Part   Thirty Four   "Confidential"

For all of Tammy's adventures ---> click here

 
Friday 26th May 2017
 

Tammy started the day by driving over to the airport to take a look at her plane, and to find out if any more damage had been found. She found Jim dealing with four crates outside the Smart Air hangar.

"Delivery of the parts?"

"I still have no idea how you did it, but yes. Now we need to get them inside the hangar."

"Wouldn't the driver do that?"

"No, the driver was some ignorant Sassenach who wanted to get South of the border by teatime. I think you passed him at the gate?"

Tammy fetched the pallet truck to move the prongs under the nearest crate and dragged the first crate under cover. She handed the delivery note to Jim who started to unpack the crate. Tammy fetched the second crate and soon the parts were spread on the deck next to her plane.

"It looks like everything is here, the boys should have you sorted over the weekend."

"That sounds great, Jim, but can we have a chat in the office?"

"Sure, Tammy. Is this about the CAA letter?"

"Yes, and no."

They made themselves comfortable. "Okay, Tammy, what's up?"

"Well, first the CAA seem to want my licence?"

"As I said on the phone, it's a question of getting your side of the story as you, a private pilot, were forced to land by the RAF under off circumstances."

"So it's just to square their paperwork?"

"Yes, and I suggest you don't wait before you submit it."

"Okay, understood. Now, I need night flying and ILS added to my licence."

"You could do with a few more hours in the air before you can sensibly add night flying, and many more before you qualify for an instruments landing, not to mention an exam or two. Most of your current flying hours are long trips and we can't even count your return from Prestwick! Now, I get the impression that you want to run before you can walk?"

"Yes, thing is I've been promised another plane and it's due here shortly."

"Go on."

"It's an EPIC E1000."

"Seriously?"

"Yes."

"How?"

"Let's just call it compensation for my recent troubles."

"Even so, the insurance on those isn't cheap and there's no way you could fly it, in fact no-one here could fly it."

"I thought I could do a conversion course?"

"It isn't that straight-forward. First you need many more hours in your two-seater, many more take-offs and hopefully the same number of landings. Then you can apply for that night flying and instrument landing, followed by lots of practice. Finally you can do a conversion course to the Epic but that isn't going to be in the next few weeks or even few months."

"Guesstimate?"

"August or September."

"Oh, so it'll be sat here for four months before I can use it?"

"No, your conversion training will probably use the Epic but you'll have to pay for an instructor to come up here. But before that you'll need an instructor to clear you for nights and ILS. This process isn't cheap or quick, I wish you'd discussed this with me or your father before you made these agreements."

"Yeah, I get it."

"Then there's insurance, do you know the cost of that for a multi-million pound aircraft even if it's not going in the air?"

"Err, no."

"Well it had better earn its keep or you'll be losing several thousand a month. When is it due here?"

"In a day or two, I think."

"I suggest you stall it and tell your father before he asks me too many questions, Tammy."

"Hmmm, I think I got carried away?"

"It sounds like it. Did you want me to find you an instructor for the night flying?"

"I thought you said I had to fly more first?"

"True, but you have to book them in advance and I guess you want to do some intensive training whilst you're off for the summer?"

"Err, yes."

"When are your exams?"

"Two weeks."

"So we aim for the end of June?"

"That long?"

"Get your exams out of the way first, or I tell the lads to stop working on your plane for a few weeks?"

Through the glass she could see that the right hand seat had already been removed and part of the instrument panel had been removed. If they kept working then she might have use of it before the weekend was out.

"Okay, okay, the end of June."

"Now, how often are you going to fly the Epic?"

"I don't know, a few times a month?"

"What if Pete did a conversion course could he use it when you weren't?"

"So it earns money?"

"Yes, plus we won't need to lease a plane for that type of long distance job."

"Sure."

Tammy realised that, instead of just a personal flight, it could fly as part of the Smart Air fleet, albeit without any visible branding, and a verifiable history would be created. The downside would be that her plane might be unavailable if she needed it at short notice, and it would still be linked to her.

Her phone pinged, there was a delivery notification and she needed to be back at her office for eleven. She contemplated a little shopping in Wick as she had well over an hour but decided it was more prudent to head back into Thurso.

Back in the office she had an idea that might assist getting compensation for the damage to her plane. Tammy considered whether to call Marcus but decided he wouldn't intervene. In the end she called her solicitor Jeremiah Smith.

"How can I help you Miss Smart?"

"I had some trouble at Prestwick airport a week back, on the eighteenth, and I wonder if you could get hold of the airport authorities for me?"

"Is it lost luggage? I don't want to sound unhelpful but my services will cost you more than a courier."

"No, I flew there in my own plane and it was vandalised whilst I was away from it but no-one is admitting responsibility."

"So it's criminal damage?"

"Effectively, yes."

"I will make some enquiries, good day."

She'd barely put the handset down when the door buzzer sounded; downstairs she could see Joey so Tammy pressed the door release.

"My pass didn't work?"

"I didn't know if you were coming back so I disabled it last week, it'll only take a minute to fix that. "

"Oh, okay."

"I thought you said your mum was bringing you?"

"She's in the car outside."

"Well, bring her in?"

"She wanted to go somewhere for a coffee, did you want to join us?"

"I'm waiting for a delivery, and it could be here in thirty minutes according to the tracking link I received."

"Never mind, can I have the key?"

"I need to have your mum sign a lease as you're still under eighteen. No key until then, sorry."

Joey reluctantly went downstairs but was back two minutes later as Tammy had restored Joey's access. The usual niceties were done and Tammy explained the lease. Joey signed, as did Carol Cooper, and Tammy copied the paperwork to both of them before handing over a key.

Just as they left Tammy got a text from the electrician to confirm the CCTV was live and sent her the login and password for it. Tammy had that working for when Joey arrived at the door of the apartment.

She had just made a coffee when the buzzer next sounded, Tammy went down to receive her package, only to see the courier unload five packages when she'd expected one, or two.

"Are these all for me?"

He nodded then stacked them by her door, asking for the obligatory signature before abandoning her. Tammy shifted the packages inside putting them where she could on the stairs before realising that the stairlift could carry the heaviest package. Eventually she had everything upstairs and into the secure room, inside one of the packages was the packing note:

Tammy had opened one box to reveal an air tank. It was tagged as unfilled.

"Just like those cheap battery powered devices; air, not included." Tammy joked to herself.

The next box opened contained a Horizon rebreather system, although the box was twice as large as it needed to be because of the packing. The larger box contained a bag holding everything else a diver needed, all branded Mares. A flyer with the dive bag announced that Mares was a scuba equipment company based in Rapallo, Italy, self-declaring it was the most popular line in Europe. Given Tammy had never heard of the company she took this under advisement.

Suddenly the phone began ringing on the desk next to her, Tammy unlocked it and answered.

"Hello?" Tammy answered.

Kerri's voice replied. "Got the boxes unpacked?"

"Yes. I thought it was funny, the air tank came empty." Tammy quipped.

Kerri didn't miss a beat. "It's packed separately, in the bubble-wrap. The trick is to get the air into the tank and hold it, good luck."

Tammy had to laugh as she pictured trying to do that. "I guess I will need it!"

"There are plenty of shops that can fill your tanks. The Rebreather has a tank and needs to be filled. Don't store filled tanks longer than two days anyway." Kerri advised.

"Yes, they mentioned that on the course. However I'm pretty sure there's nowhere to fill tanks within two hours of driving near here." Tammy queried.

Kerri replied. "In that case take a look at buying a compressor, Coltri have a good range. You'll need a water tank too, to check for leaks."

"Okay, that sounds like an idea."

"Good, you're all set then."

"Yeah, for the water at least. I still have some issues for the air." Tammy commented.

"The parts for your current plane arrived today. The Epic is in transit." Kerri said.

Tammy sighed, guessing it was too late to delay the Epic's arrival. "I was at the airport just after the parts arrived. The CAA rules are holding me back, Jim says I have to do quite a bit to qualify for the Epic."

"Your aviation people are all yours to deal with, but I guess it shouldn't take more than a report to clear it up. About the Epic, the big thing is the avionics, there is a guy up in Aberdeen that can get you up on it and I'll ping you a number." Kerri offered.

Tammy's brain went into overdrive thinking about that. "Okay, when the paperwork for the Epic is sorted, I'll be able to do everything, but fight."

"Fight? Ask your cop buddies for an instructor. They'd probably teach you, for free, just to get you to quit shooting anyone." Kerri remarked.

Tammy felt put off about that. "Seriously, Kerri?"

Kerri said flatly. "Like I'm not right? I can be a bitch and correct at the same time. Remember the fact; so much of what you've been taught was to cover other peoples' asses and keep you compliant. Now you are learning things to help you and add value."

"Which keeps me 'in play', yes?" Tammy asked.

Kerri corrected. "Keeps you around. You've been 'in play'. 'Around' translates into surviving. In play; doesn't. Keep that in mind, Tammy-girl."

"Right. I'll talk to the Chief about a possible instructor." Tammy sighed.

"Okay then, you know what to do. I'm out." Kerri said then disconnected.

Tammy walked to the secure room door and looked at the dive equipment which was spread across the desk and floor. "Looks like I need a cabinet of some sort."

Her mobile phone rang.

"Tammy, it's Joey. Did your delivery arrive?"

"Yes, I've just finished dealing with it."

"We're in the Castletown Hotel, did you want to join us?"

"I guess I won't achieve much else today, so why not?"

Tammy arrived a few minutes later but needed a wee so excused herself after placing her order, Carol Cooper followed her into the ladies.

"Can I have a quiet word?"

"Sure."

"Thank you for what you're doing for my daughter, she is a more confident person now."

"It's worked both ways, Mrs Cooper, my office ran smoother and I had less stress."

"But you supported her. I'm worried though about two things, if you don't mind?"

"Go ahead, but I really do need a wee!"

"Firstly, did you target Joey because of what happened at Wattisham with my former husband?"

"No, she applied for the job before I went to Wattisham and I didn't make the connection for a few days after I came back."

"What were you doing down there?"

"Sorry, that's confidential."

"It might come out in court?"

"Unlikely. What was your other point?"

"Joey tells me you attended St Andrews?"

"Yes."

"It has only admitted girls for the past few years, when did you start there?"

"I left the upper sixth in 2015, work it from that."

"But if you started around 2008 there weren't any girls in the school then?"

"Not officially, but St Andrews doesn't publicise the names of students so it's impossible for an outsider to know who's studying there."

"I see. I phoned the school and the secretary wouldn't tell me anything."

Tammy smiled, Janet was really good at her job. "Which confirms that confidentiality is still important there. Now, if you don't mind?"

"Go ahead, but the key word with you is 'confidential' and I don't like that."

Tammy locked herself into a cubicle and relief came quickly, when she reached the sinks Carol had gone and another lady was walking in. Tammy checked her face before returning to the table. Her phone pinged with an email from an unfamiliar source, giving her a phone number but no further details. Tammy smiled as she put her phone back in her bag.

Joey looked at her employer oddly but didn't say anything, Tammy's OJ was waiting so her attention was diverted and she now had no intention of hanging around any longer than necessary.

Back in the office an hour later, after an awkward lunch, Tammy phoned Jim.

"I had a call from my supplier, the Epic is on the way but I don't have a routing or ETA."

"Well, we'll have to deal with that when it arrives."

"I have a number for someone in Aberdeen who knows the avionics, I don't know if they are an instructor?"

"Okay, let me have that and I'll check them out."

"Cheers, how is my plane coming along?"

"They're nearly finished, the left hand seat can go back in once your lock box has been fixed, right now the welding kit is being used."

"That wasn't essential."

"According to the claim you're going to make, it is."

"Fair enough."

"All of those spares came with invoices made out to Smart Air, is there an account to pay, Tammy?"

"Not that I'm aware, it was dealt with."

"You'd best check."

"Will do, Jim."

After dinner Tammy broached the subject of the Epic with her father, she knew immediately that he wasn't completely happy but it was clear Jim had already briefed him. Tammy wanted to argue that her conversation with Jim was private, but her father was the chairman of Smart Air and had the final word.

"You should have told me."

"Until it arrives I'm not even sure what I'm getting."

"Jim sent me a link, that's some aircraft and it'll get attention up here."

"What's the cost of a separate hangar?"

"Why?"

"I don't want it sat outside all the time, plus there's no space in our hangar?"

"Maybe not but remember we also own the smaller hangar next door."

"I thought that's on a long term lease?"

"Which was up at the end of March and not renewed, they wanted it for a little longer so we agreed on a monthly rent and they're vacating early next week."

"Oh, so I could hangar my new plane?"

"Hold on, either it's yours or it belongs to the company?"

"I really don't want my name on it, and it might be best to isolate it from us."

"So we form a new company that owns the plane, then leases it to you or Smart Air as and when needed?"

"When can we do that?"

"Not until Monday, when is it due?"

"Any day now."

"Well, someone needs to let the tower know and, unfortunately, it will have to stay outside for the time being. What's the registration status?"

"I doubt it will be on the CAA register so probably American."

"Which will need to be changed, I just hope the correct documents come with it. We should also verify the serial numbers on everything. Where has it come from?"

"As I said to Jim, it was compensation for last week's hassle. I'm told the previous owner didn't need it any longer and it was parked doing nothing."

"Either you've just been given the best compensation gift or you've been taken for a very expensive ride again? Can you trust the source?"

"Yeah, it's just that I didn't know how big her league was."

"Dare I ask, how deep this proverbial rabbit hole is?"

"Not a clue Dad, but between you and me, I get better treatment from that end than our own. I have one other requirement to deal with."

"Go on."

"I'll be needing a place to keep an air compressor and water tub."

"Whatever for?"

"To fill my air tanks before I go diving, then to check them. The closest shop is two hours away."

"Diving? Wait. You mean scuba? Doesn't that require permit or licenses?"

Tammy winced. "Right, about that, err, I've added it to my CV......"

"I think you should tell me what you did last weekend, young lady?"

"Sorry Dad, that's confidential and I couldn't let you get between me and my instructor."

 
Saturday 27th May 2017
 

Tammy found herself in the office on Saturday morning and finally caught up with her work, although a few visits would have to wait until the following week. There had already been two enquiries for the refurbished office on West Street but one of those also wanted the accommodation.

She finally wrote out her CAA report and submitted it online, saving a copy for herself and any other interested parties. I would definitely be used if in the future she could avoid issues like the ones in her report.

She decided that her scuba gear would be better stored at home, where she had a pool. She and her father had agreed to order a lockable store that could go poolside and now she needed to order a compressor. The pricing amazed her, none of the respectable brands came in under £2000 and the far-eastern knock-offs were seemingly under powered and inadequate for the high pressure scuba tank filling. She eventually ordered a Coltri mains powered MCH6/EM which could fill a scuba tank in twenty minutes.

She pondered if she could put this down as a business expense but could easily imagine the tax man querying her need for diving gear to inspect a first floor bathroom.

By eleven she was ready for an early lunch and had little left to do, she walked down to the street just as Joey turned the corner.

"I was coming to see you."

"Isn't your mother here?"

"No, we finished everything and she wanted to get back."

"I'm just going to get a roll for lunch."

"I'll walk with you, if you don't mind. I got mum to tell me what she said to you yesterday and I'm sorry she treated you like that."

"I didn't like being told to give up personal information."

"I think she thought she was protecting me, she was trying to see where you'd come from but until three years ago you didn't exist."

"That's because I came from London but at school up here, I rarely came into town until the sixth form. Come with me."

Tammy led Joey into Sarah's shop.

"Joey works for me, Sarah, but her mum has had trouble finding records of me going back more than three years."

Sarah laughed. "Well, Joey, you can tell your mum that Tammy used to work in here on a Saturday and most of the town's ladies know her. In fact she won a leading part in West Side Story because she was working in here one Saturday. There should be plenty in the local newspaper about that show."

Tammy could see that Joey was absorbing this new information.

"Sarah, do you have a Saturday girl, or boy, at the moment?"

"No, I guess you're not free?"

"Not me, I have too much going on, but Joey might be available?"

Joey dismissed the idea, claiming she knew nothing about fashion.

"Neither did Tammy, not at first!"

"Really?"

"Truthfully."

Tammy left Joey to negotiate with Sarah and continued on her way to the bakery, opting for a tuna mayo roll and a bottle of mango juice for a change. She went back to the office using a different route so as not to pass by Sarah's Boutique.

Her secure phone rang as she put the roll to her mouth.

"Damn."

The secure room was still locked so she was amazed the caller hadn't given up by the time she got in there.

"Smart."

"Oh good, I hoped to catch you there."

"Okay Marcus, yes I'm here on a Saturday but hadn't your spies already told you?"

"No, but I guessed you had a backlog of work to deal with?"

"Indeed, and you're interrupting my first break of the day."

"I understand you've had some help getting your plane airworthy?"

"I have, where as I'm still waiting for a full explanation, an apology in writing and the expenses forms you promised me."

"That attitude won't win you any prizes, Tammy."

"Well, it seems that you have done bugger all, but with help from elsewhere my plane should be back in the air before the weekend's out!"

The line went dead and Tammy was left holding the receiver. She was startled when Joey appeared in the doorway.

"Did someone annoy you, Tammy?"

"Yes, then he hung up on me."

"What's all this kit?"

"I've taken up diving, it was all delivered yesterday and I haven't had a chance to take it home yet."

"It looks professional, don't you have to do a course first?"

"I did, last weekend."

"Oh."

Tammy shut off the light and closed the door. "What did you and Sarah agree?"

"I'd start there next Saturday at nine but she wants me to see her one afternoon this week so she can show me the ropes."

"Do you want to do it?"

"I'd never considered it, I'm not the most girly girl around here."

"Well, give it a try, you'll quickly meet people - I did."

Tammy's mobile rang.

"Yes Jim?"

"She's all back in one piece and we've fuelled her."

"Thank you, you're a dear!"

She rang off. "Joey, I need to take my plane up for a spin, did you want a ride?"

"Where to?"

"I guess we can go South from Wick to Inverness, then across to Ullapool on the West coast before heading back past here."

"You're not going out across the sea?"

"No, but we'll hug the coast a few times."

"Fine."

"Okay but let me finish my roll first."

The two seater Czechsport plane was waiting outside the hangar, Tammy decided she needed to do a thank you for the fitters who had worked on her, plus Jim of course, but didn't have a clue what to do as yet.

Tammy did her checks, notified the tower and was in the air about twenty minutes after parking her Mini. Visibility was perfect, the clouds were high and the wind was nearly non-existent, it was a perfect flying day.

Joey wondered if she could see her mum's car on the A9 near Brora but Tammy refused to go around for Joey to take another look. Tammy flew on then radioed to Inverness Tower asking for permission to land, she was given the ok to go straight in.

"Why are we landing, Tammy? Is there a problem?"

"No, it's just that I need more hours in the air and more landings as well."

"Okay, I think I need the loo anyway."

The landing was textbook and Tammy following instructions to park on the apron, away from the runways.

"The loos are over there." Tammy pointed.

"Okay, thanks."

Tammy contacted the tower again and suggested they would be on the ground for fifteen minutes then heading West North West.

Joey took ten minutes but that gave Tammy the time to check the new seats and dash, she also managed a look at her newly fixed lock box, now repainted with a heavy padlock. She felt the audio on the new radio sounded better than the one the Americans had broken, so at least something positive came from it. She was writing up her logbook when the girl returned.

Once they were back in the air Joey settled down. Tammy kept to 1500ft so they weren't too high but equally wouldn't run into anything. Ullapool came up half an hour out of Inverness and Tammy swung North East, plotting a course back to Wick.

They were passing South of Thurso when Tammy noticed another aircraft heading for Wick, over the radio she heard them ask for permission to land; the callsign was unfamiliar and she couldn't place the accent.

Tammy herself had to wait for that plane to touch down and roll off the runway before she could start her own approach. Five minutes later she too was on the ground and taxiing around to the Smart Hanger.

She pulled up next to a business class aircraft that was being chocked, the pilot was on her mobile phone.

Tammy's phone started to ring, it was in her bag behind her seat so Joey assisted.

"Hello?"

"I'm looking for Miss Tamara Smart?"

"Speaking?"

"I have a plane to hand over at Wick airport, is there any way you could get here?"

"I just landed, I'm in the two seater behind you."

Tammy killed the call and climbed out, Joey followed.

"So this is the Epic?"

"Sure is! E-one-thousand, she's a nice bird to fly. Could I see some ID before we go any further?"

Tammy pulled out her EASA Private Pilot licence plus her driving licence. "Will these do?"

"Those work. Let's get the paperwork out of the way then I'll show you the interior."

Jim wandered out of the hangar, Tammy introduced him.

"Hi there, I'm Diane."

Joey meanwhile started wandering around the Epic's exterior.

Diane held out a clipboard and paged through the sheets for Tammy to sign or initial. Jim appeared to be impressed at the documents being so orderly and Diane's efficiency, especially when she handed him three manuals and four booklets.

"I don't always get this documentation!" He offered.

"Okay, done and done on all that. Come with me and I'll introduce you to the lady." Diane waved for them to follow. Tammy checked for Joey and spotted her in a vulnerable position, she asked Jim to retrieve her and escort the girl back into safety.

Though the passenger area was small, a small couch hugged the wall opposite the door. Diane demonstrated the fold-away desk. Where a second backseat was supposed to be there was a cubicle for the chemical toilet. Where one forward rear-facing seat would be, there was an all in one mini-galley. Small refrigerator, microwave, coffee maker and sink.

"A thirty litre water tank with on-demand heater, yes?" Tammy asked.

Diane shook her head. "The tank had to be replaced. The original was a thirty liters. The replacement is only twenty liters. The water heater is still installed and works just fine. Unlike commercial jets, the tank water is safe for drinking. You can remove it for easy cleaning. Kind of hard to fit it back in full though. I used an empty two litre bottle ten times. Maybe you can sweet-talk Jim, fleet manager, into handling that for you."

Jim's head was in the doorway. "We'll have a look, but this is quite the setup." He commented.

Diane nodded. "This was one of the first to be delivered and the interior was custom fit at production. No idea who the original owner was, but this is pretty much a flying office. I picked it up in Key West."

"Isn't that the bottom of the U.S.?" Tammy asked.

"Southern most point. Kind of crazy though. I got flown in to the Naval Air Station there, instead of the actual airport. This guy in full flight gear and helmet hands me all the paperwork and manuals, a credit card and return tickets. Here to Glasgow to La Guardia to home. Then he climbs up into the backseat of a Tomcat. Real deal Tomcat. Zoom; up they go and circle around, then KA-RACK, they were GONE."

Tammy wanted to laugh, it definitely sounded like how her friend would get the plane to her. She turned to Jim who definitely wasn't used to a plane being delivered in that fashion, not in the Highlands at least.

Out of curiosity Tammy asked. "So where is 'home'?"

"Miami. More important question right now is; Where's the lil' girls room, I'm about to start dancin' here!" Diane said.

Tammy suggested Joey took a look, with Jim, but the girl was ordered not to touch anything. Tammy then showed Diane where to find the loo. A few minutes later Diane came back out, drying her hands and looking around.

Seeing they were alone, Diane stepped closer and spoke softly. "Ok. I have to tell you some stuff not in the paperwork. You got a special squawk-box on that plane. You can switch to any frequency. It an IFF thing, Identity Friend or Foe. The way it was explained to me, if you go to a military field, you can have a special code and ident that tells them exactly who you are and it clears you. Get it?"

"Yes. That is very helpful." Tammy said, now understanding what was meant by 'modified for her use'.

"Okay. Now there are two hidden security boxes. One is a panel on the port side pilot's wall. The other is behind the back seat. Push in, real hard, then slide it left. That gets you to the boxes, then enter the combination on the dial and bop it to open. You can change the combo from inside the door. Got it?" Diane had gestured with her hands to demonstrate what she meant then handed her a slip of paper from her pocket.

Tammy nodded. "That's great. Anything else?"

"You have two black-boxes. One in the tail and the other by the engine. That's all the Darth Vader-guy told me." Diane said.

"Who? Oh, right." Tammy replied, remembering the previous description. "You do this type of work much?"

Diane frowned. "I ferry planes, yeah, mostly around the US. I've even done for the feds a few times, but this was all new to me. The way this has gone down and how much I got paid, all up front too, I'm probably supposed to not remember any of it after I get home. Right?"

"More than likely. I'd say, pretend it was routine and you may get another commission?" Tammy mused.

Diane took up her bag. "For the money off this job, hell yeah! That's eight months' rent and two payments on my car-note! So, how do I get to the terminal from here?"

Tammy drove Joey back to Thurso after dropping the pilot at Wick station for the 1600 to Inverness and onwards to Glasgow. Joey was having trouble containing herself so Tammy insisted she took a rear seat until they were on the way back to Thurso.

"So she delivered you a plane, a flying mobile office, like on those American shows?"

"Yes."

"Just like that? Sign here, sign there and you've just got a new plane?"

"It's not as simple as that."

"Try me."

"Firstly, don't make assumptions as you'll end up making a fool of yourself."

"I know what I saw."

"What you saw was a plane being handed over, nothing more and nothing less."

"So it's your plane?"

"No, I'm just the agent. On Monday it'll be signed over to the company that will own it."

"Who will that be?"

"None of your business, young lady."

Joey wanted to be dropped outside her new address but Tammy just dropped her outside the office. The secure phone was ringing.

"Hello?"

"Tammy-girl, what do you think of her?"

"It was awkward, Kerri, I had my assistant with me so it was bad timing."

"I hope the pilot is on her way back."

"She'll be well on her way to Glasgow shortly. So she was just a contractor, not on your team?"

"Sometimes it works out better to get an 'anybody' than to create a nobody. Right?"

"Sure. And I also understand the modifications you mentioned."

"Good. For usual travel, keep the squawk on your assigned frequency. For special trips, ask for a specific frequency to get there and switch back for your return." Kerri instructed.

Tammy sighed in relief. "So no more 'you might be a baddy, follow these interceptors so we can tear apart your plane again', yes?"

"That's the idea. Plus you need a ride that can get you further than London for jobs. Example; with the Epic you can fly from there to Geneva without stopping, if you have to."

Tammy asked. "Will I have to?"

"As Chris Rock said; 'ya nevah know'." Kerri deadpanned. "Get up on it girl, later."

The call disconnected.

Tammy cradled the receiver and commented to herself. "Who the hell is Chris Rock? For some reason, Kerri, I'm beginning to think you relish in insane fun and wonder if I might turn out the same eventually? Maybe some day I'll find out how you became good at this? Or is it me who's insane?"