HEDY LAMARR<br/><br/>The dull grey beyond my window began to change, gradually lightening and whitening until at last sunshine poured in. I rose from my desk and stood looking out over a sea of softly churning white as the cloud tops receded below us. Above the heavens were an unbroken dome of cobalt blue, quite beautiful – in fact always beautiful with at the extreme vertical the deeper blue of the upper atmosphere many tens of thousands of feet above. The moisture droplets sparkled on the window as the sun caught them.<br/><br/>I returned the three steps to my desk - the tiny office space didn't permit any more – and wound the phone that connected me to the control gondola.<br/><br/>My new navigator answered.<strong>"Mister Steele, I want you to keep the ship in the cloud layer until, by your charts, we are 180 miles from Haven on the agreed bearing. The only high ground on this vector is Bighorn and the Hogsback and they are under 5000 feet. If you need to, just push her spine clear of the layer now and again and the dorsal gun position can give you sighting reports. When we are at the rendezvous you can take her up to eight and a half thousand. That is all."</strong><br/><br/>As I replaced the phone there was a tap on the door.<br/><br/><strong>"Enter."</strong><br/><br/>It was Mister Johnston, I noted he had a strong fixation to his luggage but he'd left his piece in his cabin.<br/><br/><div class="quoteheader"><div class="topslice_quote">Quote</div></div><blockquote class="bbc_standard_quote">"Miss Lamarr. It's a good ship."</blockquote><div class="quotefooter"><div class="botslice_quote"></div></div>I smiled pleasantly and gestured with my hand for him to take a seat. He had a choice of one of two small folding aluminium chairs facing my desk or a more comfortable berth on the couch.<strong>"Thank you but there is no need to be polite. The ship is a mess, she's patched up from end to end and needs at least two more power pods, if not four more, to do the tasks I need her to do. That will need her to be lengthened by a full bay and her plane launcher is slow and old. As for the pilots barracks, well it's best if we don't even go there; the facilities are basic shall we say. But for now, until more funds come in, she's all I have. Come back some time when I have her the way I want her, then you can say the same thing and I'll be genuinely flattered."</strong><br/><br/><div class="quoteheader"><div class="topslice_quote">Quote</div></div><blockquote class="bbc_standard_quote">"I must admit, it's been several months since I last flew. Mid-summer is arguably the best time, if I recall. Less strain on the ballast due to the warm air."</blockquote><div class="quotefooter"><div class="botslice_quote"></div></div>I made no comment. While I love to small-talk I prefer to do it with people I'm comfortable with and so far Mister Johnston was an enigma; a gun-toting suspicious bag carrying enigma. I wasn't a big fan of any of those three.<br/><br/><div class="quoteheader"><div class="topslice_quote">Quote</div></div><blockquote class="bbc_standard_quote">"So, I assume you have a few questions about me, and my... contract."</blockquote><div class="quotefooter"><div class="botslice_quote"></div></div>This was more like it. I went to the drinks cabinet and luckily for me that nice German fellow's new bottle of bourbon was unopened. I cracked the seal and poured two fingers, offering my guest the shot glass.<strong>"Drink?"</strong>I asked, my voice a little softer and smokier.<br/><br/>I poured myself one and screwed the cap back down. Taking a sip;<em>Mmm, smooth…</em>I let a knowing smile spread over my face.<strong>"I do have questions but I have this feeling you're not a man to answer them, so I'll let you tell me whatever you want to tell me about <em>'Mister Johnston and Assoc'</em> and we'll take it from there. Depending on what you say will of course affect what I can tell you about myself. This may turn out to be a one-shot trip for you and I and our paths might never cross again but I'm a business woman and I like my customers to go away happy and come back to shop for my services again, so let's see. Your turn first."</strong>I swirled the amber liquid in my glass and watched him over the rim.