it.”
“Tom, I have to agree with your father. You need to have a plane available up at your claim, and this plane would be perfect for your needs,” Harry broke in. “Now you’ve flown with me often enough that I have to believe you trust me as a pilot. If you’re willing to invest the time, you can fly with me over the next few months. I’ll train you to fly, and you’ll be able to build up your hours until you can solo, but at the same time, I can complete my normal flight routine. In other words, you’ll be virtually acting as my copilot and getting experience in various conditions.”
Tom looked around at the other three and just shook his head. “Harry, if I have the time, I’ll take you up on that offer of training me to fly a float plane in local conditions, but don’t count on me having all that much time available. Dad, if I want to buy this plane from Mr. Farmington, I’ll do it myself, but if I do, don’t expect me to get excited over finishing it until sometime in the distant future. If I’m right, the mechanics for White Out are going to be too damn busy to fart around with it, and I know damn well that I’m too busy to even think about working on it before spring. The soonest I might be able to waste that much time will be next winter, and if my workload increases the way I expect it to, I won’t even have much time then. Now, if we’ve been all over this place and seen everything there is to see, I’d like to fly up and check out what tools and equipment White Out has. So, shall we get in the plane and fly, or am I going to rent a car and drive up there?”
Dave Farmington was doing his best to hide a smile, but both Harry and his dad simply stared at Tom for a few seconds.
“But, you can’t be all that busy...” Tom’s dad started to protest.
Tom lost his patience. “Dad, what the hell do you know about gold mining or surviving in a wilderness area with limited access? I know you’ve spent a lot of time in out-of-the-way places, but you’ve always had someone else to arrange delivery of any supplies you needed and had them deliver what you needed where you needed it. Unfortunately, I don’t have that luxury. Instead, I have to plan ahead - months ahead - and then I have to collect and arrange the transport of everything I’m going to need before I ever leave town. When I go up to the lease, I have to have every nut, bolt, washer, nail, and screw I’m going to need for any work that I have planned. At the same time, I have to bring in my tools, my food, and my household needs, so I buy my supplies months in advance of when I’ll need them. Each and every person who heads in there to visit or work is another complication and a further drain on food and supplies, so I have to plan for surprises too. The real reason I was so willing to buy that building in town was the warehouse area, which means I can begin to amass the materials I’m going to need to have available over the next year. Once the weather cooperates, I have to be ready to go back to my claim and do some work to earn the money to pay for everything I’ve bought.
“That mine happens to be my bread and butter. That means as far as I’m concerned, Lister, BP, White Out, this airfield, and the building in town are just speed bumps that are slowing me down in my attempts to be prepared. Now I’m not saying those things aren’t important, because they are important to others, but they aren’t as important to me as my cabin and my gold mine are. I want these outside operations running smoothly though, so I’m making a few changes to assure myself that they’re in good hands and doing well before getting back to my preparations for my real business. If they’re working well, they may help me to do what I want to do, but I refuse to cause other people problems just to make my life easier. I have to spend time now in order to do everything properly and not create complications for others at some point down the road.
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