Chapter 18

I woke up to Ipo nursing on my personal tool with Julie giving her instructions as to how to please me or any man. I reached down, pulled Ipo up, and gave her some sweet kisses to thank her for waking me up in such a wonderful way. Julie crawled up and gave me more kisses to give me a hint as to how much I was loved.

The activity caused the other women to begin waking. They were soon all over me, wanting good morning kisses and hugs. As I happily gave each of them attention, the others got in line so I was continually giving some loving kisses to each of the ladies.

I finally had an opportunity to get out of bed, use the bathroom, and go outside. The pool was already busy with some people rapidly swimming laps, and others leisurely doing the same. I joined the swimmers who were trying to tire themselves out, and swam multiple laps of the pool until I couldn't go any longer.

My ladies surrounded me, making sure I held myself out of the water to catch my breath. Having several women hug you with their naked bodies is always stimulating, and you completely forget about the need to breathe above or below water.

Ipo clung to me and wrapped her body around me as we drifted toward the steps to get out of the pool. She whispered in my ear, "You know you've made me a slave to you, Chuck. You need to use your slave often so I know that I'm part of your family."

Jane heard this and advised me, "Ipo hasn't been around much. This is her first time to be with a man who is more than a back seat Romeo." After giving me a very sincere and searching kiss, Jane asked me, "Do you think Ipo can be a part of your family too?"

How do you answer something like that? I told Jane, "Ipo is a delicate, darling, little girl who I hope can become a friend of ours, and maybe even a part of us in time. I want her to explore what needs to be explored to become the woman she is trying to be before that. You have experienced so much more, Jane, and your mother and father have given you a far different life upon which to base your future. You too must learn and know what you are committing to. This family is more than a visit. We are a part of each other. You need to think about your commitment to us. Ipo needs to explore and become who she really is before committing to what our family is. I even worry about you, Jane. You are special in that you've had some life experiences and the training to take care of yourself, but you're still a babe in the woods compared to these women you're hooking up with. Even you need to consider everything before you totally commit to becoming part of us."

Jane smiled at me and came close before answering, "I think I know what's good for me, Chuck, and your family with Lisa, Tina, and the rest of these women are good for me."

I looked at her and could see she meant what she said. I told her, "You're special, Jane; I love the way you enjoy all of us and hope you enjoy each of us before you totally commit to us. I know that we are a strange group, but we all love each other. I know each of the women in our group could go with someone else, and I would support them should they do that."

Jane snuggled up to me and whispered, "I want us to be more than one night stands and more than just a part of a big group. I want you and me to be a loving part of all of your women and all of your friends."

Lisa hugged Jane and told her, "You can be all you want to be with us. You already know we are a loving group who enjoy each other. I want you to enjoy all of us, Jane; enjoy every one of us and become a part of all of our activities."

Jane hugged Lisa and after a sweet tender kiss, Jane told her, "Ipo wants to be a part of us, but she's afraid. She has always been in love with me and follows me wherever I go or do, but I want her to be independent. I love her, Lisa, and I want her to make her own decisions."

We were all dressed for the day and headed to the patio in just a few minutes. Lisa and I had made sure our small duffel bags were packed so we could grab them and run if that was what was going to happen.

We enjoyed coffee and breakfast sandwiches at the patio, as the group was excited for several reasons. It was Monday, the beginning of a new week. Wes and his crowd were excited that the big test flight day was finally here. Several men who raised Wes' spirits even more came into the patio as we were sitting and talking about the coming test flights,. He jumped up and greeted all of them before introducing the newcomers to everyone he could as the FAA inspectors who were going to monitor the test flights of the LSA's that were fresh from manufacturing.

Wes shepherded his people out the door to get to the airpark right at 7:30. Lisa and I said goodbye to our women and rode a cart home to get our car to go out to watch the tests. We loaded our duffels and equipment cases into the car to be safe, just in case we needed to go somewhere. Yesterday's phone call sounded ominous.

We parked in the operations building parking area since there already were so many vehicles at the charter office. We walked across the apron, and followed the crowd to the next group of hangars where several light sport aircraft and the sleek military jet were. The military jet's undercarriage looked overly full of armament that we later learned was equipment that was the exact weight and shaped replica of what the jet could carry into combat.

Several people were going over the aircraft while we watched. The gathering included Wes, the test pilot, four engineering representatives from the company that was licensing the aircraft, six men in Air Force officer uniforms, and two men in suits from the DOD.

Everyone cleared the area by 8:30 and watched the test pilot strap in and begin spooling up the twin engines. A nearby Learjet was spooling up at the same time. The Lear would be carrying part of a team of USAF and DoD observers, and a couple of the licensing company's engineers.

Steve came up to me, took my arm, and said, "Come with me and I'll show you something that's going to really excite you. It's something we've needed for a long time, and we were finally able to get them right after all of us left on your tour. We'll check the monitors of the Lear's camera to see how that's going in a minute, but you have to see this."'

We walked into the hallway and then into the hangar that we couldn't gain access to the previous day. Within the hangar looked like one of the silent helicopters from out west. The bird looked complete but it still had equipment all around it letting the observer know it wasn't ready for prime time yet.

Across the huge rear wall was like a separate building within the hangar. Over the doors were numbers or names. One had 737, one had Citation, one G5X, one Lear/Bombardier, and the last one just CS&S. Steve opened the door under the 737 and I was astounded. There was a module on hydraulic legs with 737-600 painted on the side. Inside the module was the complete cockpit of a 737-600. Across from the module was a console for an operator to monitor a training session. This was a real flight simulator that would give the feel and possibly even the sound of being in flight.

"Wow, Steve, did you buy simulators for all of the aircraft you have over the doors?"

Steve smiled at me, "Yes, we bought simulators for all of them. We bought used equipment for the G5s, Citations, and Lear. We bought new parts from Boeing for the 737, and we are having one built for our new jet. We may or may not keep it, since the licensing company wants what we have and has ordered several more. These things aren't cheap, so we may sell it to recoup the development money. We can always have another one built."

As I closely looked at the cockpit, I said "Steve, this looks like the 737-600 we just flew in. It's somewhat different than the one I learned to fly. We have four of the same model I learned to fly in, and I know the next level was still the same configuration but this is a lot different."

Steve replied, "Each simulator is different since they are configured exactly like the aircraft and are configured with the engine models used on that aircraft. The computer software is what makes these things work. We have four new employees who are technicians for these. Don't panic though, as we are making money on them as they are almost continuously rented for training. Even the Air Force has been sending some of their people here for the G5 and G550. There is different software for the two aircraft. So now you can go for a ride without using one pound of fuel."

I was shaking my head in amazement. "When did you do all of this, Steve? Could you do all of this during the three months I was gone? You were gone too, so who supervised all of this?"

"Wes did everything while he was doing what he does best. He's a happy person when he's busy, and I have two watchdogs to keep him out of here at night. DeeDee and Star make sure he goes home at night and gets his rest."

"This is really something, Steve. It's hard to believe that we really have our own simulators. This will give all our pilots good training for emergencies. Lisa and I might even enjoy some training time in them."

Steve moved us back toward the door and said, "Let's go check on the test flight. The pilot should be up to altitude by now."

We went to the office where multiple huge monitors displayed what the Lear was seeing, a screen of the pilot to observe his cockpit activities, and a screen that showed the instrument panel. A display on the bottom showed the direction of travel, airspeed, altitude, fuel on board, and time in flight to the hundredth of a second. The display showed the pilot do several maneuvers, almost aerobatic in nature, but normal maneuvers for a fighter. We watched as the aircraft accelerated, climbed, then dove about 5,000 feet before pulling out. We saw that the test flight was over water at that point. The aircraft banked hard several times, rapidly going back and forth. I could sense the G-forces the pilot must be going through. He must have been in outstanding condition to withstand the stresses. We heard over the monitors the pilot stating, "Going up through mach one, standby."

The aircraft accelerated again, and left the Lear as it increased past the Lear's maximum speed. The monitor line at the bottom of the screen showed the activity with the engines still below 70% power. The machmeter rose to mach 1.9 and held as the pilot increased the power. The pilot requested, "Can I take it up to 85 percent power? Let's see what it will do."

I heard Wes say, "Go to 80 percent and hold. Let's watch there before we go higher."

The indicator soon showed mach 2.2, and the engine power was still under 80%. I stood there trying to mentally calculate how fast that was. Mach 2 was over 1500 miles per hour at sea level, so the aircraft flying at 30,000' was flying at nearly 1450 miles per hour at that altitude. Wes was looking at instruments on his panel, rapidly going between several of them as the indicator showed 79 then 80 percent power ... He used his microphone switch and said, "Okay, you're showing zero vibration, so take it up to 85 percent, but I think that should do it for today."

"Roger that. This bird feels so solid that I think I could just keep climbing. The pressure suit is keeping me comfortable, Wes. Good design."

All eyes were on the indicator and the monitors once again, showing the pilot behind his dark tinted face shield. I could see Wes watching every tick of his equipment as he kept checking various monitors, gauges, and scope sweeps. The machmeter was at Mach 3.2 when engine power reached 84 percent. Wes was constantly watching the aircraft temperatures and the vibration amplitudes on the scopes. There were sensors on both wings and on all the aircraft protrusions. This was all the more amazing because the additional speed you get in response to additional power usually tapers down, but this was increasing instead of diminishing.

Once the aircraft was at 85 percent power and showing a speed of Mach 3.5, Wes calmly said, "Hold that speed for two minutes, then begin taking it down five percent at a time until you can safely turn to come home. No turns above Mach one point two. Climb to flight level five zero zero and hold while you're slowing. Watch your suit pressure and temperature."

We watched as the aircraft began slowing as it climbed until it reached about mach 1.3, and began banking as it kept climbing through 50,000 feet. The pilot started correcting at 54,000 feet, and dropped back down to 50,000 feet. At that level, Wes told the pilot, "Get back below Mach 1 before you reach land and come on in. See if you can pick your escort up so he can film your descent and landing."

Wes sat back in his swivel chair and breathed a sigh of relief. He was still watching every dial, gauge, and scope, but you could see that he was relieved to be bringing the aircraft back. One of the Air Force observers said, "That was incredible, Wes. You should have taken it up to 95 percent power. Who knows how fast it will go."

Wes commented, "We now know that it can go over Mach 3 and will fly at 54,000 feet, that's about all you can ask of a fully loaded fighter. Just think if the bird was empty. Look at the fuel level; we still have thirty minutes of fuel. We're going to do an air refueling test after we go over the aircraft. That's the last test we're required to perform. The secret to its increased performance between 70% and 85% power is that at around Mach 2 it starts to derive lift from its own sonic boom shock wave. This was actually pioneered 50 years ago by the North American XB-70 Valkyrie, and this is the first fighter, and the first aircraft of any kind since then, to accomplish that. I'm sure you were expecting only a minor increment in speed as the power was pushed up."

Wes looked up at me and asked, "Did Steve show you our playrooms? If you want to fly this new bird, make an appointment and fly it in the sim first after we get it from the developer. I might be able to authorize a flight for you if we can get you checked out. You should be able to fly what you built, considering that you're one of the owners. I think I'll just stick with the simulator when we get it. I still get anxious over the Lear. Give me a good turboprop and I'm happy."

Lisa tugged my arm, "Let's go find someplace quiet to make our call. I want to put it on speakerphone so I can hear too. Let's go out and sit in your Citation. That will give us the privacy we want."

My Citation was sitting outside the small jet hangar ready to go wherever we needed it to go. We opened the door and pulled the steps down. The aircraft wasn't too hot inside yet, so we sat in the seats where the computer would be.

I asked Lisa, "What's the phrase today. I didn't look yet."

Lisa used her phone to log in and get the phrase in a superfluous e-mail that contained what we needed.

I made the call, and when our contact answered, I asked, "Did you slop the hogs yet?"

The voice on the other end was smiling when he answered, "Just finished."

"Okay, what do you have for us that's so important?"

Our contact said, "Nothing earth shattering, but there is a small cell in Alexandria that might be a problem. The activity level around the building has picked up, and there appears to be about a dozen inhabitants there now compared to only four to six on a regular basis. Facial recognition has all of them as some form of imports under UN and embassy papers. They have brought in a lot of supplies lately, and they have all been brought in at night under diplomatic cover."

I asked, "Why don't you send the troops in and clean the place out. You don't have to have much for a warrant. What's the hesitation?"

"Give me a break, Chuck. You know the new policy of kissing everyone's ass. I thought I might send you there to ask if you could help them do what ever they are planning to do. You could at least gum up the works that way."

Lisa asked, "What do you really want us to do? I'm sure you're watching the place, and you not knowing what's going on in there at night is bogus. You can see better in pitch dark than most can see in broad daylight."

"Okay, okay, so we know they have imported a lot of bomb components. None appear to be nukes so far, so we're okay with that. Some of the equipment was strange to us, so we've had some CIA techs review the videos. We were told they might be assembling a rail gun. It can hurl a small bomb through a steel wall if they are doing that. The technology is so new that everyone thinks it's impossible for them to build a real rail gun in the room of a house. They also say that the big reason this has to be an unsuccessful attempt at terrorism is that the power required for a rail gun exceeds anything they could have locally. We need someone to go into that building and take those people down without any noise or disturbance. I suggested you two because you're nuts enough to do it and know how to keep things quiet. How about we drop you on top of the building and you two go through some windows and clean the place up? We'll have some help waiting for you, and a good cleanup crew to leave the place Spic and Span. What do you say? Want to try it?"

I looked at Lisa and she nodded. "Sure, we'll do it. Should we go into Andrews or somewhere else?"

"Go into Andrews and use our hangar. Lisa knows which one, so just pull into it from the taxiway. We'll have a quiet bird there to take you to the drop."

"Hey," I interrupted, "We want a few hours of observation before we go in. I'm sure you have building plans, and we need to look at those too. If we're going to have backup, we need to meet them and work out how we enter and what we'll do."

"You're right. I was getting anxious to get rid of the problem. This has become a priority, but no one wants to be the bad guy who offends someone. You two know what needs to be done, and know that we really don't need anyone to answer questions, but if you grab one or two who are willing to talk, that's fine but not necessary."

This was fast and really clandestine, "Okay, we'll be at Andrews in three hours or less. Let's get this done. You're scaring me with this rail gun thing. You need to demo one of those things next time we're out west, if that's at all possible."

The contact said, "Squawk on our freq when you're on final. We'll alert ground control where you will need to go. See you soon."

I looked at Lisa and she smiled, "Right into the fire, huh? I wonder why they don't send some troops in there to clean it up?"

"You know why, Lisa. They are probably going to let the world think we're still on vacation, and just act like this place and the people there never existed. How about taking a different aircraft instead of the Citation?

Let's see if the Phenom is available."

We went into the charter office to ask about the Phenom. It was available, but would be needed for tomorrow. I told DeeDee, "Use the Citation if we're not back. We need a non-descript aircraft today."

We used a cart to get our bags and equipment cases. I figured on the collapsible MP5s and our sidearms, both with silencers, since we were going to be in close quarters. We changed into our BDUs when we got to the aircraft, as this was going to be all work and no play.

I did the outside pre-flight and thoroughly went over the aircraft. Lisa started the APU (Auxiliary Power Unit) meanwhile and began doing the pre engine start checklist. We were getting ready to call for taxi instructions within a few minutes. Lisa interjected, "You'd better call Brandy or someone, and tell them that we have a quickie and should probably be back tomorrow. Oh, and make sure you tell Jane not to call anyone. She could spoil the surprise."

I made the call and asked Brandy to give the phone to Jane. "I need to make sure you don't call anyone in regards to what Lisa and I do, Jane. It's important that you don't call anyone in any of the services to ask about us either. You do understand, right?"

Jane said, "I got it. I won't call. Thanks for the warning though, as I probably would have. Go get done what needs to be done. See you tomorrow or whenever. Be safe."

I slid my phone into my pocket as Lisa requested taxi and takeoff instructions. We had to follow an LSA with a test pilot to the runway and watch it get off the ground and do a sharp left turn. We were cleared for the runway and accessed it, picking up speed rolling down and rotated about halfway down the runway.

We gave the private frequency the type of aircraft and numbers when we called them so they could direct us. A 'follow-me' pickup with lights flashing met us as soon as we pulled off the runway and led us directly into a big hangar.

A cart rolled up to our door before we could open it. Two men carrying garment bags came on board when we did open the door and put the stairs down. They handed them to us and said, "They want you to put these on as they will be better camouflage than your BDUs." The clothes were BDUs in darker gray colors. The equipment had web vests in the same color. The men noted our body armor and checked our MP5s with silencers. They saw that we both had the new short Glock suppressors installed, along with carrying plenty of spare ammo. I asked, "Do you think there's any reason to take a sniper weapon? Everything's going to be up close, right?"