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“I need a favor. I need your airplane.”

“You never did beat around the bush,” Darmstadter said, smiling. “But you can’t have this one. Not unless you want to use just the one engine.” He paused. “But, then, you might. And you’re the only pilot I’d trust to do that.”

“Is it broke bad?” Canidy said.

Darmstadter stuck out his lower lip and shook his head. “Nah. They think it might just be a magneto.”

“What about the other one?” Canidy said. “Is it airworthy?”

Darmstadter studied Canidy.

“You’re serious about taking a plane, aren’t you?”

Canidy nodded. “I’m in a helluva hurry. Stan Fine said you could run me out to Dellys, give me a tour, make introductions.”

Darmstadter considered that, knew better than to ask questions—Canidy would confide if and when it was necessary—then checked his watch.

“We’ve got some jumpers due here for us to run them out there in two hours,” he said. “Can it wait till then?”

“I’d really like to get out there and back yesterday,” Canidy said.

“Okay,” Darmstadter nodded, then turned to the mechanics. “You guys’ll be okay if we make a run?”

“Yes, sir,” they replied almost in unison.

The mechanic who’d hit his head grinned and added, “Better than okay, if you get him and his surprises out of here.”

“Surprises?” Canidy said. “I’d call them little tests. They’re good for you. Didn’t your mother ever tell you ‘Never let your guard down’ or ‘Watch your back’?”

“How about ‘Payback is hell’?” Darmstadter said to Canidy with a grin.

The mechanics smiled as they went back to work.

Darmstadter said, “Get that bird fixed, guys, and we’ll be back in a bit.”

Darmstadter turned to Canidy and looked at the duffel on his shoulder.

“You look ready to go,” he said, then nodded toward the Nissen hut. “Let me go inside and get my flight bag, then we’re out of here. Okay?”

He opened the door to the Nissen hut, and Canidy could see inside. There was a single lightbulb hanging above four bunks built of raw lumber. The shelving that held army field manuals and a few other books had been constructed from old ammo crates.

Canidy nodded.

“Sure,” he said. “I think that while you’re doing that, I’d better see to my bladder.”

“Piss tube’s over there in the shadow of the Fokker.”

“Taking leaks on the Krauts, are we?”

“It was someone else’s idea, but seemed fitting enough to me,” Darmstadter said, then went inside the hut, the door slamming shut on its spring behind him.

The crew who had been in the other Gooney Bird, readying it for flight, had not been disappointed with Darmstadter’s announcement that he was taking their aircraft and that they could have the other one when it was fixed in an hour or so.

As Darmstadter worked out those details, and made the preflight walk-around inspection of the aircraft, Canidy had made his way forward and strapped himself into the copilot seat.

When Darmstadter appeared in the cockpit and found him there, he said, “What? You don’t want to fly left seat?”

“I thought you knew that I only fly the ones that can breathe fire,” Canidy said.