Chapter 10

The captains from Derby met us at midfield.

“Seriously? You have your own Air Force?” one of them asked.

I had a big grin on my face. “Yes. Yes, I do. And if you saw the films from last week, I have my own Army, too.”

The other one said, “We’re screwed. I just noticed that Uncle Charlie and Uncle Dave are on YOUR side of the field, not ours. Good game, man.”

“Wait, what?”

He laughed. “Yeah, they’re actually related to me. If they’ve turned traitor, we’re doomed. We may as well call the game now.” Then he paused. “Well, maybe not. I think we’ll have to see just how close of a game we’ll give you.”

Aaron said, “You guys outnumber us two to one in depth on the bench.”

“Yeah, but we don’t have HIM on our team. We’re not complaining ... much. It’s all good. Who knows? We might get lucky, and you might finally have a dropped pass or an interception.”

That made Aaron and I both laugh. The referee finally made it out to where we were standing. “Sorry about the delay, gentlemen. We had an issue where the TV crew thought they were going to run this like a college game, with TV timeouts and such. This is still high school football. Does either team have any questions for me?”

We all four shook our heads. He pulled out a coin. As the visiting team, Derby got to call it. They won, then did something we weren’t expecting. They deferred, so they’d get the ball to start the second half. Not only did that mean we’d get the ball first, but they were planning on it being a hard game, with clock control. They’d also remembered our last game, how we made it into a two possession game to start the second half.

I nodded. “My compliments to whoever the sneaky bastard is on your side, for thinking of this.”

They both laughed, then headed off the field. The referee was laughing as well. “This is going to be a good game,” he said. We hustled off the field.

We sent Andy and Aaron back deep, with orders to slide rather than take a big hit. It didn’t matter. Without much wind at field level, their kicker had enough leg to send it deep into the end zone for a touchback.

Instead of simply heading out and being ready for our first play, we huddled up. That took them by surprise. They were expecting us to go for a play right off the bat. “Okay, guys, the game book just went out the window. We’re going to line up in a 21 for every play. Listen for my voice. I’ll audible the play, every time. I’ll say a girl’s name and number. If it’s one of MY girls, it’s a good play. If it’s not, go with what I said before. You got it?”

We took our positions. I scanned their defense. “Blue, 32. Blue, 32. Beth, 35!” I waited a second, then yelled, “Hike!” Because we were lined up in a run formation, they were expecting either me to run, or one of the others to take it, not for me to make a quick toss Aaron. He got a 12 yard gain.

Once they moved the chains, we went back to the line without a huddle. “Green, 41! Green, 41! Tina, 14!” I paused, then, “Hike!” The cut towards the center by the wide receiver meant that my fake handoff to Jeff worked, clearing a path for Andy to get clear and catch it 10 yards out, just as he was cutting up field. He got another 7 before their safety took him down, just shy of midfield.

Quickly lining back up again, I yelled, “Red, 35! Red, 35! Eve, 24!” They shifted, then I yelled, “Hike!” This time I faked the handoff to Michael, who went left. I spun the other way and went right through the hole in their line that Jeff knocked in it. That was all the room I needed to take it the other 51 yards to their end zone. We didn’t even try to go for one, we just went for two and converted.

We kicked off to them, returning the favor of booting it deep. It seems that the buildings of the college cut away some of the breeze at field level we’d fought on the high school field. That was fine. It took them several minutes to work their way methodically down the field and score. They got two as well, making it 8 to 8, halfway through the first quarter. A slugging match kept going after that, with the score see-sawing back and forth.

We did a good job of working the clock as well, so that they got the ball back with just two minutes remaining in the second, with us up 40 to 32. That didn’t prevent them from moving down the field to our 10, and taking their second time out with 20 seconds left on the clock. They purposely didn’t score, stopping at the 2 yard line, and taking a time out with only 5 seconds left. They lined up, and just before they snapped, Coach called our last time out. We all gathered together.

“Chandler, line up on the outside, right with the regular line, then when they snap, drop back. I think they’re going to do a quick toss to someone cutting around from the other end. If one of you guys can get a little pressure on their quarterback, we might have a chance.”

We lined up with all 11 on our line. Just prior to the snap, they shifted into a shotgun. The ball was snapped, their quarterback rolled to the left, purposely letting time expire, then spun back around, to throw it across the field to their end that had just broken off his blocking assignment. Chandler had run through the end zone, stopped and watched what was happening, and realized the trick play they were trying. He put everything into it, and cut in front of their startled receiver as the ball got there, turning up field with the interception. Two of their guys were just as fast as he was, but they had further to run. The first one cut in front, making Chandler slow just enough that the other one hit him at the five. Chandler stumbled, bounced on one leg, then leaped, the ball breaking the plane of the goal, well before his knee went down.

We scored another two point conversion, going into the locker room up 48 to 32.

Chandler, though, was done for the rest of the game. He’d twisted his ankle. It wasn’t broken, but there was no way he could get back in. They wanted to send him out for x-rays, to make sure it wasn’t broken. I could tell it wasn’t, but couldn’t confirm that. He wouldn’t go, though. Instead, they just iced it and immobilized it.

Coach Thompson looked at us. “Good job, men. How are we going to keep this lead, since they get the ball first?”

I looked at Terry. “You got this?” He nodded. “Easy. Something I haven’t done for a while, because it hasn’t been necessary. With Chandler hurt, it is. I’m now the free safety.”

Coach smiled. “That’s going to put a crimp on them, isn’t it?”

“I’m not going to run it up. They’re too good a team for that. But we’ve got a 16 point lead. I think we can handle that for the rest of the game, don’t you?”

Their coach came down before the second half kickoff. “Is your man going to be okay?”

Coach said, “Yeah. He’s out for the rest of the game, though. He twisted his ankle pretty bad, and I’m not going to take a chance on him hurting it.”

“You’ve got a good team. I hope this doesn’t affect the rest of the game too much.”

Coach shook his head. “We’ll just have to see. We’ve got a substitute, but he doesn’t have the experience at safety that Chandler has. Good luck.” They shook hands. Their coach had a little spring in his step heading back to his bench.

“You’re an evil man, Coach Thompson,” I said, a grin on my face.

We kicked off to them to start the second half, and it went deep, like most of the kicks had done tonight. They ran out to their 20. I’d snuck out there with a couple of our bigger defensive tackles blocking the view from their bench and our own fans, then immediately went into a low crouch position, while Pete stayed back in the safety spot.

Their offense wasn’t used to seeing me up close, so they didn’t think anything of it. When their center snapped the ball, instead of rushing in, Pete did that while I faded back. I was paying attention to the eyes of their quarterback. He glanced right, but I saw them shift and I knew he was going to pass left. I took off that way. His receiver was two steps ahead of our cover man, so when the quarterback fired a bullet on the timing play, I was in position to jump and catch it. Instead of landing on my feet, and running it back, I simply acted like I was stretching to get it, and fell to the ground with the interception.

On the sidelines, I saw their coach throw his clipboard at the ground, when he realized who was taking Chandler’s place. Terry handled our turnover easily, taking us to their end zone.

I stayed on defense the rest of the game. Their next possession, we did let them score, but they had to run it every single play. Anything that was vaguely in the air either got tipped or batted down.

Terry played our side conservatively. Short passes and runs, and if we didn’t make it in for a touchdown, then he knew I wouldn’t let them do so, either. We ended up with two more touchdowns and two field goals, to their four touchdowns. With me on defense, they quit trying for two points, for some reason. Maybe because I showed them a couple of times I could sack their quarterback, too. When the clock ticked over to all zeroes, the final score on the board was 68 to 60.

We ended up carrying Chandler on our shoulders around the field in celebration.

It was barely 9:00 when we were done. It took our fans a solid hour after that before they’d let us off the field and finally into the locker room. Then it took another half hour to get through the reporters that wanted to interview all of us. The original plan had been for us to walk back. We had to take the bus again, as there were just too many people still out partying.

That put us finally done and ready to leave at almost 11:30. Certainly not the latest, but still late. No one minded. We’d also found out that we’d be playing against Topeka next Friday. At least my truck was there. The only thing was, Chuck was waiting on the tailgate. I just tossed him the keys without discussing it.

Even though I’d showered at school, I ended up getting bathed again once we got home. If that’s what you call it, when you’re escorted to the bathroom, stripped, and then put into the bathtub by six naked women, who wash every square inch of your body. They all took turns making sure my cock was clean enough to eat off of, or to at least lick and suck on. When I did finally cum, in Beth’s mouth, instead of swallowing, she held it all and shared it with the others.

Saturday for lunch was a giant party at our football field. Close to half the student body, and a good quarter of the town showed up for hot dogs and hamburgers. Both schools were raising money to upgrade things. Just because I was donating money, they also wanted everyone else to contribute as well. There were two local bands that provided entertainment. I ended up doing a lot of hand shaking and walking around. Some of the local businesses had made donations and had tables set up to hand out literature and get their business cards out to people, too.

It was very much a party atmosphere. I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop, but nothing bad happened. When we got home, I asked the girls about that.

“Silly. You were too busy playing politician, which is perfectly fine. Every member of the Sheriff’s department and at least two dozen highway patrol officers were around, to make sure that our peaceful party stayed that way,” Beth said.

“I guess I’m just used to expecting something to happen at times,” I said.

Margie chuckled, then said, “Of course you are. It’s actually normal to think that way. Enjoy it. You’re not going to have to worry about being a politician for at least nine more years.”

I blinked. “Wait, what?”

“Don’t worry. We’ll let you know when it’s time, if you haven’t figured it out already on your own by then. In the meantime, let’s sit down with Marcia and figure out what else we’re going to need to have done out at Stanford.”

I was told Sunday morning that we were going to try out the new jet. We loaded up a bus and went to the airport. It was rather obvious that the buses were just too handy for us, with my six ladies and Toby, plus Harry, Emily, Elroy, Allen, Marianne, and our three security. We arrived at the airport to find SJ, Ramona, and her parents waiting. All four of our pilots were also there, lined up at the portable stairway leading up into the plane.

She was pretty, in her blue and gold livery. I laughed a little. I hadn’t even been old enough to have my own grav car at home. Here, I owned something much, much larger. All of the pilots introduced themselves to me. Nathan Hall, Greg Williams, Cassandra Elliot, and Mary Williams were all wearing four bars on their shoulder boards.

“Is this going to cause any of you issues, with you all having the same rank?”

Cassandra answered, “No, Mister Lewis. We had different rank when we wore our Air Force uniforms, but we’re all the same working for you. We’re actually setting things up on a rotation, too, so that way there’s no arguments or jealousy about who gets to fly what. All three of your birds are sweet. Mary and I have the most experience in birds like Salthawk One, Nathan and Greg have the experience in the other two. We’re going to make sure and work together, so we’re all fully capable and up to snuff, no matter what you put us in command of, even if you have to bump up to a whale.”

At my look of confusion, Mary said, “A jumbo jet. A personal 747.”

“Good lord. I’m still adjusting to the minor detail that having a couple of smaller jets is convenient for us to have, for times like tomorrow, when Marcia has to fly to California with some things about our new home out there. And with this beauty being ours, so we can fly to Florida after we win State,” I said.

All four of the pilots grinned. “That’s why we’re here, sir,” Greg said. “I expect you’re going to keep your birds busier than you think. We’re already putting out feelers for two more small ones, and more pilots and ground crews.”

“Pardon me for asking, but why?”

“That’s on me, Cal,” SJ said. “Siemens is already thinking ahead, to when they’ll need to fly someone out to a location, or send an engineer out here. With these being able to one hop the Atlantic, they can also bid jobs in Europe from here. Bill is also expecting to expand to other cities now, instead of completely staying near Seattle. He’s figured out that he can lease a plane from us for twice the operating cost per hour, we’ll fly him where he needs to go, and he doesn’t have to screw around with commercial.”

“Can I at least enjoy one flight in our new family plane before we get something that’s ... I just realized, a 747 is bigger than Air Force One.”

“Yeah. Come on. I think you’ll like this,” SJ said.

Nathan and Greg led the way up the stairs, going into the cockpit. A young woman in a dress was waiting. “Good morning. I’m Darlene, your hostess today. First, here behind me is the crew’s lavatory. Across from that is the crew rest area, for long flights. Next, this is the front lavatory, and stowage for carry-on luggage. Here is the galley.”

“Your plane is equipped with 4 rows of 3 seats here, followed by the main lounge. There is seating for 12 people in here. This is the conference or work area, with seating for 6 people, and then this is the master suite, with bed, private lavatory, and shower.”

The four rows of seats were larger than the first class seats Margie and I had taken on our flights, with two on one side of the aisle, one on the other. They started about where row 2 on a regular 737 would have been, ending at row 5. There was a bulkhead, to separate it from the main lounge. Two love seats facing each other took up what would be the next three rows of regular seats, with two chairs where the wing exits were, then two couches. The conference and work area took up rows 13 to 15, with the bedroom and bath taking up the entire rear of the plane.

Somehow or other, everything that was inside this 100 foot long tube didn’t look too crammed in or out of place. There were small storage cabinets located in different spots as well.

Everyone was walking and looking around inside. I heard one of the engines start. “What’s the normal safety briefing and such?”

Darlene said, “If everyone would please find a seat. There are seat belts concealed in the couches. Just like in a regular commercial flight, you need to be seated and buckled in during takeoff and landing. Other than that, since you own the plane, it’s presumed you’re responsible.”

We moved around and found seats, then buckled in. The second engine started, and we started taxiing. Over the intercom, I heard Greg’s voice. “Welcome aboard Salthawk One for our first real flight with and for you. I’m glad you’re all onboard. Darlene is our hostess today, and for this flight, all four of your pilots are onboard. Please remain in your seats and buckled in for takeoff and landings, and I’ll let you know when we’re about five minutes out for landing, so you can sit down again. Relax, and once we’re up, I’ll let you know so that you can explore this beautiful plane that it’s our privilege to fly.”

We used the taxiway, got to the end of the runway, then lined up. They gave it the throttle and the plane quickly got to takeoff speed. The nose came up, and we were flying in our own plane. I couldn’t help it, I gave out a little cheer. I looked around to the smiles on everyone else’s face as well. After about four minutes, Cassandra and Mary unbuckled.

“If you’d just stay seated for a couple more minutes, we’re just doing a quick walk through to make sure things are still normal. While we’ve all flown this plane, this is the first time we’ve had passengers onboard,” Mary said. They quickly walked to the back, then slowly walked forward again. “Okay, all good. Just a quick double check is all.”

Both of them had big grins on their faces. Cassandra said, “Mister Lewis, thanks for getting a nice toy for us to play with. Everyone, feel free to move about the cabin. We shouldn’t have any issues with turbulence on our flight today. If you are seated, we suggest that you keep a seatbelt fastened, at least loosely, in case of unexpected clear-air turbulence. Flight time today is right at 1 hour and 15 minutes.”

Darlene announced, “We have a fully stocked refrigerator with drinks, the cabinets have snacks in them, and if you need anything else, let me know.”

We got tours of everything, including the cockpit. Marcia was incredibly excited, because she got to sit in the right seat for almost fifteen minutes. They wouldn’t let her touch anything, but Greg and Mary both talked to her about the controls and what they did, while the plane was on autopilot.

There wasn’t enough time to properly initiate the bedroom, but there were quite a number of kisses exchanged back there. Elroy laughed when he walked in and caught us. “Well, there’s no big bunny on the tail. Other than that, what do you think about her?”

“I’m impressed. This is much nicer than I was expecting, even though I’ve seen our private planes. Having a lot more room really makes a difference,” I said.

“You’re not using it as a flying cattle car, like the regular airlines do. There was one trade-off, because with the extended fuel tanks, she doesn’t have the cargo capacity, but there’s more than enough room in the hold for one suitcase each for a couple of dozen people,” he explained.

The two girls I’d been kissing followed me and Elroy back into the lounge area. Ramona and SJ were sitting on one of the love seats. Her parents were sitting across from them, just looking around. I walked up to them.

“Hi, we haven’t met yet. I’m Cal.”

The man stood up, taking my extended hand. “I’m Jacob Lohse, Ramona’s dad. This is my wife, Elaine.” He was rather burly in size, looking like he’d done a lot of outside work, from his skin tone. His wife was more petite, several inches shorter, and not unattractive. “We both know who you are, what you’re doing for Reno County. I’m the senior electrician for the northern half of the county, that’s the only reason I wasn’t there working on your wind turbine.”

Elaine said, “I’m one of the shift nurses at Pleasant View. We’re an assisted living facility that’s owned by the Mennonite community. They’re a lot more family oriented than the regular county places.”

“I would expect so. I’m just wondering where we’re going. I thought we were just going for an inaugural flight, maybe once around the state or something, but it seems like someone didn’t bother to tell me,” I said. “I hope that’s okay.”

Jacob laughed. “Are you kidding? We’re flying in a private jetliner. Our daughter has decided to grow up and quit dating shallow men.”

Elaine smacked him. “Jacob, you take that back!”

From across the plane, Ramona laughed. “I heard that. Dad’s right. I’m not some kind of genius like Cal is, but he gives darned good advice. He told me that if I wanted to just pump out babies and then wonder what’d happened to my life, keep doing what I was doing. As an alternative, find someone who I could talk to, that I could relate to, and that I could hold conversations with. Turns out it’s really easy to talk to SJ, we’re both from this area, so we’ve a common background, and we’re talking about our goals in life, what we both want to do to help change the world and make it better.”

Elaine smiled. “Even when work and life get in the way, that’s something your father and I always do; talk. The important thing is to listen, even if you’re not really that interested in what’s going on. I don’t know how many times I’ve talked to your Dad about what a resident has done, making a mess in his room. He’s told me all about having to change out a transformer more times than I can count. But we still listen to each other, even if we’ve heard the story before.”

Jennifer had sat down in one of the seats by their couch. “I completely agree. There’re times since his breakdown that I wondered if not communicating was the reason that Stephen and I had issues. Since his arrest, we’ve obviously found out it was more than that. At the same time, I would have left him years ago if it weren’t for the kids, and my own upbringing.”

SJ said, “Don’t blame yourself for that, Mom. He hid it from all of us. It didn’t really come to the surface until I left for the Marines, anyway.”

I could see the puzzled look on their faces. “Jacob, Elaine, this is Jennifer Patrick, SJ’s mother. And on that note, I’m going to go get a drink, while you explain to them why you look just like your 16 year old daughter.”

I walked to the front of the plane. “May I get you something, Mister Lewis?”

“Thank you, Darlene. Do we have some sweet tea?” She opened the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle.

“I’m sorry it’s not fresh, but we have to make some allowances.”

“That’s okay. Now, where could I find someone who’ll tell me just where the heck we’re going?”

Margie heard my comment, then yelled out, “Thirty four minutes! Who had that?”

Harry hollered back, “I had between thirty and thirty five.”

Darlene opened up a door, pulling out a microphone. “If I could have your attention, please. The official time is thirty four minutes, from takeoff until Mister Lewis finally asked where we were going. The winner of the pool is Harry Watson. Let’s all give Harry a big round of applause.” There was polite applause and not a few complaints from everyone.

“You had a pool on how long it’d be before I asked?”

“Yep,” Margie grinned, then pulled me into a kiss. “It’s okay, I still love you, even if you’d have waited two more minutes, then I’d have won.”

“Just curious, what was the prize?”

“Oh, we just all put a dollar in, is all,” she explained. “Like we discussed, it doesn’t make a lot of sense for any of us to do more than that.”

“Okay, fine. Now, where are we going?”

“Why don’t you go ask the pilots? They’re the ones flying this thing, after all.”

I shook my head, then went forward. “Gentlemen, since it appears I’m purposely being kept in the dark as to our destination, would one of you care to enlighten me?”

“We’ve already been in contact with the field, and we’ll be met by ground stairs, and they’ll have transportation waiting,” Nathan said.

“That’s great, but what field?”

“Oh, sorry. Houston, Hobby Field. We’ll be there right on time.”

“Thanks,” I said. I went back into the cabin, then sat in an empty seat. Beth came up and sat beside me.

“Don’t worry, love. This is just someone wanting to do something nice for you, is all.”

I shook my head, then went with it. Once we were down, it took us almost ten minutes on the ground to taxi to our parking spot. A mobile stair unit rolled up so we could disembark without having to unlimber the Airstairs. There were two medium sized buses waiting for us that looked like they were used as luxury transportation. We loaded up onto them.

When we were on I-45, I thought they were going to take us into Houston proper. When we turned onto I-610, I turned to Beth. “The Astrodome? Oh, of course. The Jets are playing the Oilers this afternoon. Leon set this up.”

“And Lamar, as well. He knows the owner of the Oilers quite well, and they both felt like you should meet him,” she said.

I nodded, realizing that this was simply how the game was played with wealth. It didn’t take us that long to get there, nearly two hours prior to kickoff. Our buses ended up pulling up right to one of the entrances, then shut their engines off. A young man was waiting for us. “Please follow me.”

He led us to a private elevator. “Everyone, this will probably take us about three trips total, so if you’ll please be patient, we’ll get you all up to Mister Adams’ suite. Thank you.”

I went up with the first group, which also included Chuck. I wasn’t expecting trouble, and there wasn’t any. When the doors opened, Leon was waiting with a man I didn’t know. “Cal, my partner, please come meet my good friend and football rival, Bud Adams. Bud, this is Cal Lewis, the man that’s making Lamar and me richer than we already are.”

I walked over and shook both of their hands, and ended up giving Leon a hug. “Where’s Lamar today?”

“He’s out in Los Angeles. Lamar and Bud here helped bring the Oilers to Houston.”

Beth walked up to Leon, giving him a little kiss on the cheek. “You owe me a dollar. As soon as we hit I-610, he knew exactly where we were going.”

Leon pulled out a dollar, paying her. “Remember one thing that’s very important in dealing with young Cal here. He’s smarter than you; he’s smarter than me; and all five of his young ladies are smarter than either of us, too,” he told Adams.

“Six.” I’d noticed the elevator coming back up. I waved Jennifer and Eve over. “Leon, you’ve met Eve before. This is her mother, Jennifer.”

That made for several minutes of an interesting conversation. Toby was excited to see a professional football game up close. I asked Leon if I could take Toby down to meet the players that were warming up, but only if I didn’t have to get on the field this time, or interview with Merlin Olsen again. That caused both Bud and Leon to laugh. Apparently, that interview was still a topic of discussion among the team owners.

Five minutes later, Toby, Bud, Leon, and I were on the sidelines. Toby got to meet Pat Ryan and Warren Moon, and got a football signed by both of them. I already knew that Pat was aware of me. I didn’t know that Warren Moon was until we were introduced.

He said, “Are you kidding? We’re not known for being very humble. We all think we’re the best ones to ever handle a ball. But you get good by studying films of yourself and of watching what other quarterbacks do, so you can find out little tricks and tips. We’re watching films of you, because high school ball, you get to do trick plays more than we do here at this level, but you sometimes need them. You’re the best at those.”

“Thank you, Mister Moon,” I said.

“Warren. We’re not the greatest team this year, but we will be. How do you do that fake handoff so well?”

He handed me a ball. I said, “Okay, it’s literally just in holding onto the ball and timing. I’ll do it in slow motion for you. My hand is coming out like this, with the ball up and in the open. You’re coming at me as the running back with your arms open. A little more, yes, like that. Watch what I do. As your arm is here, I rotate my wrist down, still gripping the ball, and bring my arm back, like I’ve just handed it to you. But now, the ball is down by my side, hidden by my body, while the back closes his arms like he has the ball. If I go back and stop running like I’ve made a handoff, the defense is going to key on the man in motion and chase him, letting the receivers get open for a pass.”

He frowned. “Yeah, but I’ve seen you do that both ways.”

I took the ball in my left hand. “I’m a right handed thrower, but I have the hand strength and grip to do the play with my left hand, too. If you notice, when I go left handed, that’s when I’m more likely to run with it after a short pause, so they key on the motion man and I’m watching the line for a hole.”

He stopped, blinking. “I will be a son of a bitch. I’ve been playing pro for six years and I just learned something. Oh, I’m sorry for the language, young man.”