Chapter 16

When my daughters stopped and turned to look back at me, they were close to a hundred feet away. I held up my hand and started toward them. Before I’d taken two steps, both of them leaped into the air, and flew straight into my arms...

I was so shocked, I fell backward on the sand when they flew into my arms.

I was laughing and they were too as we rolled in the sand.

“Daddy!” Jana yelled.

“What, Baby?”

She pointed up. “Go up there and let us come to you. We want to fly ... now that we know we can! Please help us, Daddy!”

Tana pleaded too, and after what I had seen, I wanted to believe they could actually fly.

I flew straight up ... over twenty feet, then look back at them. “Come to me, girls and we’ll fly across the lake and back.” I knew that was a tall order, but I felt like the will to please me would increase their will to fly.

My girls can fly!

They leaped straight up into the air and soared right past me. I looked up and they were hovering, waving for me to come up with them.

I flew up another twenty feet and stopped next to them, “How do you feel? You’re not afraid are you?”

“No, not at all, Daddy. Come fly with us. We want to be fast and brave like you and Hawk and Falcon,” Tana told me.

Before I could respond, they were off – flying across the lake, forty feet above the surface of the water and-they-were-cruising. I caught up to them just as they stopped on the other side of the lake, half a mile away.

“How was that, Daddy? Did we do good?” Jana asked.

“You girls did great. I am proud of you for being so determined to fly.”

“We have always wanted to fly like this. That was the one thing that bothered us since we saw Hawk and Falcon fly the first time. Do you think we just had to learn how to take off, or was it something else?”

“That’s probably what it was. No matter what kept you from flying – now you can fly – and that’s all that matters. Let’s go tell your Momma. I need to let them know I’m back anyway.”

“Take us real high first, Daddy. Really high, and let us fly through the sky like you fly,” Jana told me.

I couldn’t stop laughing at them. If possible, at this very moment, I was even more thrilled than they were.

“Come fly with me, Girls. If you don’t feel good about this or you begin to feel sick or afraid, let me know and I’ll take you back down.”

Tana told me, “Daddy, we’re not afraid anymore. You are here with us and we want to fly with you.”

“Fly beside me and stay close enough to touch my hands when I spread my arms like this,” I told them, spreading my arms out as I do with Hawk and Falcon before we fly.

Jana let me know real quick – they already knew about flying in formation. “We know all about that. Hawk and Falcon showed us how to fly in formation, when we flew to the shop with them. Let’s go, Daddy.”

So, that’s what’s been happening ... My sons have been teaching them the mechanics of flying.

“Did they let you fly without holding your hands on the way over?”

Tana answered, “Yes, but don’t be mad at them ... because we begged them to show us how. They let us fly there without holding hands, and then we held hands before we landed. When we started back, we begged them again until they let us fly all the way home by ourselves. They were right there with us Daddy. We were unsure about taking off and landing by ourselves until we saw you. Then we were ready to show you we could fly.”

We had slowly drifted upwards another seventy feet. I pointed down and told them, “You realize we’re about two hundred feet above the surface of the lake, don’t you?”

“YES ... Now come fly with us,” Jana said as they began slowly ascending.

I caught them and waved, “Let’s fly girls. I’ll make sure you have flight-suits like your brothers as soon as we can have them made for you. For now, let’s fly over to the river, back past our mobile home, then back here to the house. Tomorrow, we’ll fly again ... with Hawk and Falcon.”

With that, I flew straight up, then banked toward the river. They were right with me. I looked from one to the other and they weren’t even smiling. This was serious stuff to them – but I couldn’t stop grinning.

When we drifted back to the ground after making our flight, I stepped to the shore and opened my arms. They ran to me laughing. I was about to cry, I was so happy my could girls could actually fly.

“You girls need to sneak in through the underground entrance and change clothes before you come into the kitchen.”

“We will, Daddy. Momma Kenna told us that we would be young women before we’re thirteen, Daddy. Momma Kenna told us we would. Will you still love us and let us fly with you and our brothers when we become teenage girls,” Jana asked as we stood at the entrance to the garage and the underground shelter.

“I will always love my girls. Just do as your Momma, and Momma Kenna tell you, and we’ll show all of them tomorrow how good you can fly.”

“Yeah, Daddy. That will be fun.”

When we first moved into our new homes, we decided to have our dinner meal in the same house so we could all be together at the end of the day. We did this for the kids, and for us too. This was a time when we could relax each day and have time for the family, without all the commotion going on around us.

Jana and Tana ran up to their room to get t-shirts and I walked into the kitchen. I was met by Savana first, then Andrea and the others. Adam and Carlton had informed them I was back...

“BOYD! We were wondering where you were. How did your trip go?” Savana greeted me as she hugged and kissed me.

“I had a really great trip. As a matter of fact, everything went better than planned and I was able to make it back in one day instead of a week, as they had first indicated.”

Andrea grabbed me as soon as Savana turned me loose. Adam had already told them about the Wing-Suit deal with the CIA and the military... “Boyd, Daddy told us about the manufacturing deal with the Pentagon. That’s wonderful news, and we’ll be able to oversee the manufacture of the Wing-Suits and even the flight-testing of them right here.”

She and Savana both have large baby bumps and Andrea pressed her belly against me as she hugged and kissed me.

I looked over to see Connie and Nora with their swollen bellies and I knew all of them were ready to give birth at any time. Liz, Lisa and Laura were here and they were ready to give birth also. I made my way around the table, giving each of them a hug and a kiss on the cheek as they greeted me.

I walked over to the kids table where Hawk and Falcon sat with their sisters. Jana and Tana came in and sat down, smiling at me, but not saying a word about us flying.

Falcon asked, “Daddy, did you take out all the bad guys?”

“I sure did and we’re hoping they will never again regroup their operations enough to cause us problems,” I answered, with a glance over at Adam.

I hugged each of them, Jana and Tana included ... Saving the youngest until last, I picked up Toni and Joni, Kendra’s baby girls, and held both of them, kissing them as they kissed me, giggling when I kissed their necks. Each time I look at the kids, it’s still hard to believe how much they have grown in such a short time. When I put them back in their chairs, I grabbed Robbi and Bobbi – Cathy’s two girls. I stood with them in my arms as we kissed and hugged. These four baby girls will be as mature and tall as Jana and Tana in another month. I was already planning to have them flying with the rest of us – if there was any way possible.

The next morning, I was up early to find Adam and Carlton sitting at the kitchen counter drinking coffee.

“So ... you two couldn’t sleep either?” I spoke as I poured my coffee and turned to wave the pot at them.

Carlton spoke first, “Adam was up when I awakened to the smell of coffee.”

Adam spoke, nodding for more coffee, “Boyd, I didn’t tell Kendra or Andrea last night, about our home in Stillwater being destroyed. We’ll need to address that with them, and the others today.”

I gave them a refill and sat on a stool next to Adam.

“Adam, I’ve already made up my mind. If the military and/or the CIA won’t share their intelligence with us and agree to let me go after those two, I’m going after them alone. We have come too far with our new technologies to let them try and take any part of this away from us. Besides that, you and I are friends and we’re in this together. If you and Andrea hurt, all of us hurt with you.”

Carlton spoke up, “I agree with you Boyd. We can’t give our full attention to this project with the thought of someone willing to risk their lives to steal or maybe even destroy our plans. We need to keep everything about the Wing-Suit development completely off the airwaves until we’re ready to introduce a proven, safe, and fully armed working model to the military.”

Adam agreed, “Carlton is right, Boyd. Not only that, but I need to let you do your thing with the Pentagon and the CIA first, and try to get this worked out with them onboard. They owe you now, and you’ll be able to call their hand on this...

“ ... Now, we need to talk about getting this Wing-Suit project off the ground – up and flying as soon as we can. I want to see us with more than one test model within the next few days, if possible.”

Carlton told him, “We’re that close now, Adam. What I have in mind is, we’ll suspend the Wing-Suit we have in the shop, control the engines and all flight maneuvers by remote as we run through our preliminary tests on the ground. We don’t have a wind-tunnel, so we’ll test the hover aspect as we test the thrust rockets for speed and power.”

“Carlton ... I just had an idea pop into my head when you mentioned hovering aspect of the Wing-Suit. I pictured in my mind, a hover-craft ... of a design which can be used for any size craft we can imagine. From a one man ride, like an ATV, to a troop carrier, or even high-speed cross country mass transit that will make ordinary planes and trains on railroads look like snails.”

Adam jumped up from his stool and grabbed the coffeepot to pour more coffee. He turned to refill my cup, then Carlton’s. He his smile was a foot wide as he looked at us.

“Boyd, you’re on to something here. This could be HUGE.”

Carlton held his hand up in front of me for a hi-five. We slapped hands and he told me, “Boyd, you inspire me with your ideas. I can see it now – with a joystick control – New-Age rocket boosters underneath, and on all four sides to steer the craft with just a twist and turn of the joystick, as the gyros keep it level.”

“Carlton, the best part of my off-the-wall ideas, is that you pick up on them instantly and turn them into a doable, dream creation.”

Adam joined in our visionary dream talk with an idea which would make the craft famous... “Boyd, in honor of your creative idea, I do hereby christen the craft with your name... The Lightfoot Hover-Craft.”

Carlton liked his idea and added, “Damn, Adam ... That is brilliant. I’ll get the girls into this as soon as we gather at the shop ... By the way, Boyd – Don says we can move into the new machinist buildings any time we’re ready. This may well be the time to make the move and keep the Wing-Suit and Hover-Craft development away from the front gate.”

“I agree. How long will it take for us to make the move?”

“No time at all. We’ll move the Wing-Suit prototype, a few of our supplies and a few specialty tools we’ve made for the project. They have the new shops outfitted with plasma cutters, arc welders, mig welders, tig welders and acetylene torches. We’ll have all the work benches we need, plus the communications and electronics are also in place. Brenda and I went over yesterday and inspected the entire equipment line and took the keys from Don.”

“Do we have power tools, hand tools, air-wrenches... ?”

“Adam and I ordered those for both shops when you told Don to start on the buildings. We have both buildings completely outfitted, with hand tools and power tools – electric, pneumatic and cordless. We can use one building for Wing-Suit manufacturing when we advance that far ... and the other one to develop the Hover-Craft, plus finish up our vehicle projects.”

I asked about the other ongoing projects when he mentioned them, “Speaking of which ... how are we coming with the new automobile engine designs and when will they be ready for testing?”

“We’ll be able drive them over to the new facilities – they are that close. They’re not ready for the test track, but within a week or so, we’ll be able to test-drive the New Age turbine engine in the Corvette and in the compact car.”

“Is there any way we can have three or four of the Wing-Suits ready for testing at the same time? I’d like for Adam and you to fly with me, after we’re sure we have the bugs out of them.”

Adam jumped in ... and I was glad to see him getting back into this and leaving the bad news about his home behind for the time being. “Boyd, no matter where you go or how long it has been, you never forget details. I have come to look forward to that in our conversations. Yesterday, we received a five-hundred foot roll of the newest stealth, polycarbonate fabric from the CIA. This new material was developed by a contractor company similar to ours, but not with the Wing-Suit in mind. The CIA saw this as a possible solution to our stealth and bulletproof fabric covering for our Wing-Suit design ... NOW, to take this further and give you praise for another of your grand ideas. Carlton and I have come up with a way to transfer the heat shield qualities of the meteorite, to the fabric of the Wing-Suit.

“We took a very small portion of the magma, mixed it with some of the crystallized sand particles you had taken from the bottom of the meteorite, heated the mixture to over six thousand degrees Fahrenheit, then cooled it, to where it became solidified. From there, we ground the substance into a powder, to be used as powder-coating for the outer shell on the forward panel of the wings. We’ll need further tests as we learn to fly the suits at supersonic speeds, but we’ve tested the powder-coated fabric in the shop with a hand held acetylene torch and it seems to be the exact solution we were looking for ... I held the torch directly over the powder-coated test area of our newly acquired fabric and there was no heat damage whatsoever.”

Now was as good a time as any to tell Adam about Jana and Tana flying with me last evening, before the others came in.

“Adam, before the others come in, I want to tell you and Carlton about what happened when I flew over here from the shop yesterday ... When I arrived, I saw two girls playing in the lake, about waist deep. They were wearing identical bikinis and at first I didn’t recognize them...

“Let me guess – Jana and Tana,” Adam cut in, laughing as he spoke.

“Yes, but let me tell you the rest of it and both of you’ll be shocked. When they saw me, they launched themselves at me from at least forty feet away, and waist deep in water. I caught them in my arms and asked them about their ability to fly. Well, they wanted to try it again, and ran down the shoreline. When they turned, they were about a hundred feet away and at first, I was afraid they would fail, but they launched themselves at me again and I caught them.

“From there, they wanted to fly with me. It seems that Hawk and Falcon have let them fly without holding their hands, but they had never landed or taken off from the ground...

Adam cut in again, “Boyd ... do you mean those girls can actually fly? Or were they just leaping for very long distances?”

“Adam ... I swear, you’re going to love this ... After that, we flew across the lake at about forty feet above the water. Then, they wanted more, the braver they became. We flew up to about two hundred feet, then flew over to the river, back to the shop, over the mobile home and back here.”

“BOYD! That-is-amazing! That rules out all the theories I’ve had about them not flying.” Adam declared.

“Yes, I know. I can’t even begin to tell you what this means to me. We’re going to pull the surprise on Andrea, Savana and the others this morning. I promised them I would fly with them, so I may be a little late getting over to help you and Carlton with the move.”

Carlton held his hand up, “Boyd, this is important to those girls and the rest of us. We can make it without you. Take care of those girls ... We have seen them sit and watch their brothers fly, and it hurt each of us that they couldn’t fly with them.”

Adam spoke up then, “Carlton’s right, Boyd. This means everything to those girls, and to the family. To me, this means that before long, we will have a houseful of girls and boys – all with the ability to fly. It will be up to you to teach them about right and wrong up there, while their moms and teachers show them about right and wrong down here among us earthbound mortals.”

We were still laughing when Andrea walked in, followed by Savana.

“What’s so funny this early in the morning?” Andrea asked as she leaned over to kiss her dad’s cheek then mine and Carlton’s.

“Boyd was just telling us something he’d done that was funny at the time,” Adam told her.

Savana sat on my lap and kissed me, “What’s on the agenda for today?”

“We’re going to move into our new shop buildings so we can start on the Wing-Suit with more privacy. You and the others can come over and help with the smaller items, if you like,” I told her.