His Edge - Excerpt

EXCERPT from His Edge

Walker Aircraft Company

Straton, CT

Monday, August 13, 1945

Walker Aircraft Company security guard Louie Craig sat at his small desk in the northeast corner of experimental hangar #2, watching the storm. He was alone and glad 100 yards separated him from the massive opening left by the rolled back doors. Although it was midday, the thunderstorm made it seem like nighttime, except when the lightning struck with its bluish flashes. He’d never seen lightning this explosive. He felt caught between two battling forces and was chilled in spite of the heat.

Louie guarded Walker’s hope for the future, experimental fighter XF4W-5. Its long, sleek nose housed an engine more powerful than any in service. The fighter’s speed and climbing ability guaranteed future business, which would mean more job security, maybe even a pay raise. Responsible for the XF4W-5’s superior performance was a black, briefcase-sized aluminum box which contained electrical and hydraulic controls. It was attached to the rear of the engine. This housing, Louie had been warned, was top secret. It was so complicated Walker personnel had nicknamed experimental fighter XF4W-5, the Brain.

After last year’s tragedies, another name was whispered among flight engineers: Killer. Test pilot Bob Crandall lost his life in an earlier Brain prototype when it exploded at critical altitude. The cause remained unknown. Three months later was that grisly mess when the wheel chocks slipped and the other Brain prototype, during warm-up, lunged forward into a mechanic who was walking by. The propeller chewed him up; it was so sudden the mechanic never knew what hit him. Bloody flesh spewed everywhere like morbid confetti. The medics said they had never seen anything so grotesque and repugnant.

A bolt of lightning illuminated hangar #2 followed by deafening thunder. Louie’s heart pounded wildly. He despised this post; all of the guards concurred. But Louie needed the extra pay. He anxiously phoned for backup, and the chief of security and another guard arrived within five minutes. “ I thought I heard something,” Louie mumbled desperately.

All three methodically searched the area, and the outside and inside of the plane. After an hour, the chief announced everything seemed normal.

“I don’t care if everything is ‘normal,’ Boss,” Louie emphatically slapped the desk top. “This plane is bad news. I thought the extra pay was worth it, but it’s not. I’ll stay today, but I don’t want this assignment again ……. Ever!”