Dreams Take Flight (20 page)

“Ever since I first saw you, I couldn’t get you off my mind, Lucas. I would wake up thinking about you and go to sleep thinking about you. It wasn’t just a physical thing with me; you were a person I had to get to know. Even though we have been seeing each other for the past several months, I feel like I still don’t know who you are. I feel like you keep me away from your private life.”

“Heather, I don’t know what to tell you. You seem to want something I can’t give you. The person sitting with you right now is the person I am. Can’t you just admire a painting without knowing how the artist created it? I understand that you may have questions about my past or other people in my life, but that doesn’t change who I am. You think you will have a better understanding of me by hearing about my brother, but you may just end up with even more questions—or even see the real me differently. I have never been one to talk about myself. My experiences, ideas, and beliefs are mine and not for sharing.”
What’s the big deal? Why can’t she understand this?

“That’s just it: you don’t share!”

“I do share! I share the thing that most defines me as a person. I share my time, my life…This moment isn’t mine, it is ours! That is sharing. When I’m flying and thinking of you, that’s sharing! What more could a person ask for than knowing that someone else is allowing them into their personal thoughts throughout the day? That isn’t just sharing, it’s a giving away of oneself.”

“Lucas, I don’t think you understand what I am saying.”

“And I don’t think you understand what I’m saying. Goddamn it, Heather, would you feel better about me if I told you I got drunk and was arrested when I was sixteen?”

“I wouldn’t feel better about knowing you were arrested, but I would feel better knowing you were willing to tell me.”

“Do you think you would know me better? Incidentally, for the record I’ve never been arrested.”

“No, but—”

Lucas interrupts Heather: “I wear a nine-and-a-half shoe. Know me better now? My waist is thirty to thirty-two inches. Know me better now? I love going down on you. Know me better now? Heather, for us to get along, we have to accept each other for who we
are
, not for who we wish the other person could be or for what we may have been in the past. Maybe it’s best these differences come up now—maybe we confused physical attraction with compatibility. Heather, we had a fabulous evening, we do well together, but I think we need to ask ourselves where we’re going as a couple.”

“Lucas, I don’t like this conversation. Let’s change the subject.”

CHAPTER TEN

Lucas Meets the Feds

O
n Monday, Lucas got up around ten o’clock intending to call the FAA and discuss the citation he and Mike received for flying an airplane without one of the inspections. The first order of business upon waking was to go to the bathroom, as he always did shortly after his feet hit the floor. Following his bathroom routine, he headed straight to the coffeemaker for his first of many morning cups.

With coffee in hand, Lucas went straight to his phone, located near the kitchen table. In light of his Wednesday interview with Global, he felt compelled to hear for himself what was going on with the citation. He placed a notepad and the letter he’d received from the FAA near his phone and then called the individual who’d signed the letter.

After dialing the number contained in the letter, the phone began to ring through. It continued for what seemed a hopeless number of times.

Sure no one would answer, Lucas started to hang up when he heard, “Dean Weaver, hello, hello.”

“Oh, uh…Mr. Weaver, this is Lucas Sanders. I received a letter from you about two weeks ago, indicating that I was being cited for flying one of our planes without the hundred-hour inspection.”

“This is Lucas Sanders, right?”

“That’s correct. I fly for State Side.”

“I remember that. What is the case number at the top of the letter?”

“N as in ‘November,’ four-six-two-nine-zero-three-one.”

“OK, Lucas.” Weaver paused. “I see you were cited for flying Convair thirty-seven-thirteen-papa without its hundred-hour inspection. You know the FAA takes these regulations seriously, especially when dealing with commercial operators.”

“I realize that. I take them seriously as well. After all, it’s my neck up there as well as others’. My partner has been looking into this situation. He discovered that the inspection had been completed, but that the entry wasn’t made in the logbook.”

“Lucas, you realize that if the paperwork is not completed, the inspection never took place.”

“I do realize that, but the chief mechanic is responsible for the entry.”

“This is true, but you as the pilot in command are responsible for determining that the plane is airworthy. The only way you can do that is to inspect the required paperwork or logbook before you fly the plane. You or Michael didn’t do that.”

“You’re right; we screwed up. But I wasn’t the pilot in command.”

“I didn’t know that. According to our records, you are both qualified as pilot in command on a Convair. It looks like you both got the letter because we didn’t know who was acting as the PIC on that flight.”

“Well, that was Mike. Can I get a letter from Mike acknowledging that he was PIC on that flight, and get my name off this citation?”

“You do that and your citation will be pulled from your file.”

“Otherwise, where is this going? I ask because I have a follow-up interview with Global and can’t mess this up.”

“The worst-case scenario for a minor violation is that we put a person on a twelve-month probation. As for you and Mike, once the paperwork is received showing that the inspection was completed but the logbook was simply overlooked, this issue can be closed with a note attached to your file for a twelve-month period. We won’t charge you with a violation unless something like this happens again. You do understand that a mechanic’s mistake can’t relieve you from your obligations?”

“I understand that, but just to clarify: you’re telling me that if I get that letter from Mike stating that he was the PIC, it will clear me completely?”

“That’s correct, but in the meantime, we’re waiting for Gold Coast to respond. Until then, this is an open case. We can’t do anything until they respond, or you get me the letter from Mike.”

“At least I know what I can do to close this out.”

“If you want to wrap this up quickly, and it sounds like you do, get that letter from Mike and have Gold Coast send us the information we need.”

“I’ll work on that today. Now tell me this—when Global does its background check, what will they find?”

“We had an inquiry from them yesterday—hang on just a second; I need to put the phone down to find that file.”

A few seconds passed before Weaver returned to the phone.

“Lucas, it looks like they were told there is an active investigation into an FAR violation. No other information was shared.”

“That actually sounds worse than it is.”

“Don’t know what to tell you, Lucas. You may want to take a copy of the letter I sent you and get something from Gold Coast to prove that the investigation is the result of a missing logbook entry and you guys failing to note the missing entry. Get that letter from Mike and take that with you. I’m sorry to say that this kind of violation happens across most commercial operators at one time or another. The most important thing is going to be a letter from Mike stating that he was the PIC. That’s going to be your golden ticket.”

“Mr. Weaver, I sure appreciate you taking the time to explain all of this to me.”

“Glad to be of help. Keep me posted on your trip to Global.”

“Sure will. Take care now.”

Lucas returned the phone to the cradle and began his morning ritual in preparation for the trip to Gold Coast.

Lucas entered the Gold Coast lobby in the middle of the afternoon during the height of activity. The first person to capture his attention was Heather, who was busy taking care of customers while various corporate pilots made requests and tried to pay bills. Although his mission was to visit with the maintenance group, he couldn’t help but take a moment to absorb the sheer beauty of Heather. Her face was like an angel’s. Her hair was perfect, with every strand neatly in place. Her miniskirt advertised the beauty of her long, smooth legs. For a brief second, he could feel the warmth of where her legs came together—a feeling others could only imagine.

Returning to reality, his focus shifted to his original mission. With a quick smile and wave to Heather, Lucas proceeded directly to the office belonging to the director of maintenance.

Upon entering the office, Lucas found the person he was looking for behind the desk: Clyde Wilcox, Director of Maintenance for Gold Coast Aviation.

“Good morning, Clyde. I’m Lucas Sanders and I fly for State Side. Mike and I got a letter from the FAA indicating that we violated the FARs by flying the Convair without the hundred-hour inspection.”

“Yes, I’m aware of the letter. Mike brought his by the other day. As I recall, Mike went back through all the records and found that the hundred-hour inspection had been completed, but was never entered into the logbook. We can make that correction. It won’t be a problem.”

“What I need from you, Clyde, is a letter pointing out that you guys made the mistake of not entering the inspection in the logbook, and that the plane’s inspection was completed and the plane was airworthy. I have an interview with Global on Wednesday and that incident was reported when they did my background check.”

“I can give you a letter, but that citation is for flying the plane without confirming the inspection had been completed. In other words, the FAA is saying you didn’t determine the plane was airworthy. Us making the entry or not isn’t the issue facing you and Mike. I’m sure the feds want to know why Mike discovered the missing entry long
after
the flight took place. You guys should have called that to our attention the night of the flight. It would have been fixed.”

“I know, but Dean Weaver, the inspector, told me to take a letter with me. Will you give me the letter anyway?”

“Of course. Are you flying tonight?”

“That’s the plan.”

“In that case, I’ll leave it at the front desk and you can pick it up later.”

“Thanks, Clyde. See you later.”

Distraught over his visit with Clyde, Lucas went home without saying anything to Heather. His plan was to get into the swimming pool and reflect on current events, then return to the airport at his usual time.

Arriving at the airport at nine in the evening, Lucas headed straight to Heather to pick up his letter from Clyde Wilcox. Heather was closing out a fuel bill for another customer, and a strange calmness came over Lucas as he watched her. No longer feeling like he was all alone, he began to relax.

“Good evening, sunshine. You are looking fantastic,” he said, sounding upbeat.

“And right back to you,” replied Heather. “I saw you earlier, but you never came back. Are you OK?”

“I am. I came by earlier because Dean over at the FAA office suggested that I get a letter from Clyde explaining what happened with the logbook entry. He thought it might be a good idea to take it with me to my interview on Wednesday. Speaking of which, do you have it? He said he would leave it here.”

“Sure do. How has your day gone otherwise?”

“Fine. I spent most of the afternoon in the pool worrying about my interview and this stupid citation.”

“Look, Lucas: like you would tell me, you can’t worry about what has happened. Worrying about the interview isn’t going to help either. What you need is a good romp between the sheets.”

“As good as that sounds, don’t forget I’ve got to fly tonight, Heather.”

“Got ten minutes? I have a storage closet back here. I could use a break from the counter anyway,” she said, a playful tone in her voice.

“What happens if someone comes in?”

“They can wait.”

“I have a funny feeling this isn’t a good idea,” said Lucas as he walked toward the end of the counter.

Reaching the end of the counter, Heather held out her hand, took Lucas’s wrist, and led him around the corner into a small storage closet with one bare, dim bulb hanging from the ceiling.

Still holding hands, Heather guided Lucas into the closet first, following close behind. Heather’s back was to the door and Lucas faced her. With her left hand, Heather began to rub Lucas’s cock. With her right hand, she took Lucas’s left hand and slid it under her miniskirt and panties, then began to kiss him passionately. Lucas got hard immediately. Heather released Lucas’s left hand and began to hug Lucas. Lucas’s left hand stayed in place as he began to fondle her.

Lucas had become so hard and large that Heather had difficulty getting his dick released from his pants, and was successful only after undoing his belt and dropping his pants around his knees, followed by his underwear. Heather immediately released her grip on Lucas’s underwear, reached under her skirt, and pulled her panties down as Lucas retracted his hand so as not to interfere with her mission. As her panties hit the floor, she steped out of them, leaving a clear path for Lucas.