Chapter 5

At 7AM, Bill took a Lear check ride. He did fine. It's not all that much different than flying the Beech ... there's just more gauges and lights to watch. That bothered Bill.

"There's too much to go wrong ... and it might not be gone wrong. I am reminded of a race car driver who was so far in the lead with 25 laps to go he was coming up on lapping second place for the second time. The car had a tach, an oil pressure gauge, water temperature gauge and a red glass covered light.

The car owner and the chief mechanic both told him the oil temperature light was simply a precaution. They had never had a problem with the oil temp. Just as he was pulling along side second place ... for the second time, the ONLY warning light, the one giving oil temperature, flashed RED and stayed red.

"He pulled into the pits, five laps later the mechanics found a broken wire. He went from first to DNF because of a phony red-light. The next race, the light was gone. There was a gauge in it's place. There's too many functions.

"I prefer a piston engine. I like our Beech E 50 ... it's as far up the complications ladder as I care to get."

"You can get used to it."

"No ... thanks ... I'll stick with what I know."

"Well ... let me have your logbook." He scribbled in it. "You're a certified Lear Pilot ... whether you use it or not."

Really, when you get right down to it ... life was getting too complicated for Bill. For the first time in almost three years on the job, he was written up, reprimanded, for being too aggressive in taking down an alleged murderer. That the man later escaped, killing two local sheriff's department turnkeys, was neither here nor there ... according to the investigative board, the original arrest was done without compassion for the criminal.

In the attempted recovery of the escapee, E'veen was wounded in an exchange of gunfire initiated by the perp, because she was forced to reveal her position by calling on him to surrender. The entire episode was captured by surveillance cameras. The man was fast and accurate. If Evie had been using a two handed grip she would have been killed.

She picked up her Glock and plugged him between the eyes, shooting from as awkward a position as the review board had ever seen, using her left hand with the pistol upside down. She was totally unable to aim. Call it instinct ... point and shoot ... whatever ... she proved her style of hand gunnery in a combat situation.

In the Civil Suit brought by the children of the man, the tapes proved beyond the shadow of a doubt that the man was walking toward her aiming a cocked and ready pistol. His first shot missed, probably due to his braggadocio strut.

Lawyers ... you gotta love 'em ... it's against the law to shoot 'em.

As it was E'veen would have recurring headaches for a year ... and a nifty scar for the rest of her life.

Yes, life was getting too complicated.

The station chief said, "well, we've confiscated half an airline last month and finally have possession. I can get you a Lear for a penny on the dollar."

"No thanks ... but my sister might be interested" Bill agreed to call her. "Mina?"

"Lear?"

"Cheap."

"Cheaper."

"Lower."

"Penny on the dollar."

"Not kidding."

"Hold on." Bill asked the AIC, "How much for it?"

"Which one?"

"How many and what prices?"

Bill was handed a card ... he nearly dropped it.

"Mina? The most expensive one is a 2006 ... it's six hundred thou."

"I hear ya. I might change my mind. The cheap one is one thousand nine hundred ninety."

"Every thing twelve years old and older has had it's twelve year inspection ... last month."

Bill asked the AIC, "why do we have them? She wants to know." Bill handed his cell to the Agent In Charge.

"Mina?"

"Hi, I'm Clarence, call me Clare, ... this is all public record so you're not hearing anything hush hush."

He began; "During the inspection, the DEA was running a routine 'dog walk' through the terminal when one of the dogs started barking at an EMERGENCY EXIT door. She was so excited she nearly scrabbled her way through a metal door. For security reasons, all the exit doors have to be activated by the main security office. DEA called security ... they were 'hesitant' about opening up. DEA called us.

"We got a judge off the golf course ... he agreed it was suspicious enough to grant a warrant. We served ... That door was finally opened, Sally slipped her leash. Nose to the tarmac, Sally took off like a raped ape. She made it safely across three active runways ... straight to the Maintenance hangar ... straight to the oldest Lear.

"When she took off, we used our police powers and temporally suspended all flights. Hoo Boy Howdy! That was interesting to say the very least.

"When our guys got to the hangar, Sally was inside the Lear going nuts. You know our dogs wear DEA, FBI or Marshal's Dog Smocks ... she was running from one end of the plane to the other, literally howling. One panel was unscrewed from the fuselage and there were wrapped kilos of pure coke behind it.

"There was a line of coke from the panel to the door ... out the door, across the three runways, through the emergency exit ... they open with a push from outside ... So ... while Sally was going bonkers, Jake is trailing the coke into the terminal ... all the way to a taxi stand. The other cabbies gave us the cab number.

"We were putting out an ALL POINTS from the terminal when the mechanic walked into the Federal building and asked to see an agent who knew about drugs. His package was still scattering coke from hell to breakfast. The mechanic is getting one hell of a recovery reward."

"We confiscated the entire fleet of aircraft. Along comes an overseas bank with offices all over the U.S ... THEY say the planes are leased and they own the craft and hold the lease. We can't confiscate leased or rented property ... but the planes are still impounded while the DEA and Customs search for drugs.

"We get lawyers asshole deep. They want the planes back. A couple of Federal judges get involved. One says we have to release ... the other says says we don't. Don't has time in office over Do. The planes are remanded to our custody.

"Our lawyers, accountants and agents go nuts searching ... A week later ... Well lookie here ... the bank is a corporation wholly owned by the folks who leased the planes ... although it wasn't that simple.

"That's the short of it. Wanna buy a Lear?"

"Six for the bunch ... what would you do with 15 Learjets?" He nodded. "Bill take the phone."

"My Debit card? Yeah, I got it."

"You transferred funds."

"Ok, Ok, Ok ... But I don't want one."

"E'veen does?" Bill said, "I'm too smart for that ... E'veen gets a Lear."

"Here, Clare." Bill handed his debit card. Clare passed it to the disbursing agent.

He looked it it. "You're kidding."

Clare said, "Nope. Run it."

The agent made a call. When he was done with that he plugged in one of those nifty little readers that clip to a jack in the phone. He ran the card. Three minutes later the office printer began spewing out paper. Receipts for 15 Learjets ... five copies each.