Chapter 10 - A Flying Mishap

I gazed at the young man before me. “And just who are you, little girl?” I smiled. I hated it when people called me a little girl. “Ally Kat. I suggest you remember it. You might get yourself in trouble someday and want to call me.” “You're a cheeky little thing, aren't you? What are you doing here?” “Stealing information. Why don't you take a look at it?” “I think I will at that.” The man took the hard-drive I offered him and led me down the hall to another office. He turned on a computer in there and slipped the hard-drive in. The more he glanced through the file, the more horror-stricken he became. “You... just what were you planning on doing with this information? Who are you really?” “I told you, I'm Ally Kat. I'm hoping to take down the organization with this information. Would you care to help?” “How?” “I need someone on the inside. Someone who can slip me information about certain people and criminals. Can you do that for me?” The man just gazed at me for a little while, then said, “I will do everything I can.”

~*~AK~*~

Blake arrived at the office before anyone else did, so he went on down to visit Ven again.

“Ah! Mr. Sharpe! You're here early,” Ven spoke, running towards him.

“Yeah.”

“We think we got one of the airships working again. The fellows are just about to take a test drive.”

“Ah-”

“We've got a problem!” someone called from the middle of the room. “Gordon called in sick today, so we need another test driver. We can't get any work done around here until we get this done, so we need another person to do it in his place as soon as possible. Unfortunately, we don't have any other test drivers, so if there's anyone else in here who knows how to fly, please step up.”

Ven looked over at the big, chubby man who was calling out to everyone and looked down. He moved his jaw back and forth, as was his habit whenever he was trying to decide something. Suddenly, he clenched his fists and looked up. Walking over to the man, he called, “I'll do it!”

“You, Ven? You're sure?”

“Yes, Sir!”

“Very well then. I believe you know the usual procedure.”

“Yes, Sir.” Ven turned and headed towards a small room. He emerged, wearing special clothes for flying and carrying a case full of tools should anything stop working and need quick fixing.

Blake approached him. “Could I go too?” he asked.

“You want to come?”

“Sure, I can give you moral support, and maybe I can be of some use. I got here about an hour too early, so I need something to do until everyone gets here.”

“I'll go ask the boss.” Ven talked to the big man and then escorted Blake into the same little room where Blake changed into the flying clothes and the two of them boarded the airship. Once they were both buckled up, Ven started the engine and opened the hangar door. “Mr. Sharpe?” he asked.

“Yes, Ven?” Blake looked over at him and saw he was extremely pale and sweating like crazy.

“Could you give me a 1-2-3-Go? Just to get me started, you know.”

Blake smiled. “Alright, Ven. Ready? 1... 2... 3... Go!”

Ven moved the lever forward and the airship began rolling out the door and down the runway. As the wheels turned, they picked up speed, rotating faster and faster. As they neared the edge, Ven pushed the lever all the way up and gave out a big whoop as the propellers began turning and the airship flew up into the sky. They continued upwards, always gaining altitude, clouds rushing past as they went. Once they reached a certain height, the airship leveled out and Ven began looking over everything.

“It seems it all checks out normally,” Ven informed.

“Good to know.”

Ven laughed.

“Ven?” Blake asked.

“Hmm?”

“What made you change your mind about flying?”

Ven smiled. “Well, it's like you said. I needed to face my fear and live up to my father's wishes. If he knew that his son was a coward, he wouldn't be able to rest peacefully. And besides that, I didn't want to give him the satisfaction of being known as the best flyer forever.”

“Ah, so it was really competition that did it then,” Blake teased.

“Heh. I guess you could say that.”

They flew on like this for a little bit and then Ven began doing a few twists and loops and turns so that Blake became a bit dizzy for a while. As Ven tested the flying machine, he let out whoops and yells, as though life couldn't get any better. When he saw Blake clutching his head, however, he righted the ship and handed him a few painkillers and a glass of water.

“It seems to be working fine,” Blake said when his head stopped spinning.

“No, it's not,” Ven stated, a pondering look on his face.

“It's not?”

“No. Something just doesn't feel right. I can't think of what it might be though.” He thought a moment, then put the airship on autopilot and got out of his seat. He pulled down a door in the wall which revealed the machinery inside. Taking out a few tools, he began poking around. Suddenly, he stopped and just stared at something for a moment. Pulling out a container of fluid, he stuck his finger in the substance, pulled it out and licked it.

“Oh, shoot,” he muttered. “Blake, put this on. You know how to use a parachute, right?”

“Yeah,” Blake said, bewildered as he caught the case Ven threw at him.

“Good. We might have to jump out of here.”

“Why?” Blake asked, slipping the backpack on.

“The fluid. There's a certain fluid in the wings that keeps the propellers turning. But it was messed with. By adding just one ingredient to the fluid, it'll look and smell just like the original fluid, but it only works for a short amount of time. After a while, it hardens and it's just like running on empty. I don't think we have enough to make it back to the hangar.”

“How were you able to tell?”

“I could tell from the last turn that something was a bit off. Like the propellers weren't working correctly. The ingredient added is sugar. The incorrect fluid will taste sweet. That's how I realized.”

“Uh, but is it okay for you to have tasted that stuff?”

“Probably not. I imagine I'll be pretty sick tomorrow.”

“Ven, Ven, Ven. I'm sure you would have made your father proud.”

Ven laughed. “He would be proud, wouldn't he?... Oh, great we're already sinking.” Ven began adjusting things. “Hang on, I'm gonna see if I can land this thing somewhere safe before totally abandoning it.”

The ship began shaking and rattling and Blake's glass of water spilled on the floor. Suddenly, while trying to stay balanced, Blake caught a glimpse out of the window.

“Another ship.”

“What's that?”

“There's another ship.”

Ven looked out the side window where another airship of completely different build was flying. It flew underneath their airship and then gradually came up in front of it, a big, sturdy rope hanging from its tail. Suddenly, there was a scraping sound from the bottom of the ship and then a big jolt as the rope strained. “They've hooked our airship to theirs. They're going to pull us to a good landing spot.” And indeed, they did. Ven did everything he could to keep the airship upright behind them and land it as gently as possible in the middle of a lake. “Heh. I forgot these things were made to float as well as fly.”

“That's something one shouldn't forget, Ven.”

“I suppose not.” The two smiled at each other and laughed. The airship in front pulled them to shore and Blake and Ven got out and went over to thank their savior. But there, once again, Blake got a bit of a shock. There, out in the open, stood Ally Kat herself.