Wings of Steele - Destination Unknown (Book 1) Read Online Free

from under the left wing grinning from ear to ear.
"Where ya been Skipper?" Five-foot-ten and solidly built,
Brian was a man with a ready smile and healthy sense of humor. His
wavy, sandy brown hair, although a bit longer than Jack's, was neat
and trimmed.
    Miffed,
Jack ignored the question. "I didn't see your truck, where'd
you park?"
    Brian
was still grinning but not wishing to press the issue... “All
the way in the back,” he replied, pointing to the back of the
hangar. “With the security system, they'll be safer inside.”
    Jack
put the roadster in gear and rolled past his amused copilot without
saying a word. Brian knew Steele's competitive spirit - he hated to
lose at anything. As the Cobra rumbled slowly under the wing of the
B25, the echo of the car's low burble danced around the inside of
the expansive hangar. Jack scanned the left side of the fuselage,
his eyes pausing on the artwork of the reclining blonde pin-up girl
who had been expertly repainted, her colors bright and crisp. As he
passed under the tail and pulled up next to Brian's pickup truck at
the rear of the building, Jack unlatched the dog's harness
one-handed, Fritz disappeared out over the passenger door and hit
the ground at a run before Jack had the Cobra at a complete stop.
Jack stepped out of the car just in time to see Fritz crash into the
waiting, open arms of Brian.
    "Hey
you big overgrown hamster, ready to go flying?" Barking an
affirmation, the Shepherd bounded around the inside of the hangar
his voice ringing off the metal walls.
    Jack
marveled at how perfectly the old plane had been restored. As he
lovingly tucked-in his prized roadster with its cover for its
four-week nap, he thought about the first time he saw the plane...
if you could call it that. Jack had met Stephen Miles, the owner, a
year ago through the shuttle service when he delivered a replacement
plane to Stephen's commercial seaplane business on short notice.
Stephen took an immediate liking to the charismatic young pilot and
was eager to share his most impressive project to date... the Sweet
Susie .
At that time, the B25-D had only been in the hangar about three
months. The engines had been removed, the fuselage looked like hell,
and the control surfaces were simply worthless. Jack couldn't
imagine her surviving a stiff wind much less ever becoming airborne.
    The
B25 "D" model was one of the later versions of the
Mitchell Bomber series. A formidable aircraft, she incorporated some
improvements with the combat proven standards. While retaining the
twin 50 cal. turret on top of the fuselage, four 50 cal. guns were
mounted facing forward. These four guns were fix-mounted forward
below the cockpit on the fuselage, two on either side, in single
mount pods. Two 50 cal. guns in the tail, one in the nose for the
bombardier, and one on each side of her waist capped off the B25-D's
armament. All
the good it'll do her, Steele thought, the
only battle this plane is likely to fight is with the rust creeping
across her airframe. Jack figured Stephen probably wasn't rowing with both oars in the
water but decided to humor him anyway. He thought, what the heck,
when you work with unlimited funds, you can accomplish almost
anything. And they did. Stephen's enthusiasm was severely
contagious, and the next twelve months transformed the old wreck
into a masterpiece.
    Jack
found out the reason for Stephen's desire; his father who had passed
away prior to Susie's purchase was the plane's pilot during World
War II. Stephen had paid Jack well for all the time devoted to the
project and even gave him shuttles to do during times when they
waited for parts. The young pilot became very fond of the B25, as if
it were his own and was excited beyond description, when the Sweet
Susie rolled out of the hangar for her first flight in over forty
years. All her systems had been completely finished, but the paint
work had not yet begun. The B25 was a mishmash of colors; red
primer, zinc green and new, shiny