Chapter 29

Steve

I woke up several times during the night, hearing things that were normal sounds. Sure wish Chuck had stayed, I would have felt a lot more secure. Funny how a guy like that can make you feel safe. He's just a guy, a one- legged guy with a crooked smile, who is as friendly as a kitten. He can be vicious when he's on the job though.

Drinking coffee at 5:55 in the morning is a good way to enjoy the day. I called down to the gate guard to see how everything was going and he said that everything throughout the park had been quiet. He said that he had heard from the shop, the marina, and the airpark and everything was good.

I reached up and flipped on the lights that caused a nearby door to slam and a figure to walk across the grass toward the patio. Glenda came in, gave me a hug, and poured herself some coffee. She said, "I saw you out here around five thirty, but I figured you had things on your mind. Is everything okay?"

"So far, so good, Glenda. Wish we had more time to go sailing though. We might have to take a week and take a ride across the gulf or something. We're all getting the itch."

Glenda said, "You know, if you guys were to sail to Europe again, I might even talk Martin into going with you. He's really enjoyed going sailing with you and it would be easy on him."

Mercy came out and hugged Glenda. She said, "That would be wonderful, Glenda. You and Martin could have a real vacation. We all would love that."

Mercy gave me a hug and a kiss, sat on my lap, and said, "You know what? Everything is safe. I feel it. We're all safe, Chuck and his folks are all safe and I think the bad guys are trying to recover something in Orlando. Why don't you call Jan so she can alert the people in Orlando?"

Mercy handed me the phone that she had already brought out. I called Chuck's and he answered on the first ring, "Johnson."

I said, "Relax, Mercy says for you to tell Jan to have the Bureau watch things over in Orlando. She thinks they are going to try to get something there."

Chuck said, "I'll tell her, but I'll call over there right now to make sure they know right away. There should be a deputy team assigned to watch the place while the investigation is still on. Let me call, I'll talk to you later," Chuck said, and hung up.

Mercy had a funny look on her face and she smiled. "Chuck is thinking of us and he's trying to feel what I feel from over there. We don't know those people, so we can't get a feel for them. But I've felt this type of thing before and I just feel it. Those men from Miami are over there."

People were coming into the patio, getting coffee, still talking about yesterday's excitement. The cable news was broadcasting about the wild gunfight at the airpark and the associated raids in Daytona, Orlando, and Miami. They even had a one minute piece about how two boats had attempted to hijack a big sailboat, but were beaten off by the boat crew.

The kids had eaten and were getting ready to go up to the rec center for school. The moms were gathering them to walk them up. When that bunch leaves in the morning, there is a vacuum where they had been. The patio is so full of life for that time when they are getting ready for school, then whoosh, they're gone.

I was considering leaving for the shop when Chuck called, he said, "Tell Mercy she was right on. Just about the time I called, the duty men watching the place saw activity and called for backup. They caught two, and two are on their way to the morgue. No one is taking any chances after the wild day yesterday. Anyway, thank the lady and tell her she has to teach me how to do that."

Mercy already knew who was on the phone and what he had said. She said, "He was talking to me at the same time he was talking to you. He's so open sometimes, it's like he's standing right next to me. He hears me the same way, but he tries not to listen since he thinks it's private. One of these days, he'll learn."

"See, right now he heard me talk to you, and he's telling me to hush and to get out of his head. It's amazing how much we can talk to each other." Mercy leaned to me and said for only me to hear, "There's another one over there that has this same gift. Lisa is hearing Chuck and me. She hears Chuck clearly and wonders how. I'm going to talk to her. Hopefully, mom will hurry and get down here as she is so good at talking to someone about the gift."

I smiled, thinking that having Mercy, Missy, Chuck, and now the ever surprising Lisa, with the gift of mind talking will be a definite good time. Chuck is so bashful about his gift that it will be crazy for Lisa to be able to communicate with him the way Mercy does. Juanita was worried that Mercy was too much into Chuck. Well, I want the two of them to be the best of friends, with my blessing. Now with Lisa in the mix, those three are going to be a crazy group to be around.

Hap and Mickey came up to me, and Mickey said, "I've just got word from Orlando that the men that escaped the bust in Miami were caught trying to get something in Orlando. They are looking for whatever it was they went over there for now."

I wonder what it was.

Sue said, "I have to do some things at the old factory this morning. I might have to fly up to DC for a contract talk. They want to change some material specifications, so it might require a group of us. I'll fly, so there's no need for more. I'll probably try to take a King Air. It's perfect for our management group."

"A Lear is about the same and at least thirty to forty-five minutes faster," I said, thinking that speed would be important.

"Yeah, but I like to have a second with me in the Lear. The Beechcraft is quieter anyway. I'll take Chuck's since it is so nice. Anyway, I need to check a bunch of things. If I have to go, I'll call you." Sue kissed me and gave me a big hug.

I was the last one on the patio when my cell phone rang. It was Chuck. "Hey, Steve, how about flying over to Orlando? We might make a few deals over there. Since it was your businesses that were targeted, you might get some preference."

"What do you mean, Chuck? What kind of preference, and for what?"

Chuck laughed and said, "Just fly over there with me and we'll take a look. If you're not interested, I might be. Come on, we'll take John with us to smooth the way. Brandy, Tiani, and the pregnant three are going to entertain Kenisha today, so go with me, okay?"

"Sure, Chuck, do you want to come by for me or should we meet you at the airpark?"

"Meet me at the airpark. Lisa is going with us and maybe we can get that guy, Tank, to ride along. We can use his eye."

"What are you getting me into, Chuck?"

"Relax, it's all good. You always say to take advantage of opportunities. Just meet me out there. DeDe has a 208 for us. It's either that or we take one of your helicopters."

"An airplane is fine. I'll meet you. I'll probably beat you out there."

I didn't beat them out there, as Chuck had called enroute. John, Lisa, and Chuck were talking to Tank in the helicopter shop. They were looking at the way the floor had turned out with a giant S&S logo painted in the middle of it. The two helicopters were sitting there, looking pristine, ready to leap into the air on demand. As I came in, Tank said to me, "You know, Steve, you need this guy as a partner in this place out here. The guy has got some kind of luck going his way. Come on, let's get over to Orlando."

We flew over to an executive airfield between downtown and Disney. When we landed, we asked for and received permission to park at the Alcam buildings. There were still lots of cars and white federal vans parked around the area.

John and Chuck walked into the melee of federal officers showing their badges. The local station chief took them into the nearest Alcam hangar. The rest of us followed along, surprised that Chuck was given so much respect by all of the deputies and agents.

There were three passenger helicopters sitting waiting to be flown, just like the two in our hangar at home. On the other side of the hangar was a giant Sikorsky Skycrane. Tank pointed at the three smaller helicopters and said, "They have two of the Bell 206s like we have, and they also have a 210. The 210 is the military Huey, but it is reconfigured for civilian use. It's a real workhorse."

The Orlando station chief walked up to the nearest small helicopter and said, "Johnson, you've been buying airplanes, and I know your friend here, Mr. Sharp, has just gotten into helicopters. Alcam wholly-owned the aircraft in this hangar. They're the property of Uncle Sam right now, but if you want them, DC says to give them to you at something over fifty percent of book value. They figure if we keep them and try to auction them, by the time we get that done, they'll need more maintenance and they'll lose more value."

I looked at Chuck who looked back at me then the Marshal's station chief, "I don't know what these things are worth."

I said, "A lot."

Tank said, "Yep, they're worth a lot, but if we were to get these, we could use them or market them. We're turning down business now. That 210, the Huey, looks like it would be perfect for that county mosquito gig there's a bid open on. The bid would justify that bird and make a profit."

The Chief said, "In the hangar next door are two older helicopters used for teaching. They are Schweizer 269s. They look pretty good and the records for all the aircraft here are in the office."

Tank asked, "What about that big Sikorsky?"

The Chief said, "The Coast Guard is going to come look at it, but they said that it would be easier if a civilian owned it and they just contracted it. They use them for setting buoys and to lift some of their smaller craft out of the water."

Tank said, "That thing is worth about fifteen million. It costs a fortune to fly it too. It has a five hundred gallon fuel tank that doesn't last all that long."

Chuck was just standing there with his mouth open. I smiled at him and asked, "So what is it going to take to make a quick deal on all of these and the trainers."

"DC told me what to get from Chuck, or in this case, you. You can have the big one for five million, the two smaller helicopters for a million two, and a million four, and the 210 for eight hundred. They said that if you would take all of them and get them out of here, they would give you the two trainers. You can load up all the parts and tools they have here, but there is something DC wants."

Chuck came out of it and asked, "What kind of string did they put on the deal?"

"There are five pilots and three mechanics that are going to be out of a job," the chief stated. "They want you to hire them. We've run all eight and they are all ex-military and all clean. They have even been feeding us some information to help us build a case against the Alcam people. You hire them and you have a deal."

I walked away from the group and called Tiny. "Do you know if I can afford a little under ten million to buy some aircraft?"

Tiny was quick, "You can and you can't. You can if you strip both your personal and the business cash, but then if you do that, you're going to be short on operating capital. You know who you need to hit up for that, don't you?"

"Who, Tiny? Who has a spare ten million?"

"Your buddy, Chuck, does. Ben was telling me Chuck is really flush lately and needs to use some of the profits his investments have been returning. Look what you just did with only a part of the Hawaiian stuff. The man has the money, so twist his arm. Besides, you two need to be partners in something more than hotels."

"Thanks, Tiny, let me talk to him."

I waved at Chuck and he came over to me. "Chuck, I shouldn't know that much about your business, but I know you can get into this deal. I would be short of capital if I bought this stuff. I can't pass it up as it's over twenty million worth of goods for less than ten. According to Tiny, Ben said you have more than enough. How would you like to help those eight men relocate to Tampa and also be a major owner in a helicopter business?"

Chuck's jaw was dropped again. He looked at me through squinted eyes and pulled his cell phone. "Ben Phillips, please."

We could only hear Chuck's side of conversation.

"Ben, I need ten million to buy something. Can I get that or borrow it?"

"No way."

"No fucking way, Ben."

"Sorry, my mouth can get raw sometimes."

"How hard is it going to be to make that much liquid?"

"I don't carry a checkbook.

"My debit card? Really? This is the Feds; do you think they'll take it?"

"Okay, just make sure the bank will cover it. I'm going to give it to them right now."

Chuck hung up and looked at me and smiled. "Ben says I can do it. Shoot fire, we'll be employing a bunch of people with this much equipment. Now, that's helping someone."

We walked back to the group and Chuck told the station chief, "It's a deal. You can use my debit card and finish the deal."

The chief looked at Chuck, "What in the hell are you doing with that kind of money?"

Chuck said, "It's a long story. Some guy tried to hurt me a couple of times and this attorney in Tampa knows how to separate someone from their money."

"The guy must have been important, or at least rich," the chief said.

"He's a big shot star and has more money than common sense. So far, the money has been employing people. This will do the same. Do me a favor though, and don't talk this up, okay? Something like this will only make those DC clowns get on my case even more."

"Gotcha, Chuck, let's get this done, then I can show you their fixed wing stuff."

Chuck said, "Oh shit, please, no more."

I said, "Don't worry; we'll only take what we need. You know we do have some rental and charter needs."

Chuck gave the station chief his debit card, who then wrote down the numbers from it. He made a call on his cell phone and read off the numbers he had copied. We walked to the office in the hangar where a fax machine was spitting out paper. When it was done, the chief walked over to the copy machine and made two copies of everything.

When he was done, he turned around and handed Chuck and me each a copy and said, "Let me introduce you to your new employees so you can get this shit out of my hangars."

We went into a big lunch room where five men and five women were sitting at picnic tables. The chief announced, "For you original eight, this man is Steve Sharp, owner of S&S air charters in Tampa. He has purchased the four aircraft in the hangar and the two trainers next door. He has also agreed, as I promised you, that you original eight have a job at his place in Tampa. You other two need to ask about whether there are jobs for you there as well."

The chief turned to me and said, "These other two women were not around when we interviewed the employees at first. The one lady, Betty, is the office manager, and was in charge of helicopter charters. This other lady is another mechanic who just started working here," the chief said this, and turned to the lady. "Joy, right?"

The lady nodded.

"Joy just got out of the army and this is her first job opportunity. If you want or need another mechanic, there she is. She doesn't have her own tools yet, but she is a qualified instructor pilot."

I said to Betty, "Tell you what, since you know the ins and outs of helicopter charter, I could use you. Would you have a problem moving to Tampa, or at least out near the airpark where we are?"

Betty said, "No, not at all. Just tell me when and where I need to be at work, and I'll be there."

Turning to Joy I said, "I'm sure we can find a place for you. We're going to be short on space in the beginning, but we can use someone with your skills. Have you done much instruction on fixed wing?"

Joy smiled and said, "I've been doing aeroclub instruction for the last three years. I've done some rotary wing instruction, but all in old Hillers. I'm not even checked out in Schweizers."

"I'm sure we can fix that." I looked at all the men and other women and said, "Go into the office and have the office manager, what is your name again, Ma'am?"

"Betty, Mr. Sharp."

"Ah, it's Steve to all of you." I smiled at them then added, "Have Betty write up your names, social security numbers, current addresses, and send it to this fax number. My HR lady, Ruth, will begin processing this so you can get put on the payroll. You all need to get a bus or something and go over to Tampa to see where you might want to live. The company will pick up moving expenses, so you're not going to be out that. Now, if the pilots would stick around, I want to get some of these aircraft over to Tampa."

The chief said, "Good deal. Now let me show you what else you might want."

We walked over to another big hangar to find four Cessna 172s, a King Air, an Eclipse business jet, and an Embraer Brazilian business jet. I said, "I'm interested in the little Cessnas and the King Air, but these other two are aircraft I'm just not knowledgeable about."

The chief said, "It's a package deal, you take all or none. We should be able to auction these. If you want all of them, you can have them for an even million."

Chuck and I looked at each other and I asked, "Do the jets fly?"

The chief said, "Go get those men and women from the lunch room and bring them in here."

Chuck said, "I'll get them."

He walked away and came back leading all the pilots, mechanics, and the office manager. The chief looked at me, and I asked the men, "How good are these aircraft in here?"

The mechanics said, "We don't have enough men to cover all the aircraft that well, but we haven't been that busy. Everything in here is in good shape. Both of the small jets have had recent annuals and the King Air is pristine. As a matter of fact, the interior is copied off one of the aircraft over at your place in Tampa."

One of the pilots said, "I fly the jets on charters and they are both nice. The Embraer Phenom 100 is the fastest, but can be awkward in a crosswind. It's pretty efficient and so far hasn't had many problems. Parts haven't been a problem so far, either."

I turned to Chuck and he handed me his debit card again. I said to the chief, "We'll do these too, anything else?"

"No, that's it. Get this junk out of here as soon as possible. I want these hangars stripped bare to the walls quickly so the landlord can rent them again."

The chief left to finalize the deal on all the fixed wing aircraft, so I turned to Tank and asked, "How many of the helicopters can our hangar hold?"

Tank said, "If we take the rolling platforms with us, all of them. We can put the five in our hangar right now. The problem is going to be the monster in there."

I said, "We still have the empty hangar in back of the maintenance hangar. We can put the Sikorsky in there with the two business jets. I think if we were to move all our King Airs into the new hangar, these four 172s will fit. We can shuffle them around later. Okay," I turned to the pilots and asked, "How many of you are rotary wing qualified?"

All five raised their hands, including Joy and two mechanics. One of the pilots said, "You really need two in the Sikorsky, so you have enough to get all of them out of here now if you want."

I asked, "Okay, are either of you two other mechanics pilots?"

They both nodded their heads. "Okay, who all flies these two jets?" Only four of the original pilots raised their hands.

"You guys will have to make two trips. Once over with a helicopter, then come back to take the jets over. Joy, you take the Bell 210, you should be the most familiar with that one or else you take one of the 172s. Lisa, you fly the King air, and Chuck and I will each fly a 172. That should get them all over there. Let me call Jimmy, he'll go crazy. We'll get someone to fly us back so the jets can get there. Lisa, you and Chuck should fly with the other pilots to get checked out in the business jets. Looks like we all have a learning curve in the near future."

The chief came back with all the papers and receipts and said, "Now get this shit out of here. How soon do you think you can clean out the place?"

I told him, "This week. I'll get some labor and trucks and move this stuff as soon as possible."

It took us about forty five minutes to get organized and to ensure all the aircraft were fueled and prepped. Since we were getting everything from the business, I assumed we were getting the fuel trucks as well, so at least that was a bonus.

The Sikorsky took off first, with the other five helicopters following along carrying their rolling pads. Lisa flew out in the King Air, then the rest of us flew out in the 172s. Jimmy said he would have the new hangar open and would have the King Airs moved. The 172s landed shortly after Lisa, and Jimmy had us line all the aircraft up in a row facing the maintenance hangar so he could begin going over them.

We soon heard the big Sikorsky coming. Man, that thing could make some noise. The helicopters all looked strange as they all had their rolling stands strapped onto their runners. The Sikorsky has wheels, so it can be pushed or towed with a tow motor. Jimmy stood out with wands to guide the aircraft to where he wanted them to set down.

People were pouring out of the buildings to look at all the aircraft that had come in. Jimmy had the 1900D out for me so we could ferry everyone back to Orlando. We took time to introduce everyone and for them to have a tour of the facilities.