Spiral and Torn Books 1 and 2 of The Salzburg Saga Trilogy

by D. U. OKONKWO

  “There’s a reason for that.”

  “I know, I know, but we have a problem now, which involves a Challenger jet. I hate to ask you to break your annual leave...”

  But you will anyway. Kissing his carefree day goodbye, Jake ran his fingers through his sweat-dampened black hair and let out a sigh. “What do you need me to do? But first, for my own morbid curiosity, what's Buzz done this time?”

  Frank's words erupted like a volcano from his mouth. "Eloped with a member of the flight crew."

  That would be Janine, Jake knew. So Buzz had made an honest woman of her. Walking to his wardrobe, Jake pulled out his pilot gear with his free hand.

  “It means our client doesn’t have anyone to pilot the jet.” Frank spoke matter-of-factly now; he needed to take care of business and there was little time for pleasantries. “We need you to fly them to Salzburg. They have cars arranged to take them to Kitzbűhel, which is where they will be staying. I’ll email you the details. Once you’ve dropped them, you can fly right back and enjoy the rest of your annual leave. I’ll arrange another member of the team to pick them up. How soon can you get to Gatwick?”

  Jake glanced at his bedside clock. “They'll have to wait a bit. I'll need to shift a few things around.”

  “Naturally. Try to get those things shifted ASAP, won’t you? What can I tell the client?”

  “That I’ll get there when I get there.” When Gwynne met that remark with stoic silence, Jake sighed and relented. “I’ll aim to get there in two hours.” He lived close to Gatwick, which was no doubt one of the reasons Gwynne had called him.

  “Appreciate it. I've put Ben in front with you, and Emily in the back; you three always work well together.”

  “You had this all worked out, didn't you?” Jake asked in amazement. “You've told the client I'll do the job?” With a resigned sigh, he headed for his small en suite bathroom.

  A smile came into Frank's voice. “Absolutely. I can always rely on you, Rush.” He chuckled at Jake's answering grunt. “Speak to you when you get back.” Frank prepared to hang up.

  “Wait a second, Frank.” Jake leaned against his bathroom door. “Who’s become our new number one?”

  “Parker Drayton.”

  Jake stilled.

  “Rush?”

  Jake took a deep breath. “Yeah...still here.”

  “Drayton is–”

  “I know who he is and what he owns.” There was no escaping this. Taking a deep breath, Jake rolled his suddenly tense shoulders.

  “Great. We’ll speak later.” Frank rang off.

  Jake stared at the phone in his hand, six words in his head:

  Be careful what you wish for.

  Chapter 2

  ––––––––

  “I can't apologize for what I said to Alex, Neen.” Seated in the plush VIP area of Gatwick airport, Hazel stretched out her green denim clad legs and contemplated the tops of her matching green Converse trainers.

  Beside her, Nina watched a group of stewardesses in matching red and white uniforms stroll past outside. Gatwick was her favorite British airport; not having the frenetic pace of the other airports in Britain. Gatwick was colorful, bright, and always welcoming. With a sigh, she focused on her sister. “Alex and I have been having problems for...for a while.”

  “I don’t think it was a good idea for him to move into your place.” Hazel’s hazel eyes held wisdom far beyond her nineteen years. “I think it has dented his manhood. He knows he can’t afford a place like yours on his own.”

  “I was the one who got him out of the dump he was living in before,” Nina reminded her sister. But she understood what Hazel was saying. The fact that her sister, fourteen years her junior, could diagnose the issue so quickly was sobering. “But you’re right." She blew out a breath. "He’d feel better if he had his own place and I had been the one to move in.”

  Hazel perked up suddenly. “Here’s Neil. His wife Rita is with him, and so is little Luke. Is she and the baby going too?”

  Nina smiled as Neil, her friend and business partner, entered the waiting lounge. “I doubt it. It would be lovely, but they’ve likely just come to see him off.”

  “You know that Parker will have a Jacuzzi,” Hazel suddenly said, and pouted.

  “A Jacuzzi?" Nina chuckled as Neil and his wife, Rita, approached them. "How do you know Parker even has one?”

  Hazel rolled her eyes and grinned. “All rich people have a Jacuzzi, Neen.”

  They rose to greet Neil and Rita. Rita looked lovely in a camel wool coat. Her perfectly plucked dark brows arched high above her wide-spaced eyes, and she had accentuated her skin with a shimmery bronze powder.

  Nina gave Neil a tight hug. With their other friend, Angela Akura, who had yet to arrive, the three of them had set up their own legal practice three years ago. Having met through their university group tutorial get-togethers, they had all been friends ever since. Unlike herself, who had been born and raised in England, both her friends and law partners Neil and Angela had been born abroad. Neil in Mauritius before coming to England at the age of six, and Angela in the US. “Rita and Luke came to see you off?” she asked him with a smile, which dimmed a little when she remembered Alex's reluctance to even budge from her sofa.

  In his grey ski jacket and black jeans, Neil rested his forearms on the bar of his large trolley. “Rita pointed out that I don’t get to spend much time with Luke. I called Parker and asked if they could come. He said yes.”

  Nina smiled. “That’s sweet of him. He appreciates the crazy hours you put in at the office.” The crazy hours they all put in at their office. The downside of running your own business. But it was a small price to pay for being in control of her own destiny and income. No one could ever pull the rug out from under her feet.

  “I’ll be eternally grateful to Mr. Drayton.” Rita smiled.

  “Can I hold the baby, Rita?” Hazel asked.

  “Of course.” Rita lifted Luke, bundled in a royal blue baby grow, out of his pram and into Hazel’s arms.

  “So.” Neil straightened and sat beside Nina, stretching out his long legs. “How's Alex?”

  She merely sent him a look.

  “Still difficult, hmm?" He winced. “I know he wanted to join us for this trip.”

  Nina frowned. “You knew? How?”

  Neil gave a wry smile. “He dropped enough hints whenever he called you at work and I picked up.”

  Caught between disbelief and anger, Nina looked away. “I’m sorry. Obviously, you didn’t rise to the bait.”

  “This has to be a productive trip. We’ll be networking with potential clients. Where’s Ange?”

  “I got a text from her.” Nina watched Hazel and Rita fuss over the baby. “She’s on her way.”

  “And that makes The Awesome Three complete.” Neil grinned.

  Nina groaned. “Are we ever going to ditch that awful nickname?”

  “Unlikely.” Neil chuckled. “Parker gave it to the press after we won that case last year for him. I think it's going to stick.”

  A tall, broad shouldered man in a pilot’s uniform entered the lounge then. He wore his ginger hair in a ponytail that brushed his shoulders. His light brown eyes smiled at them. “Party of Drayton and Sons?”

  “That's us.” Neil raised a hand and stood up.

  The man came forward with his large hand extended. “I’m Ben Denny. I’ll be your copilot for the flight.”

  “Nice to meet you. I’m Neil Vaska.” Neil indicated Nina. “Nina Bishop. This is my wife, Rita, and Nina’s sister, Hazel.”

  Ben shook hands with each of them, his grip brief and firm. “The lead pilot’s on his way. We’ve had a brief change in pilots, and Mr. Drayton has been informed. We wanted to make sure you're all comfortable while you wait for the lead pilot to set everything up. It shouldn’t be long before we’re underway.”

  “Thanks for letting us know," Nina said. “Is Parker here?”

  “Not yet, ma’am; he’s been
delayed.”

  Hazel beamed at Ben as she juggled Luke in her arms. “You’re getting the jet ready?”

  He smiled. “Yes, ma’am.”

  Hazel chucked, clearly tickled to be called ma’am. “Can I talk to the lead pilot when he arrives? What’s his name?”

  “Uh, Haze...” Nina shot Ben an uneasy look. “Let’s not bother the pilots, hmm?"

  “No bother,” Ben assured her with an easy shrug. “Jake’s always open to answering questions from passengers before takeoff.”

  “I’m not a passenger,” Hazel explained. “I’m only here to see my sister off, but I'd love to have a chat with you guys. The name’s Hazel,” she reminded him.

  “I’ll let you know when Jake’s ready, Hazel.” With that, Ben bid them goodbye and left.

  Hazel gave Nina a triumphant grin. “You don’t ask, you don’t get.”

  Nina only shook her head. She had never understood her sister’s fascination with aircrafts, but sincerely hoped that Hazel fulfilled her dream to one day becoming a pilot. One lost dream in the family was enough.

  “Here’s Ange,” Rita said and waved at Angela who swung through the door.

  “Hello, fans,” Angela drawled in her soft Los Angeles accent. She strode towards them now in a red colored ski jacket and brown ski boots. A bright yellow flower adorned her ear length shiny wooly black hair. Though she smiled when she spotted them, her clear dewy coffee colored complexion was tight with strain.

  Neil’s gaze narrowed with concern. “You’re okay?” he asked when Angela reached them.

  She grimaced, put her roller bag down and squared her shoulders as if preparing for battle. “I’m going to sleep for the entire flight. That way I won’t have to be reminded that I’m flying.”

  Nina linked her arm through Angela’s and squeezed gently. A fierce competitor, both in and out of the courtroom, it took a lot to unnerve Angela Akura. But just mentioning planes and flying always made Ange jittery. “We'll be there soon,” Nina assured her.

  “Did you remember to pack your inhaler?” Hazel asked Angela.

  “It was the first thing I packed, sweetie.” Angela slid Nina a pained look. “I've heard scary stories about small jets, Neen. But how could I get out of this? It’s Parker Drayton.”

  “Indeed.” Nina held back a chuckle. It would not have been good business sense for any of them to turn down a networking opportunity from their biggest client. “We’ll be off soon, and you’ll be just fine.”

  ––––––––

  Jake pressed his hand up against the roof of the jet as he undertook the pre-flight check. Though he knew other professionals had checked the jet, he liked to take the time to look over every jet that he flew himself to be sure. Fussy? Maybe. Did he care? No.

  His mind focused as he continued his check. As far as he was concerned, nothing beat the workmanship of the Challenger 605. Challenger planes focused on luxury and comfort. He'd been piloting them for several years and had never tired of them. There was more headroom and cabin volume and the windows were larger. He ran a hand over the flight deck, fully equipped with dual controls for both the lead and copilot.

  For the hundredth time since he’d ended his call with Frank, Parker Drayton popped into his head, and Jake’s lips twisted cynically. So Drayton was Frank's new number one client? he thought. He couldn’t do anything about that. Jets by Gwynne had built a formidable reputation over the last twelve years, aligning themselves with the biggest airports around the world, and attracting even bigger corporations to fly with them. It had the monopoly on excellent aircraft fleets and pilots. Jake was one of those pilots, but since his call with Gwynne, he’d wished that he wasn't. Though his colleague, Buzz, didn’t deserve to pilot number one jets and have responsibility for number one clients, for the first time Jake resented his own skill and experience. There had been no way to get out of doing this job. He outranked Buzz, Frank had thrown Buzz a bone, but Buzz, being Buzz, had royally messed up. Consequently, he’d lost this number one job and it had been given back to Jake.

  He consulted the list he held. He’d checked the landing gear already. Challengers used retractable twin-wheel tricycle type landing gear, each unit fitted with Dowty shock absorbers. Satisfied that he'd covered everything, he tucked the list away. Time to get Ben so they could clear with flight dispatch, check the luggage had been stowed properly, and then choose a route, altitude and speed limit.

  A few minutes after Ben had left to get the stewardess, Emily, and ask the airport staff to assist with boarding the passengers, there was a knock on the jet door. He went to open it.

  A young girl waited there, an excited expression on her face as she all but vibrated with enthusiasm.

  “Let me guess,” Jake said with a grin. “Hazel?”

  “That’s me.” Hazel grinned at the tall man in front of her. He had to be at least six foot three inches tall. He had thick dark brown hair that brushed the back of his nape and slate gray eyes. He looked to be in his mid-thirties. She read his name badge: E. J. RUSH. “You're Jake?”

  “Bingo.” He offered his large hand and she shook it.

  “What does the ‘E’ stand for?” She indicated his name badge on the front of his shirt.

  He looked down at it, and to her surprise, unclipped it, slipping it into his side trouser pocket. “It’s my first name, but I never use it. I go by Jake. Ben said you wanted to look around the jet?”

  She peered over his shoulder, eager to see the jet. “If it’s no trouble.”

  “I can spare about five minutes, and then we’ve got to start boarding.”

  “Got it. I appreciate you letting me take a peek.” As he stepped aside, she hurried inside, eyes wide and awestruck. “This is my first time on a Challenger. I’ve only ever read about them. I’ve never actually been in one. This is so great.” She immediately came to an abrupt halt, her mouth forming a perfect ‘o’ as she took in the splendor of the cabin. "Oh wow...”

  Jake tried to look at the interior of the jet from Hazel’s eyes – a newbie's eyes – but couldn’t. Though he fully appreciated the wonder that was the Challenger 605, his eyes were now trained to see different things, his ears attuned to certain sounds.

  Hazel smiled as she admired the rows of cream leather seats. Each row had its own footrest, television, music stereo set, and drink cabinet. Wooden engravings ran alongside the walls of the jet, the contrast of teak and cream sublimely perfect. At the back stood a sparkling granite fitted kitchen and three adjacent doors next to that which she knew would be bedrooms.

  She turned and saw that Jake was checking his radio. “This is a Challenger 605.”

  He looked up. “Sure is.”

  “Dimensions?”

  Jake eased a hip against a row of seats. "It's a standard nineteen square meter cabin."

  “Which seats up to nine people?”

  He smiled. “That's right. You sound ready to become second in command, kid.”

  She drew a deep breath. “I hope so.”

  He arched a brow. “So you're studying a BEng in Aviation Engineering?”

  She looked away. “No. I'm reading Maths and Modern Languages at the moment. I'm in my first year. My sister won't let me get started on the BEng until I complete this degree. She says maths and a language are a good safety net in case piloting doesn’t work out.”

  Jake tried not to wince but wasn’t sure he succeeded. “It’s a big ask to complete two degrees. You don't mind?”

  She shrugged. “I understand where she’s coming from.”

  “Why piloting?” Jake asked.

  She smiled. “I’ve always loved it. I can’t imagine doing anything else. Besides.” She sent him a wry smile. “Piloting is way too male-orientated. You need more female blood in there.”

  He chuckled. “That is very true.” But not many people would be that flexible and study two degrees, he thought.

  As if she’d heard his thoughts she said, “Neen – that’s Nina, my sister, taught me how
to do what was necessary. Our parents were killed in a car crash when I was four. Neen had to support our brothers and me. They were only seven and twelve themselves. Nina was seventeen.”

  Jake hissed between his teeth. “Seventeen?”

  Her expression saddened as she ran a hand over one of the soft leather chairs beside her. “Neen wanted to be a gymnast. She used to take lessons before our parents were killed.” It saddened her to remember it. She often wondered if Nina lamented over her past ambition to be a gymnast, or if she ever did at all. She never referred to it, but maybe it was too painful. “But she had to quit gymnastics when our parents died. She studied law instead.”

  “Gymnastics is very different from studying law,” Jake pointed out with a quizzical smile.

  Hazel nodded. “Neen made a practical and unemotional decision. She’s nothing if not practical. She studied her degree from home long distance too. That way she would be with us as we were growing up.”

  With a sigh Jake checked his watch. As much as he would like to continue talking to Hazel, time was getting on. He needed to brief airport control. With some regret, he gestured towards the door of the jet. “I’m afraid I have to cut this short.”

  She nodded and readily turned to head out, Jake followed her.

  “Looking forward to the skiing trip with Parker Drayton?” he asked her.

  She tossed him a pout over her shoulder. “I'm not coming. It’s a networking trip, but Parker added skiing to it so that his sons would come too.”

  When she noticed that Jake had stopped at the exit door and was just staring at her she looked from him to the door and back again. “Something wrong?”

  Jake hadn’t noticed that his hand had gripped the knob of the exit door. “Drayton’s bringing Hugh and Justin?”

  “Yeah.”

  Jake looked away from her puzzled expression and forced his hand to relax. Opening the exit door, he watched her exit the jet, his mind a million miles away. He hadn’t had time to analyze the job brief Gwynne had faxed him earlier. He had been too busy trying to get to Gatwick. Darn it. But even if he’d known, could he have called Gwynne and opted out of this job?