Ben 10 Porn Story: Second Sight Chapter 2

PART
II

Kit
‘s mind was in turmoil as he sat in social studies class, focused, as it had
been all day, on the sudden and unsettling turn his life had taken of
late.P It scared him more than a little
to think how vulnerable he’d become emotionally, especially since his adoption
had become official.P It had lifted some
sort of invisible barrier in his mind – allowed him to believe that he had
truly found his niche, that he didn’t have to wake up every day wondering if it
would all come crashing down around him.P
Now he wasn’t so sure anymore.

Baloo.P Kit had been alone so long… In the
orphanage, he was surrounded by hundreds of kids every day.P On the streets there were countless ragged,
haggard faces, always crowding for the few available warm places.P On his friendly flights, in the camp in
Freeburg.P On the Iron Vulture, a
constant sea of activity, yammering pirates always engaged in some mindless and
usually nefarious activity.P Surrounded
by people always, and all the time alone.P
Until Baloo.

Now
his happiness was tied inexorably to the big bear – he couldn’t escape it.P Just as he couldn’t escape Baloo’s faults,
as much as he tried to forget about them.P
And he couldn’t always escape into Becky’s arms, either – she had her
own life, which he was always wary about intruding on.P Which left him alone.P Only now, he couldn’t handle it – he wasn’t
the same cub who had bounced through life like a pinball, sloughing off
everything that it could throw at him.P
His heart had beaten him, even when loneliness, hunger and violence
could not.P He was weak.

The
bell rang, and he picked up his books and fled the classroom, relieved not to
have been called on by the teacher.P One
more class – gym class – and then home.P
Home to what?P How could he face
another day of chilly silences and arguments?P
The mental picture of Baloo’s scowling face was too much – he couldn’t
face anyone right now, he had an overwhelming urge to be by himself.P He had to learn how to be alone again, from
scratch if he had to.P He had to find
that space inside him, where he didn’t need anyone else.P Didn’t need Baloo.P Where Baloo couldn’t hurt him anymore.

The
boy walked aimlessly though the hall, his mind a whirl.P He glanced at his watch – one
fifty-eight.P Gym in two minutes, he had
to avoid it at all costs.P He couldn’t
be around people.P He looked up and
noticed that he was standing outside the library.P As good a place as any.P
He’d get in trouble, but he didn’t care.

Kit
glanced nervously at the librarian, Mrs. Newberry, but she didn’t seem to
notice his entrance, and there were several other kids scattered about in
various stages of research or general slacking off.P He grabbed what looked like a suitably boring tome off of a shelf
and headed for a carrel in the corner.P
He propped the book open in front of him and buried his face in his
hands.

“Get
a grip!” the cub whispered to himself.P
“You’ve been through worse – Baloo’s got it figured out, he doesn’t
care.P That’s the secret.”P He shook his head, realizing the mistake of
calling Baloo into his thoughts.P Now
the fat bear wouldn’t leave…

“Ahem.P Shouldn’t you be in class?” a gentle
voice called.P Startled, Kit looked up
to see a tall white hawk in a black sweater smiling down at him.

“Uh…
I was doing research…” Kit stammered.P
“For a paper…”

“I
see.” the raptor grinned, sitting down next to him.P “I wish you luck.P Your book is upside down.”

Mortified,
Kit looked down and realized the man was right.P Sheepishly he closed the book and looked at his feet. “I’m
sorry, I guess I was daydreaming.P I do
that.P Am I in trouble Mr.- Mr.- “

“Bright.P Mr. Bright.”

“I’m
real sorry Mr. Bright, I didn’t mean anything.P
I’ll go-“

“Hold
on.” the white hawk chuckled.P
“You were talking to yourself, Kit.P Wouldn’t it be more productive to talk to someone else?P It’s been my experience that when folks talk
to themselves it’s usually because they have something pretty important to
say!”

Kit
felt uncomfortable suddenly, realizing he didn’t know who this man was, though
the man knew him.P The hawk had a
strange air about him, very comforting but intimidating at the same time.P And his eyes seemed to draw Kit’s gaze like
a magnet.P “T-talk?P To you?P
I’m sorry, I’ve never seen you before, what do you teach?”

“Nothing.”
the man smiled warmly and proffering his hand.P
“I’m a counselor, and I’m new here.P Peter Bright.P Call me
Peter.”

Kit
stared down at the hand for a moment, surprised to see a faculty member offer
to shake – usually they made him feel beneath such courtesy. PStill, he was very suspicious of counselors –
he’d seen too many of them over the years in orphanages, and they never seemed
to understand him.P Still, there was
something about this man…P “Kit
Cloudkicker.” he said cautiously, shaking the hawk’s hand. PHis touch was vibrant, sparkling – Kit
started back almost imperceptibly at the strange sensation, but then he
realized that it felt good, warm and comforting.

“Pleased
to meet you, Kit.P I don’t mean to push
you, but you really do seem like you have something on your mind, and it’s my
job to help.P Would you like to
talk?”

Kit
stared at the hawk’s sharp but gentle features, instincts at war.P Open himself up to yet another adult – what
good was that?P But it would feel so
good to talk… “It’s nothing really, Mr. Bright…”

“Of
course.P And it’s Peter, please.P I understand, I’m sure it’s nothing, but
sometimes we feel better even if we discuss these little things, you know?P I don’t have anywhere else to be, I’ve got
as much time as you need.P As a favor to
me, if nothing else?P I need the
practice!”

The
cub giggled in spite of himself.P
“That’s funny!P Well, I
dunno… I guess it’s just – I’ve been having problems with Baloo – he’s my
father.”

“I
hear a lot of father problems.” the hawk grinned jovially.P “Go on.”

“Well,
it’s just – he seems so selfish, you know?P
I had this band concert – I play the trumpet – and it was real important
to me.P I love to play, and it was the
last one at school, ’cause they’re cutting the music classes for lack of funds.P Anyways, it was real important, and he
didn’t show up!P He was at a party,
Peter!P He says he forgot-“

“Hmmm.”
the hawk mused.P “I’ll bet that
hurt – no one has the ability to hurt us like the people we love, do
they?”

“Yeah…”
the boy sighed.P “And there’s other
stuff too – his doctor wants him to lose weight, and he wont stop eating all
the same junk he always eats.P But I
wanted to play football, and he said I couldn’t play because I might get hurt!P Is that fair?”

“Kit,
in my experience it’s usually not a good idea to think of life in terms of
fairness.P It leads to a lot of
heartache.P You just have to accept
things sometimes… But it doesn’t sound like you enjoy being told what to do
very much.”

“Who
does?” Kit laughed bitterly.P
“I didn’t have to do what I was told for a long time…”

“Do
you think this Baloo doesn’t care about you?”

The
boy was surprised by the question.P
“No, I – I guess he does, it’s just… “P The cub sighed glumly.P “I guess he’s not a very good dad
sometimes, but he doesn’t have much experience.P He was alone for a long time.”

“You’re
adopted.”P It was a statement, not
a question.

“Yeah.”
Kit nodded.P “A couple months
ago.P It’s just – Baloo just –
he…”

“I
understand.” the hawk nodded, gripping Kit’s paw in both of his
hands.P “Sometimes you need him and
he isn’t there.P Even if he’s in the
same room.”

“Yeah,
exactly.” Kit sighed, feeling profoundly lonely and yet somehow secure
too.P “Then there’s Becky – Miz
Cunningham.P She’s my boss, but – I
guess a lot more. PShe’s my friend
too.P She helps me a lot, but she’s got
the business to run, and her own daughter, and sometimes – she doesn’t mean
anything by it, but-“

“Her
daughter comes first.P Even when you
really need her, she doesn’t always see it.”

“Yeah.”
Kit sighed, a tear rolling down his cheek.P
The hawk wiped it away discreetly.P
“It’s so hard, Peter, sometimes I…”

“I
know.” the man smiled tenderly, squeezing Kit’s paw as a few more tears
rolled down his cheeks.P “It’s very
hard to love someone, Kit.P When you do
that you expose yourself to a lot of pain.P
You have to trust them, and even good people make mistakes.P Sometimes you even wonder if it’s worth it,
I’ll bet.”

“Yeah.”
the boy whispered, knowing he should be embarrassed to cry in front of a stranger
at his age, but somehow not caring.P
“It wasn’t always this way…P
I used to be able to deal with anything, and none of it bothered me like
this.P Sometimes I think it was
better…”

“How
so?”

“Well…P I don’t – didn’t – have any folks, no
family.P I grew up in an orphanage, and
it was pretty bad, I try not to think about it too much.P I left as soon as I could – I just
left.P And I made my own way,
Peter.P I was only nine, but I made it,
I did!”

“You
must be pretty tough!” the raptor nodded.

“I
guess…” the boy continued.P
“I didn’t really have any friends – at least not for long.P I was cold a lot, hungry a lot, but I made
it.P I hooked up with some traveling
people, and they were nice to me.P Not
like a – family, or anything, but they were nice.P I learned about airplanes and flying, which is what I really
love.P When I was eleven I – I…”

“You
don’t have to tell me.P I
understand.”

Kit
squeezed his eyes tightly shut.P
“I’m sorry, I really am.P I
shouldn’t have done it, but I stayed with some bad people… I could have run
but I didn’t, I thought it would be an adventure…”

“Even
good people make mistakes – remember?” the hawk said gently.

Kit
stared into the man’s dark eyes for a moment.P
“I was different then, nothing could hurt me.P I was stronger.P I got away from those people, I was ready to be on my own again,
but then I met Baloo and it was all different, that wasn’t good enough
anymore…”

“How
did you meet him?”

Kit
chuckled bitterly.P “It’s a long
story!”

“Hey,
like I said – I’ve got the time!” Peter grinned.P “Try me.”

Kit
shook his head and smiled.P
“OK.P I guess it beats gym
class…P Well, I stole a jewel from
these – people – I was with.P They’d
stolen it too, of course… I knew it was valuable, but I didn’t know why.P I just knew it was.P I was gonna make a fortune, and then I’d be
able to live on my own and not have to worry.P
And buy a plane when I turned seventeen.P That’s all I wanted.

I
bumped into Baloo at Louie’s, that’s a bar where pilots hang out.P It was weird, but as soon as I met him,
talked to him, I knew he was – different.P
I couldn’t explain it.P The guys
I stole the jewel from came looking for me, and I kinda tricked Baloo into
helping me get away.P The weird thing
was, he let me fly his plane – right there, the first day!P And the guys I was with for a year never let
me touch the controls in all that time!

So
the guys came chasing us, only I didn’t tell Baloo why and he didn’t know.P I do that a lot – cause people trouble who
don’t deserve it.P That’s when I found
out Baloo was the best pilot I ever saw.P
I always knew I wanted to be a pilot, but after watching him there was
no doubt.P He’s an artist, Peter – it
was like magic, the way he flew that plane!

He
took me back to his place, and it was a real dive – a complete mess!P I liked him, but I’d hidden the jewel at
Louie’s and I just knew I wanted to get back there and get on with my
plan.P He wasn’t gonna go back for a
while, but then a guy came and told him he was gonna lose his plane if he
didn’t pay the bank three thousand bucks.P
And Baloo didn’t have any money.P
He _never_ has any money!

But
something changed, somehow, right around then.P
We just started lookin’ at each other differently, I can’t explain
it…P I suggested that he get a job.P Pretty obvious, right?P But when I said it to him he acted like it
would’ve never occurred to him!P Maybe
it wouldn’t… Anyways, something just kinda – clicked, I guess.P I just knew I wanted to be with him, somehow
– that we _needed_ each other.P I kinda
noticed that he was lookin’ at me a lot, real thoughtful, like he was tryin’ to
figure me out.P But I thought, who’d
wanna hang around with a loser kid like me?

I
was pretty much ready to write it off I guess, tryin’ not to let it bother me
too much – just tryin’ to get him off my mind.P
I knew adults were trouble, and I just wanted my treasure…P I followed him over to the job board… I
dunno why, I just did.P And that’s when
I noticed that he was kinda smiling at me, when I was wasn’t looking, like he
was figuring stuff out…”

The
guy was a loser, there was no doubt about that.P Just look at the state of his business!P But there was something about him…P Something open, and guileless.P
He’d been so nice, even let the cub steer the plane – why?P And that navigator business…P Kit adjusted his cap absently.

Strange
enough to be worried abut that guy anyways, Kit thought.P He had his treasure to worry about.P And adults were trouble.P Kit knew that.P All they wanted was to ignore you or hurt you.P If he wasn’t the boy’s ticket back to
Louie’s than better to part ways now, before… before what?

The
big grey bear scanned the job board, looking desperately for something
distasteful enough to suit his needs – three thousand bucks in one day.P Finally, his eyes alighted on what he was
looking for.P “Ah-ha – here we
go!” he grinned.P “A zoo
delivery – Perfect!P The Sea Duck’s as
good as mine!”

The
boy’s face darkened, and he cast his eyes down.P “Yeah – you and the Sea Duck!” he said softly.P “Well, catch ya around sometime… I
guess.”P As quickly as that, he
turned and started walking away, trying to ignore the growing ache in his
heart.P It didn’t make sense anyways…

“Hey
– whoa there!” the pilot said.P The
boy stopped and turned, staring at him expectantly.P Baloo stood silently for a moment, seemingly unsure of what to
say.P What was he thinking?P Strange – Kit felt suddenly nervous, as if
he were caught in the midst of something larger than he was, larger than he
could control.P The cub continued to stare
at Baloo expectantly.

Finally,
something clicked inside of the pilot.P
“Where you goin’?” he smiled.P
“This is a _two_ man job!P
You help me with this now, an’ I’ll fly ya to Louie’s tomorrow,
okay?”

“Honest?”
Kit replied, hardly believing his ears.P
He felt a rush of joy , and… Something else – What?P Then his hard-earned skepticism kicked
in.P “_Wait_ a minute!PP What exactly are we delivering?”

“Well…P They’re sorta big… an’ mean… an’
ugly…” the pilot mumbled.P
“And _smelly_!”

“Oh
no!P Not gorilla birds?!?”

The
cockpit of the Sea Duck was a swirling mass of arms, legs, beaks and
feathers.P A deafening series of squawks
and belches filled the air, along with an overpoweringly revolting stench.P All in all, it was not a happy place to be.

“Ow!P Get away, you…” Baloo grumbled.P “See, nothin’ to it!P It’s a piece o’ cake…”

“Yeah,
right!”

“Got
’em outta here!P They’re eatin’ my
plane!P Just lock these things up in the
back, willya Kit?” Baloo cried, desperately trying to keep control of the
plane through a heaving mass of gorilla bird.

Kit,
meanwhile, was flailing away with a broom, trying to keep the birds, each of
whom towered over the diminutive boy, in check.P “Why me?P _You’re_
the one who said this was gonna be a piece of cake!” he grumbled as a bird
took a bite of his nose.P He swung
wildly with the broom, missing the birds but hitting the pilot squarely on the
back of the head.P

“Hey!P Who’s side are you on?” Baloo
complained.

“SOR-ry!”
Kit said quickly.P With a great effort
of will he managed to shove the mass of birds into the hold and slam the door
behind him.P He collapsed against it
with a weary sigh.P The peace was short
lived, however – a volley of bullets dinged off the fuselage of the plane, and
a squadron of CT-37s appeared on the horizon.

“Looks
like we got some icin’!” Baloo growled.P
“What the blue blazes could these guys possibly want?”

“Don’t
look at me.” Kit whispered sheepishly.

“Well,
whatever it is I’ve had enough!P Hang
on, L’il Britches!”P The grey bear
sent the Sea Duck into a screaming dive towards the leafy canopy below them.

Kit
covered his eyes as Baloo weaved perilously through the thick trunks and
blindingly thick foliage.P
“Baloooo!” he wailed as a huge tree appeared in their path,
only to be narrowly avoided by the pilot.P
“I know yer an ace pilot, OK?” Kit said desperately.P “You don’t have to do this to impress
me!”

“Just
savin’ our skins, Kid!” the big bear replied grimly.P Bullets kissed the bulkhead again as one of
the pirates slipped through the canopy behind the seaplane.P Baloo swerved through several more trees and
into a long canyon.P A rope bridge hung
suspended across it’s surface.P With
amazing precision Baloo skimmed underneath the bridge, sending it flapping
wildly.P The pirate crashed into it with
a bang, his plane hopelessly entangled in the hanging cables.

The
Sea Duck flew into clear space and Baloo let out a whoop.P “Ha ha!P My flyin’ is A-Plus!” he laughed proudly.

Suddenly,
a stand of bamboo appeared before them and the Sea Duck crashed through with a
deafening crescendo.P The seaplane
bounced down an embankment in a wild spin, tossing it’s screaming inhabitants
around the cockpit.P Finally, it skimmed
across a small lagoon and came to rest on the shore with a bone-jarring thud.

Bear
and cub sat silently in the cockpit for a moment, breathing heavily.P “Yeah – but your landings are C
minus!” Kit gasped.

Baloo
jumped down to the sand and began tenderly examining his plane, pockmarked with
bullet holes.P “My poor baby!P You OK?”

“I
think we lost ’em…” Kit breathed, sneaking a peek into the sky.

“Maybe
– but it don’t figure!” Baloo grumbled, scratching his head.P “I got nothin’ they want, but they
attack us every time me an’ you…P
You!”P Kit slunk down in his
seat and pulled his cap over his eyes.P
“You!P They’re after you!P OK, talk to me, Kid!P What’s with you and the pirates?”

“Look
– what do you care?” Kit asked desperately.

“They’re
shootin’ up my plane, Son!” Baloo said indignantly.

“Yeah
yeah, that’s all that matters to you – your plane, your plane!” Kit hissed
angrily, hopping to the sand and slamming the door behind him.P He stormed off towards the jungle.

“Hey!P Where do ya think yer goin’?” Baloo
shouted after him.P “Aw, he’ll be
back…”P His eyes fell on the open
cargo door of the Sea Duck. “Aw no!P
The birds_!”P He set
off through the jungle at a dash, grabbing a coil of rope out of the cargo
hold.

Kit
tore though the underbrush loudly, smashing the foliage with a large
stick.P “All he cares about is his
darn ‘ol plane!” he seethed, unsure why he was so angry.P “Well, I’ll get my own plane – better’n
his!”P He plowed ahead, only to see
a large black boot planted squarely in his path.P With a gasp, he looked up to see the grinning visage of Don
Karnage staring down at him.

“Helllooo,
my Boy!” the red wolf said sweetly.P
“Long time no see – Si’?

“Still
having trouble remembering where the box is, eh?” Karnage growled at Kit,
who was suspended upside down over a tree branch, tightly ensnared in a
rope.P “Perhaps a night in the
jungle will jog your memory, yes?” he sneered, giving the boy a
shove, sending him swinging pendulum-like.P
“There are numerous hungry animals in the jungle… with the sharp
pointy teeeeth-“

With
a start, Karnage leapt into the air.P
“You – you bit me!” he growled in disbelief, grabbing
the boy by the neck roughly.

“Hey!P I missed breakfast!” Kit laughed,
determined not to allow the red wolf to see an ounce of surrender.

“This
is your last chance, boy!” Karnage growled.P “Is the box on the plane?”

“Plane?P What plane?P
I walked here!” Kit barked sarcastically.

“It’s
no use protecting your friend, Boy!” Karnage hissed menacingly.P “We will find him!”

“Hah!P What friend?P I don’t _have_ any friends!” Kit scoffed, his calm exterior
belying the sinking feeling in his heart.

“OK
– we do it the hard way.” Karnage said grimly.P “Dumptruck!P Fetch me
the turnips and the sandpaper!”P
The huge dog with the top hat handed the pirate captain the implements
of torture.

“Ex-cellent!P Now my Boy – I – want – some –
answers!” Karnage sneered, grasping the turnip and the sandpaper almost
gleefully in his red paws.

“Stuff
it in yer windsock!” Kit barked disdainfully, no trace of fear in his
fragile voice.

“My
wind-sock?!?” the pirate gasped in disbelief.P He drew his sword and menacingly hovered over the boy.P “Why you little-P What is that smell?”

To
Kit’s amazement a swarm of gorilla birds stormed out of the underbrush, sending
the pirates running for cover.P
“What is going _on_?” Karnage snarled, seeking shelter in a
tree branch.

Kit’s
jaw fell as Baloo dashed from the bushes and grabbed Kit in one burly arm.P “No time ta be hangin’ around,
Kid!” he grinned.P With a ferocious
bite he chomped through the rope that held the cub and whipped the ropes from
around the boy’s torso.P They took off
at a run for the Sea Duck.P Kit’s mind
was a whirl – this just didn’t add up!P
What in the world was the pilot thinking, risking himself and his plane
like that?

They
were almost home – the bright blue water of the lagoon spread out before
them.P They came to the edge of a bluff,
and Baloo pulled up suddenly, just grabbing the cub before he plummeted over
the edge.P A roiling mass of grinning
crocodiles hungrily patrolled the waters beneath them.

Man
and boy looked at the scaly carnivores below, then looked back behind them, and
finally at each other.P Each wore a look
of determination.P “Pull
chocks?” Kit asked grimly.

“Pull
chocks!” Baloo replied with a thumbs up.

“Oh,
nooooo!” they screamed, leaping into the mass of crocs, stepping on their
backs.P Kit started to fall behind, and
Baloo easily snatched the small boy under an arm, narrowly avoiding the
snapping jaws.P He tossed Kit bodily
into the cockpit and jumped in after him.

“But
Baloo – what about your birds?” Kit said desperately as he strapped in to
the navigator’s chair.

“Hey,
what’s more important – those burpin’ buzzards – or my new navigator?”
Baloo smiled as he started the engines.P
Kit looked back at him in shock, full of feelings he’d never known in
his young life, and didn’t understand.P
He only knew that he was grateful.

Kit
was rooting through the detritus that was the Sea Duck’s cargo hold, which at
the moment had a particularly unpleasant lingering stench of gorilla bird.P “Where does he keep his spoons?”
the cub mused, scratching his head.P He
headed back up to the cockpit to ask the pilot.P “Hey Baloo-“

“Now
remember – be good to yer new owner, like you was good ta me.” the grey
bear was saying tenderly, patting the console.P
“Make me proud…”

The
sight tore a hole in Kit’s heart.P
“I – I’m sorry about you’re plane…” he whispered, feeling
strangely guilty.

“Hey,
don’t worry, ya win some, ya lose some.” Baloo said sadly.

Kit
sat in his chair and stared sheepishly at his feet.P “Listen… Nobody’s ever stood _up_ for me before…P And I – Well…P I have a treasure – and I’ll share it with you!” he said
quickly, not wanting to give himself a chance to change his mind.

Baloo
smiled condescendingly.P “Heh heh! PThanks, L’il Britches – but I don’t think yer
bottle cap collection can help!”

Kit
seethed momentarily, just as he always did when adults dismissed him.P “You don’t understand-P It’s a big glowing Pjewel!”

“Sure
Kid.” Baloo nodded dismissively.

“Hah!”
Kit sneered.P “Why do ya think the
pirates are _after_ me?”

Baloo’s
face lit up.P “A – a jewel?P Ya mean it?”

“I
hid it at Louie’s!” Kit grinned.

“I
could buy back the Sea Duck!”

“Haha!P We could buy a whole _bunch_ o’ Sea
Ducks!” Kit giggled.

“Well,
how bout we go get it, first thing in the mornin’ – you an’ me?” Baloo
grinned.

“Haha!P I’m gone!P
Yeah, I gotta fly!” Kit laughed.

“I’m
gone!P Adios, bye bye!” Baloo sang.

“Don’t
trouble us with troubles man, we’re gone!” Bear and cub crooned gleefully
as the yellow seaplane flew off into the setting sun.P Kit felt an unfamiliar feeling in his chest that he couldn’t
identify, but when he looked at the grey bear it grew stronger, and filled his
spirit with happiness.

It
was dark by the time they arrived back in Cape Suzette.P Baloo hopped down to the dock and, with a
gentleness that belied his hulking form, helped the yawning cub down onto the
quay.

Kit
was exhausted – it had been one of the busiest and strangest days in his
life.P His body cried for sleep, but his
mind was a whirl of activity and confused emotions.P He walked silently behind the grey bear, trying to puzzle out
just what he was feeling.P This place
felt different to him now than it had a few hours earlier.P Something had changed, something important.

“Hongry,
Kiddo?” Baloo yawned as they entered the cluttered building, encased in
darkness.P He switched on a small lamp,
which barely illuminated a quarter of the room.P ~Just as well.~ Kit thought.

“Naw
– Just tired I guess, Baloo.” Kit grinned weakly.P This would be the first night in a year that
he hadn’t spent on the Iron Vulture or Pirate Island, and he felt an oppressive
weight lifted from his shoulders.P
Suddenly, the urge to sleep was overpowering – to release himself and
just be calm, still.P He yawned
mightily.

Baloo
chuckled.P “I’ll say!P Here, you kin sleep in my hammock, I’ll take
the easy chair.P OK L’il Britches?”

L’il
Britches?P He’d used that name before –
weird!P But it was – nice, somehow.P “Your hammock?P It’s OK, I don’t want to-“

“That’s
OK, I kin sleep anywhere Pardner.” Baloo smiled.P To the cub’s immense surprise Baloo lifted him up and tenderly
set him down in the hammock.P The
gesture touched Kit deeply, and he found himself staring at the grey bear, who
simply smiled.P “You look pretty
beat.P Get some sleep, I’ll see ya in
the mornin’.”

Kit
grinned wearily and leaned back.P
“Thanks Baloo.P
‘Night.” he said softly.

“Night
Kid.P Sweet dreams.” Baloo
whispered.P Weariness overcame the boy
quickly, but he rolled over to look at Baloo, and was surprised to find the
pilot grinning at him.P The big bear’s
smiling face was the last thing Kit saw before sleep took him.

The
office was a colossal mess – dirty clothes, rotting fruit, old pizza boxes and
newspapers were everywhere.P The large
grey bear reclined in what passed for furniture – a large red easy chair.P The bear was snoring gently, a half full
drink clutched in one paw.

He
shared the office with a companion this morning – Kit Cloudkicker.P The boy reclined in a hammock, legs dangling
over the sides.P When the alarm went
off, the boy was the first to hear it – he jerked awake with a start, unused to
such domestic conveniences.

“Wha…
Hey Baloo!P It’s ten o’clock!” the
boy said sleepily, rolling out of the hammock, slipping the red and blue
baseball cap on his head backwards and heading over to the chair where the big
bear still reclined, cap pulled over his eyes.P

“Nuthin’s
gettin’ me outta this chair…” the bear mumbled.

“The
TREA-sure…” Kit sang softly into the pilot’s ear.

“Tah-reasure?!”
Baloo exclaimed, jerking awake.P He
patted the grinning boy on the head and stood.P
“Kid, you just said my two favorite words!P Now lessee… first, we’ll get us a bite to
eat, then-“

“Baloo!”
Kit scolded his new friend.P “If we
don’t get to Louie’s soon, the bank’ll shut you down!”

“Re-lax!”
the grey bear grinned, picking up and biting into a hamburger of indeterminate
vintage.P “The bank wouldn’t send
anybody _this_ early!”

There
was a loud knock, causing both bears’ attention to jerk to the door.P “You hope!”

Baloo
tiptoed over and peered through the small window in the door.P “Heh-heh!P It’s just a customer!” he chuckled as he opened the door.

An
attractive brown bearess stood in the doorway.P
“Good morning!P I’m
Reb-“

“We’re
closed, Lady!P Come back when the sun’s
warm – like June!P Bye-bye!” Baloo
snapped, slamming the door behind him.

“Excuse
me!P _Ex-cuse_ me!” the woman
called indignantly, pounding on the door.

“Out
to lunch, lady!P Nobody home – gone fishin’!”
Baloo hissed.P He turned away from the
door, chuckling.

To
the bear and cub’s amazement, the woman climbed through a window into the
office.P “If _this_ is how you
treat your customers, Buster, no _wonder_ this business is failing!” she
snapped.

“Heyyy…
Back off lady!P You act like you own
this place!” Baloo stammered, hands in the air.

“I
do!” she grinned, pulling out an official-looking document proudly.P “When you didn’t pay your loan this
morning, the bank sold the deed to me!”

Kit
looked on, shaking his head sadly.P
“Told ya!” he admonished the pilot.

“They
– they didn’t even give me time ta brush my teeth!” Baloo gasped.

“You
must be Baloo.” the bearess said appraisingly.P “The bank says you’re a terrific pilot.”

“Heh
heh!P Well, that’s true!”
Baloo chuckled.

“I’d
also be inclined to add sloppy, careless and rude!”P Kit’s jaw dropped.P He’d never seen anyone quite like this woman…

“All
right!P Just who do you think you
are?” Baloo howled.

The
woman walked slowly around the office, taking stock.P “Rebecca Cunningham, business major!P I’ve been looking for a failing company like
this for some time.P And, now that I’ve
sunk my life’s savings into it, I’m going to turn this dump into a real money
maker!”P She opened a door and
pulled back in revulsion.P “Yes,
this place definitely needs a woman’s touch…”

“Now
see here, you-“

“Sounds
great, Lady!” Kit smiled, deciding he’d been silent long enough.P “I’ll bet you do just _great_
here!”

“Kit!”
Baloo gasped.

“Why
– thank you!” Rebecca smiled, appearing to take notice of the boy for the
first time.

Kit
grinned dumbly for a moment, entranced by the bearess’ smile.P He snapped out of it and turned to
Baloo.P “Forget her Baloo!P Remember the treasure!” he whispered.

“Oh
– yeah!” Baloo hissed, whipping out the keys to the Sea Duck.P “Well, enjoy yerself Miz Manager!P Kit an’ I are off to Louie’s place!”

“Not
in my plane you’re not!” Rebecca said firmly, grabbing the keys.

Kit’s
jaw dropped.P “Now wait just a
prop-spinnin’ minute!P The Sea Duck is
mine!” Baloo protested.

“Not
according to the bank.”

“OK
– that’s _it_, Sister-“

“Mommy,
do I _still_ hafta wait in the car?”P
All eyes in the room turned to the window, where a small yellow bearcub
had crawled in.P Kit stared, astonished.

“Aw,
I’m sorry Honey – come and see our new place!” Rebecca smiled, her manner
changing completely.P She scooped the
little girl into her arms and carried her over to the two bears who were
looking on, jaws agape.P “This is
my daughter, Molly.P We’ll be staying
here until I find an apartment.”

“Wow
– can I keep _my_ room this messy?” Molly gasped.P Kit watched the girl and her mother,
hypnotized by the scene.P Rebecca
continued her walking tour, Molly in her arms.

“Now,
be reasonable Lady!P The Sea Duck is my
_baby_!” Baloo said desperately.

“Fine.P Fifty thousand dollars and she’s
yours!” Rebecca said calmly.P
“In the meantime, I have an opening for a staff pilot!”

“If
you think I’m flyin’ fer you, Brown-Eyes, you got yer hair tied on too
tight!” Baloo sneered.

Kit
snapped out of his trance and he signalled frantically at the grey bear.P “Louie’s!P Louie’s!” he whispered, miming an airplane with his arms.

“Oh!P Oh yeah…P
Come ta think of it, I’d _love_ ta be yer pilot, Becky!” Baloo
grinned obsequiously.P

“Good!P And it’s Rebecca, not Becky.”P She set Molly down and knelt next to
Kit.P “Now – who _else_ do we have
on staff?” she smiled warmly.

Kit
was flustered momentarily.P She was
talking to him!P “Er… Kit
Cloudkicker, Ma’am!” he smiled nervously, taking off his cap.P “I’m the navigator!” he added with
a proud flourish.

“Hey
-can I be the tail gunner?” Molly asked.P
Kit scooped her onto his back and dashed about the room as she playfully
fired her machine guns.P “Ack ack
ack!P Ack ack ack!”P Kit felt incredible – he couldn’t explain
it, but it felt perfect in every way.

He
gently dropped the girl into the big red easy chair.P “I bet bein’ a pilot is the funnest thing in the
world!” she said wistfully.

“Used
ta be!” Baloo grumbled.

“Gosh
-suddenly I’ve got an office, and a plane, and two of my very own
employees!” Rebecca gushed, sounding like a little girl.P

With
a bang, a panel in the floor opened up and a small lion in white coveralls
popped his head up.P “Hey Baloo – I
finally fixed that sewer pipe!P Ya want
the old one?” he grinned.

“Better
make that _three_ employees!” Baloo chuckled.P Kit watched the strange figure, fascinated.P “This is our mechanic – Wildcat.P Wildcat, meet Ree-becca Cunningham – our new
boss!”

Wildcat
grinned and grabbed Rebecca’s paw.P
“Really?P Well you smell
_pretty good_ fer a boss!”

“Er…
thanks.” Rebecca said dubiously, looking at her hand in revulsion.

“Yeah,
this poor little guy was all clogged up!” Wildcat continued obliviously,
holding up the sewer pipe.P “He was
sayin’ ‘Help me, help me, I got a cold!'”P
The mechanic wrapped his hands around his throat and fell to the floor.

“This
is a mechanic?!?” Rebecca said dubiously.P
“He couldn’t tell a screwdriver from a bus driver!”

“Oh
yeah?” Baloo grinned slyly, picking up a metal bucket.P With a resounding crash he brought it down
on the telephone, smashing it to bits, much to the shock of Kit, Rebecca and
Molly.P “Oh, Wildcat!P I think there’s somethin’ wrong with the
phone!”

Wildcat
eyed the mess of wires critically.P
“Y’know, you could be right!P
You oughtta be more careful!”

Baloo
folded his arms with a grin as Rebecca scowled at the scene.P “Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five,
for, three, two, one…”

There
was a ring, and Wildcat picked up the receiver.P “Hello?P Uh – it’s
for you!” he grinned at Rebecca.

The
bearess’ jaw dropped in astonishment.P
“Well… at least _something_ works around here…”

Kit
hadn’t really thought anything could top yesterday as far as excitement was
concerned – but he’d been wrong.P Today
had been even stranger, more momentous.P
First, the arrival of Rebecca and Molly… Baloo was pretty annoyed at
first, but to Kit they’d both been a joy from the first moment he’d set eyes on
them.P Rebecca spoke to him like no one
else ever had – kind without being condescending, and, despite her obvious
strength of will, so gentle…P When she
was around, his burdens seemed to leave him, and he felt like a different
person – someone he wanted to be, but had always been afraid to.

As
for Molly – well, she was a little hellraiser, but just being around the little
girl filled Kit’s heart with joy.P It
made him feel like – like what, exactly?P
Something he hadn’t felt like for a long time.P And that name change, ‘Higher for Hire’… Baloo hated it!P Kit liked it though, it had a nice ring.

And
then there was the flight to Louie’s – Molly’s shocking appearance, the
stinging disappointment of finding out the jewel wasn’t a jewel, followed
almost immediately by the rising hope that it could be worth something after
all… But Kit’s definitions of wealth seemed to be fluid, changing even as the
hours did.

And
he’d had to show off his cloudsurfing, to help them escape the pirates.P That hadn’t been an easy decision – he’d
hoped to wait until the right moment to reveal that little secret.P But the big bear had made his sacrifices,
and Molly was on board… He’d had no choice.P
The pirates wanted that rock badly.

He
hoped the rock was valuable, of course, and that they’d get their reward
money.P Baloo deserved it, and it was
pointless in kidding himself that he wasn’t emotionally bonded to the grey
bear.P Even so, the thought of Baloo
buying his plane back made him sad, too – he found himself drawn to the little
building by the harbor and the people who lived there – all of them.

He
felt a pang of guilt at the thought – Baloo had sacrificed his plane for Kit’s
safety once already.P Why should he wish
for anything less than exactly what the pilot wanted?P He was selfish, and he knew it.P
He’d be more than happy to see Baloo have to fly as Miz. Cunningham’s
pilot – then they would all be together.

All
of them together… Of course, to Rebecca he was just a kid, an employee at
best.P But somehow this place had come
to mean more to him than anything.P The
feelings in his heart that night, as Molly romped around the room, Baloo slept
peacefully in his chair, and Rebecca busily cleaned up while keeping a watchful
eye on her daughter – those feelings were wonderful, and he knew he didn’t
deserve them.

That
was the bottom line.P He was trouble, he
was a fool to allow himself ever to forget it.P
No one had wanted him, not even – not even…P And all with good reason.P
He rightfully ought to be by himself, so that he couldn’t hurt people,
which he always seemed to do.P Even if
he didn’t want to, and he almost never did.P
Not even when he was with the pirates.P
“Just enjoy the ride while it lasts.” he sighed quietly to
himself.

“Tail
gunner!P Tail gunner!” Molly cried,
tugging on his sweater.P He grinned down
at her.

“How
about pilot?” he chuckled, scooping her up in his arms and setting her
down on the desk chair.P He pushed the
wheeled chair around the room at a fantastic pace, the yellow cub screaming in
delight.P Kit just wanted to run, and to
hear her laughter.P For that moment, it
was his entire universe.P

He
lost control of the chair, and Molly popped out into the air, landing on
Baloo’s ample belly with a bounce, rousing the pilot of a fitful doze.P “Oof!P
Ya get clearance fer that landin’?” he chuckled, tickling the cub,
who burst into a fit of giggling.P Kit
leaned over the arm of the chair and Molly tickled him -P a weakness he’d hoped not to show.P He laughed wildly, but he didn’t mind.

“Time
for bed, Molly Honey!” her mother smiled.

“Aw,
I wanna play some more!” the little girl whined.

“Sorry,
Short-stuff!” Baloo laughed, even his mood thawed by the children’s
antics.P “Even us ace pilots need
our shuteye!”

Rebecca
handed Kit and Baloo pillows and blankets.P
“Here – so my flight crew doesn’t get chilly.” she smiled, a
twinkle in her eye.

Kit
smiled shyly.P “Gee – thanks, Miz
Cunningham!”

“Thanks
Becky!” Baloo grinned easily and started for the Sea Duck, where Kit and
he would be spending the night.

Rebecca
set a pillow down on the easy chair and lay Molly’s small form on it, covering
her with a blanket.P Kit was utterly
enthralled by the process.P
“Uh…P Night!” he said
softly, turning to follow Baloo.

“Sleep
tight!” Baloo called.

“See
ya later, Navigator!” Molly called gaily.

“Ha
ha!P First thing tomorrow, we lay our
surprise on ol’ Shere Khan – right Kit?” Baloo laughed.

“Uh
– right Baloo.” Kit sighed, no more enthusiastic about the idea then he
had been earlier.P He started to follow
Baloo, but he couldn’t tear his eyes away from the scene inside.P He slipped over to the window to peer in.

“Mommy,
I can’t sleep!” Molly cried softly.

Her
mother came to her and knelt by the chair.P
“Why not, Honey?” she smiled.

“This
place – it’s not like _home_.” she sighed sadly.P Her sadness cut through Kit like a knife.

“Aw,
don’t worry Honey!”P Rebecca smiled
and walked over to the file cabinet.P To
Kit’s astonishment, she started singing.

PPPPPPPPPPP “Home is where the heart is,
wherever you may be,

PPPPPPPPPPP Pthere’ll always be a home for you, here inside of me”

The
bearess grabbed a cookie jar from the cabinet and handed a cookie to Molly, who
took it with a broad grin.PP Rebecca
resumed her song, her lilting voice touching Kit to his very soul.

PPPPPPPPPPP “Home is where the heart is,
whatever we may do,

PPPPPPPPPPP Pthere’ll always be a part of me, here inside of you.

Kit
listened to the melody, and the words struck a chord inside him.P He glanced quickly at Baloo, who was
jauntily marching towards the plane.P
The boy smiled, just a little.

PPPPPPPPPPP “Four walls may surround you,
and protect you from the storm,

PPPPPPPPPPP Pbut my two arms around you, will keep you safe and warm!

“But
– but what if you’re not with me?” Molly asked timidly.P “What if I’m alone?”P Kit cast his eyes down, all of his pain
welling up at once, more than he could bear.

Rebecca
knelt down and gently tucked the blanket up to her daughter’s chin, singing
quietly in the cub’s ear.

PPPPPPPPPPP “Remember where my heart is,
and you’ll always have a home!”

The
song was over.P She kissed the little
girl gently on the cheek and stood, turning towards the window.P Kit ducked quickly out of sight and shrunk
against the building, praying she hadn’t seen him.P To his horror, the window propped open.P Then, something very strange happened – Rebecca set the cookie
jar down on the sill, and softly raised her voice in sweet song one more time.

PPPPPPPPPPP “Remember where my heart is,
and you’ll always have a home!”

The
voice came from just inside the window, seemingly directed squarely at
Kit.P The boy wiped a tear away, his
mind a whirl.P Had she seen him?P Did she know he was there?P She must have!P But that would mean…

With
a stunned smile, the boy grabbed a cookie out of the jar and dashed over to the
Sea Duck, his heart so full he was certain it would burst.P Baloo was already asleep, snoring gently in
the lower bunk.P Kit’s heart,
impossibly, grew even fuller as he looked at the grey bear’s face.P He nimbly scrambled into the upper bunk and
lay back, nibbling on the cookie.P For
just a moment, the boy allowed himself to feel the one emotion he’d forbidden
himself above all others – hope.P He
closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep, a smile on his face.

The
trip to Khan’s office had been a rousing success.P The wealthy tiger had offered them a hundred thousand dollars for
the stone, and even Kit found himself getting caught up in the excitement of
the moment.P With that much money, not
only would Baloo be able to buy back the Sea Duck, but Kit would have enough to
buy a plane for himself, when he was ready.

It
was a thrilling prospect – not the only thing that thrilled Kit anymore, as it
would have been a few days earlier, but thrilling nontheless.P And as for Becky and Molly, well – they’d
have plenty of money, and Kit and Baloo would be free agents.P Maybe they could come and visit them
sometimes.P Kit was pretty sure he could
get Baloo to do what he wanted, if he set his mind to it.P Was it possible, good things were finally
starting to happen to him?P Maybe it was
his time…

“We
did pretty good, huh?” he grinned at Baloo, who walked jauntily down the
harbor next to him.P Now all they had to
was retrieve the stone, carefully stashed in Molly’s doll ‘Lucy’, and they’d be
home free.

“A
hundred thousand smackers!” Baloo laughed.P “Now I can buy my plane back and get oughtta
here!”P Kit held his tongue, not
wanting to step on the grey bear’s moment – for now.P Baloo regally bowed and held the door open for the cub.P “Now, let’s grab that sparkler
and-“

“Baloo!”
Kit’s heart fell as he saw the interior of Higher for Hire – furniture
overturned, file cabinets knocked over, windows broken.P “Molly!P Miz Cunningham!” he screamed, frantically searching through
the rubble.

“Beckers!P Where are ya?P Where’d ya go?” Baloo gasped.

“Baloo,
look!P Up there!” Kit hissed.P A note was stuck in the door with a
bone-handled knife.

The
pilot snatched the slip of paper and read it aloud.P “Unless you return the stone, you will never see your
friends again!P Seriously yours, Don
Karnage.”P He crumpled the paper
angrily in one massive paw.

Kit
legs gave out, and he sat back on a box.P
All of his dreams came crashing down on top of him.P He should have known!P How dare he presume to think that he should
be happy?P There was no end to the grief
and pain he caused.P His pain was
deserved, but now his arrogance had borne a terrible price…

Baloo
scratched his head.P “How’re we
supposed to give Karnage the rock when he’s got Molly… and Molly’s got the
rock?”

“Oh,
this is all _my_ fault!” the cub groaned, near tears.

“Huh?P what’re ya talkin’ about?”

There
was only one way left for Kit to redeem himself, and he knew what it was.P “C’mon – we gotta save em’!” he
hissed, grabbing Baloo’s arm and pulling him outside.P He dragged the protesting bear all the way to the Sea Duck and
both bears strapped in, Baloo casting sidelong glances at Kit all the while.

The
pilot backed the plane away from the dock and headed for open water.P As soon as they were airborne, he turned to
the boy.P “Look, Kit – I’m all for
savin’ Molly.P Even ol’ Becky!P But we don’t know where they _are_!”

“I
do!” Kit said grimly, all hope of personal redemption – and thus the need
for secrecy – gone.P “Pirate
Island.”

“Huh?P NO-body knows where that is!” the big
bear said, awed.

Kit
had already pulled out the Sea Ducks navigation equipment and was busily plotting
a course.P “Once yer past the
cliffs, fly one-six-oh, south-southeast.”

“Yer
the navigator!” Baloo shrugged, looking at the boy sidelong.P Kit could feel the pilot’s eyes boring into
him as he stared defiantly out the window.P
“Okay Kit, now give – how do ya know so much about the air
pirates?”

Kit
sat stone-faced, unable to bring himself to say the words.P “Aw, you kin tell ol’ Baloo!” the
grey bear said kindly.P His kindness
only made Kit feel worse.

“Did
– didya stumble on their hideout?P Were
ya kidnapped by ’em?”P Still, Kit
could not bring himself to respond.

“Was…P Was yer _Dad_ a pirate?” Baloo asked
haltingly.

“No!”
Kit finally shouted, snapping his pencil in two.P “_I_ was a pirate!P
Ya happy now?!?”P He tossed
his baseball cap to the floor angrily and fled the cockpit.

“What?P Wait, hold _on_, L’il Britches!” Baloo
called after him.

Kit
collapsed onto the mattress in the hold, hiding his face behind his knees.P At least the truth was out now – there’d be
no more deception.P Now at least Baloo
knew what he was.P He heard footsteps
and looked up, surprised to see the pilot walking into the hold.P “Shouldn’t you be flying?” he
asked with all the defiance he could muster.

“Relax,
I got ‘er on auto-pilot.” Baloo said calmly.P He at next to the cub and gently set the cap back on his head,
much to the boy’s surprise.P “Now –
ya wanna take this from the top?”

Kit
slid a few inches away from the grey bear.P
There was nothing left to be lost now – the big bear may as well know
the whole truth. P”I got no
family…P No home.” Kit whispered,
voice choking with emotion.P “I
hooked up with Karnage’s gang about a year ago…P But I got sick of ’em!P So
when I saw that stone, I figured ‘Hey – make your move!’P That’s when I ran into you…”

The
boy closed his eyes, waiting for the stinging condemnation he knew was sure to
follow.P He felt strong hands gently
grab his shoulders and turn him towards the grey bear.P “Aw, fergit about them L’il
Britches!P We’re buddies!P Pals!P
We’re a _team_!P From now on, yer
with me!”

Kit
stared at the big bear, shocked.P It was
the last thing in the world he’d expected Baloo to say to him, after what he’d
just heard.P He struggled for words, but
found only emotions – relief, gratitude, love.P
“Yeah, um, I…P Thanks, Papa
Bear!” he whispered, wrapping his arms around the pilot’s neck, and
clinging tightly.P The big bear squeezed
Kit in his arms, and it was the most wonderful thing the boy could remember.P Just for a moment, he felt certain that
nothing in the world could hurt him anymore.

The
moment passed, but Kit still clung tightly to the pilot as darker thoughts
crept into his mind.P It was a trap –
every time he allowed himself to think that he might be happy, someone else got
hurt.P Nothing had changed, really – Baloo
had proved beyond any doubt that his heart was true, and that made Kit, in that
moment, love him with all of his might.P
But it couldn’t last, the boy knew.P
Life didn’t work that way – not his life at least.

The
rescue had gone smoothly enough – they’d caught their big break when the Iron
Vulture, along with most of the pirates, was not at home.P They’d slipped into the brig and rescued
Becky and Molly fairly easily, Baloo even getting his hands on the pink slip to
the Sea Duck in the process.P But Kit
felt, in his gut, that it couldn’t last.P
He wasn’t going to get off the hook that easily.P Not for what he’d done.

The
trouble started when they were fleeing the volcano – the Vulture returned, and
with it blocked their path of escape.P
Now the four bears found themselves crouched behind a wall of sacks and
boxes as Karnage waxed poetic about the virtues of pillaging and
plundering.P Kit was ready to face his
fate – it was only fair.P But why did
the others have to face it with him?

“Wait!P I’m gettin’ a brainstorm!” Baloo
whispered.

“And
me without my umbrella!” Rebecca hissed, rolling her eyes.

“Kit
– you an’ Molly get into these sacks – Becky an’ I’ll slip into these old
clothes and blend in!” Baloo whispered.P
Karnage, by now, had broken into song.P
Baloo and Rebecca slung the kids over their shoulders and slipped out
into the throng of dancing buccaneers.

Kit
heard the pirate continue his song for a moment, and felt Baloo striding under
him.P Finally, the red wolf finished his
performance and there was silence.

“One
more time!” Baloo called merrily.P
Kit groaned.P Of all the
stupid…

“Wait
just one menudo!” Karnage called.P
“I am the _only_ one who says ‘One more time!'”

“It
was him, Boss – Him, him!” Kit heard Mad Dog whine.P He had a pretty good idea who the weasel was
pointing at.

Kit
hit the floor with a thud.P “Don’t
move, Kit!P If they drag us away, you
grab Molly and git!” Baloo hissed.

“But
Baloo!” Kit whispered desperately.P
This just wasn’t right…

Kit
stayed in darkness, where he heard Dumptruck’s voice.P “Yer in trouble now!P
Here dey are, Captain!”

“Hmmm.P You look awfully familiar…” Karnage
mused.P “A-ha!P The round furry pilot and the annoying
business lady!P Wait – wasn’t she locked
up?”P There was silence for a
moment.P “Well, of course she must
have escaped!P I hope you brought my
stone – I need it for my plans!”

Baloo’s
voice.P “Stone?P You seen any stone, Becky?”

Becky.P “What stone?”

Karnage
interrupted.P “Do not be the clever
guy with me!P You are not qualified!P Wait…P
Where is the boy?”

“Go
fish!” Baloo snapped.P Kit
swallowed hard.

“You
would risk your lives protecting that filthy flea?”

“Hey,
lay off!P He’s a good kid!”

Kit
could take no more.P There was a
way.P He could make one final gesture
and undo the harm he’d done.P It was
time.P He hopped out of the bag with a
deep breath and mustered his composure.P
“Stay put!” he whispered to Molly.P “Hiya gang!P I’m
back!” he grinned.

“Kit!P Whaddaya doin’?” Baloo gasped.

“Can
it, Rudder-rump!” Kit snarled. PHe
had to sell this, he knew, but it still hurt him to say it…

“Rudder-rump?”
Baloo whispered.

“Yo,
Captain!P How’d I do?” Kit beamed,
striding up to the red wolf, who was observing the proceedings with
considerable puzzlement.

“What
are you talking about, you juvenile delinkity-wink?”

“I’m
talking about what you taught me – the ol’ Karnage Hustle!” he grinned,
whirling about the pirate in a series of blindingly quick movements, stealing
the key to the shackles that bound his friends in the process.

“First,
I pretended to steal the stone from you…” he began , deftly unlocking
the cuffs with his foot, “So I could finagle some ransom money oughtta
Shere Khan!”

“What
ransom money?” Karnage asked dubiously.

“One
hundred thousand dollars!” Kit beamed proudly.P

“Really?”
the wolf grinned greedily.

“Then
I was gonna steal the rock back and give everything to you!P That is, until _these_ clowns messed it up
by grabbin’ the lady and kid!” he scowled, pointing at Mad Dog and
Dumptruck.

“You
ear-picking ignoranumuses!P I ought to
hang you by your pinkies!” Karnage snarled.

“Sooorry!”
the motley pair groveled.

“Re-LAX,
Captain!P I bamboozled this bozo into
bringin’ me back!” Kit grinned, gesturing at Baloo.

“Kit,
I thought we were pals…” Baloo sighed.P
The look on his face almost destroyed Kit’s composure, but the boy held
on.

“Yes
– I thought you were pals too…” Karnage mused.

“Naw
– I was just usin’ the poor jerk to get me the stone!P And he fell for it!”P
Kit hung his cap on Baloo’s nose and bent over, laughing.

“Uh-huh..
He hee hee!P I like that!” Karnage
giggled.P “Then you will not mind
if I _blast_ them!P Ready…
aim…”

“Wait!”
Kit shouted desperately, trying to stall for time.P “Aren’t you forgetting something important?”P He walked over to the sack that his Molly
and drew the cub out.P He grabbed her
doll from her.

“Hey!P You’re hurting Lucy!” the girl cried.

“Aw,
shaddup!” the boy growled, heart shattering.P He ripped the head off the doll and pulled the stone free.

“Momm-eee!”
Molly wailed.

“Ooo!P Hee hee hee!” Karnage chuckled
gleefully.P “He is even mean to
children!”

Kit
grandly presented the stone to the red wolf.P
“So – whaddaya think of my plan?”

“Son,
you are a refreshing addition to my normally thick-headed bunch!” Karnage
said proudly.

“Now,
uh – Howzabout we let these saps go, huh?” Kit smiled, trying to keep the
desperation out of his voice.

“Do
not be silly – I never let anybody go!” Karnage sneered.

“Well
then, eat my gold dust!” Baloo shouted.P
Kit was blinded by a stinging cloud of gold particles, and fell to the
floor, coughing.

When
the dust had cleared, his friends were gone, and a band of pirates was giving
chase.P “Shoot them – a lot!”
Karnage coughed in their wake.

Kit
sat coughing, now forgotten in all of the excitement.P It was over – he’d done all he could.P He was back with the pirates, but at least here he couldn’t bring
any more pain to people that didn’t deserve it.P At least he’d had a couple of days, a taste of something
different, wonderful.P But in some ways
that was worse…

Kit
had finally found a spot where he could be alone, at least for a moment.P His friends had escaped, and it was an
effort not to show his glee in front of the pirates.P The _other_ pirates.P
There had been a lot of hard stares, and some snickering.P He was the Captain’s favorite, although he
knew from experience that was as likely as not to be short-lived.P It didn’t matter – the others would resent
him for it, and make his life Hell.

Kit
sighed and stared out over the water.P
There would time to escape later.P
Escape, but not to a family, a bunch of innocent people who didn’t know
what they’d be getting themselves into.P
No one deserved to be stuck with him.P
No, when he escaped it would be alone, and that was how it had to be.

Baloo
was out there, far off over the water.P
And Becky, and Molly.P They all
thought he was a traitor, a scoundrel.P
That was better – better that they shouldn’t waste any tears on
him.P At least he’d had that one hug, on
the plane.P Even the thought of Baloo
brought tears to his own eyes, though.P
He blinked them back, desperately.P
There was no place for tears here, and no compassionate hands to dry
them.

“Ah,
there you are!” Karnage’s voice called over his shoulder.P Kit turned his face away, not wanting the
red wolf to see his eyes wet.P “So
my boy – you are back with the pirates now, yes-no?”P The Captain tied a red bandana around the
boy’s neck almost tenderly, then draped an arm over his shoulder.P Kit shuddered at the touch.P “You did well, my puny protege!P Happy?”

“Yeah.”
Kit whispered, a lifetime of agony clouding his face.P “Couldn’t be happier…”

Kit
had found his old bunk near the boiler room of the Iron Vulture to be
unoccupied, but sleep would not come to him.P
He tossed and turned, unable to escape the phantoms that haunted his
mind.P His only solace was that he’d
given his friends one more chance.P At
least he’d done that much.

He
wandered the halls of the massive airship for most of the night, a skeleton
crew on duty.P Every inch of the vessel
was filled with bad memories.P Memories
of slaps to the face and kicks in the gut.P
Karnage didn’t approve of such things, per se, and always stopped them
when he caught someone in the act of brutalizing his smallest crew member. That
didn’t stop the harassment from starting up again once his back was turned,
however, and no one was ever punished for it.

No,
there were no friends on this ship.P The
dreams of adventure and excitement had given way to a reality of swabbing the
decks, serving food in the galley and dozens of cold, uncaring faces.P He would leave these men behind him once
again, someday.P Someday soon.

Finally,
he had walked every hallway of the massive vessel and wound his way back to his
bunk.P He picked up a three year-old magazine
and went through the motions of reading for a while, and finally succumbed to
exhaustion as the sun rose in the east.

The
boy slept fitfully for the entire day, exhaustion overpowering even the masses
of grief that cried to be felt.P He
finally awoke with a start, looking around him in disorientation.P There was a loud explosion, and the walls
vibrated violently.P Startled, he headed
for the bridge to see what was happening.

The
beak was open, and it was dusk outside the ship.P A strange machine of some sort was poised on the lip, and Karnage
was standing gleefully next to it.P
“What’s going on?” Kit asked Dumptruck breathlessly.

The
huge dog laughed.P “The Captain is
poundin’ the stuffin’ out of Cape Suzette!”

“What?P Is he crazy?”

“Heh
heh.P Yup!”

Heart
in his throat, Kit ran to the beak and looked down. Sure enough, Cape Suzette
lay below them – they’d gotten past the cliff guns somehow.P A horrifying sight.P He looked up and saw an even more horrifying
sight – the machine, which even as he watched was shooting beam after beam of
light to the city below, leaving rubble in it’s wake, appeared to be powered by
a red stone.P The very stone he had
returned to Karnage’s grasp.

“Ah,
there you are my boy!” Karnage grinned.P
“Come come!P Join the festivities!P Are you not glad to be up here on the
winning side, instead of with that loser pilot?”P Kit nodded meekly.

The
pirate named Gibber whispered something in the captain’s ear.P “What?P
They think to stop me with their puny-type planes?”P A hail of gunfire ripped through the beak,
and Kit dove for cover, along with the rest of the pirates.P Karnage climbed into the controls of the
weapon and began firing madly into the sea of attacking fighter planes that had
appeared.P Kit watched in dull shock as
they were cut to ribbons.P “I gotta
do something…” he whispered, backing away from the horrors before him.

The
cub fell to his knees and buried his face in his hands.P “What can I do?” he hissed.P Everything he’d done had turned out
badly.P Every time he tried to help he
made things worse.P It seemed to be his
special gift.P Maybe the only good thing
he could do would be to disappear.P How
much more havoc could he cause, if he tried to help again?

“I’m
sorry!” he whispered.P “Papa
Bear, I’m sorry!P I tried… I tried to
help, but I can’t!P I always make things
worse…”P Tears streamed down his
face – tears of shame, tears of anger.P
He had brought this devastation on himself – it was his fault.P He couldn’t save anyone now – but he
couldn’t stomach what the evil men around him were doing either.

Kit
crawled to the edge of the beak and peered over.P They were over the harbor, but perhaps only a quarter mile or
less from shore.P He could swim that
easily enough.P He looked up – the
pirates’ attention was focused out the front of the ship, twenty yards or so
away from him.P Down there perhaps he
would perish, caught up in the destruction of the city.P It would be fitting.P If not, there would be a plane, or a ship,
to take him somewhere.P Anywhere far
away from Cape Suzette.P Too far to do
any more damage.

With
a deep breath he pulled his airfoil out from under his sweater.P “G’bye Papa Bear.” he whispered,
and slipped silently off the Iron Vulture without looking back, his small form
disappearing into the darkness.P None of
the pirates on board noticed that their crew had decreased by one.

Louie’s
Place was truly as oasis – a respite from a mind-numbing landscape of
unchanging blue water, brilliant azure sky frequently obscured by tropical
storms, and long, boring cargo flights with nothing for company save the drone
of engines.P And on this night,
unbeknownst to those inside, it was a respite from something much worse.

A
smiling brown monkey sat at the old piano, grinning widely as he played a
rollicking Caribbean melody.P The large
grey bear called Baloo gyrated wildly on the dance floor, a drink in one hand
which sloshed messily onto the ground.P
Louie was at his customary post behind the bar, eyeing the pilot with a
look of sad bemusement as he lazily wiped down the counter in front of him.

“Ha
ha!P Hey Louie, ain’t this the
life?” Baloo laughed.P “No
bosses… no troubles… no obligations!”

Louie
shook his head sadly as he neatly flicked a speck of dirt off of the bar with a
long finger, knowing the pilot far too well to be taken in by his show of
bravado.P “Yeah Cuz – You keep
sayin’ that ever’ five minutes, an’ you’ll believe it in a year or two!”

“Hey
– it’s true!” Baloo protested.

“Sure
Cuz.P Yer happy as a clam.” Louie
smiled indulgently. P”A really,
really fat clam!”

“This
used to be a fun club!” Baloo grumbled.

“Hey
Fuzzy – it ain’t no business o’ mine, but why don’t ya just admit it?P Ya miss the kid-“

“Hey!”
Baloo snapped angrily.P “What’s ta
miss – gettin’ stabbed in the back?P I
need that like a hole in the head!P An’
who died an’ made you so smart anyways?P
Just get me another mango fizz and keep yer theories ta yerself,
OK?”

“Hey
– yer the customer Baloo!P An’ the
customer’s always right.” Louie frowned.P
He could forgive Baloo a little rudeness under the circumstances.

“Yessir
– this bear flies solo from now on!” Baloo grumbled, slamming his empty
glass down on a table.P “Ol’ Baloo
ain’t gettin’ fooled twice…”

Many
miles way, across the dark water, the city of Cape Suzette was under
siege.P Blast after blast from the Iron
Vulture reduced buildings and bridges to piles of smoking rubble.P At Higher for Higher, Rebecca Cunningham
huddled under the stairs, Molly trembling in terror on her lap.P Even the normally implacable Wildcat wore a
look of profound fear.

Another
flash lit the sky, and a rumble shook the wooden building.P “Mommy, I’m scared!” Molly wailed.

“I
know Sweetie.” Rebecca cooed, gently rocking the girl on her lap.P “Everything’s going to be fine, we’re
safe here.”P ~I hope…~

“I
wonder how those pirates got past the cliff guns.” Wildcat mused.P “Usually every time they get close –
pow!”

“I
don’t know, Wildcat.” Rebecca sighed. “They’ve obviously got some
kind of new weapon.”P She had a
pretty good idea about that weapon, but it was too horrible to think about.

“I
wish Baloo were here!” Molly whined softly as another explosion rocked the
building.

“I
know Honey, me too.” Rebecca whispered.P
“And Kit…”

“He’s
mean!P He hurt Lucy, an’ helped the
pirates!” Molly spat.P “He’s a
big poophead!”

Rebecca
chuckled in spite of herself.P “I
know it looks that way, Honey.”

“That
don’t sound like Kit.” Wildcat said dubiously.

“Molly
– I know what Kit did was bad, and I know it looks like he helped the pirates
but… Molly, just listen to Mommy, OK?P
Kit’s a good person.P I don’t
want you to… remember him… any other way.”

“But
Mommy, he hurt Lucy!”

“I
know.” Rebecca sighed wearily, as the sky was lit by red fire again.P “But I know he had a reason for what he
did, Molly… I – I can’t tell you what, because I don’t know exactly… But
Mommy knows a lot of things, and I know Kit’s a good person.P Promise me you’ll think about him that way
Molly.” she said insistently, unsure why this was so important to her –
especially now…

“Yeah
Mollycat.P Kit’s a good kid, I know
it.” Wildcat nodded.P “I ain’t
never wrong about these things!”

Molly
stared at her mother for a long moment, trying to puzzle out some reason why
this might be another grown-up trick – a lie to make her feel better.P The look in Rebecca’s eyes told her
otherwise.P “OK Mommy, I believe
you.” she said softly, and it was true, but somehow she felt worse for it.P “I miss him.” she whispered as a
tear rolled down her cheek.

From
his office, Shere Khan watched the devastation going on in the city around him
with growing apprehension.P Clearly,
this would not do – not only was the city – _his_ city – being smashed to bits,
if word ever escaped about the real source of Karnage’s weapon, he himself
would be blamed.P His reputation, at the
very least, would be tarnished, and at worst he could be forced to pay for
repairs…

“What
are we going to do?” the rabbit called Dr. Debolt gasped as he watched the
lightning gun rip through another building.

“Cut
our losses.” Khan hissed, picking up the phone.P “Yes – radio to Don Karnage, aboard that – thing.P Inform him that I wish to meet him on the
roof in five minutes.P Tell him it’s to
discuss terms…”

“The
explosions have stopped…” Wildcat said softly, as he and the two bears
sheltered under the desk at Higher for Hire.

“Maybe
they ran out of… ammunition, something…” Rebecca hissed
helplessly.P The lull in the noise had
allowed the exhausted Molly to fall asleep in her lap.P “I don’t hear any planes, either.P It doesn’t sound like they’re under
attack…”

“Well
well, if it is not the biggest-type fish in the Cape Suzette sea!” Don
Karnage said derisively as he stood on the roof of Khan Tower, a dozen yards or
so from Shere Khan himself.P Each was
flanked by several armed associates, and the Iron Vulture hovered
overhead.P “What is it, you
financiering fool?P I am wasting
valuable pillaging time…”

“I
propose a deal, Karnage.”P the
tiger said coolly.P “One that will
serve both our best interests.”

“I
do no’ see that you are in a position to discuss a deal, my stripe-ed
friend!” the red wolf sneered.P
“When it comes to the cards, I am the one who is doing all of the
holding, yes?”

“So
it may appear, my good Sir.” Khan purred.P
“However, a thorough review of the facts would seem to indicate
otherwise.P Indeed, you have the upper
hand as of this moment.P However, you
have seen only a tiny portion of what Khan Enterprises has to offer.P I have hundreds of planes, all over the
south Pacific.P They have been summoned,
and are on their way here even as we speak.P
You may shoot down a good many of them Sir, but there are limits even to
the technology you have – acquired – from me.P
Sooner or later you will be destroyed.”

“You
are bluffing, my feline friend!” Karnage growled, a little tentatively.

“I
do not _bluff_, Mr. Karnage.P And if
that were not enough, I have my very best scientists at work even now
developing a counter to the weapon in your possession.P The same scientists who developed the weapon
itself.P They will have several options
shortly, I am certain.P Again, only a
matter of time.”

“Then
I say, be taking your best shot, yes-no?” the wolf sneered.P “If all this is true why are you doing
the negotiating with me, yes?”

Khan
looked at the pirate with disdain.P
“Because you are indeed in a position of strength – at this
moment.P Because I would prefer this
matter settled sooner rather than later – for several reasons.P I am certain you are aware, Sir, that Khan
industries is worth several billion dollars.P
I might perhaps be persuaded to – purchase – the lightning gun back from
you, in addition to certain other concessions.P
It is either that, or you see how much you can stuff in you pockets
before your weapon is destroyed and you flee the city in flames.P I think my way is better, wouldn’t you
agree?”

“Why,
stripe-ed one?P Why should I trust you –
and why should you want such a deal?”

“Why
indeed?P I always keep my promises, Mr.
Karnage – and I never go back on a deal.P
Besides…” the tiger said, almost whimsically, “In this
instance I believe that I could pay cash.P
And, given the extensive nature of the damage you have already caused,
someone will need to be contracted to rebuild, will they not?P Someone, perhaps, who holds monopolies on
all of the constructions and building materials companies in Cape
Suzette?”

Karnage
smiled in spite of himself, beginning to wonder which man on that roof was the
real pirate.P “You have captured my
attention, Mr. Khan.P Now then – as they
say, wine and dine me – sweep me off my feet, yes?P Excellamundo!”

“Indeed.P Before we begin, Dear Sir, let me make one
thing clear – As I told you, I never go back on a deal.P However, any agreement that is broken by the
other party, well… That’s no longer a deal then , is it?P I dislike broken deals, Mr. Karnage.P They make me angry.P I am not a good man to anger.P Am I making myself clear?”

“Clear
as the frozen-type ice, my feline friend.” Karnage hissed.P The two men strode closer to each other,
each wearing an expression hard as diamonds on their faces.

“Man
– you guys hear what happened in Cape Suzette last night?” the floppy
-eared dog in the black flight jacket said as he sidled up to the bar at
Louie’s place.

“Cape
Suzette?” Baloo hissed, sitting bolt upright from his perch several stools
down.

“Naw
Cuz – what went down?” Louie asked, glancing sidelong at Baloo.

The
dog shook his head.P “Weirdest
thing!P The air pirates – that guy Don
Karnage, the one with the big airship?P
They got past the cliff guns and just started rippin’ the heck outta the
whole city!P They had some kinda new
weapon…P Gimmee a cup o’ coffee,
woulda Louie?”

“How
do you know all this?” Baloo said menacingly.

The
dog arched an eyebrow at him in surprise.P
“I was there, friend!P And
you didn’t let me finish my story.P
Thanks, Louie.P Anyways, this
weapon was shooting some kinda beams of light or somethin’ – ain’t never seen
anythin’ like it!P One shot could take
out a whole building,P I saw the whole
thing, I was in my plane over at the docks.”

“Then
what happened?” Louie asked intently.

“Well,
it was the weirdest thing!P After a
while, the pirates just stopped shooting!P
The airship was hovering over downtown for a while, then they turned
tail and took off!P Can’t figger it
out…!”

Baloo
banged his fist on the bar.P “That
little…P I told ya Louie!P Didn’t I tell ya?P The little traitor – I hope he’s happy now!”

“Wait
just a sec’, Cuz – you don’t know-“

“Aw,
never mind!” Baloo growled.P
“Hand me the radio, wouldya Louie?P
I gotta make a call…”

“Hallo?P Who is this?” Wildcat shouted into the
microphone.

“Wildcat
– That you?P This is Baloo!” the
pilot’s voice called from the speaker.

“Hey
Baloo -how ya doin’, Man?” Wildcat grinned.

“_I’m_
fine Wildcat!P How ’bout you?P Is everybody OK over there?”

“We’re
all fine, Baloo.P Don Karnage was here
last night, Man – he blowed up a bunch o’ stuff – pow!”

“I
know, Wildcat.” Baloo answered patiently.P
“But yer OK?P How’re Becky
an’ Molly?”

“Oh
they’re fine Baloo.P Ree-Becca’s outside
cleanin’ up now, I’ll go get-“

“No!”
Baloo shouted.P “Don’t – don’t
bother her, OK Wildcat?P She’s busy… I
just – I just wanted ta make sure she was OK…”

“When
ya comin’ back, Baloo?”

“I’m
not, Wildcat.P I’m not.P You take good care o’ yerself, OK?P And take good care o’ Molly an’ ol’ Beckers
too…”

The
lion frowned.P “If you say so,
Man.P What about Kit?”

“Horse
feathers!P Why’s everybody keep askin’
about that little pirate?P Ain’t he done
enough damage already?”

“But
Baloo-“

“But
nuthin’!” the pilot snapped.P
“Wildcat, I’m gonna go.P
Just take care, OK?P Maybe I’ll
see ya around sometime.”

Wildcat
scowled angrily.P “Like, whatever
Baloo.P See ya around.”P He dropped the microphone and walked
outside, shaking his head.

“What’s
that Mommy?” Molly asked brightly, as a black and grey seaplane approached
low across the harbor and splashed in for a landing at Higher for Hire.

“That’s
our new plane, Sweetie!P Isn’t it
nice?” Rebecca grinned.P “The
man said they should be able to deliver it today.”

“It’s
real nice, Mommy.P But it’s not as
pretty as the Sea Duck.”

“Oh,
I know Molly – but maybe we can paint it, or something.” Rebecca
sighed.P Molly was taking her sweet time
in getting over Baloo and Kit’s absence.P
So was she, of course, and she knew it – even though they’d only known
the boys for a couple of days.P She
couldn’t stop thinking about Baloo’s face when he left, the pain in his
eyes.P Even worse, about Kit, alone out
there with the pirates…

She
shook her head quickly, as if it might shake the images loose and they’d fall
to the ground.P “The main thing is,
it’s a better plane, Molly.P The Sea
Duck was kind of old, and rickety.”

“What’s
rick-ty?”

“Oh,
that means liable to break down, you know.” Rebecca smiled as a goose in a
blue jumpsuit hopped down onto the dock and approached her with a clipboard.

“Rebecca
Cunningham?”

“Yes,
that’s me, I’m the-“

“Sign
here Ma’am.” the goose said stiffly. ” All yer registration documents
and manuals are in the glove box in the cockpit.P That’s right, sign here and here, and initial on the ‘X’.”

“What’s
this plane called, Mommy?” Molly asked, examining the craft with a
critical eye.

“It’s
called a Drummond P-27 Molly!” Rebecca replied, signing the delivery order
in several places.

“I
like ‘Sea Duck’ better!” the yellow cub grumbled.

“Here’s
your keys, Ma’am.” the goose said, tipping his cap.P “Have a nice day.”

Wildcat
emerged from his workshop, wrench in hand, and walked over to examine the
aircraft.P “So, this is like, the
new plane, huh?”

“It
sure is Wildcat.P Pretty impressive,
eh?P We’ll really start to generate some
business now!”

“Uh,
right.” the mechanic nodded.P
“Geez Ree-becca – I sure wish you’d let me check her out before
ya-“

“Oh,
nonsense!” the bearess scoffed.P
Truth be told, she still harbored some doubts about the strange man
before her and his ability to fix an airplane.P
“It’s only three years old, practically brand new!P And it came with a certificate of
inspection.”

“Oh,
that’s different.P Uh – who inspected
it?”

“The
mechanic at the dealership of course.”

“Oh!P Yeah, right.” the lion nodded.P “Like, was it expensive?”

Rebecca
frowned.P “Well – Baloo’s gold was
just enough to cover the value of the Sea Duck, and this one was a bit
more…P But I just figured, what an
opportunity, to get a newer plane, less repair expenses and all.P I just borrowed a little more from the
bank.”

“Sounds
great Man.” Wildcat said absently, climbing onto the wing and prying open
the engine cover.

“Mommy
– who’s gonna fly the new plane?” Molly asked.

“Well,
we just need to find ourselves a new pilot Sweetie!P I placed an ad in Flyboy magazine, and the ‘Tribune’, so we
should-“

“Kin
Baloo fly it?” the cub asked hopefully.

“Now
Molly, you _know_ Baloo’s left, he’s not-“

“Why?”
Molly pouted, sticking out her lower lip.P
“Why don’t Baloo wanna live here no more?”

“_Doesn’t_,
Molly.P Why _doesn’t_ Baloo want to live
here _any_ more…” Rebecca sighed.

“I
just asked _you_!” the girl shouted.

Rebecca
bent and scooped the cub into her arms.P
What _could_ she tell her?P Could
she possibly understand?P “He just
can’t, Molly.P Now come on, let’s go
look at our new plane!”P She
carried the little girl into the cockpit as Wildcat continued to tinker with
the starboard engine.

“Hey
Baloo!” the strapping young bear called with a wave.P He wore a leather bomber jacket festooned
with numerous ribbons and medals, and a white scarf.P “What’re you waiting for?”

“Comin’
Horace!” Baloo yelled, running to catch up with the pilot.P Something seemed wrong – he was huffing and
puffing – he’d never had any trouble keeping up with Horace before!P The young man smiled impatiently, standing
on the edge of the docks.P “This’ll
be great!”

“Sure
it will, Little Britches!” the young man smiled at him.P That was wrong too – why wasn’t Horace
looking down at him?P He seemed too
short, or was Baloo too tall?P
“We’ll finally be together, forever.P It’ll be great!”P He
took off down the water at a brisk walk, Baloo still breathing heavily as he
followed behind.P “I
promise…”

“We’re
gonna fly together, right Horace?P I’m a
great pilot, I already know how to – Horace?”P Baloo looked around, panicked.P
Where had his brother gone?P He
was alone!P He looked around,
disoriented.P He was standing in a
broad, featureless expanse of white.P There
was nothing – no one – in sight.P
“Horace!” he screamed.

“Over
here Little Britches!” his brother’s voice called.

“Where?”
Baloo shouted desperately, spinning so fast he became dizzy.P “Where are ya?”

“Here
I am, Baloo!” a voice called, but it was strange, different.P Baloo stumbled along, trying to follow the
voice, feeling desperately alone.P

“Where
are you?” Baloo screamed, stumbling and falling.P He opened his eyes, and he was back on the docks, a signal buoy
ringing gently out on the water.

“Baloo!”
a high-pitched voice called.P “Over
here!P What’s takin’ ya so long?”

Baloo
glanced behind him, where Kit stood, an expectant grin on his face, a few yards
from the door of Baloo’s Air Service.

“_There_
ya are, L’il Britches!” Baloo gasped.P
“I was gettin’ worried…”

“This’ll
be great!” Kit smiled, turning and walking towards the building.P “We’ll finally be together
forever.P I promise…”P the brown cub opened the door and stepped
through it.

“I’ll
teach ya ta fly, L’il Britches, we’ll have fun, you’ll see!” Baloo called,
stepping through the door. He stopped in his tracks, jaw agape.P He stood once again in the vast empty
expanse of white.P He spun quickly, but
the door was gone – there was no escape.P
“KitP Where are ya?” he
screamed.

He
spotted something in the distance that he hadn’t seen before, a splash of
yellow in the white expanse.P He ran
towards it, breath coming in hollow gasps as he exerted himself.P As he drew closer, he realized that it was
an airplane – his plane, the Sea Duck.P
He felt a moment of relief at the sight, and with a renewed burst of
energy sprinted the last few dozen yards.

Hands
on knees, he gathered his breath, then opened the door and pulled himself into
the cockpit.P “What the-” he
gasped.P It was empty – the controls,
seats, everything, were gone.P It was a
hollow shell.P With an angry growl he
kicked open the door to the cargo hold, but that was empty too.P TheP
plane was nothing but a metal frame, with nothing inside.P Baloo felt hot tears on his cheeks.

Wait
– not quite nothing.P There was a small
box, he’d missed it before.P He stumbled
over to it, heart beating rapidly, and picked it up.P He yanked the lid off quickly, and stared wordlessly at the
contents.

“No….”
he whispered finally, reaching inside the box.P
All it contained was a small blue and red baseball cap and another,
smaller box.P Tucking the cap under one
arm he opened the small box, inside which were several medals and ribbons.

Baloo
closed his eyes tightly, the boxes falling to the floor of the hollow plane
with a loud clang.P With a shriek of
frustration he hurled the baseball cap against the wall and jumped out of the
plane, looking around him desperately, hoping that the scene had changed, but
he still stood in the barren sea of white, alone but for the yellow aircraft
next to him.P “Heyyyy!” He
yelled at the top of his lungs, but there was no response but silence.P He banged his fist against the hull of the
plane over and over, feeling pain welling in his hand but not caring.

“Hey!”

“What?”
Baloo gasped, feeling hands shaking his neck.

“Fuzzy!P Take it easy on the dinette, Man!”P It was Louie, staring down at him with a mix
of concern and irritation.

“What
the heck…” Baloo hissed, his mouth dry.P
He looked around him – the club was deserted but for himself and the red
ape next to him.P His right hand was
balled into a fist, and ached sharply.

“That
musta been some dream, Cuz!” Louie said softly.P “You was beatin’ the heck outta my table, and yellin’
too.”

“Where
is everybody?” Baloo whispered, feeling his heart slowly calming in his
chest.

“Club’s
closed, Man.P Why don’t you head
upstairs and get some more shuteye?”

“Yeah,
shuteye…” the pilot nodded, unsteadily getting to his feet and walking
slowly towards the stairs.

“Any
chance o’ you payin’ yer tab soon, Fuzzy?” Louie called behind him.

Baloo
turned. “Yeah, my tab… I kinda spent all my dough on the Sea Duck Louie,
I guess I-“

“Never
mind, Cuz.” Louie sighed wearily.P
“You look terrible, get some sleep.”P The grey bear nodded and slowly walked up the stairs.

Louie
watched his back until he disappeared into the upstairs hallway.P The ape tossed his apron on the bar and blew
out the last of the tiki torches.P
“That boy’s seriously messed up, Man…”

Rebecca
Cunningham had five and a half years of business school training under her
belt, and she knew her way around a balance sheet.P In all of her experience, however, she’d never seen anything that
could compare to the financial mess that had been Baloo’s Air Service.P Unpaid maintenance bills, uncollected
accounts from customers, no cash on hand… She’d known the business was in bad
shape, but nothing had prepared her for this…

“Hey,
Ree-becca!” Wildcat called cheerfully as he walked into the office.P “I’ve been playin’ around with like,
the new plane an’ everything, checkin’ her out-“

“Yes?”
Rebecca interrupted.

“Well,
see… There’s a few problems-“

“Problems?P That’s impossible!P It’s a brand new plane!P
Well practically-“

“Oh
yeah, right!” Wildcat grinned.P
“Only, some of the parts aren’t new, I guess.P Maybe they put some old parts in her, or
something…”

“Wildcat,
what are you talking about?” Rebecca sighed.

“OK,
well – the carburetors are great, OK?P
Except, like, the one on the port engine is really really bad.”

“What?P That’s impossible!”

“Uh
right, impossible.” Wildcat nodded solemnly.P “It looks really great, Ree-becca – it’s all shiny, an
ever’thing, real nice!P Only it’s all
clogged up, and a lot of the insides are corroded away.”

“Corroded?”
Rebecca frowned.P “Well, can you
fix it?”

“Oh!
Uh-huh, except I can’t.”

“What?P Why not?P
You’re supposed to be the mechanic!P
So… mechan – or whatever you do!”

Wildcat
smiled patiently.P “OK, but like,
once the corrosion is that bad, you can’t really fix it, or anything.P Oh!P
There’s one thing you can do!”

“And
what’s that?”

“Buy
a new one!” the mechanic grinned.

“A
new one?!?P Listen, Wildcat… I’m sure
you’re a terrific mechanic and everything, but that plane was inspected by some
very qualified people and they said it was just fine.P Isn’t is possible you’ve made a mistake?”

Wildcat
shook his head firmly.P “Nope, no
way, uh-uh!P She’s bad, yer gonna have
to replace her.P If ya don’t you could
lose the whole engine.P Once the carbs
are corroded-“

“Fine,
fine!” she sighed.P “I’m sure
you’re right, but in the meantime why don’t you just go ahead and do what you
can with what we have, all right?P
You’re a good mechanic, I’m sure you can do something.”

“But
Ree-becca-“

“Wildcat,
I’m very busy!P I’m sure everything will
be just fine.”P Shaking his head
sadly, the mechanic left the office, leaving Rebecca to return to her
paperwork.P Imagine, needing a new
carburetor in a brand new plane!P She’d
have to keep on eye on him, make sure he knew what he was doing…

“Hey
Fuzzy!” Louie called to Baloo as he stumbled down the stairs.P “You look like somethin’ the cat
dragged in – and then threw out!”

“Mornin’
Louie.” the grey bear yawned, plopping down at the bar.P “Howzabout some coffee?”

“Mornin’?P Try afternoon, Cuz – it’s two o’clock!”

“Hey
– so I slept in!” Baloo muttered blearily.P “If I don’t get my twelve hours, I’m just not myself!”

“That’d
be a shame!” the ape mumbled, pouring a mug of coffee.P “How many Rum Sizzlers you have last
night, Man?”

“Just
two!” Baloo scowled.P “What is
this – you got a photographer from ‘Good Divekeeping’ comin’ in or
somethin’?”

Louie
propped a foot on the bar and stared at the big bear.P “Fuzzy, we known each other how long – fifteen years?”

“Jeez
– has it been that long?” Baloo asked.P
“Kinda makes a bear feel old…”

“Cousin,
you listen tight, hear me?P I ain’t
never seen ya like this, Man!P You gotta
rattle yer cage, do somethin’ different-“

“You
kickin’ me out, Louie?”

The
ape sighed wearily.P “Naw – even
though I wouldn’t mind if ya least paid yer bar tab!P Cuz, if it’s the kid, if that’s what’s botherin’ ya-“

“Dangit
Louie, why ya keep bringin’ that up?P I
tol’ ya that boy’s dead ta me.P He don’t
exist!P Understand?”

“Yeah
Cuz.P He don’t exist.” Louie said stiffly.P “So what ya gonna do then, Man?P Gonna hang around here an’ sit on yer duff
forever?P It’s been three weeks!P Why don’t you go somewhere, get yerself set
up in business again?P Get yerself a
place…”

“Yeah
well, the thing of it is, Louie, I ain’t got no money left.” Baloo said
quietly.

“Then
get a job, Man!P You got a plane,
yer a pilot!P You do the math!P There’s plenty o’ gigs out there fer guys
with their own plane, Baloo!”

“Yeah
Louie, yer right!” Baloo nodded.P
“There’s jobs out there. PI’ll get me fixed up with somethin’ real soon.P Yessir, real soon!”

“Sure
Fuzzy.” Louie sighed.P “Real
soon…”

“What?!?!P You just _gave_ them the cargo?”
Rebecca cried.P “Why that’s…
How…”

“I’m
sorry, Miss Cunningham.” her new pilot, Mr. Quillen, replied.P The porcupine sat meekly across the desk
from the now fuming bearess.P “You
pay me to fly goods, not risk my life trying to evade air pirates.”

“But
– but – My insurance doesn’t cover pirate attacks… Oh my!P What happened, exactly?”

“Well,
I was flying the bowling balls to North Brunswick, like you said.P A whole bunch of pirate fighters appeared,
and there were no shore patrol planes anywhere nearby.P They ordered me to land-“

“So
what did you do?”

“I
landed.”

“But,
but…” she sputtered.P
“Didn’t you take evasive action?P
Try to lose them?P
Anything?”

“Like
I said Miss Cunningham, you pay me to fly, not to risk my life.P So I landed, and they took the
cargoes-“

“_All_
of them?” she gasped.

“Yes
Miss Cunningham.”

“Oh
dear…” Rebecca sighed.P “I
was really counting on that money.P I
don’t understand how pirates can just attack people in broad daylight like
that!”

“Well
they did!”

“Yes,
thank you Mr. Quillen.P Why don’t you
run along home now and get some rest, I’m sure you must be very tired after
your ordeal.” Rebecca mumbled, feeling suddenly very tired herself.P There hadn’t been any mention about air
pirates in business school…

“Hey,
Wiley Pole!” Louie called.P
“What’s shakin’, Man?P Ain’t
seen you in these parts fer weeks!”

“Hiya
Louie, Baloo.” Wiley nodded gruffly.

“How’s
tricks, Wiley?” Baloo asked his old friend.

“Not
too good, Baloo.” the grey dog snorted.P
“Pirate Attacks been increasin’ all around these parts, and the
shore patrol ain’t been doin’ nothin’ ta stop ’em!P Business fer all us free-lancers is pretty bad.”

“Yeah,
that’s what I been hearin’!” Louie nodded grimly.P “Well, what about Khan’s boys?PP It ain’t like ol’ stripes ta let his
shipments get harassed without payin’ back with interest!”

“That’s
the weird thing, Louie!P Khan’s planes
are gettin’ through, no problem!PP So as
long as his cargo planes ain’t takin’ it on the chin, he ain’t sendin’ his
fighters into the line o’ fire.P
Meanwhile the rest of us are left holdin’ the bag.”

“Sounds
rough.” Baloo nodded sympathetically.P
“I have a little experience with air pirates myself…”

“Uh,
Miz Cunningham?P I think ya better come
out here…” Wildcat said, poking his head into the office.

“What
is it now?” Rebecca muttered, throwing up her hands.P A long, grim morning with the books already
had her in a foul mood.P She followed
the mechanic outside, where her pilot was jumping down onto the dock as Wildcat
climbed onto the wing.P The port engine
was emitting an acrid brown smoke.

“What
happened, Mr. Quillen?” she asked warily as the porcupine shuffled along
the dock towards her.

“I
don’t know, Miss Cunningham.P The port
engine died about forty miles out, no warning at all.”

“Wildcat?”

The
mechanic poked his head around the hatch.P
“It’s the carburetor, Ree-becca.P
I told ya she was gonna go…”

“Terrific!”
she seethed.P “Well, how much will
a new carburetor cost?”

“Jeez,
I dunno, I guess about two hundred.” the mechanic replied, scratching his
head.

“Two
hundred?P As much as that?P Darn!P
Well, I suppose we have no choice – do we?”

“Yeah,
uh-huh.P Except, like, the whole
engine’s blown now, Ree-becca.P I told
ya that was gonna happen.P So yer gonna
need a new one.”

“What?!?P A new engine?P Wildcat, are you sure?”

“Does
a cat have feathers?” the mechanic replied somberly.P “Yep, I seen it a million times Man,
carb goes, the engine overheats… Pow!P
I told-“

“Yes,
yes I know, you told me!” she snapped.P
“So then – what does a new _engine_ cost?”

The
mechanic squinted thoughtfully.P
“Well, lessee… I guess, on this baby… about four
thousand.”

“Four
_thousand_?P We’ll just see about
that!” she hissed, spinning on her heels and heading into the office.

“What
do you mean, it’s not covered?P I have a
warranty, an inspection certificate!” Rebecca bellowed.P “What do you mean, not factory
installed?P It was on there when I
bought it!”

“Tell
’em it went pow!” Wildcat added helpfully.

“What?P The fine print, wait, let me
see…”P The bearess pulled out the
warranty on the P-27 and scanned it carefully. P”‘On used aircraft, all repairs and or replacements of parts
not the explicitP manufacture of
Drummond Aviation are the sole responsibility of the purchaser.’P So what does that mean?P You can’t be serious!”

Rebecca
ran a hand over her face wearily.P
“You didn’t tell me that when I bought this piece of junk!P What do you mean, ‘I didn’t ask’?P How dare you?P Yes – you better believe it!P
You’ll be hearing from my attorney!”P She slammed the phone down angrily.

“So
when do we get the money fer the new engine, Man?” Wildcat grinned.

“We
don’t!” Rebecca hissed.P
“Those shysters tricked me, but I don’t know if there’s anything I
can do about it… Apparently because the engine isn’t made by the company that
made the plane itself, it’s not covered.P
Damn!P I should’ve been more
careful!”

“Well,
whadda we do?P Like, she can’t fly with
one engine!”

“I
know Wildcat, I know…” she sighed.P
” I can’t possibly borrow any more from the bank – I’m up to the
hilt just paying for this hulk!P And
with the lost cargoes, we don’t have anything like that much cash on
hand!”

“Oh
well, you’ll thinka something!” the mechanic said cheerfully.P “See ya later Man!”

She
watched him go, then lay her head down on the desk wearily.P There was only one person she knew that she
could ask for money – and she wasn’t going to do that, not in a million
years.P “What am I going to
do?” she sighed.P “I suppose I
could hire a pilot with his own plane, use that until we make enough for the
new engine…”

Baloo
rolled over in his bed, thrashing the covers about angrily.P Another sleepless night – but he wasn’t
about to admit to Louie what his reasons were for stumbling downstairs later
every day.P He rolled onto his back and
stared at the ceiling of the small room, tucked away in a corner of Louie’s top
floor.P A faint whisper of moonlight
drifted in through the window, providing scant illumination inside the little
room.

Louie
– he was going to be a problem, sooner or later.P It was getting harder and harder for Baloo to look his old friend
in the eye.P He was going to have to
make a move soon, somewhere, somehow.P
But where?P With a sigh the grey
bear sat up in bed.P The last several
weeks had felt like years to the pilot.P
The years before blended into a blur of sameness, monotony, but those
last weeks…

Baloo
grabbed his duffel bag from the corner and picked it up..P Rooting through it, he pulled out the red
and blue baseball cap.P It was the first
time he’d looked at it since he’d left Cape Suzette.P “Why did you take it out now?P What’s the point?P It’s
just an old hat!”P The big bear lay
back in the bed, the cap still clutched in one massive paw.

“So
what now?” he mumbled to himself.P
Louie’s was running out of it’s charms, that was obvious.P He had to leave before he totally alienated
the one friend he still had.P But
where?P And to what?P And why couldn’t he stop thinking about that
stupid kid?P He’d only known him for a
few days – what was the big deal?P The
kid made his choice, and now he had to live with it.P It was no concern of Baloo’s…

Baloo
hurled the cap against the wall angrily.P
He’d gone against every rule he’d lived by for the last twenty years by
asking Kit to stay, by… By what?P By
opening himself to him.P Why should it
be a surprise that things had turned out the way they had?P Hadn’t he learned anything from his
experiences?P Not enough, apparently.

As
Baloo lay in bed, he had a strange thought, clear as a bell and dead certain –
he was miserable.P He hated every day,
and he hated every night even more.P
Whatever he was doing now, it wasn’t working.P He rolled out of bed and walked over to the window, staring down
at the Sea Duck glowing a pale yellow in the moonlight on the water below.

The
Sea Duck.P His Baby.P It was a comfort to see it there, solid and
unchanging.P He’d almost lost it.P And now it was all he had.P He thought back in his mind… ~When was I
happy?P Was I ever happy?P When was life not a chore, a burden?P What used to make me smile?~

With
a weary sigh he collapsed back into bed and closed his eyes.P Tomorrow when he woke up he’d have to do
something different, make a change.P He
still had his plane, at least.P A germ
of an idea began to grow in his mind, slowly but surely.

“Mommy,
where’s Mr. Quillen?” Molly asked brightly.P “I ain’t seen him for three whole days!”

“You
_haven’t_ seen him, Molly!” Rebecca corrected absently, scratching out
something on a sheet of paper in front of her and writing something in it’s
place.

“Why
do you keeps telling me stuff I just said?” the yellow cub asked angrily.

Rebecca
sighed.P “I had to lay Mr. Quillen
off, Honey.P Just as well, I don’t think
it was working out too well anyways…”

“Why,
Mom?”

“Molly,
Mommy has to finish writing this ad, OK?P
I need to get it into the paper today.P
Go play with Wildcat.”

The
little girl frowned stubbornly.P
“Mom, what’s wrong?P The
plane’s just sittin’ out there, and ‘lay off’ means fired, right?”

Rebecca
set her pen down wearily, wishing as she sometimes did that she had a less
perceptive child.P “Molly, the
plane is – broken, right now.P Mommy
just needs to have it fixed, all right?P
Until then I’m looking for a pilot with his own plane to fly with us for
a while.”

“But
– what’s wrong with the plane?P Is
business real bad?”

“Molly,
everything will be fine!” Rebecca sighed wearily.

“That’s
what grown ups always say when something bad is gonna happen!” Molly
scowled.P

“Come
here Sweetie.” Rebecca smiled, and he daughter crawled into her lap.P “You’re right Molly – Mommy’s had a few
problems.P We can’t afford to fix the
plane right now, but everything will work out.P
We just need a pilot with his own plane for a while, and we’ll make
plenty of money to fix the plane and everything will be OK.P Don’t worry!”

“Are
you sorry we left Winger City, Mommy?” Molly asked quietly.

Rebecca
closed her eyes tightly.P _Was_
she?P Molly had a way of asking just the
right questions… Or the wrong ones.P
“Molly-“

The
door burst open and Baloo stormed through, carrying a large duffel bag which he
promptly tossed onto the floor with a grin.P
“I dunno what that bucket o’ bolts ya got parked out front is
Beckers, but it sure don’t look like a plane ta me!” he bellowed.P “And what didya do to my office?”

“Baloo!”
Rebecca gasped., slack-jawed.

“Baloo!”
Molly squealed, sliding off of her mother’s lap and leaping into the pilot’s
arms.P “You came back!”

“Sure
did Pigtails!” the grey bear smiled, but a look of sadness flashed in his
eyes as he held the girl.P “Howz
tricks, Becky?”

“Uh
– f-fine!” she stammered.P
“What in the world are you doing here, Baloo?”

The
pilot set the grinning Molly down and sidled over to sit on the desk.P “What – a bear can’t stop by and see
old friends?P How’s business?P I see you bought a new plane – who’s flyin’
her?”

Rebecca
noticed as the bear moved closer that he looked tired, drawn.P Hie eyes were bloodshot and puffy, and he
seemed lacking the overpowering vitality he’d had before.P “Well – right now no one, Baloo.P It’s got a blown engine.P I suppose I should have taken your
recommendation about Wildcat’s talents to heart…”

Baloo
frowned.P “Always listen to yer
mechanic, Beckers.P ‘Specially one as
good as Wildcat.P Suppose I shoulda told
ya that.P I guess there’s a lot o’ stuff
I shoulda told ya…”

“Baloo,
is Kit with you?” Molly asked hopefully.P
Rebecca’s jaw dropped.

Baloo
scowled angrily for a moment, then looked away quickly.P “No, Molly.P So Becky – if yer plane’s grounded I guess business ain’t too
good, huh?”

“I
guess not Baloo.” Rebecca said coldly.P
“I suppose that makes you happy?P
Miss Smarty-pants can’t make money-“

“Becky!P You think I’m happy about that?” Baloo
hissed.P “That ain’t fair – I never
wished ya no bad luck, did I?”

Rebecca
sat back in her chair with a sigh.P
“I suppose not, Baloo.P But
why are you here, now?P It’s been over a
month – what have you been doing?”P
She didn’t dare ask the one question she wanted to, but the pilot’s
silence on the subject was all the answer she probably needed.

“Oh,
just been hangin’ out at Louie’s, yaknow.” Baloo replied a little
defensively.P “So – you and
Pigtails still livin’ here, or what?”

“No
Baloo – we got an apartment the first week we were here.”

“Good,
that’s good.P Sure it’s real nice.”
Baloo nodded absently.P “Listen
Becky – Louie’s was OK, but… I just got sick of it, of – everything.P I’m sorry to hear about yer troubles,
believe me but – you wouldn’t by any chance be needin’ a pilot, wouldya?”

“Yay!”
Molly cried.

“A
– pilot?” Rebecca whispered.P
“As a matter of fact I do, Baloo.P
I assume you’ve still got the Sea Duck?”

“Natch.”

“Well,
I’ll be honest – I haven’t got the money to fix the plane – it needs a new
engine.P And I have a backlog of orders
that are waiting to be delivered.P If
you’re willing you can start this afternoon – you can even move back in
here.P I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t
thrilled to see you.”

“Thanks.”
the pilot grinned.P “Sounds
great-“

“Baloo!”
she interrupted.P “I’ve been honest
with you – now be honest with me.P Why
do you want to come back here, now?P You’ve
got your plane, and you seemed awfully anxious to get away from here
before-“

“I
dunno Becky.” the pilot sighed.P
“And that’s the truth – I dunno.P
I thought just bein’ out there, doin’ nothin’ would be all I needed,
but…P I just dunno.P Things are different, somehow.”

“Baloo,
I think we know why.” Rebecca said gently.P “I think-“

“Yeah,
whatever!” the grey bear snapped.P
“I’m here, and that’s enough ain’t it?P You need a pilot and a plane, and that’s me and the Duck.P So gimme the shippin’ orders and clear the
decks.P Baloo’s Air Service is back in
business!”

“Uh,
Baloo – that’s ‘Higher for Hire’!”

“Oh
– yeah!” Baloo winced.P
“Y’know, now that I had a few weeks ta think about it – I still
don’t like that name, Beckers…”

Baloo
set the dishes in the sink with a sigh.P
It was strange, being back here in the old wooden building.P So many years, day after day, night after
night he’d passed his life away here.P
He’d only been gone a matter of weeks, and it was all different.

Odd,
the way life seemed to save up momentous events and then throw them at you all
at once.P He’d had years of mundane
sameness at this place, and they’d been followed by a few days of blinding
turmoil.P That had been followed by the
proceeding several weeks at Louie’s, where each day pretty much blended into
the next.P And now today – his life
upside down, yet again.

He’d
have never wanted to admit it, but it had actually felt good to be working out
in the sun, loading and unloading the plane, flying from port to port.P It made him realize how rarely he’d flown in
the last weeks.P It had been nice to see
the cliffs off in the distance too, after that last delivery.P Returning home, as he had so often in the
past.

It
had been a pleasant evening at Higher for Hire, with Molly and Wildcat
chattering away, and Rebecca ‘s good-natured barbs hadn’t even bothered him too
much.P It was nice.P When he let his mind drift he had almost
been able to imagine that he was happy.P
Then Rebecca and Molly had gone home, and Wildcat had retired to his
quarters, leaving Baloo alone.

That
should have been more than comfortable – how many nights had he spent here in
that building alone?P In reality though,
as soon as the others had gone Baloo had begun to get a sick feeling in the pit
of his stomach.P He looked around him as
he set the dishes down – the whole place was different, redecorated,
cleaner.P But that wasn’t really the
problem.

The
pilot trudged over to his old easy chair and collapsed into it with a
sigh.P Just why _had_ he come back
here?P What was he looking for?P It was as if all of his emotions had been
moved around while he was gone, and he couldn’t find anything where it was
supposed to be.P Everything was
different.P The old wooden building was
quiet and empty, as it had been for so many nights in the past, but it was different
– somehow, he’d never really noticed that before.P This wasn’t going to be easy – but then, nothing was ever easy
anymore.

“You’re
late, Baloo!” Rebecca frowned as the pilot trudged through the door.P “That’s twice, and you haven’t even
been here a week!P I hope this isn’t
going to be a chronic problem!”

“Hey
– no sweat Boss-Lady.P Ol’ Baloo’s
always been known fer bein’ on time.P I
just ran into a little turbulence, that’s all.” the pilot scowled, tossing
his hat onto the table and heading for the kitchen.

“I
hope so…” she hissed.P “I
have four more shipments for tomorrow, Baloo.P
You’ll need to get an early start!”

“Four?!?P Tomorrow’s Saturday, Beckers!P I never flew on Saturday before! Cantcha
gimme a break?”

“Well,
I’m sorry Baloo, ,but I had to promise Saturday same day delivery to stand out
from the competition.P We’ve got a lot
of ground to make up financially and not much time to do it.”

“Yeah
yeah, money money money, that’s all you business types care about.P I’m gonna be doin’ all the work, and I’m
never gonna see a penny of it!” the grey bear growled, sitting at the
table with a platter of food.

“I’m
sorry if the schedule’s too demanding Baloo.” Rebecca said coldly.P “I know what a fine businessman you
are, if you have a better-“

“Never
mind!” the pilot hissed.P “I
get yer point – you don’t hafta stick it up my-“

“Baloo!”

“Anyways,
I’m too tired to fight about it Becky.P
So just drop it, OK?”

Rebecca
stared at the big bear for a moment.P He
was a strange one – she’d only known him for two days before he’d taken off –
after rescuing her from the air pirates, of course.P His moods and subtleties were still a mystery to her.P Yet on some level it felt like she knew him
well, like an old friend.P

She
set down her papers and walked over to the table and sat next to him.P “I really am glad you’re back,
Baloo.P Things were pretty rough for a
while.P I just wanted you to know.”

“Thanks
Beckers.” he replied around a mouthful of chicken.

“Why
did you come back?” she asked bluntly.

He looked
at her, appearing slightly irritated.P
“I tol’ ya Becky, I dunno.P
I guess I like Molly an’ all, and I lived here a long time.P Kinda feels like home, I guess.P Maybe I just needed a change…”

“Cape
Suzette is like home to me.P I was born
here, but I was gone for thirty years.P
Sometimes I feel like I never left – it’s amazing!”

“Just
a place…” the grey bear sighed.P
“Place like any other place.”P
They were silent for a moment, the pilot staring out the window at some
unseen horizon.P Rebecca put her hand on
his arm.

“Do
you ever think about him?” she asked gently.

Baloo
whirled and glared angrily at her, causing the bearess to jerk back a
fraction.P The fury left his visage,
replaced by something else.P “Becky
– if I’m gonna stick around here, we gotta have some rules.P And rule one is – I don’t wanna talk about
that.P It’s over.P It’s the past.P You understand?”

“Of
course.” Rebecca whispered, a little taken aback by the quickfire shift in
his emotions.P Baloo stared down at the
table, clenching and unclenching his fist.

“Every
day…” he whispered after a moment.P
“Every damn day, Beckers.P
And it never does any good, neither.”P He pushed his chair away from the table and silently walked
outside, leaving the bearess alone with her thoughts in the old wooden
building.

“Hey
Baloo!” Louie called.P “Ain’t
seen ya in here for a couple weeks.P
Howz my ol’ roommate?”

“I’m
OK Louie, thanks.” Baloo nodded, sitting down at the bar.P “What’s shakin’?”

“Not
much, Cuz.P Ol’ Louie just keeps on, ya
know that.P Howz tricks in Cape
Suzette?”

Baloo
looked down at the bar.P “Fine I
guess…P Gimme a Krakatoa Special,
wouldya?”

Louie
chuckled.P “One Krakatoa comin’
up.P Don’t knock me over with yer
enthusiasm or anythin’, Fuzzy!”

Baloo
laughed ruefully.P “I dunno
Louie.P It’s OK, I guess.P First week I was back was pretty good.P It was nice to be – home, I guess.P But the place just ain’t the same…”

“From
whatcha tol’ me about yer boss, I ain’t surprised, Cuz!P I bet she runs a little tighter ship than yer
used to!” Louie grinned, heaping ice cream into a coconut shell.

“I
guess.” Baloo nodded.P “That’s
what I thought too – but that ain’t it, Louie.P
I thought – well, I dunno what I thought.P But bein’ back there just ain’tP
-I dunno…”

“One
Krakatoa Special.” the ape said, sliding the massive sundae in front of
the bear.P “Well, I gotta say Fuzzy
– you ain’t been the same bear since that whole business with – with Karnage,
and all his meanies.”

“Yeah.P You know what, Louie?P Even flyin’ – it just ain’t the same,
somehow.P I got my Sea Duck and I can’t
even enjoy that!P Not to mention I gotta
fly it all over creation at that woman’s beck an’ call…”

“So
whatcha gonna do, Cuz?P Gonna blow on
outta there or what?”

“And
go where?” the grey bear sighed.P
“I guess I’ll stick it out fer a while.”

“Well,
never mind dat Man!P Big party Friday,
Baloo – my annual Carmen Meringue night!P
Gonna be a major blowout, Fuzzy!”

“Sounds
great…” the big bear said softly.P
“I ain’t in much of a party mood, Louie.P We’ll see how it goes.”

“Man,
now I _know_ you ain’t right, Tubby!P I
never thought I’d see the day, ol’ Baloo not comin’ to a party…”

“Where
is he?” Rebecca muttered, glancing at her watch.P “Two hours late!P
Wait’ll I get my hands on that fat bear…”

Molly
looked up from her coloring book.P
“Why’s Baloo always late, Mommy?”

“Because
he’s a fat, insufferable, lazy bear, Sweetie!” her mother seethed.

“Oh,
OK!” the yellow cub nodded happily.

“About
time!” Rebecca hissed as the familiar sound of aircraft engines and
splashing water filtered into the old building.

“Here
we go!” Baloo sighed, checking his watch.P
“Adios eardrums..”P He
slowly walked up the path the door.P He
dreaded these moments, knowing the bearess would be all over him the second he
entered.P ~Almost like bein’ married!~
he thought bitterly.P

“Hiya
Becky!” he shouted cheerfully, swinging the door open.P He saw Molly – that was good.P Maybe it would keep Rebecca from her worst
behavior.P

No
such luck.P “You’re late,
Baloo!” she snarled.P “Over
two hours late!P What excuse could you
possibly-“

“Easy,
don’t bust my chops, Boss-lady!” he sighed irritably.

“Don’t
you talk to me that way!” Rebecca scolded.P “Now – why were you late _this_ time, if I may ask?”

“It
was – air pirates.P Took all my best
maneuvers just ta ditch ’em, Beckers!P I
did it tho’ – valiantly saved the cargo-“

“Air
pirates huh?” she sneered.P
“And one of them was named ‘Louie’ I’ll bet!”

“You
callin’ me a liar, Becky?” the pilot gasped.P Of course, she was right, but that didn’t justify it…

“Listen,
I’m trying to run a business here, Buster!P
And it’s not easy when my pilot is incapable of executing the simplest
deliveries without-“

“I’d
like to execute somethin’!” Baloo muttered.

“How
_dare_ you!”

“Listen,
Miz Manager – all you think about is ‘runnin’ yer business’.P Well, I got a bulletin for ya – flyin’ is
hard work!P But you don’t care about
that, do ya?P It’s all about money,
money, money!”

“Oooh!”
Rebecca sputtered, banging her fist on the desk.P She despised being drawn into this argument with Baloo,
especially with Molly present – the girl looked none too happy with the goings
on at the moment.P “You’ll never
understand, Baloo – you ran things your way, and the business failed!P I’m trying to _survive_ here, Mister!P Don’t you realize you’ve got another
delivery today, and now _that’s_ going to be late too?P Not to mention we got a complaint from San
Flamingo – you were late _there_ this morning!P
That’s four complaints this month!P
You’ll just never understand-“

“Naw,
_you’ll_ never understand!” Baloo snarled, weary of this debate.P “Deliverin’ cargo is hard work!PP It’s ain’t just readin’ about it in some
book, it’s tough!P I – I…”P The pilot stopped, seeing the beginnings of
tears in Molly’s eyes.P That only made
Baloo feel even worse.P “Fergit
it!”P He stormed outside and
slammed the door behind him.

“Mommy
– why’s Baloo so mad?P Why’d you yell at
him?” Molly whined.

“Never
mind Sweetie.” Rebecca said softly.P
“Get your things together, we’re going home in a few
minutes.”P She looked at the door
silently, wondering what else she could possibly do to try to bring Baloo in
line.P She’d felt good about this place,
right from the first day – and felt good about Baloo too, although she’d never
admit it to him.P And she’d certainly
been relieved when he’s showed up at her moment of greatest need.P Those feelings were gone now, however.P He was so different, somehow.P Everything was different…

Wildcat
scratched his head as he searched for his wrench.P He’d turned the workshop upside down to no avail.P With a sigh, he walked outside to check the
Sea Duck.P His eyes fell on the shiny P-27
that sat moored to the dock next to the Duck, as it had for weeks.P The mechanic was secretly glad that they
weren’t using it – the black and grey hulk didn’t feel like a friend to him,
the way the old yellow seaplane did.P
They’d fix it sooner or later, of course, but Wildcat wasn’t exactly
counting the days until then.

He
walked into the cargo hold and rooted around on hands and knees, looking for
the wrench.P Finally, he found it buried
under a pile of rags.P
“Gotcha!” he grinned, slipping it into a pocket.P “Why’d you run away and hide, little
guy?P Didya have an
adventure?”P

He
was about to jump back down to the dock when he noticed Baloo’s shadow in the
cockpit, illuminated by the rising moon.P
Weird – the pilot never sat in the plane like that…P “Hey Baloo!” he called cheerily,
walking up to the cockpit.

“Hey
Wildcat.” the grey bear replied without turning.

“How
come ya didn’t say nothin’, Baloo?P
Didn’t ya hear me back there?”

“Sure.”
the pilot said absently.

“Um
– watcha doin’ up here, Baloo?P Gonna
take ‘er out for a spin?”

“Naw
– just thinkin’, Wildcat.” Baloo replied.

The
mechanic was somewhat puzzled by the behavior of his old friend, but then he
didn’t much seem like the same Baloo he’d been before.P “Boy – things sure are different around
here, huh Baloo?”

“Whatcha
mean, Wildcat?” Baloo frowned, finally turning to look at the lion for the
first time.

“Oh,
I dunno.P Miz Cunningham, and Molly
bein’ around and all.P Not like when it
was just you and me, huh?”

“Nope…”

“D’you
like it here, Baloo?P You seem kinda
weird.P Ya miss Kit, huh?”

Baloo
stiffened momentarily, then seemed to catch himself.P “I like it here fine, Wildcat.P It’s just not the same place I left, that’s all.”

“Whatcha
mean Baloo?”

“Never
mind, it ain’t important.” the grey bear sighed.

“Oh!P Yeah…” Wildcat nodded.P Whenever people said that it was a pretty
good clue that it _was_ important, in his experience.P But what did he know?P He
only knew about engines and machines – that’s what people said about him, and
they couldn’t all be wrong.P
“G’night Baloo.” he shrugged, walking back into the hold and
jumping down to the dock.

Baloo
walked into the office and straight into the kitchen, without a word to
Rebecca, which she found quite disconcerting.P
It had happened more than once lately.P
“Well, a gracious hello to you too!” she shouted
sarcastically.

The
pilot reappeared a moment later with a turkey leg in his hand and plopped down
in his easy chair with a curt nod to the bearess.P She frowned at him.P His
demeanor had gotten progressively worse in the two months he’d been back, and
as weary as she was of dealing with him, she felt it was her duty to the
company to get him righted, somehow.P
His continued lateness and sloppy work was causing more problems than
she was comfortable with.P And there was
more to it as well, she couldn’t avoid that.

“Baloo
– we got another complaint from the Yorkton Badminton Society about their
shuttlecocks.P That’s the third time,
you’ve simply got to be more careful when you’re-“

“Another
complaint!P Ain’tcha figgered it out
Beckers – that’s all customers do is complain!P
Ain’tcha figgered it out?” Baloo said bitterly.

“They
pay for the right to complain, Baloo.” she hissed.P “They pay your salary for the right to
complain.”P The grey bear said
nothing, simply went on munching his turkey leg.P “I have a load of pucks going to the Ebeneezer Shuffleboard
Club, they need them delivered tomorrow morning-“

“Tomorrow?!?”
Baloo thundered, tossing the remains of his meal aside.P “Sunday?P Yer a pip, ya know that?P
There ain’t never nothin’ good enough for you, is there?P When I ran this business-“

“Into
the ground!” she interrupted.P
“They’re paying us double for Sunday delivery Baloo – and you’re
getting time and a half, so I don’t see what-“

“I
don’t suppose I’d see you drag your sweet carcass out here to work on a Sunday
mornin’ though, huh, Boss-lady?” he sneered.P

“Baloo,
if you hate me that much, why don’t-” the bearess started to shout.P She stopped herself and ran her hands over
her face wearily.P Maybe it was time for
a different tack.P She walked over and
sat on the arm of the chair, prompting a surprised glare from Baloo.P “Baloo, it’s obvious you’re very
unhappy here.P Why don’t we talk about
it?

“Nothin’
ta talk about!P What, you worried about
my productivity goin’ down?” he chuckled sarcastically.

Rebecca
sighed, determined not to let the pilot bait her.P “Baloo, when I came here, you were pretty hostile to me at
first.P I thought you were a jerk, to be
honest.P But when I saw you with Molly,
and with… with Kit, I saw another side of you-“

“Fergit
this!” Baloo snapped, coiling as if to stand.’

“No!”
Rebecca shouted, pushing the big bear back down in the chair.P He stared at her, shocked.P “You’re not running away from me Baloo!P I want to talk this out here and now!”

“Becky-“

“Just
shut up for a change, all right?” she sighed.P “Baloo – it’s very clear that you’re completely
miserable.P When I first came here, I
really felt good about this place – about you, about everything.P You and I both know what’s changed since
then, even if you refuse to discuss it.P
I don’t know why you’re here.P I
don’t know if _you_ know why you’re here.P
But your work stinks, quite frankly, and I’m getting sick and tired of
it.”

“I
knew it would come back ta that!” the pilot scowled.

“Stop!”
she hissed.P “You know what else
I’m sick and tired of?P I’m sick and
tired of you blaming me for whatever’s killing you inside.P It’s not _my_ fault, Baloo – I’m just trying
to run a business in tough times.P I
need your help to do it, even if I don’t like to admit it, I do.P I don’t know beans about air cargo and if
I’d had you here at the beginning I wouldn’t have the world’s most expensive
flotation device sitting out there on the water right now!”

“Beckers-“

“Just
stop, all right?P I need you here – but
not like this.P You’re behaving
abominably to me and to Molly and even Wildcat.P You can shut us out if you want – I can’t stop you.P But I _can_ stop you from slacking on doing
your job.P I believe in this company
Mister – I gave up every ounce of security I had to come here, and I’ll be
damned if I’m gonna let you screw it up!”

Baloo
closed his eyes tightly, refusing to meet her gaze.P “I – I…”

Rebecca
shook her head sadly.P “You know
what I think, Baloo?P I think you came
here looking for something.P I think you
came here looking for something, and you didn’t find it.P Maybe it was something you had for a long
time, or something you almost had, and wanted more than anything.P But you didn’t find it, and now you’re more
miserable than you’ve ever been and you’re blaming me and this place and
everything because you can’t face the truth.”

“Becky,
that’s enough!” the big bear warned.

“Baloo,
why don’t you admit it?P Why _can’t_ you
admit it?P It’s Kit, that’s what you
came here for – that feeling you had when Kit was in your life… You thought
you could find it here, but you couldn’t!P
And it’s killing you-“

“Stop!”
he bellowed.

“That’s
what’s killing you, Baloo.P He’s not
here, but you see him everywhere you look.P
What happened isn’t your fault – he did what he did for a reason, I know
he did, but it isn’t your fault-“

“Why
are you doin’ this?” he snarled.P
“Why don’t you just leave me alone?”

“Don’t
you see Baloo?” Rebecca said urgently, the relief in finally confronting
the big bear openly sweeping away all hesitation.P “You’ll never be happy unless you face this down!P You have to forgive him, – and forgive
yourself!P Do whatever you need to, look
for him, find him!P You know you have to
-you’ll never have any peace unless you do!”P Rebecca could feel hot tears forming in the corners of her eyes.

“Enough!”
Baloo bellowed, pushing out of Rebecca’s grasp and standing, a look of rage on
his face.P “It’s none o’ yer damn
business!P You don’t know me!P You don’t know my life, what I been
through!P What the Hell right do you
have to tell me what I have to do?”

“Because
I care about you!” she hissed.P
“Because it hurts me to see you in pain, and it hurts me to have
you hate me!P Because I don’t want to
lose you!P Higher for Hire needs you,
Baloo!P _I_ need you!”

Baloo
stared, mouth agape.P He took a
tentative step over to her, another.P
“Becky, I – I just don’t know…”

Rebecca
wiped away a tear and grabbed his arm.P
“I know it hurts, Baloo.P It
hurts me too.P I only knew him for a
couple of days, but it felt like forever.P
I see his face every time I close my eyes at night.P I see him running around this room, with
Molly on his back, smiling, laughing-“

“Stop!P Stop it!” Baloo hissed urgently, trying
unsuccessfully to block images out of his mind that had been baying at the
doors of his perception for weeks.P He
sobbed, overcome by a desire to open his soul to Rebecca, but not knowing how.

She
put her hands on his shoulders tenderly.P
“You’re not alone Baloo – you don’t have to be alone in this.P We all feel pain…”

Baloo
felt her gentle grip and put his hands on her as if to push her away, but he
found himself squeezing her shoulders gently.P
He blinked away tears and looked at her, her face only a foot away from
his own.P She was a new person – someone
he’d never seen before, a stranger.P
“Becky – I…” he mumbled, finding himself inching closer to
her, almost imperceptibly.P

Rebecca
gently rested her paw on his cheek.P
“You don’t have to be alone…” she whispered, her eyes
locking with his, both of them crying silently, their mouths inching closer.

“I’m
sorry!” Baloo croaked hoarsely through gritted teeth, and pushed himself
away from her.P “I’m
sorry…”P he grabbed his cap off
of the table and slipped out into the evening.P
Rebecca sat back on the arm of the chair and wiped her eyes.P With a weary sigh, she slowly walked back
over to her desk.

Baloo
walked for a long time – he wasn’t sure how long, but by the time he arrived
back at Higher for Hire the moon was directly overhead and Rebecca was long
gone.

He
remembered almost nothing from the intervening hours.P It was cold, but he didn’t feel the need of a jacket or
sweater.P If there had been coherent
thoughts there, he couldn’t remember them – his memories were of memories, of
images flashing in his mind at a blinding pace, and of pain.

He
opened the door and walked inside the darkened office.P He thought about switching on a lamp but
decided against it.P He found himself
standing at Rebecca desk – his desk, once upon a time – though he’d rarely used
it.P It was neat, orderly – three stacks
of papers on it’s surface, a stapler, a blotter, a file tray.P And a photo – Rebecca and Molly, in a gilded
gold frame.P The little girl wore a
yellow sun dress, and her mother a striking blue gown.P Both wore smiles as wide as the Pacific, as
if they hadn’t a care in the world.

That’s
what memories are, he mused.P Snapshots
of perfect moments, frozen in time.P But
they bore no connection to reality.P
Like photographs, they had their place, but to dictate your life by
them…P It made no sense at all.P With a sigh he walked away from the desk and
circled the room slowly.

Rebecca
was a remarkable woman.P It was
stunningly obvious to him now, but somehow it had never occurred to him before
tonight.P Where were her parents – her
family?P Here she was, a single mother
to a small child, and running a business – and no business was more
male-dominated than the air cargo game.P
Yet, she asked no quarter, and never seemed to lose her spirit.P ‘Every ounce of security…’

Somehow,
she’d seen inside him tonight, blown him out of the water, rendered him
defenseless.P And when he was at her
mercy, she’d bared her own suffering, and joined him in his pain and
helplessness.P She was a remarkable woman,
and she had a remarkable daughter.P They
would make someone a fine family, no doubt.

But
not him.P He knew with certainty that he
could never stay here.P He _had_ come
back searching, but it was a fruitless search.P
This wasn’t his home.P That ship
had sailed, and he hadn’t been on it.P
With a sigh, he slowly walked up the stairs and took out his duffel
bag.P He sat on the bed – the bed
Rebecca had bought for him at a flea market because she didn’t want him
sleeping on a hammock.P If things had
been different, maybe there would have been two beds in this room.P If things had been different.

When
his bag was full he walked back down the stairs and looked around, wanting to
preserve the images in his mind.P This
time, there would be no return – he understood it indisputably.P He wasn’t a courageous man, and he knew
it.PP Not courageous like Rebecca
was.P A courageous man would still be
there in the morning.

The
big bear walked over to the desk again, and took out a piece of paper and a
pen.P In large script, who wrote ‘I’m
sorry’, and folded the paper neatly, leaving it in the center of the desk, well
away from any of the other papers there.P
He caught a glimpse of Molly’s face in the photograph again, and felt a
twinge of shame.

Slinging
the duffel bag over his shoulder, he slipped out the door without another
glance, and headed for the Sea Duck.P He
tossed the bag into the cockpit and climbed in after it.P Following a routine he could have executed
in his sleep – magnetos, mix, throttles – he started the engines.P ~Where to go?~ he mused.P ~Pick a direction…~P It might have mattered, if things had turned
out differently…P But that ship had
sailed, and he hadn’t been on it.

The
engines rose in pitch, and the exterior lights flicked on, illuminating the
waters of the harbor in a beam of light.P
The plane sped away from the dock and into open water, the propwash
dancing in the glow of the lights.P
Within a moment, it was gone.P
Wildcat stood outside his workshop, watching it impassively.P He stared after it for several minutes after
it had disappeared from sight.P Finally,
he turned and stepped inside, closing the door behind him.

“Tell
me again why we need a new pilot, Mommy.” Molly sighed, sitting at the
table absently stirring a bowl of cereal.

“You
know why, Honey.” Rebecca said gently.P
“Baloo had to go, and we have to have a pilot with a plane.P That’s how we make money-“

“But
_why_ did Baloo have to go?” the yellow cub asked stubbornly.P “I don’t unnerstand!”

~I
don’t either!~ her mother thought.P
“He just decided it was time to move on, Sweetie.P Pilots are like that sometimes.”

Molly
was somewhat less than satisfied with that answer, but held her tongue on the
subject, as she never seemed to be able to persuade her mother to
elaborate.P “Why’s the new pilot
called ‘The Barber’, Mommy?”

“I
don’t know, Molly – but they say he’s _very_ good!” Rebecca smiled.P ~And willing to work for what I can afford
to pay…~

Wildcat
poked his head through the door.P
“Hey Miz Cunningham – I think the new pilot’s here!” he
grinned.

“Wonderful!P Finally we can back to business!P Come on Molly!” Rebecca smiled, leading
her daughter out onto the docks by the hand.P
A large biplane was slowly circling in from the north at an
astonishingly low altitude.P Finally,
the old craft skimmed in low across the water, neatly lopping the tops off of a
row of trees and heading straight for the startled trio.P “Duck!” Rebecca wailed, pulling
Molly to the ground as Wildcat dove for cover behind a crate.

The
bi-plane rattled to a stop alongside the dock, and a leopard in a ratty blue
flight jacket poked his head out.P Hey
eyes darted wildly about, as if searching for hidden dangers.P “Did somebody say ‘duck’?P Can’t stand ducks…”

“Why
you – you…” Rebecca sputtered, climbing to her feet and approaching the
pilot, who held a tattered suitcase in his hand.P “What kind of pilot are you?!?”

“Crop
duster, Ma’am.” the leopard replied in a gravelly trill, eyes dancing.

“Well,
in the future I’ll expect you to fly… higher!”

“Cant!”
the Barber replied in a nervous quaver.P
“Got this pesky fear of heights!”P He covered his eyes and gingerly stepped down to the dock,
trembling.P He looked warily
skyward.P “I suppose I could wear a
blindfold-“

“BLIND-fold?!?”
Rebecca gasped in disbelief.

“You’re
right – got this pesky fear o’ the dark, too!”

Rebecca’s
jaw dropped.P “Is there anything
_else_ you’re afraid of?”

“Well
– not really…” the pilot said dubiously.P He leaned in close.P
“You don’t have any _platypuses_ around here, do ya?”P Rebecca shook her head numbly.P “I just _hate_ platypuses…”P With that, the leopard walked unsteadily
into Higher for Hire, suitcase in hand.

“Mommy
– I miss Baloo!” Molly whined longingly.

“Oh,
me too Molly!P Me too…” Rebecca
sighed.

The
Barber’s first week at Higher for Hire had been a long – and strange – one for
Rebecca Cunningham.P Having Wildcat
around was bizarre a lot of the time – but this new pilot made Wildcat seem
tame by comparison.P The one thing she
was glad of was that it was his own plane the leopard was flying – she wasn’t
sure her nerves could survive the knowledge that her plane was in his hands…

But
then, there was no danger of that.P The
P-27 still sat by the dock, becoming less shiny every day.P They were still barely making enough money
to cover everyday expenses, never mind banking any for expensive repairs.P Having the Barber here was somewhat better
than no pilot at all, which had been the state of their business for a week and
a half after Baloo had left.

Baloo.P She wanted to hate him for what he did – for
walking out on her business – for walking out on _her_.P Every time she tried to muster the emotion,
however, all she was able to dredge up was pity.P Baloo had been right – she _didn’t_ know him, not really.P She didn’t know why he was the way he
was.P Why he closed himself off and
wouldn’t let her in.P Maybe she’d been
wrong to try…

Rebecca
watched as the Barber emerged from the bedroom and walked down the stairs, in
his own special manner.P He put a paw
over his eyes and gingerly felt with his foot for the next step, repeating this
process until he had reached the bottom.P
This made the trip last about two minutes, and Rebecca found herself
watching in morbid fascination.P At
least his eyes were covered – his eyes were downright terrifying…

“Good
morning!” she said cheerfully as he reached the bottom step.P As long as they would be working together
she may as well try to draw him out, a little.P
“Did you sleep well?”

“Haven’t
slept in nine years!” the leopard quavered.

“Um
– yes.” Rebecca frowned.P “Er
– would you like some breakfast?P I
brought a bag of doughnuts and-“

“Yeep!”
the Barber cried, covering his face and cowering against a wall.P “Doughnuts!P Make them stop!P Make them
stop!”

“What?P What is it?P
I’m sorry!” Rebecca cried.P
“Look., they’re gone, see?P
I threw them out!P They’re all
gone!P See?”

The
leopard continued to hide his face as Rebecca looked on, astonished.P “No doughnuts?”

“No!P All gone!” she cooed, making a mental
note to delay his insurance physical as long as possible.

“That’s
a relief!” the Barber breathed, uncovering his face. “Why, they’re
almost as bad as-“

“Yes.”
Rebecca sighed, rolling her eyes.P
“”Mr. – Barber… I need to know your full name for your tax
documents.P What is it?”

“My
name?P Oh yeah…P It starts with an I…” the pilot
mused.

“You
don’t remember your name?”

Who
doesn’t remember my name?” the leopard asked, confused.

Rebecca
buried her face in her hands.P “Why
don’t you check your pilot’s licence?P
Maybe it says on there…”

“Oh
yeah.” the Barber nodded, reaching into his pocket.P “My name is Cape Suzette Department of
Aviation!P That’s a funny name…”

“Uh
– maybe that’s the name of – never mind!” Rebecca hissed.P “What does it say underneath
that?”

“Lemme
see…P That’s a funny name too!P Jim, I can’t even pronounce this… I – G –
N – E – T – O – “

“Hey
Ree-Becca!” Wildcat grinned as he poked his head in.P “Sea Duck’s all loaded, Man!P Ready ta go!”

“Thanks
Wildcat.” Rebecca sighed.P The lion
was the most coherent employee she had.P
That was a sobering thought…P
“Why don’t you just go ahead and take off, Mr. – Barber?P We can finish this later.”

“Whatever
you say, Ma’am.P Say – I’m not
deliverin’ any strawberries, am I Man?”

“Uh
– no.” Wildcat shook his head.P
“Nothin’ but, like, straw hats and blackberries.”

“Oh.P What a relief!” the pilot
breathed.P “Strawberries give me
the willies.P Oooh…
STRAW-berries!”P With a shiver, the
leopard slipped past Wildcat and out onto the dock.P Wildcat scratched his chin and shrugged at Rebecca.P The bearess slowly sunk her head to her desk
wearily.

“I
can’t believe this!P _Another_ bill for
damages caused by that hack of a pilot!” Rebecca sighed.P “That’s three times this week!”

“Y’know,
he oughtta be more careful!” Wildcat said solemnly as he played with
Rebecca’s stapler.

“We
can’t go on like this…” she lamented.P
“Having the Barber making deliveries is almost as bad as not making
them at all.P If he’s not destroying
public property he’s hours late showing up!P
The orders are starting to back up…”

“Too
bad Baloo’s not still around!” the mechanic replied.

“You
don’t know the half of it…P At least
we’re still in the air.P Well anyway,
Wildcat – let’s get this inventory over with.P
What else do we need?”

“Fourteen
quarts of oil – we’re a little low.P We
need a new set of calipers – Oops!P
Sounds like the Barber’s back!”

“Wonderful!”
Rebecca said sarcastically.P There was a
resounding crash from outside.P Rebecca
and Wildcat ran to the door just in time to see the ‘Higher for Hire’ sign
disappearing into the harbor, neatly severed by the Barber’s landing.P “Oh, great!!P What _else_ can go wrong?”

“I
quit!” the leopard barked, holding onto the doorframe of his plane and
eyeing the dock nervously.

“Quit?!?P You can’t quit!P What about my shipments?” Rebecca bellowed, gesturing to the
mountain of crates piled on the dock.

“Sorry
Lady – nobody told me I’d be carryin’ paper clips!” the leopard
shuddered.P “A Joe’s gotta draw the
line somewhere…”

“Paper
clips?!?P They’re just little pieces of
metal-“

“Stop!P You tryin’ to give me an attack?” the
pilot wailed.P “Paper clips give me
the creeps!P Make the music stop!P Make it stop…”P The cockpit door slammed and the old biplane
darted out into open water and took off, neatly severing the masts off of a
line of sailboats.

“What
next?” Rebecca wailed, sinking down on a box and covering her face with
her hands.P “Where am I gonna find
another pilot now, on a moment’s notice – on what we can afford to pay?”

“Pilots
‘R Us?” Wildcat asked helpfully.P
He patted her shoulder gently and wandered back into his workshop,
leaving the bearess alone on the dock.

“Hey
Buddy – lemme have a check here.” Baloo said to the bartender, who
responded by slapping the bill onto the counter in front of the big bear
wordlessly.P “Buckin’ fer a big tip,
huh?” the grey bear muttered.

“Baloo
– hey Baloo, that you?” a voice called behind him.P The pilot spun and looked around.P “Over here!” a stocky bobcat in a
leather jacket waved from a table.

“Tommy!P Whaddaya know!” Baloo chuckled.P He left a few bills on the bar and walked
over to the table.P “What’s
new?”

“Not
much!” the bobcat grinned, shaking the big bear’s hand.P “What the heck you doin’ in
Pazooza?”

“Oh
yaknow. this an’ that.” the pilot responded.P “Doin’ a little free-lancin’, here an’ there.”

“Man,
I ain’t seen you around Louie’s for what – two months?” Tommy replied,
shaking his head.P “The ape’s been
askin’ after ya – now I’ll have somethin’ to tell him I guess.”

“Yeah.P I just been kinda avoidin’ the old haunts,
Tommy.P Lookin’ fer fresh pastures, ya
might say.” Baloo smiled morosely.P
“How ’bout you – what you doin’ way out here?”

“Just
a gig, Baloo.P Still got the cargo firm
in Cape Suzette, and I got a contract deliverin’ mangoes out here – just came
available, they dumped their other shipper.P
Good contract too.”

“That’s
good Tom.P Sounds like things are goin’
great.”

“Yeah,
yeah, thanks.” the bobcat grinned.P
“So Baloo – ya gonna be comin’ back to our part o’ the world
anytime soon?P The gang at Louie’s sure
misses you, y’know!”

“Yeah,
I miss them too!” Baloo chuckled.P
“I don’t think so, Tommy.P I
don’t think – I just don’t think so.P It
was time fer ol’ Baloo ta move on.”

“That
a fact.” Tommy said thoughtfully.P
“Listen Baloo – things are goin’ pretty good for me right now.P Got more business than I can handle, as a
matter of fact…P I been thinkin’ of
addin’ another pilot…P You’re the best
there is, and if you still got the Sea Duck-“

“No
thanks.” the grey bear interrupted.P
“That ain’t the life for me, Tommy.”

“Yeah
– don’t wanna give up yer freedom, huh?P
Bein’ your own boss and all…”

“Yeah,
that’s it Tommy.”P The pilot
extended his hand.P “I’m gonna take
off, Tom.P Tell everybody at Louie’s I
said ‘Hey’, willya?P ‘Specially
Louie.P Tell him thanks, fer me.”

“Sure
Baloo.” the bobcat said with a puzzled grin.P “See you around.”

Baloo
adjusted his cap and started for the door.P
He stopped, stood still for a moment and turned back to the table.P “Tommy, you ain’t – there ain’t been a
little kid – a boy – hangin’ around Louie’s by any chance, has there?P Askin’ after me, maybe?”

The
bobcat frowned.P “Boy?P No… I haven’t seen any kids around Louie’s
for ages, Baloo.P Sorry.”

“That’s
OK.” Baloo said softly, smiling with his eyes closed.P “See ya around.”P He turned and headed outside to his waiting
plane.

“Dumb
question, Baloo.” he muttered to himself as he leapt up into the
cockpit.P It was weird – Tommy’s offer
should have tempted him, but it hadn’t – not for a moment.P It’s not like he wasn’t hurting for cash
every day out here.P At least he could
sleep in the plane…P He had just
turned the magnetos on when he heard a thumping noise from the hold.P Frowning, he unstrapped and headed back,
flipping on the interior lights.

He
had a load of guavas – thirty crates – in the hold.P Warily he poked around, and spotted movement out of the corner of
his eye.P Instinctively he reached out
and grabbed, winding up with a handful of collar.P It was a young tiger, perhaps fifteen or sixteen years old.P “Who the heck are you?” the pilot
snarled.

The
young man’s face was filthy, and he scowled defiantly at Baloo, a hint of
nervousness creeping into his visage as he realized the sheer size of the
pilot.P “S-sorry Mister!P I was just-“

“What’re
you doin’ in my plane?” Baloo frowned, looking the boy over.P He wore a faded grey shirt – no jacket.P The shirt hung loosely on his slight frame –
he was just beginning to get some height, but looked like he hadn’t eaten in a
week.P “Answer me!”

The
boy was genuinely afraid now, though he tried mightily to appear
unconcerned.P “I was – I was just
leaving-“

“Stowaway,
no doubt!” Baloo hissed.P
“Good way ta get yerself killed, Boy – especially fer a little punk
who doesn’t know what he’s doing!”P
The boy recoiled in terror, and Baloo shook his head.P “Not by _me_, dummy!P That ain’t ol’ Baloo’s way…”

“Listen,
Mister – I just needed a ride, OK?P I
wasn’t gonna cause you any trouble-“

“Dumb
kid!” Baloo snarled, finally setting the cub down, if only because his
arms were getting tired.P “You been
eatin’ my guavas?”

“No
s-sir!” the cub stammered, nervously wiping his chin.

“Hmmm.P What do I do with you?P Harbor patrol’s only a hundred yards
down-“

“No!”
the boy hissed.P “Please don’t do
that, Mister!P I’ll leave, I won’t cause
you any problems, I promise!”

“I’ll
bet!” Baloo chuckled.P “How
old are ya, Kid?”

“Eighteen.”

“Really?”
Baloo laughed.P “So am I!P Small world huh?P Where the heck you goin’, anyway?”

“Anywhere
but Pazooza.” the cub scowled, eyeing the pilot nervously.

Baloo
sighed.P “Y’know, if I kick you
outta here the next guy you try to stow away with might not be such a
sweetheart.P And I’m too tired to walk
all the way over to the cops.P I got a
load o’ guavas back here, doin’ an overnight run ta Cape Filbert.P You can stick around fer the ride if ya
want.”

“Really?”
the cub beamed.

“Yeah,
I guess.” Baloo muttered.P
“But when we get there _you_ unload the crates, ya hear me?P So’s I can rest my achin’ back.P And after that ya get lost.”

“Sure,
thanks, no problem!” the boy grinned.

“Name’s
Baloo.” the grey bear said gruffly, heading for the cockpit.

“Uh,
Tristan.P Tristan Frost.” the young
man replied, tagging along behind him.

“So
why you in such a hurry ta leave Pazooza, Tristan?” Baloo asked, strapping
in to the pilot’s seat.P The boy didn’t
respond, but hardened his gaze into an icy wall.P It cut Baloo to the core, it was so familiar.P “No answer huh?P Well, It ain’t no business o’ mine, I
guess.P But if anyone comes chasin’
after ya I’m dumpin’ ya out the back!”

“That
shouldn’t be a problem.” the cub said grimly.P “Pretty nice plane you have here Baloo.P For an antique.”

“Ha!
Yer a real charmer, aintcha?” Baloo scoffed.P The boy sat down in the navigator’s seat and reached for the
belt.P “STOP!” Baloo roared,
causing the cub to freeze, jaw agape.

“Get
outta there!” Baloo hissed. “NO-body sits there, ya hear me?P I fly solo, understand?P Solo!”

“Yeah,
s-sorry!P I’m sorry!” Tristan
gasped, backing up into the cargo hold.

Baloo
pounded the dash angrily, then ran his paw across his face.P What was he doing?P Why was he allowing this boy on the Duck?P What was he thinking?P He sat silently, staring straight ahead for
several minutes.P

Finally
he rose and headed back into the hold, where Tristan sat, knees drawn up, against
the starboard hull.P “Sorry about
that Kid.” Baloo said nonchalantly as the boy stared at him.P “Been a long day.P You look beat – why dontcha set up in my
bunk here?”P The grey bear opened
the storage cabinet and pulled out a blanket and pillow, tossing them at the
cub.P “Six hours ta Filbert.P Get yerself some sleep.”

“Thanks.”
Tristan replied, a puzzled frown on his face.P
Baloo returned to the cockpit and started the engines.P Within a moment they were airborne, leaving
Pazooza behind.

It
was a long flight to Cape Filbert, but Baloo was used to overnight hauls.P They were the province of free-lancers
mostly – the gigs the regular firms could normally pass on.P He didn’t mind, as a rule.P He could sleep as easily in the daytime as
at night.

This
flight was a strange one, though.P Baloo
couldn’t stop himself thinking about the boy asleep in the back.P “Stop drivin’ yerself nuts – just
givin’ somebody a ride, that’s all!” he muttered to himself.P Still, he felt uncomfortable in every
possible way.P What was he thinking,
really?P Who knew what this kid was
running away from?P Hadn’t he learned
anything?

With
a weary sigh he killed the engines as he coasted up to the normally bustling
Port of Cape Filbert.P He checked his
watch – six A.M., right on time.P That
was usually the way – when he wasn’t on a deadline he was always early.P There were only a few dock workers around,
and one or two other planes loading or unloading.

He
unbuckled and slowly strolled into the hold.P
Tristan was fast asleep, snoring gently in Baloo’s bunk.P Baloo stared at him rapt, unable to help
himself.P It was amazing – all traces of
that icy stare were gone.P ~Kids can’t
keep that up while they’re asleep.P All
the same.~ he mused.P It was as though
he were looking at a different person completely.P The grey bear felt a deep, dull pain in his chest as he stared
down at the tiger cub.

“Hey
– get up Kiddo.” Baloo said, gently shaking the cub’s shoulder.P “Hey – get up!”P The boy grumbled softly and turned over.P ~Heavy sleeper!~ the pilot mused.P ~Not like – not like…~P “Hey!” he said more loudly.P “Time ta earn yer bus fare, Kid!”

The
boy blinked irritably and turned his head.P
He caught a glimpse of Baloo and his eyes grew wide, and he sprung to
his feet with incredible speed. “Hey – take it easy!” Baloo
hissed.P “Yer among friends!”

The
boy stared at Baloo for a moment, panting, then slowly his breathing
slowed.P “S-sorry.P Forgot where I was for a minute…”

Baloo
eyed the young tiger warily.P “Darn
near gave me a heart attack, Kid!”

“Sorry!”
the cub said again, shaking his head angrily.

“No
worries.P Well Kid – we’re here.P Time fer you to earn yer ride.P These boxes ain’t gonna unload
themselves.”P Baloo opened the
cargo hatch and waved to one of the dock workers, who headed towards the Sea
Duck.

“Oh
– sure.” Tristan yawned.P
“What – I just stack ’em on the dock, or what?”

“No
– ya build ’em into a pyramid!P Whaddaya
think?” Baloo scowled.P He held out
a clipboard to the dock worker.P
“Hey Friend – 40 crates o’ Gemstone Guavas from Pazooza, fer
Gibbons Produce.P Sign here,
Buddy.”

With
a grunt, the boy lifted a box and unsteadily wrestled it out to the dock.P “D’you want me to give him the hand
truck?” the dock worker asked Baloo casually.

“Naw
– he needs the exercise.” Baloo yawned.P
He grabbed a dusty deck chair and set up outside, watching the boy
comfortably.P “That’s real nice
work Son – keep it up!” he grinned.

Tristan
continued to wrestle the boxes outside one by one, soon breaking into a thick
sweat even in the early morning cool.P
Baloo occasionally favored him with a cheery wave, but otherwise left
him to his task uninterrupted.P It was
quite a task – the cub was thin as a rail and each crate was a fight to the
death.

Finally,
after Baloo had almost nodded off, the boy hauled the last crate outside,
pushing it along the ground for the last few feet.P “That’s the….P last
one!” he panted.P “Man – I
didn’t know Guavas were so… heavy!”

Baloo
stood and stretched, and folded his deck chair.P “Very impressive work Kiddo.P Never complained once.P
Showed me some real intestinal fortitude!P Of course, if you’d been a little more resourceful ya could’ve
asked for a cart, but one outta two ain’t bad.”

“C-cart?”
the boy hissed indignantly.

“Never
trust anybody over thrity-seven, Kid.” Baloo yawned, walking back into the
Duck.P “Now – ol’ Baloo’s gotta get
some shuteye.P See ya in the funny
papers.”

“But-“

Baloo
closed the cargo hatch and crawled into his now vacant bunk.P It had been a more interesting day than he’d
had in weeks, at least he could say that much.P
Within seconds, he was sound asleep.

When
Baloo awoke the sun was in the western sky and the interior of the Sea Duck
bathed in bright light.P He blinked
irritably, and glanced at his watch.P
Four P.M., a good ten hour sleep.P
He stood and stretched mightily.

He
was only mildly surprised to see Tristan asleep in the pilot’s chair in the
cockpit.P “What the heck are you
doin’?!?” he asked with considerably more anger in his voice than his
heart.

The
cub awoke with a start.P “Oh
s-sorry, I-“

“You
say that a lot, dontcha Kid?” Baloo sighed.P “What the heck you doin’ here anyways?P You paid off yer end o’ the deal, you can
scram.”

“I
know.” the cub said defensively, the icy wall once again on his face.P “I took a walk around, and I didn’t
much like the place, y’know?P So I
figured-“

“You
figured you’d leech another ride off ol’ Baloo!” the big bear sneered.

“No!P I can work, you saw that.P I’ll load and unload for you on your next
job-“

“Ain’t
got no next job Sonny.P Nothin’ lined
up.” Baloo sighed.P “I ain’t
got no use for ya.P So beat it!”

“Aw,
c’mon!P This place is a dump!” the
cub almost pleaded.P “Just take me
wherever you’re goin’ and I’ll get off your back, I promise.P Where you headed?”

“Right
now?P To dinner!” Baloo
snapped.P “An’ I ain’t got no money
fer freeloadin’ kids, neither!”

“I
have some money.” the boy grinned.P
“I haven’t eaten yet, and I got no plans.P How about it?”

“Fine,
whatever!” the grey bear hissed, throwing up his hands.P He jumped down to the dock and took off for
the nearest restaurant, a seedy wharf dive a few hundred yards from the loading
docks.P

Baloo
spotted a booth in a corner and walked over to it.P The cub sat down across from him wordlessly.P A dour-looking waitress walked over carrying
menus, but Baloo waved them off.P
“Cheeseburger, fries, strawberry soda.” he told her.

“Sounds
good.P Me too.” Tristan
echoed.P The waitress shrugged and
headed off towards the kitchen.

“Sure
would like one o’ Louie’s pepperoni pizzas right now…” the pilot said
wistfully.

“Louie’s?P Where’s that?” Tristan asked.

“Oh.
so we hafta have a conversation now – that the idea?” Baloo replied
testily.P “This is why I fly
solo…”

“Sorry!”
the cub said, a small grin on his lips.

“You
wanna talk, huh Kid?P OK, we’ll
talk.P Where’s yer parents?” Baloo
snapped.

“None
o’ yer business!” Tristan barked back at him.

“None
o’ my business huh?P If I got a fugitive
or a runaway on my plane it’s my damn business!P All I need is some kinda kidnapping rap-“

“Look!”
the boy interrupted, hands in the air.P
“You – you don’t hafta worry about that.P I ain’t got any parents.P
They’re dead, have been for years.”

“Likely
story…”

“Hey
– it’s true!” Tristan sneered.P
“You got nothin’ to worry about – there’s nobody that’s gonna miss
me, believe me.”

Baloo
squinted at the cub.P As likely as not
the boy’s story was true, the way he figured it.P But then – what kind of judge of character was he – especially a
kid’s?P Best to keep his guard up.P “Whatever Kid – but first sign o’
trouble I’m droppin’ you like a hot rock!”

“So
you’ll take me with when you leave?”

“I
guess.” Baloo sighed.P Events were
out of control again… Then again, maybe he just needed another face around –
he’d been solo since he’d left Louie’s.P
“I’ll prob’ly head over ta Grimscape Island – see if I can rustle
up a drop or two from there.P It ain’t
much of a place – doubt you’ll wanna stay there either.”

“I’ll
take my chances.” the boy grinned.P
“And if I don’t like it maybe I can work off another trip somewhere
else-“

“Not
a chance!” Baloo scowled.P The boy,
disconcertingly, looked as though he didn’t believe the bear for a minute.

Jules
Krone smiled an oily smile as Rebecca shook his hand and sat down at his desk
at Cape Suzette National Bank.P
“Thank you very much for seeing me on such short notice, Mr.
Krone-“

“That’s
quite all right, Miss Cunningham.” the walrus answered.P “Let’s get right down to business,
shall we?P Let’s talk about your loan
application.”

“Certainly.”
Rebecca smiled.P She hadn’t liked this
man from her first day in Cape Suzette, when he’d handled her loan – there was
something about his manner, his face…P
At least her father was direct and blunt, even if he could be ruthless.

“Let
me begin, Miss Cunningham, by saying how very much I admire your independence
and courage in forging ahead with your own business.P For an unmarried woman, and a mother no less, to have achieved
what you have – it’s remarkable.”

“Thank
you.” Rebecca nodded, bile rising in her throat.P She could see where this was going.

“You’re
welcome.” the walrus said greasily.P
“That being said, however, the loan committee has in fact decided
against extending you any additional credit at this time.”

“I
see.” Rebecca fumed, keeping her voice calm.P “May I ask why?”

“Of
course.P In all of these cases, there
are a variety of factors that we must weigh in deciding each individual loan,
and yours was no different.P Let me say,
Miss Cunningham, that I am quite familiar with this particular business of
yours – it had already failed once, before you took it over.P And the current financial performance
is-“

“Yes,
I know!” Rebecca said impatiently.P
“But I can’t be held accountable for the failures of the previous
owner!P It’s taking me some time to get
things ramped up-“

“Of
course.” Krone nodded.P
“Nevertheless, the track record of the business is a legitimate
predictor of future performance.P There
is also the question of the additional loans that you have already taken on,
since you’ve acquired the business.”

“I’m
aware of that, but I borrowed that money to upgrade the equipment.P To purchase the firm a more modern and
efficient aircraft-“

“And
yet you list aircraft repair and upgrade as one of the primary reason that you
need the loan?” the walrus interrupted.

“These
things happen.P Maintenance issues
arise-“

“Of
course.” the walrus nodded.P
“Let me be frank, Miss Cunningham.P
This is your first business venture, and as such you have no track
record of success.P The business itself
has no previous track record of success.P
Given these circumstances there’s really nothing we can do, I’m
afraid.”

“Except
wait to foreclose, like vultures!” she hissed.

“Miss
Cunningham, I assure-“

“I’m
sorry.” Rebecca said quickly.P
“Mr. Krone – is there nothing I can do?P No way that I can persuade the committee to reconsider?P I’ve already instituted some wonderful
innovations-“

“I’m
sure you have, but that’s really not the issue I’m afraid.P The only factor that could possibly tip the
scales would be a co-signer of considerable financial weight.”

“C-co-signer?”
Rebecca whispered.

“Yes,
a co-signer.P At that point would we
would weigh all the factors again, and if that person was considered to
be-“

“Thank
you.” Rebecca said sharply.P
“I appreciate your efforts.”P
She grabbed her purse and left quickly, her mind a whirl.P A co-signer!P There had to be another way – didn’t there?

The
water beneath them was invisible as the Sea Duck flew through thick clouds of
mist.P The atmosphere was strange in the
cockpit – neither the grey bear piloting the plane nor the tiger cub sitting
next to him had spoken for nearly an hour.P
In Baloo’s case, he simply couldn’t think of anything to say to the
young man.P

He
stole a quick glimpse over at the boy, who lounged lithely in the seat, one
foot drawn up in front of him.P A pang
of agony cut through him at the sight, the posture so hauntingly familiar.P It had been hard for him to allow the cub to
sit in that chair, but he’d told himself he was being silly.P He’d let other folks sit there on occasion
since he’d left Louie’s – why should Tristan be any different?

He
knew even as he asked himself the question what the answer was.P ~He’s a little taller than … than Kit.~
Baloo thought.P ~Taller that Kit
_was_…P Wonder if he’s gotten much
taller since – since…P I wonder if
he’s even-~

“Don’t
talk much, doya?” Tristan said a little irritably, breaking the pilot’s
reverie.

“That
ain’t been a complaint I heard very often.” Baloo chuckled bitterly.P “Besides, flyin’s hard work.”

“Doesn’t
look so hard to me.” the cub mused.

Baloo
stared hard at Tristan for a moment.P
“You know much about airplanes, Kid?”

“Naw.”
the boy replied.P “I’ve seen a few
here and there, but I never flew in one before – well, before you gave me a
ride.”

“That
a fact.”P Baloo mused.P ~Why do you _care_?~ he asked himself
bitterly.P “So what ‘re you into,
Kiddo?”

“I
like cars.” the boy grinned.P
“I’m real good at fixin’ ’em up, too.P When I was little my Dad-” a cloud passed over the boys
features for a moment.

“Yeah?”
Baloo prompted.

“You
don’t care…” the boy hissed.

“Kiddo,
don’t go tellin’ me what’s in my head.P
I kin promise you ya don’t have a clue.P
I asked ya, didn’t I?P So tell me
about it.”

Tristan
looked over at him appraisingly.P
“I guess.P Anyways, he had a
’26 Fjord, a Model-C.P A real
beauty.P It was in a wreck, and he got
it for nothing, and we were fixing it up…”

“Sounds
terrific.” the pilot said softly.P
“How – how long’s yer Daddy been gone?”

“Four
years.” the boy sighed.

“What
about yer Mama?”

“She
died when I was seven.” the boy replied somberly.

Baloo
shook his head.P All this death and
loneliness – it just never seemed to end.P
“I’m real sorry, Tristan.P
My Mama died when I was five.P
She was a great lady.”

“Yeah?”
the boy whispered, looking over at him again.

“Yup.”
the big bear nodded, returning his attention to the skies in front of him for a
moment, as silence filled the cockpit.P
“Things were really that bad fer ya in Pazooza, Kid?” he said
finally.P “You couldn’t stick it
out there?”

“Look…”
the cub sighed.P “When you get to
be – my age – you ain’t gonna get adopted.P
You’re past the cute little moppet stage, and it’s all over.P It was just a matter of time, Baloo.P I was gonna be out on my own anyways, so I
just got a head start, okay?”

Baloo
gasped internally, yet again.P When the
boy said certain words, in certain ways…PP
It was almost too much, too familiar for him to bear.P “S-sorry.” he mumbled.

“What’s
wrong?”

“Nothin’!”
Baloo snapped.P “So you had no
relatives, huh?P No Uncles or Grandmas
or somethin’?”

“No.P No relatives…P None that wanted to be bothered, anyways.P You ever been inside an orphanage,
Baloo?”

“Nope.”
the pilot said softly.P “Looks like
we’re almost here, Kid.P Greystoke
Island.P You do the unloadin’ again, and
then we can get a bite ta eat somewheres.”

“Sure.”
the cub nodded.P “Uh – so you’re
gonna go back to Grimscape after that?”

“Prob’ly.”
the grey bear sighed.P “If that’s
how I feel.P We’ll see.P Why – worried you ain’t gonna like this
place neither?P You sure are picky fer a
stowaway!”

The
cub erected his ice wall again.P
“I’m sure this place will be fine.”

Baloo
pulled back the throttles as he slowly descended.P “Ya know Kid – my back’s been really actin’ up lately.P Real stiff, like.P Mebbe I better keep ya around fer a couple more days, just in
case I can’t handle the heavy liftin’.” he said softly.

“Sure.”
the cub grinned.P “If ya need the
help, I can stick around.P So maybe
we’ll go back to Grimscape, pick up another shipment or something?”

“Maybe…”
Baloo mused.P “I got a couple
different options…”

“How
was your dinner, Molly?” Rebecca asked brightly, stacking the dirty dishes
in the sink.P It was against her usual
practice of washing every dish when she used it, but there was other business
that needed attending tonight.

“Real
good Mommy.” the little girl said.P
“Kin I have some Frosty Pep now?”

“Hmmm.P I don’t know…”

“_Please_
Mom?P I’ll be real good!” the cub
whined.

“OK!”
her mother laughed.P “If you make
Mommy a promise, all right?P Listen to
‘Danger Woman’ on the radio and be real quiet while I make an important phone
call, all right?”

“OK!”
the girl grinned.

Rebecca
scooped some ice cream into a bowl and handed it to the yellow cub.P She turned on the radio and adjusted the
tuning knob.P “There you go
Molly.P Mommy will be right in the
bedroom, OK?P Remember your
promise!”

“I
will, Mommy!” Molly cried, grabbing her Danger Woman action figure and
settling down, cross-legged, in front of the radio.P Rebecca smiled at her for a moment and disappeared into the
bedroom.

“So
simple, so simple…” she sighed.P
~Can a radio program really make her that happy?P She’s been through so much…P No father, she got so attached to Baloo and
Kit, and then lost both of them…~P She
sat on the bed and, taking a deep breath, picked up the phone and dialed her
parent’s house in Winger City.

Her
mother answered, as she did almost all the time.P “Hi Mom!” Rebecca said cheerfully.

“Rebecca!P How nice to hear from you.P How are things?P How’s Molly?”

“Fine,
Mom.P Just fine.P Molly’s listening to ‘Danger Woman’ on the
radio, you can’t tear her away from it!” Rebecca chuckled.

“That
child has such an imagination!P She’s a
dreamer, always has been.P So how’s the
business?”

“Well
– that’s more or less why I called, Mother.P
Is Dad around?”

“Your
father?”P Kayla Cunningham sounded
surprised.P Rebecca knew why, of course
– she rarely asked to speak to him until the very end of their conversations.P “Yes, he’s here – would you like to
speak to him Dear?”

“Yes
Mom, thanks.”P Rebecca heard her
mother call her father’s name, and a moment later Gregory Cunningham’s booming
voice came on the line.

“Hello?P Becky?”

“Hi,
Dad.P How are you?”

“Well,
I’m fine, Darling, just fine.P How are
you?” he said a little stiffly.

~Still
hasn’t forgiven me for leaving.~ she thought.P
~This is a mistake, it’s stupid – don’t do it!~P “Fine, Daddy.P I wanted to talk to you about the business.P My business.”

“Oh?P What about it?” her father responded.P Rebecca could hear the interest creep into
his voice.

This
was it – no point in sugarcoating.P Her
father wouldn’t.P “Daddy, I need a
loan, to do some aircraft repairs.P I’ve
delayed as long as I can, but it needs to be done.”

“You
want money?”

“No
Daddy!” she replied, trying desperately to keep her anger out of her
voice.P “I want to get a bank loan,
but I need you to co-sign for me.”

There
was a pause.P “I see.P Didn’t you take out an additional loan, not
that long ago – to buy a newer plane?”

“Yes
Dad.P But there was a problem with it,
and I need to do a major repair.P We’ve
been going with rented planes, but the costs are just prohibitive.P I need that aircraft up and running to have
a chance.”

“I
see.P And how is business, other than
that?P Are you taking in a lot of
revenue?”

“Business
is adequate, Daddy.P It’s a very
competitive industry.P I’ve had some bad
luck with pilots, and a few minor setbacks due to that.P But once we have that plane back in the
air-“

“Naturally.”P A hint of sarcasm crept into her father’s
voice.P There was a long pause on the
line, as neither bear seemed willing to break the silence.P Finally, Gregory spoke.P “Rebecca, you know that money is not an
issue with me.P But I warned you about
this venture of yours, about the risk you’re taking-“

“Daddy,
I didn’t call you for a lecture!” Rebecca hissed.P ~Don’t let him bait you!~ she urged
herself.P “Daddy, I – the business
is fine, there’ve been a few growing pains but we’re getting through
them.”

“Please,
Rebecca!” her father sighed.P
“I’m not lecturing you, I’m being honest.P I warn you about this venture of yours, and now here you are
asking me for money to bail you out-“

“I’m
_not_ asking you to bail me out!” the bearess protested.P “I’m asking you to co-sign – that’s
all.P I’ll pay the bank back – don’t you
have any faith in me, Dad?P You’ll never
see a dime taken from your pockets!”

Another
long pause.P “Rebecca, I’d be happy
to do this for you.P In fact, I would
happily loan you money myself.P I’d
happily _give_ you money myself!P I’d do
it tomorrow, no strings attached-“

“But?”

A
sigh.P “I’m sorry.P I can’t in good conscience co-sign a loan so
you can continue a venture I know is unwise and doomed to fail.P Not when my granddaughter’s future is at
risk.P All you have to do is come home
to Winger City and I’ll give you money, your old house, whatever you want.P I’ll give you a down payment for a better
house – whatever you need!”

“Daddy!P What I want is to finish what I’ve started
and make this business work!P _This_ is
my home now!”

“I
see.”

“Daddy,
I’m asking you to do this – for me.P You
know it wasn’t easy for me to call you, don’t you?P All my dreams are here, Dad-“

“Becky…P I’ll give you money, as much as you
need.P Just as soon as you come
home-“

“Oh,
_Dad_!” she cried, exasperated.P
“So that’s it?P You’re
telling me you won’t co-sign the loan for me?”

“I
can’t do it Rebecca.P Not in good
conscience-“

“Fine!P I hope you and your conscience sleep very
well tonight!” she interrupted bitterly. There was yet another awkward
silence.P “I suppose that’s it
then.P Say good-night to Mom for
me.”

“Becky-“

Rebecca
hung up the phone angrily.P She was more
angry at herself than her father – what he’d done was perfectly in keeping with
his actions for her entire life.P But
she’d been the one stupid enough to call him…

She
fell back on the bed with a weary sigh.P
She was in deep now, and she knew it.P
It didn’t seem possible, the whole thing had felt so right – how could
it end up so wrong?P Weren’t good things
supposed to happen when you did what you believed in?

Baloo
walked through the streets of downtown Port Wallaby, hands in pockets and mind
deep in thought.P He thought about his
future plans, and even his dreams, when he dared to admit it.P About that and the young man he’d left back
at the Sea Duck.

Most
of the last three months had been like a hazy dream for the pilot.P His future was never planned more than a day
or two in advance, as he mostly followed the trade winds hoping to find enough
work to keep his stomach full.P He
couldn’t recall _feeling_ much, one way or the other.P Not much happiness, not much pain.P It was almost as if he were in a kind of half-dead state.

There
were worse things than that, he knew.P
He knew what real pain was.P He’d
had a taste of it in the last week, odd moments here and there as a sidelong
glance at Tristan or a careless phrase from the cub caused stabbing pains in
his gut.P There had been other things in
the last week too – other emotions, ones he hadn’t felt in those three
months.P You couldn’t have one, it
seemed, without the other.

He
was in an unfamiliar position now, a place he hadn’t been in a long time.P He could make decisions that would effect
more than just the next two days.P And
effect more than just him.P The boy he’d
left at the Sea Duck showed no signs of wanting to go anywhere, and Baloo knew
it.P It was his move – the ball was in
his court.

He
found himself down by the harbor of this city he’d never visited before, and
slowly walked along the water towards the docks and the cannery, where the Sea
Duck was moored.P He didn’t like Port
Wallaby – it had a cold, unfeeling bleakness to it.P It reminded him of his life of late.

There
were plenty of small-time cargo firms here, as in every port.P There would be plenty of stray jobs for a
good pilot with a good plane – he knew that.P
He could very easily keep going the way he was, just let the boy tag
along if he wanted.P It would be
different – at least there’d be company for the long hauls.P It would be easy.

He
knew as he thought it that it was wrong.P
Tristan wasn’t a thirtry-eight year old cargo pilot.P This life – Baloo’s life – wasn’t a real
one, not for Tristan.P Baloo wasn’t
anybody’s father, he knew that.P He’d
had a taste of it and that taste was bitter.

So
what, then?P There were options…P There was Cape Suzette.P There was his old friend Tommy – he might
still have a job available, decent pay, a home, stability.P It had a certain undeniable attraction.P Coming home to the same place every day, the
same face.P Maybe faces.P Maybe even Becky – Higher for Hire.P She could still be hiring – why not?P Maybe that taste, that feeling he’d felt in
his gut so briefly – maybe it was real, it could happen for him, and for –
for-…

He
looked up and realized he was back at the Sea Duck.P ~I’ve already known this kid longer than Kit!~ he thought
suddenly, out of the blue.P Strange,
that felt wrong…P He opened the
cockpit door and climbed in. “Tris?” he called.

“Back
here!” the boy replied.P Baloo
walked into the hold.P Tristan was
reclining on the top bunk, reading a magazine.P
“Hi Baloo!”

The
grey bear’s jaw dropped.P He stared at
the suddenly nervous cub.P “Where –
where did you _get_ that?!?” he hissed urgently.

“What?P What?” Tristan stammered, startled.

“That
hat!” Baloo snarled, pointing to the red and blue baseball cap on the
boy’s head, bill towards the back.P
“WHERE DID YOU GET THAT?”

“I
f-f-found it!P In the s-storage
locker!”P The boy was terrified,
cowering against the bulkhead, as Baloo loomed over him, his face
contorted.P “I d-didn’t know-“

“Damn!”
Baloo cried, as he sat down in the bottom bunk, face in hands.P “Take it off!P Take that damn thing off!” he hissed.

“I’m
sorry!P Here, take it!” Tristan
whispered, offering the cap to Baloo

“Put
it away!P Put it back where ya found
it!” Baloo bellowed.P The cub leapt
down to the floor and stowed the cap back in the storage locker as the pilot
sat, shaking, on his bunk.P Tristan sat
down on the floor, staring at the grey bear, a mixture of fear and curiosity in
his eyes.

Neither
bear nor tiger spoke or moved for several minutes.P Finally, Tristan timidly raised his voice.P “Uh, Baloo – are we leaving today,
or-“

“No!”
Baloo replied, face still hidden in his hands.P
“I gotta – I dunno.P We’ll
stay put fer now.”

“OK.”
the cub whispered.P “Um – should I
go get something to eat, or-“

“Whatever.”
the pilot barked.P Finally, he uncovered
his face and stood.P “I gotta
think, I gotta think…P You do whatever
ya want, I gotta think…”P The
pilot slipped out of the plane and walked away.

“Baloo?P Baloo!” the cub called behind him, but
Baloo didn’t turn.P He walked until he
could no longer hear the boy’s voice, then looked around him.P He was in a small park of some kind.P He sank down to the ground against a tree
and ripped out handfuls of sod with his massive paw.

“Damn!”
he muttered to himself.P “Damn,
damn…P It ain’t the kid’s fault, not
his fault, don’t take it out on him!P
Not his fault…”P A feeling
of wrongness filled him, overwhelmed him.P
He was sick, hated himself with every ounce of passion in his body.P How many more moments like this would there
be?P How many more tidal waves of regret
and pain?

The
image of Tristan living on the street filled his mind, and he winced.P There was a gentleness, a naivete’ about the
cub – a helplessness.P A toughness
lacked, where Kit had endless resources of it. Seemingly endless.P And now Tristan was sitting on Baloo’s plane,
waiting for him to return.P The pilot
pounded the ground in frustration.

Was
this it, all his life was destined to be?P
Long periods of gray nothingness punctuated by brief flashes of searing
pain?P He wasn’t sure how much more he
could take.P And he knew he could never
look at the cub sitting on the Sea Duck right now and not see Kit’s face
staring back at him.P

A
flash of bitter inspiration hit the grey bear, and he stood with a sigh.P He turned and got his bearings, then headed
for the skyline of downtown Port Wallaby.

Wildcat
knew something was wrong.P There were
the obvious things, of course – they still hadn’t fixed the P-27, and their
rented plane sat idle far more often than it should.P Their latest pilot, a weary-looking coyote named Scott, had left
town a few days earlier and Rebecca had made no move to replace him.

But
the mechanic had noticed other things, too.P
He did that a lot – notice things.P
Folks never seemed to expect him to, but he did.P And he’d noticed a change in Rebecca.P She spent long stretches sitting in silence
at her desk, staring into space.P Usually
she was busier than anybody he’d ever seen – always running around, doing this
and that.P He liked that -it was
reassuring, knowing that whatever else was going on Rebecca would always be in
motion, in action.P Wildcat liked things
that behaved like they were supposed to, all the time.

There
had been several times when he’d thought seriously about talking with her,
asking her what was up, but in the end he always figured it was none of his
business.P Stick to machines and engines
– if there was anything he needed to know she’d tell him sooner or later.

“Hey
Ree-becca!” he grinned, walking into the office with an old carburetor
that he’d found in a junkyard.P The
least he could do was try to cheer her up…P
“I found this ol’ carburetor somebody threw out.P I figger, like, when we get the engine
replaced we can keep this little guy around fer a spare, right?P In case we-“

“That’s
nice Wildcat.” she sighed.P “I
wish I’d listened to you when I first got here – things might be different
now…”

“Whaddaya
mean, Ree-becca?” he replied, puzzled.

“Sit
down.” she said.P

That
was always a bad sign, in his experience.P
“What’s up?”

She
smiled at him and patted his paw gently.P
“It’s all over, Wildcat.P
It’s about time I admitted it to somebody besides myself.”

“Whaddaya
mean, Man?”

“Oh
Wildcat…” she sighed.P “It’s
just not working.P We’re too far in debt
and we don’t have the capital to make the upgrades we need to become
competitive.P If I try to ride this out,
I’ll just end up like Baloo – broke and foreclosed.P At least if I cut my losses now I can get on with my life.”

“Jeez
Ree-becca – ya mean it?”

“Afraid
so.P The bank won’t give us any more
money, and if things keep going on the way they are I won’t even be able to pay
your salary, much less a pilot.P I made
too many mistakes – I thought I knew everything, and I didn’t listen to the
people who really did know this business-“

“Aw,
that ain’t true!P Yer real smart,
Man!P Everything’ll work out-“

“Maybe.”
she smiled sadly.P “If it were just
me Wildcat, maybe I’d fight to the last breath.P But it’s not – I have to think about Molly.P And I can’t dig myself a hole so deep even
she won’t be able to crawl out of it.P
It’s time to cut my losses.P The
worst part will be facing my father – he’ll be so forgiving, so
sympathetic…”

The
expression that flashed on Rebecca’s face was one Wildcat had never seen
before, and he didn’t like it.P “So
– what’re ya gonna do?”

She
drummed her fingers on the desk absently.P
“I’ve already made some inquiries…P This business has real potential – for someone that has the cash
to do it the right way.P I’m sure
they’ll keep you on, I’ll make sure they know how good a mechanic you are.P I certainly do.”

“No,
I mean like – what’re _you_ gonna do, Ree-becca?” the mechanic asked
patiently.

Rebecca
looked at him for a moment, seeming surprised, then squeezed his paw.P “I’ll go back to Winger City with Molly
I suppose.P She’ll never want for
anything there, my father will see to that I’m sure.P I’m really very lucky, you know?P
To have that to go back to, I’m really very lucky…”P She stood and grabbed her jacket.P “I’m going to go out for lunch today,
Wildcat.”P She walked over to the
door and turned.P “Would you like
to join me?”

“Oh,
no thanks Man.P I already ate.” the
lion replied.P “Sardines and cream
cheese on rye.”

She
giggled.P “Wildcat, you can always
make me laugh!P See you
later.”P She turned and was gone,
leaving the mechanic alone in the office.

Another
new owner to break in – no sir, he didn’t like that at all.P It was better if things stayed the same –
He’d had Baloo there since before he could remember, and just when he got used
to that, Kit had showed up.P He really
liked Kit. And then Molly and Rebecca.P
He liked them too.P But they all
went, one by one.P He didn’t like that
at all.P One thing you could say about
an engine – it ran the same way every day, providing you kept it in good
shape.P If only people were the same
way…

The
sedan rolled along the busy downtown streets of Port Wallaby, slowly weaving
it’s way towards the outskirts of the central business district.P Baloo sat on the passenger side, staring out
the window, lost in thought.P The driver
was a serious-looking elephant in a black suit, who cast curious glances over
at his silent companion every few seconds.P

“You’re
doing the right thing, Mr. Baloo.” he finally said as the car escaped the
congestion of downtown and turned towards the harbor.P “You should be-“

“Yeah
yeah, I know.” the big grey bear said softly.P “Doin’ the right thing.”

“You
say the lad stowed away on your airplane, eh?”

“Yeah.”
the pilot whispered.

“Amazing,
what these youngsters get themselves into!” the elephant said, clicking
his tongue.P They drove for a few more
moments, and the Sea Duck came into view, moored on the harbor in the shadow of
the cannery.P Baloo stepped out of the
car, dreading the moments to follow.P
His feet felt like they were encased in cement.P The elephant fell into step behind him.

When
Baloo peeked his head into the cargo hold Tristan was in the lower bunk,
absently leafing through a book.P He
looked a little sullen.P “Hi
Kid.P Sorry I blew up at ya
earlier.”P Baloo said sheepishly.

The
boy’s expression softened.P “That’s
OK.P No big deal.P Listen, I was thinking maybe we could
go-“

“Wait
up Kid.” the pilot sighed.P He
stepped aside as the elephant slipped past him onto the plane.P “I want you ta meet somebody.”

Tristan
tensed immediately, eyes darting nervously between the two adults.P “Hello Tristan.” the elephant
smiled.P “I’m George Pachyman.P Pleasure to meet you.”

The
young tiger did not shake the hand that was offered to him.P “Who are you?” he asked warily.

“I’m-“

“Mr.
Pachyman’s with the Department of Child Welfare, Kid.” Baloo
interrupted.P The boy tried to dart past
him, but Baloo grabbed his arm and held him easily.P “He’s gonna help ya.”

“You
– you turned me in?!?” the boy spat.P
“Why?”

“Kid-“

“Young
man, I want to help you.” the elephant said soothingly.P “You’re not old enough to be on your
own, you belong-“

“You
bastard!” Tristan screamed at Baloo, who turned his eyes away.P “Why did you do this?P I thought you were my friend!P How could you do this to me?!?”

“Doin’
you a favor, Kid.” Baloo mumbled.P
Pachyman grabbed the cub’s other arm and Baloo walked up to the cockpit
without turning.P

“Bastard!”
the boy screamed.P “I hate
you!P You hear me?P I hate you!”

“That’s
fine, Kid.” Baloo whispered.P
“Whatever you need.”P
He leaned back in the seat, eyes closed.P He could hear the cub complaining and swearing as the elephant
led him over to the car, but he didn’t look.P
The car door slammed, and Baloo heard the engine engage as it sped
off.P

Without
opening his eyes, Baloo started up the Sea Duck in a routine he knew so well he
could do it in his sleep.P Right now he
just wanted to be as far away from Port Wallaby as possible.

Rebecca
collected the last of her personal belongings from the office and gently placed
them in a box.P The deed of ownership
would pass the next day, but that could be handled at the bank, and there was
no point in sticking around here any longer.

Molly
had taken the news badly – of course she would.P The yellow cub loved Cape Suzette and had from the first day
she’d been there.P Who wouldn’t?P She wasn’t old enough to understand about
responsibilities yet.P She was lucky.

Rebecca
looked around the office, casting her mind back to that first day, all, those
months before.P Baloo had been
abominable – rude, inconsiderate, condescending.P But it hadn’t mattered – she’d felt excited, energized, as soon
as she saw the place.P The feeling of
_rightness_ was overpowering.P As
unfriendly as Baloo had been at first, Kit had been the opposite – charming,
considerate…P She’d loved him
immediately, and so had Molly.P She’d
felt the pain that haunted him, sensed it.P
She was a mother.P They needed
each other.

And
as for Baloo, well – she’d seen through him, too.P He was part of the _rightness_, somehow.P It had all been perfect.P Messy, difficult, painful – but
perfect.P It was hard to believe it
could all go so wrong, so fast.

She’d
invested so many dreams in this place.P
It was the first time she’d ever failed, at anything.P She didn’t much like it.P But then it was the first time she’d ever
really _tried_ anythingP – anything
really risky.P That didn’t make her
track record very good.

She
thought about Baloo and Kit for a moment – where they were, what might happen
to them.P It hurt to think about
it.P She thought about herself – where
she was going.P Maybe she’d been wrong
all along.P She been so _sure_ – if she
followed her gut, did what she felt was right, it would all work out.P Now she was going back to the life she’d
fled once.P It hurt to think about that,
too.

At
last she thought about what might have been, about possibilities.P That was what she saw more than anything
else when she looked around this old office.P
She saw them as clearly as if they were happening in front of her eyes,
and it was glorious.P It was everything
she’d hoped for, everything she’d dreamed of.P
It was success, hard work rewarded, and people she loved.P It was hers.

But
it was a mirage.P This was someone
else’s office, someone else’s dream now.P
Not hers.P She’d given dreams a
shot, and now it was time to leave them behind for more fortunate souls to find
and revel in.P Maybe someone would find
theirs here.P She almost had, but not
quite.P Wiping away a tear, she opened
the door and stepped out into the sunny afternoon, and closed it softly behind
her.

Baloo
flew for a long time, part of his mind absently monitoring the skies in front
of him but most of it far away.P He was
surprised when the fuel alarm rang out, and jerked his attention back to the
world of the senses.P He looked around
him – by a remarkable stroke of fortune there was a cluster of lights not far
off the starboard side – A city.P Land.

The
port engine was completely out of fuel, but the starboard had a few drops
left.P He eased the throttle back as far
as he could without stalling the engine and headed for the lights at a slow
glide.P He had no idea whatsoever where
he wasP – he hadn’t been paying the
slightest attention to his navigation instruments.P

The
starboard engine struggled on and he managed to touch down on the water near a
cluster of shipyards and docks.P It
could have been anywhere, and at the moment he really didn’t care.P He wasn’t sure he’d ever care.P Places didn’t mean much, in the big
picture.P Not his picture anyway.

It
was late – the sky was dark and the shipyards were all shut down.P Baloo sat in the cockpit, listening to the
waves lapping against the pontoons as the Sea Duck gently rocked in the
water.P

He
made a decision.P Wherever he was,
that’s where he was.P It didn’t
matter.P It was good enough.P His life would be here, and he wouldn’t let
anyone hurt him again, not ever.P People
were trouble – they walked out on you, they hurt you.P He knew that – he should have known it sooner, but at least he
knew it now.P And Tristan knew it too,
thanks to Baloo.P He’d done that cub a
big favor by showing him what happened when you let someone get close to you…

So
he was a wiser man now, he figured.P It
just wasn’t worth it, those few moments of raw joy.P The price was too great.P
He’d figured he was all paid up but the world didn’t work that way, and
every time he forgot the world taught him a lesson, to remind him.P He’d had enough lessons.P He’d finally learned.

He
heaved his body out of the pilot’s chair and into the cargo hold, feet like
lead.P He was weary, tired like he’d
never been.P He opened the storage
locker and pulled out the red and blue baseball cap, which the tiger cub had
dutifully replaced exactly where he’d found it.P He’d held onto some things for far too long.P It was time for a funeral for the old Baloo.

He
stepped out the cargo door and onto the dock.P
He walked out as far as he could go, and stopped, staring down into the
murky depths.P Moonlight and stars
reflected off of the rippling water, and he smelled salt.P It was the sea, he knew that much.P It seemed appropriate.

Baloo
held the cap out, over the water, but his fingers wouldn’t let it go.P His old self wouldn’t die quite that easily
– it was as if there was one more struggle left in it, and instead of releasing
the cap his fingers clenched into a fist, crushing the fabric tightly.P His hand shaking, Baloo slowly brought the
cap to his face and held it there, blocking his eyesight but not his
vision.P He sobbed, but no tears fell.

He
stood there for several moments, his body racked by sobs every few seconds, the
old cap in front of his face.P Finally,
his arm stopped shaking, the sobs ceased and he breathed deeply.P The war was over.P He shut his eyes tightly and held his hand out over the water,
releasing the cap, which fluttered slightly in the breeze and landed with a
small, crisp splash on the water.P He
stood there for several minutes, eyes closed, as the receding tide gently
carried the old cap away from him.

Finally
the grey bear sighed deeply and turned and walked back down the dock and onto
land.P His gaze hard, he walked in a
straight line, not sure where he was going but not particularly caring.P It didn’t seem to make much difference
anyway – a place was a place.P The old
yellow seaplane sat impassively on the water, gently rocking in the waves.

“I’m
here!P I’m here!”P Kit cried.P
“Don’t go, don’t-“

“Young
man!P Wake up!” Mrs. Newberry
hissed irritably.P “This is not a
place for sleeping!”

Kit
jerked his head up, looking around him wildly.P
“Where is he?P Where’s
Baloo?!?” he almost shouted.

The
librarian was startled to see tears on the boy’s cheeks.P “Mr. Cloudkicker!P Are you all right?”

Kit
stared at her, small sobs escaping his chest.P
This was so… confusing – what was going on?P “Where – where am I?”

“The
library of course!P Are you all right,
Kit?P You’ve been crying…”

The
cub brought his hands to his cheeks, feeling the tears.P “L-library?!?P But – Baloo!P
Rebecca!P They were
here…”P A wave of panic raced
through him, and he trembled violently.

“Take
it easy!” the librarian said calmly, kneeling next to him and wrapping an arm
around his shoulder.P “You must
have fallen asleep, had a dream-“

“Dream?P No!” the cub hissed.P A sharp memory flashed in his brain.P “Mr. Bright!P Where’s Mr. Bright?P He
was here-“

“Who?”
the librarian frowned.

“Mr.
Bright!” Kit said desperately, more tears running down his cheeks.P The images were terrible, they were
real.P They _had_ to be real!P “Peter Bright – the new counselor, he
was talking to me…”

“Mr.
Cloudkicker – there’s no counselor at this school named Peter Bright.”
Mrs. Newberry said gently.P

“What?!?”
Kit cried, aware at some level that he was in a library and shouldn’t shout but
not caring.P “He was here!P I talked to him, he held my hand-“

“No,
Kit.P We don’t have any counselor named
Mr. Bright.” the librarian said firmly.P
“I think perhaps you’d better go see the nurse-“

“No!P No nurse…” Kit whispered.P “I’m – I’m all right…P I just don’t get it…”

“Well…”
Mrs. Newberry said dubiously.P “If
you’re sure.P In that case you’ll have
to go to class-“

“Huh?”
Kit gasped, racked by another sob.P
“Class?”

“Yes
– what’s you’re seventh period class?P
You can’t stay here-“

“Seventh
period?P What time is it?” Kit
asked, his breath coming in ragged gasps.

“Almost
two.P You can still make it if you
hurry-“

“Two?!?”
Kit squeaked.P “But – that’s
impossible!P I – I – “

“Kit,
you either have to go to the nurse or go to class, those are the rules.”
the librarian sighed.P “I really
think you should go to the nurse, you seem very-“

“No!”
Kit panted, wiping his eyes.P “I’ll
– I’ll go to class, thanks.”P He
picked up his books and got unsteadily to his feet.

“Are
you sure?” the librarian asked, concern in her voice.

“Y-yes.P Thanks.” Kit whispered, exiting the
library.P He didn’t want to see any
nurse right now, no way…P Even gym class
would be better than that.P

“Maybe
I’m going nuts!” he mumbled to himself.P
Could he have dreamed it – was it possible?P He closed his eyes, but that was worse – Rebecca and Baloo were
there – lonely, haunted.P Betrayed.P He choked back a sob and leaned on a locker
for support.P He needed them now – he
wanted someone to hold him, comfort him.P
He wanted to tell Baloo and Becky everything was all right, that he was
sorry…P But he was alone in the
hallway, his ragged breaths the only sounds as all the other kids were tucked
away in their classes.

~Higher
for Hire is out there!~ he told himself urgently.P ~It’s there!P You _know_
it is!~P But until he saw it, felt it…
he couldn’t be sure.P He trembled again,
and set off down the hall.P Higher for Hire
seemed like it was a million miles away from him.P He couldn’t shake the fear that he’d never see Baloo and Becky
again – they’d be gone, and he’d be alone.P
~It’s irrational!P Don’t be a
dumb kid, it was just a dream – a nightmare!~ he told himself.P ~It was just a nightmare…~