As Jake moved away from the bar, Louie moved to take his place. Reverend Tenboom slid furtively in behind him.
Sarah looked at Louie. “Can you believe Jake actually fought in the Spanish Civil war?”
“Our Jake is not what he seems, ma Cherie. I’ve made a few inquiries. Discrete, of course. It’s really quite amazing.” Jack, still hanging around in hopes of another beer, barked twice.
Sarah looked for and found where she had set down her glass of wine. “What do you mean?”
“Jake seems to have a knack for flying in out-of-the way places – dangerous places. Unlike the circus, there is no safety net. In Spain he was assigned as air support for the Republican Army ground troops. He was young and inexperienced. They gave him a very out of date Nieuport-Dulage NiD 52. A very fine open cockpit biplane fighter for its day, but certainly not up to the standards of the modern aircraft appearing against it in Spain.”
Taking a sip of her wine. “Why were all these people meddling in a Spanish affair?”
Louie’s face breaks into a humorless smile. “There were many reasons, I suppose. I think we all knew that war in Europe was coming. Soldiers wanted experience, equipment needed testing. Where better than on someone else’s soil, n'est-ce pas? And of course, there were the idealists, like our Jake.”
Sarah looked disgusted. “That’s pretty cold blooded.”
“Oui. But it is reality.” Louie looked around to find the Reverend Tenboom listening over his shoulder.
“Ja, dere iss always someone to take advantage of others’ misfortune. What did Jake do in Spain?”
Louie half turned to include both in his conversation. “Well, as I said, he flew the Nieuport, and, as Corky said, the Breguet. He was one of those, even though an American, selected to fly the Polikarpov I-16 when it was delivered by the Russians. When things started looking hopeless for the Republican army, all American’s were told to evacuate. He said he flew out. That is a poor description for what he really did. He sent Corky out and stayed behind against orders. He continued to fly.”
“He vas committed. Dat iss gut.”
Sarah disagreed. “That was stupid! He should have left when ordered.”
“Maybe, ma Cherie, but he did not and saved many lives. When the Russians pulled out their new aeroplanes, he went back to flying whatever was there to fly.”
Sarah appeared to feel that proved her point. “Wasn’t that dangerous?”
“Oui. According to my source, who was my aide when I was ambassador, Jake was shot down near an enemy airfield. He survived the crash and infiltrated the airfield perimeter. He attacked a pilot and took his place just before a squadron of Bf109 Messerschmitts took off the next morning. When he found they were about to attack Republican ground troops, he shot down six before making his escape.”
“Mein Gott! That was either very brave or very foolish.”
“D’accord. He landed at an aerodrome in my native France with guns empty and no petrol in his tanks. He landed the plane … how you say … dead stick.”
“No… dat iss no easy task. The Bf109 is very tail heavy, and the landing carriage very close together. It is very difficult to control without power.”
Sarah looked surprised. “How would a Dutch minister know that?” She remembered how Josh had said Willie was actually a German soldier. Now she had to wonder.
Willie looked uncomfortable.
“When I was a little boy I always wanted to be the fighter pilot. Alas, I grew too big to fit in the cockpit.” He holds out his arms to illustrate his size. “Me und my friend Axel both wanted to fly the aeroplanes.
“My friend Axel, he run away to Churmany to become a Luftwaffe pilot. He came home on holiday before leaving for Africa. His mother und father were very angry. But he looked so good in der uniform. I vas preparing to come here. We had one last evening together. He told me he vas to fly der Bf109 and vas very proud of it. But he said it vas not for everyone. The Bf109 is not a forgiving aeroplane.”
“How did Axel feel about you becoming a minister?” Sarah asked curiously.
“How did he feel? Oh, he vas surprised. Ja, Axel was very surprised with my taking holy orders. We were considered very wild growing up.” Willi leaned toward them as he warmed to his story.
“Dere vere these twin sisters who lived on de farm where our families vould buy milk.” His hands described an exaggerated hourglass shape. The top held more capacity for sand than the bottom. “Axel and I vere growing boys. We were very interested in milk. We vould often valk to der local dairy farm. They vere very accommodating.” Seeing the look from Sarah. “ja, they vere very accommodating.” A slight smile crossed his face at some memory. He saw Sarah’s face and the smile died. “They would help us mit our needs. For milk. That vas vhat they did.”
“I’ll just bet they did.”
“Oh ja! They were such devout girls. Always speaking of seeing the priest and seeking blessings. They taught Axel und me much about a woman’s need for blessings. Their devotion … inspired me. Dat iss zo very true. I must say that I would not be the priest I am today vere it not for their … example … their utter devotion.”
With that, Willie turned his head, his body following, and he marched out the door.
Sarah giggled.
Louie sighed, “C’est la vie. Do you suppose, my little bird, that we could have just one little song before the time for your first set is over? Vite, Vite.”
The next morning, Jake walked down to the Goose to find that Corky had once again pulled the starboard engine carburetor to rebuild it. Since that killed his plans to fly the Goose out to the Hancock, he hunted up the Lieutenant Commander and requested a ride. The Lt. Commander detailed two sailors to the duty. One had an eye as black as his mood and spent his time glaring at Jake. The other, a young Ensign named Riley was full of questions.
“I’d give anything to be going where you’re going. Isn’t it great?”
Jake tried to be non-committal. “It’s OK, I guess.”
Riley leaned forward waving his arms about the empty horizon. “OK? It’s a whole lot better than just sitting on an empty ocean scrubbing decks. At least you’ll be doing something.”
“Look, Riley, I’ve already been there. I’ve sat hours, just like you, waiting for something to happen. Then I’ve had to watch men give their lives for a piece of ground only to have the survivors lose it the next day. I’ve seen men bombed by people on their own side. Sometimes you’re glad to be doing nothing.”
Riley didn’t get it. “But you at least see the enemy.”
“Not really. One set of goggles and helmet looks just like any other. Besides,” now Jake leans forward, “are you sure he’s the enemy. He’s just another guy serving his country, like you.”
If Jake hoped that would stall Riley he was wrong. “But you get to prove you’re better than the other guy.”
“Yeah, sometimes - and sometimes you’re the one shot down.”
“But you’re an Ace - a hero.”
“Being a hero doesn’t put fuel in your tank or pay the bills.”
“Your parents must be proud.”
Jake turned to look out to sea – hoping to see the Hancock. “My mother is dead, and my father is embarrassed I’m alive.”
“I’m sorry.”
Jake was ashamed for his slip. He hasn’t talked to anyone about his past. That’s been one of the advantages of Boragora. People don’t tend to ask about your past. “Don’t be. You didn’t know.”
“Why would any dad be embarrassed his son is alive? I just don’t get it.”
“Look … Riley … it’s what happens when your parents aren’t married. I don’t even know why I’m talking about this. If your dad is rich and influential, he might not want to have an illegitimate brat hanging around. Get it?”
Jake couldn’t be upset or rude with Riley. He just didn’t
know. He probably had a real family. For him, war was what he’d read in
dime novels and pulp fiction. He hadn’t seen pieces of friends you’d
just been talking to strewn on the ground. He hadn’t been in a trench
face to face with a kid just as scared as he was – each of you expected
to kill the other. Jake’d rather started a baseball game and let the winning
team run things. It would have made as much sense.
Riley appointed himself as Jake’s personal guide about the destroyer and
eventually led him to the infirmary. The surgeon was waiting. The next forty
five minutes were a pretty routine flight physical. The surgeon looked closely
at the scars on Jake’s leg, had him do some deep knee bends and run in
place for ten minutes.
“Well son, you look fit to me. Does the leg ever bother you?”
“Not really.”
“Why hadn’t you tried to return to your unit?”
“I don’t know. I was just taking one day at a time and there didn’t seem to be any hurry. My friend Gandy had managed to take some time off to go treasure hunting so it didn’t seem there could be anything too urgent about getting back.”
“I never would have thought of treasure hunting out here. Did he find anything?”
“Yeah. In a manner of speaking. He died from a native’s poison arrow. The people he was helping buried him like the son of a King.”
“I’m sorry. But you’ve had a good break from combat flying, at least.”
“You know, doc, that’s funny. One day, flying a mission, I flew against two brothers. I shot one of them down. A few months ago the other brother hunted me up. It was a vengeance thing. He called it honto ni. To keep him from killing my friends I had to duel him in the air, with a pair of stolen Kawasaki fighters.”
“What happened?”
“We shot each other down. I bailed out – he didn’t. I don’t think he wanted to.”
“So you have six Japanese kills.”
“I’m not counting that one. In fact, I’ll never keep count again.”
The surgeon looks at Jake for a long time. “Son, I have to pronounce you fit to fly. I wish I didn’t, but your country needs you.”
“Thanks, doc. I’ve already heard that speech twice.”
As Jake leaves the infirmary, he finds Riley waiting for him in the passage way.
“Did he pass you?”
“Yep.”
“That’s great. You’ll be back in the air in no time, with a real airplane.”
Jake tenses at the slight to the Goose. “I’ve got a real airplane.”
“That broken down old boat. You can’t compare that to a fighter. No speed, no maneuverability.”
“Don’t sell the Goose short. It may not be sleek, but it is fast enough, and she’s got a few moves you wouldn’t expect. Besides, it takes more brains to fly her than a fighter.”
“I can’t believe that.”
“It’s true. You’ve got to keep those big radials in synch, keep her trimmed, and you want a challenge, try landing out on that water. You do that with a fighter, you’re goin’ down.”
“Maybe, but at least with a fighter you can shoot back.”
“You know, one thing I’ve learned here, is that you don’t always want to shoot back. If you don’t hunt trouble, you have a better chance of staying alive.”
“I didn’t expect you to say that. Not with five kills to your credit.”
“Sure, five kills, two probables, and how many families wrecked. Five men dead. They follow you, wherever you go.”
“Say, I was thinking. They only counted the planes you shot down in China. How many did you shoot down in Spain?”
Jake stops to consider. An old movie reel runs behind his eyelids as he sees his tracers ripping through ground troops and smoke trails as planes spiral out of the sky. It seems so long ago, except in his nightmares. And the final image of a Japanese fighter crashing. His memory plays a nasty trick on him and shows the pilot trapped inside on the way down. Not so much mechanically trapped, but trapped by his version of tradition and honor.
“Riley, I don’t know. Everybody was too busy fighting for their lives to keep score.”
Jake was starting to get annoyed and walked away before he lost
his temper. As he made his way back to Boragora he finally figured out what
bothered him about Ensign Riley. It wasn’t Riley’s fault his naive
enthusiasm made Jake feel old.
It’s evening when Josh approached Sarah at her table. Sarah was between sets, relaxing, and sipping a glass of white wine. “Mind if I join you?”
“Please do, I’d love to hear you tell me more about my father.” More softly “everything’s arranged. Jake is flying me to Tagataya in the morning.”
“I wanted to talk to you about that. Why are you using him? The surgeon said our flyboy wasn’t in any hurry to return to duty. We also suspect he has Communist sympathies.”
Sarah’s eyes flashed and for an instant Josh saw past the fluff that he had almost begun to believe. “Now you listen here, buster. Jake Cutter is as much a patriot as you or I. I mean look at it. Look how he turned in that German spy. That cost him plenty. Don’t you think I don’t know it. Look how he stopped those German scientists when your man was down. Do you think those the actions of someone who wasn’t a patriot, or a coward?”
“Actually, Miss White, I wasn’t aware of his involvement in those episodes. It wasn’t mentioned in your reports.”
Sarah withdrew behind a defensive expression. “Well, I, ah, I had to keep transmissions short. I couldn’t broadcast every detail.”
“I see, so you left Captain Cutter out of all of it.”
Sarah looked down at her glass of white wine as if it had suddenly turned to vinegar. “Yes, I did. It seemed too complicated to explain.”
“And you didn’t want to admit you had help …”
“So what if I didn’t. I’ve had a hard enough time getting you people to take me seriously after Sam was murdered. I’ve a job to do here and darn few resources. I’ve had to use everything, and everyone, I could to keep up with your requests. I’ve used Jake, and I don’t like admitting it.”
“Do you care for him?” Josh was concerned. The last thing he needed was Sarah becoming emotionally involved with a potential traitor.
“That is none of your business.” The indignation died down a little. “I don’t know, really. We’re friends at least – most of the time. We kind'a look out for each other. Sometimes I want to wring his neck – but when everyone thought I was dead in the Philippines, he was the one who risked everything. He flew that wreck of his all the way out there to find me. He wouldn’t believe I was dead. He found me and saved McArthur at the same time. And he never asked for anything in return. Sometimes I think he’s just swell, and others I think he’s just swell-headed. He’s had some hard knocks in his life, but he can still be charming when he wants to. It’s part of what drives me so crazy.”
Josh replies, “Yes, Ensign Reilly told me what he said about his father.”
Sarah’s indignation flared again. “I just think that’s just wrong. He should be proud of Jake. And I don’t want him to go away and die in China.”
“Sarah,” Josh said gently as he took her hand. “Somewhere, someday, I hope to have a friend like you.”
Sarah looked up in surprise, her eyes glistening in the light. “Why surely you have friends.”
“I have associates. I’ve never been close to anyone. It’s too easy to lose them in this business. I hope for your sake, you never have to face that with Captain Cutter.”
Thinking back to a tall, brown-haired man who seemed to have more
hands than an octopus has tentacles, and the smiling face of her father, Sarah’s
face turned determined. “I’ve had all of that I wanted.”
Return to the Monkey
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