Chapter 5

On the morning of our scheduled meeting in Wichita, I was up early to see Adam off. When he crossed the Oklahoma – Kansas line, he called me on his Dick Tracy, transceiver. His voice came through crystal clear.

I moved all my man-toys out of the shop building and under the open, leanto shed built onto the side the shop. If things develop like we’re hoping, we were going to need the room ... lots of room.

I wanted to fly down and look the lake over before I left, and also make sure there were no more problems with the oil fields.

The contractor had contacted me and informed me that the wells were filling the storage tanks in three days, and shutting down. He assured me that he would have tankers on site to keep the storage tanks drawn down to handle the increased production, since I had kicked them up to triple the output of each well.

I never told him the real story. I just told him – handle it.

Adam had run some tests on the oil in the lab and had come to the conclusion that the oil reserves had moved upward after the entry and impact of the meteoroid. He estimated that for the next two to three hundred years the wells would never keep up with what was now available beneath them.

I made my turn and flew back over the lake then out over the Canadian River, before leaving. As I flew over the river, I looked down to see two girls swimming naked in the muddy water.

Not only was it strange to see anyone this far from the nearest neighbor’s house, it wasn’t healthy for those girls to swim in that river for any length of time. I turned to fly over them again and saw them walking north toward the bridge on the county road that leads to our place. They had no clothes nearby, as near as I could tell. Both looked to be in their late teens; laughing, running, and throwing objects into the water.

“Boyd?” Adam’s voice came over the transceiver.

“Yes,” I answered with my transceiver.

“Come on up – Kendra wants to meet you. I haven’t given her your name yet.”

“Be there shortly,” I responded, and headed for the house. I told Savana and Andrea about the girls and asked them to go check on them. I hugged and kissed each of them – and left for Wichita.

The sky was clear and it was two minutes after 11:00. I knew if I flew fast, no one would even see me ... I was in Wichita in less than two minutes, not even pushing it like I knew I could. The speed indicator showed a smooth 4700 knots. Using the conversion Adam gave me, I was just over 5400 miles per hour. I love this – I was kicking Mach-7 in the ass, and not even smoking the afterburners.

“Adam, I’m here,” I spoke into the transceiver.

“We’re out at the park northwest of the city. You can see my van parked near a single picnic table in a clearing on the far west side of the park.”

“I see you now. Do you want me to drop in, or walk in?”

“Drop in behind her. I’ve already told Kendra to be on the lookout for you. She’s scanning the sky for some sort of ultra-lite, or a gyrocopter.”

I could hear the excitement in Adam’s voice. I was excited too, and nervous about letting someone else in on all this.

I dropped down next to the picnic table, behind the tall woman standing near Adam. She was holding her right hand overhead to shield her eyes from the sun as she scanned the sky.

“Were you expecting me?” I asked ... I had to laugh when she whirled around to see me standing behind her.

“How did you get here?” She looked at me, smiling as she reached out to shake. She was looking me over, taking in my flight suit and my mask.

I was taking her in also. She has dark glasses which she now held in her left hand. She’s tall for a woman – as tall as me. She’s of mixed race, possibly Hawaiian-Asian or Hispanic-Asian, I guessed. The mix looks good on her, whatever it is.

“Kendra Solomon,” she said, smiling as she offered her hand.

“Boyd here,” I said, as I shook her hand.

“Mr. Boyd, did you just fly in here?” She smiled again as she spoke, and her smile made her even more attractive. Her teeth are perfect and her skin looks as if she wears makeup, but I could tell she wore none.

“What would you say if you met a man who really could fly?” I asked. Adam was standing to the side, he was grinning at our exchange, yet keeping quiet.

“I would want to know how he does it, and ask if I could fly with him.”

“I could take you up now, but you’re wearing a short dress.”

“If I thought there was even a possibility you could fly without the aid of some sort of aircraft, I’d strip this instant and fly naked with you.” She joked.

Adam spoke up, “Be careful of what you say in jest, Kendra.”

“Well ... I would ... Now, you have me wondering...

She turned to me and asked, “Please tell me the truth, can you really fly, Mr. Boyd?”

“Will you trust me?”

“With my life, if necessary ... if you’ll take me flying this instant!”

“Are you brave enough to put your arm around my neck and fly with me - short skirt and all?”

She never answered or hesitated as she stepped close on my right side and put her left arm around my neck – I left the ground so quick she sucked her breath into her lungs as if she were on a roller coaster. Not wanting to be seen, I quickly flew vertical for over two miles.

“Mr. Boyd, how do you do this?“ She was yelling and laughing too.

“I’m magic.”

“Then, please, please – show me more, Mr. Magic. This is just as Adam told me ... A matter of grave national importance. The fact that he met me walking and standing upright, was enough to make me ask how he had suddenly been cured and even recovered his strength. Then he told me about a friend of his who would fly in and meet with us ... I have to say, all of this is truly, mysteriously magic to me!”

I went into a dive for close to a thousand feet then banked and flew straight up past where we had been.

“More!” She yelled, laughing as she looked at me.

“Hold onto your skirt. We’re going for a joyride,” I told her as we flew directly toward Oklahoma City. We were there in less than two minutes. Then I banked hard to fly west toward Amarillo, Texas.

“Do you recognize where we are?”

“Yes I do! I want more, Mr. Boyd!”

“Do you feel comfortable flying with me now?”

“Yes, yes, yes – and I want more of this thrilling ride, please! This is absolutely unreal!”

“Hang on,” I told her and set a straight course for Wichita.

She looked at me and grinned as we took off on a roller coaster ride that left her weak and trembling, by the time we settled to the ground beside Adam.

Adam calmly asked her as soon as we set foot on the ground, “Tell me, Kendra – how was your flight?”

“Adam, we need to talk to my former boss! This is the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen, and no matter how Mr. Boyd does it – this will change the future of civilization. I know my old boss will want to have The Big Man with him also, once I explain what I’ve witnessed today.”

“I was thinking the same thing Kendra. Boyd’s ability to fly is a mere sampling of the things we have to discuss. We need to be sure there are no attempts by the FBI, CIA or military to take over anything we show them ... Can your man be trusted?”

“Yes! He will make sure the right people are contacted and he will more than likely want a demonstration. I would make a bet now, that he’ll want the top Air Force Brass involved right from the start.”

I warned her... “Kendra, if there is even one small attempt to take over any part of what Adam and I are doing, or what we’ve discovered, we’ll take all of this and our family to some remote island and we’ll never return to America.”

“You have my word Mr. Boyd – Adam will tell you – I shoot straight.”

I trusted her as a friend of Adam’s, and I also knew we were going to need someone like her with us. “Kendra, if all of this works out, and the CIA is as receptive as you say, would you be willing to come join Adam and me? We have a place for you in the new corporation we’re forming.”

“I would love to know more about what you and Adam are doing ... I’ll be there ... just let me know where and when.”

“Kendra, we also want you with us when we meet with the CIA,” Adam added.

“Adam ... I’m not sure about that part. I’m retired from the agency and they do not like retirees who meddle.”

I let her know how important her being there, meant to us. “Then they won’t meet with us. You’re the key to making this work for us, and for them agreeing to our conditions.”

“I’ll pass that along,” she said as she squirmed on the bench seat of the picnic table.

“Was it that good, Kendra?” Adam asked, smiling at her.

“Adam, I flew higher and faster than I’ve ever flown before, “ she said, looking at me.

“Call us as soon as you can set up a meeting. We’d like to meet here or somewhere just as secretive, if that can be arranged,” Adam told her.

“I will be in touch with you within a day or less,” Kendra said.

“We’ll be ready.”

“Mr. Boyd, it was a pleasure, and I mean a REAL pleasure,” she smiled as she shook my hand again.

The three of us stood there, waiting for someone to make a move.

Then Adam told her, “You go first Kendra. You’ve had enough demonstrations for one day.”

Kendra laughed and walked away. She’s a very sexy woman, coming – going, or flying.

“What do you think Adam?”

“I think we have a good chance to get what we want out of this Boyd. It went even better than I had hoped, after you gave her that ride.”

“Good ... you be careful driving back. I’m heading back too. I saw two teenage girls naked on the river near the bridge and told Andrea and Savana about them before I left. I’m still wondering what that was all about and how they handled it.”

“That does seem odd. Maybe they were swimming and their clothes washed away, or something even more weird... , “ Adam offered as he laughed.

“Could be ... Just be careful and I’ll see you back at the ranch.”

Not wanting to risk another encounter with the airbase patrols, I flew at an angle down to Blackwell, Oklahoma then parallel, down the east side of I-35, far enough away from Enid to stay out of their flight patterns as they patrol the areas around Vance Air Base. I leveled off at fifteen hundred feet, lower than the commercial aircraft and above the small, private aircraft, in an effort not to be seen.

I kept hearing distant radio communications as I flew. The third time I heard parts of it, I dropped down two hundred feet to see if I could make out the conversations, which were becoming more and more frantic. Sure enough, I heard a distress call from a small aircraft.

I flew as fast as I could in the direction of the radio transmission, then I spotted the aircraft. The prop was spinning slowly, and as I watched, I saw it stop suddenly – then kick back.

I wasn’t sure what, if anything, I could do but I had to try. I knew I was about to scare the living hell out of the pilot, but I had no choice. I flew in close and stood on the left wing, rapping on the canopy.

The pilot reacted just as I knew he would. He nearly jumped out of his harness, into the seat with the woman beside him.

“Turn loose of the controls, I’m going to land your plane,” I yelled through the tiny vent opening in the canopy. Not waiting for an answer, I stepped off the wing and dropped underneath the plane, putting my back against the fuselage.

With my arms spread wide between the fixed struts of the landing gear, I grabbed hold of them, pressing my body upward against the belly of the plane. Sure enough, the plane was rising with very little effort.

I heard the pilot transmitting again; thankfully he wasn’t mentioning me.

Both doors popped open and the pilot, along with a woman and a young boy jumped from the wings to the ground. They ran from the plane as if it were on fire. When they turned around, I was standing right behind them. As soon as they saw me, the three of them fell to their knees as if struck by lightning.

“Who are you and what are you doing here?” the man asked.

“I heard your distress call and came to help.” I didn’t dare remove my head gear or reveal my face.

“How did you get here? How did you get on our plane? How did you hear my distress call?”

“I have to go now. Your help will arrive soon – I hear the sirens in the distance. I’ll ask you to please, not mention that I was here.”

“I don’t hear any sirens ... Who are you and how did you get our plane on the ground so easily?”

“I’ll explain it all to you one day real soon ... Have that fuel pump checked out in the meantime, I heard it sucking air.”

“Wait. Where are you going? We wanted to thank you!”

“OH-MY-GOD, HE’S FLYING...”

“Wow, Dad, was that Superman? He wasn’t dressed like Superman was he? But he sure took our plane and landed it, didn’t he, Dad?”

“Marty, I’m not sure just who that was, or what it was, for that matter. But we need to keep this to ourselves for now, just as he asked ... Okay Son?”

“Yes Dad. WOW, I bet that was really Superman. Don’t you Mom?”

“Yes Marty. Now remember what your Dad said. Not a word to anyone until we know who he is. He did save our lives. If he had not landed our plane, we may not have survived.”