Oscar Meyers: Chapter 9

Posted: April 25, 2005 - 09:33:03 am



While many of the people in Turkey are Muslim, the democratic government of

Turkey was secular. This meant that politicians had to run for election

periodically and worked hard to preserve their reputations. On the world stage,

and inside Turkey because of the current activities associated with the

earthquake, few organizations had the news capital of the Fusion Foundation. As

head of the Fusion Foundation, the doors of the Turkish government opened for Ed

Biggers.

Followed by members of the press, Ed walked through the halls of the Turkish

Government with little resistance. Using his truth sense, Ed was able to move

through the bureaucracy with ease through the expedient method of exposing

criminal acts of bribery, extortion, and embezzlement. As a result of his

passage through various departments of state, the government of Turkey was

suddenly much more honest. By the time he reached the upper level of government,

individuals were very willing to help him with military support in tackling the

terrorist organizations.

Oscar and Penny had followed behind Ed and only had to take care of one problem,

a minor bureaucrat who decided that going to jail for murder was no worse than

going to jail for extortion. Penny had put him down with a single blow to the

throat when he had charged into the room waving a gun at Ed. The act had pointed

out that the Druids were not defenseless. It did not point out that Penny knew

that the man was coming because of a warning by Annette.

It was a very subdued President, Prime Minister, Chief of General Staff,

Minister of Defense and Commanders of the Army, Navy, and Airforce who met Ed at

the Çankaya Presidential Compound. All of the men in that room had spent the

previous hour getting briefed about him and the Druid organization. The

information they had received about what the Druids were capable of doing was

very frightening.

After the appropriate introductions were made, Ed sat in a chair in front of the

President while Oscar and Jennifer took positions next to the security guards

along the wall. The two Druids had paused to examine the guards and then

dismissed them out of hand. Ed took the opportunity to study the men in the

room.

The President glanced over at the two red robed Druids leaning against the wall,

recognizing them from his briefing. It was rumored that the small man was

responsible for the deaths of over a thousand terrorists. If the small man

wanted, he could probably defeat half the men they chose to put in a

battlefield. He was frightening enough, but the woman was the one who terrified

him. It was rumored she could walk through walls. She had penetrated some of the

most secure installations in the middle east with devastating effect. The

Iranians were still wondering how she managed to take out their Nuclear Program

in a single night. He shuddered at the thought of having her so close to him.

Turning to look at Ed Biggers, the President found himself staring at the

medallion nestled on the man's chest. The gold medallion appeared to glow

against the black robe. The briefing had described the Druids as a modern

version of the Magi of ancient times. After meeting the Druid, he could believe

it. In English, he asked, "Dr. Biggers, what is it that you want the government

of Turkey to do?"

"I would like the military to take out the terrorist organization responsible

for kidnapping the employees of the Fusion Foundation," answered Ed speaking

Turkish and looking the President in the eye. Oscar raised an eyebrow when he

heard Ed speaking Turkish.

As the men in the room shifted uncomfortably, the President replied in Turkish,

"It's not that simple."

"It is that simple," countered Ed again in Turkish.

"We are still investigating the abduction," interjected the Prime Minister.

"We know all that is necessary to take care of the problem. We know who did it,

where they are, and how well armed they are. All we need is your army to go

where we tell them and to do as we tell them," countered Ed.

"You can't know all that," declared the Prime Minister with a sinking feeling

that Ed did know.

Staring at the floor, Ed was silent for a moment and then smiled. Looking over

at the Prime Minister, he said, "At this moment, three men are headed to this

room. They will reach us in about a minute. One is a security guard with a

semi-automatic holstered under his coat. One is a pushing a cart loaded with

snacks. There are ten small chocolate finger cakes, eighteen stuffed dates, a

bowl of dried figs, and other treats whose names I don't know. The other man is

pushing a cart with coffee and tea. The cups are very elaborately decorated in

blue and gold."

Fifteen seconds after Ed had finished talking, there was a knock on the door

and, after a security man opened the door, three men entered the room. It was

exactly as Ed had stated. The Prime Minister couldn't help but count the number

of cakes and stuffed dates on the one cart. White faced when the counts agreed

with the prediction, he asked, "How did you know?"

"I am a Druid," answered Ed as though that was a sufficient answer. It appeared

that it was sufficient for the men in the room. Looking the President, he asked,

"So do I have your army?"

Impressed by the demonstration, the President sat back in his chair and

considered the Druid sitting in front of him. His intelligence agents had known

that Ed was a human lie detector, but he had not been told the man could speak

Turkish or that he could see through walls. He answered, "Yes, but the army must

remain under the command of our officers."

Ed stood and handed a slip of paper to the President. Without resuming his seat,

he said, "Good. Have the person you place in charge of this action call the

number on that paper. Jennifer will coordinate everything."

The man looked at the slip of paper and then up at Ed who was moving towards the

door. Surprised at the name on the paper, he asked, "Jennifer Wilson will

coordinate the movements of our army?"

"Yes," said Ed with a smile as he paused on his way to the door. He reached over

to one of the carts and picked up a finger cake and popped it into his mouth. He

was half tempted to ask for the recipe.

Visibly shaken, the Army General in the room asked, "The Jennifer Wilson? The

Druid who consults with the American Army? The woman who coordinated eighteen

simultaneous attacks against the terrorist camps inside the West Bank for

Israel?"

"The same," replied Ed with a nod of his head.

Not sure that he wanted to hear the answer, the Prime Minister asked, "How many

Druids are involved in this?"

"Fourteen," answered Ed with a smile. After making a gesture towards the door,

he added, "I have to leave now. I have two more countries to visit today."

'Fourteen?' echoed in the mind of the Prime Minister. He couldn't believe his

ears. Swallowing heavily, he thought back to his briefing about the Druids. They

were a powerful organization that wasn't one to anger. When a Druid turned his

or her attention to a problem, it stopped being a problem. Who knew what would

happen when fourteen of them turned their attention to a problem? Looking over

at the President, the Prime Minister asked, "If we had not agreed to support you

with our armies, what would have happened?"

"Oh, I imagine your government would have fallen in a week or two," answered Ed

as he left the room followed by Oscar and Penny. Ed didn't like making threats,

but knew that there were times when it was necessary for others to know the

consequences of their actions. His parting shot had been intended to make sure

that the support they received would be the best that was possible.

As they left the complex, Ed said, "That went well. Now we go to Iraq.

Hopefully, we'll be done with our meetings there before sunset."

"You scared the hell out of them," commented Oscar glancing back the way they

came. He looked at Penny and said, "I thought the President was going to die

when he was looking over at you."

Shrugging, Penny answered, "I have a reputation in this part of the world

because of a surveillance camera I didn't notice. It's real strange, one little

incident with a Nuclear Weapons program that failed to get off the ground and

people start looking at you funny."

"Imagine that," commented Oscar wryly with the result of provoking a laugh from

Penny.

Their plane landed at the Freedom International Airport outside Baghdad late in

the afternoon. The jolt of the tires hitting the runway woke Oscar from his

short nap. Looking around, he yawned and then asked, "Where are we?"

"Baghdad," answered Penny as she stood and stretched.

Ed opened the door and stepped back as a wave of hot air rushed into the plane.

He said, "It feels like it is about a hundred and ten outside. That wouldn't be

so bad, but it's humid."

"It's the rivers," commented Penny as she stepped out of the plane. She paused

to look around for anything that might be a threat despite reassurances from

Annette that all was well. A Hummer was parked near the plane and was there to

take them to a meeting room.

"So this is the cradle of civilization," said Oscar looking out the door.

"Mesopotamia," said Ed as he stepped out to stand behind Penny.

Oscar brought up the rear and followed the other two over to the Hummer. Penny

said, "It's nice to be back here. Things are looking a lot better now than the

last time I was here."

The three of them entered the Hummer with Penny getting behind the wheel. She

had pulled the soldier out of the vehicle to take his place. Oscar found his

hand caressing the pistol in his pocket as if seeking reassurance that all was

well. Settling in his seat, Ed said, "I thought it would be harder to arrange a

meeting with the government leaders here."

"Jennifer?" asked Oscar wondering if she had something to do with their

reception.

"Yes. It appears that she provided some help in squashing a situation that could

have escalated into civil war," answered Ed. After the Americans had turned over

the majority of security over to the Iraq military, former members of the Sadam

regime had made a bid for power. Swarming into Iraq from Syria, they were well

armed and organized. Jennifer had laid out a battle plan that caught the

terrorist without cover from the resurrected Iraqi Air Force. It appeared that

her contributions were not forgotten.

Penny drove the Hummer over to a building that had once been a barracks, but had

been turned into a command center. The number of guards around the building said

more about what was inside of it than the plain appearance of the building

suggested. She commented, "Looks like the big boys are here judging by all the

soldiers around here."

"That's what we want," said Ed with a smile. Things were going much better than

he had thought possible. He had expected to have to drag the leaders out of

their homes, not for them to come to him.

Oscar stared at all of the soldiers and mapped out in his mind how he would

attack. Looking over at a nearby building that provided perfect cover, he said,

"This isn't a very secure location. Could you have Annette look around?"

Ed spoke into his microphone for a second and then said, "You're right. There's

someone on the other side of that building with a car. She says it is loaded

with explosives."

Without saying a word, Oscar opened the door and dropped out of the still moving

Hummer. Penny was smart enough not to react and drove on towards her

destination. She looked back in the mirror, but it seemed as though he had

disappeared.

Oscar crawled to the building while glancing over at the Hummer as it went to

the building in which the meeting was being held. There wasn't a place where he

could hunker down behind some cover and wait for the car. Instead, he moved to a

point closer to the path that he expected the car to take on the way to

delivering its payload. Once in place, he knew that all he had to do was wait.

Wishing that he had a rifle, Oscar lay on the ground with his pistol in hand.

Behind him, Ed and Penny exited the Hummer and went into the building. The

guards around the building seemed to relax. Oscar could feel his alertness

growing. A minute passed by with nothing happening, then five, and finally ten.

The heat burned its way into his body as if the environment was purposely trying

to sap his strength. It was a relief when he heard the sound of a car being

started.

Oscar was beginning to wonder if he had made a mistake when the car didn't come

around the corner of the building immediately. Rather than move, he continued to

wait. Annette's voice in his earphone announced, "He's praying. Give him a

minute."

Oscar didn't respond, but kept his eyes on the corner of the building where he

expected the car to emerge. Annette said, "You're amazing. I can't locate you

and I know where you dropped out of the car."

Her words brought a smile to his eyes, but he kept his face fixed. With a sense

of excitement, she said, "He's moving."

Although her commentary was intended to help, it threw his attention off and

seemed to undermine the tension that he counted upon to react quickly. The

distraction was only momentary. Recovering, he waited with his body tensed and

posed to move at the first sign of the car. The car came around the corner and

raced towards him. He jumped and ran towards the car before the driver had even

became aware that he was there. At nearly point blank range, Oscar fired three

shots into the driver and then dropped to the ground.

The car slowed as the driver lost consciousness and then began to move around in

a large circle as the driver's body kept the steering wheel in a slight right

turn. Oscar stood to the side and watched the car move an erratic path across

the tarmac. He then turned to watch the bedlam that exploded around the guarded

building as guards came running out to take control of the situation.

Walking over to one of the guards still at his post by the building, Oscar

looked at the pistol in his holster. Pointing to the ammo pouch on the man's

belt, he said, "Give me a clip."

Shocked, the guard reached in and removed a clip from his ammo pouch. Handing it

to Oscar, he asked, "Where did you come from?"

"School," answered Oscar cryptically as he replaced the partially used clip in

his pistol with the borrowed clip. He ejected the live round in the chamber with

a practiced smoothness. The guard noticed that the gun had never been completely

unloaded through the process.

No one stopped him as he made his way into the building. Inside, he stopped to

look around and was about to ask for directions from a guard when Annette said,

"They are down the hall in the third room on the right."

He followed her directions and entered the room to find Ed and Penny standing

near the door. Penny commented, "I heard that the problem was solved."

"No problem, just a minor irritation," remarked Oscar with a wink.

"Let's go. Our business here is finished," said Ed with a grin. The little

episode outside had worked to their advantage. It was a minor demonstration of

power that spoke volumes about the capabilities of the Druids.

Oscar followed Ed out of the building, allowing Penny to lead the way. They

walked past shocked guards to the Hummer. The one that Oscar had asked for a

clip saluted when they walked past. Oscar nodded in the man's direction.

Inside the Hummer, Penny remarked, "I'm impressed. I never saw you once you

dropped out of the car. Annette provided a nice running commentary on what you

were doing."

"Thanks," replied Oscar as he turned to watch the guards chasing the still out

of control car. It reminded him of a keystone cops movie.

"Looks to me like they have their hands full over there," said Ed with a laugh.

They drove past the plane that had brought them. Oscar noticed and asked, "Where

are we going?"

"We've got alternative transportation to our next destination," answered Ed as

he pointed to a hanger. Concrete barriers surrounded the hanger with American

troops stationed behind fixed emplacements. There were two large gaps, one for

planes to enter and exit the area and the other for vehicles. The complex

presented a sense of far more security than that surrounding the other building.

A soldier stepped in front of the Hummer with an arm raised when they were more

than a hundred yards away from the truck entrance. Penny stopped the Hummer and

said, "We get out here, otherwise they'll shoot us."

The three Druids exited the Hummer and faced the soldier. Seeing that he was

facing Druids he waved them past with a respectful gesture. The reputation of

the Druids had spread and no one within the military would dare inconvenience

one. Across the distance, he shouted, "You can continue."

Leaving the Hummer parked where it was, Penny called back, "The keys are in it."

The soldier was puzzled by her reply, as he had expected them to drive the

Hummer up to the gate. The trio made their way to the hanger. Oscar scanning his

surroundings for possible areas of threat, Penny moving lightly with her weapon

in hand, and Ed walking as though he were strolling through a park.

A soldier opened the door to the hanger as if he were a doorman rather than a

guard. Seeing the bored expression on the man's face, Ed paused and asked, "Hard

duty?"

"Not really, sir. Despite that little bit of excitement on the tarmac a few

minutes ago, things have quieted down here over the past year," replied the

soldier with a shrug. The American presence in Iraq was slowly diminishing and

the locals were now the subjects of most attacks.

Noticing a small area of debris a short distance from the compound, Oscar said,

"You should probably have that trash over there moved. It provides excellent

cover for a sniper."

The soldier smiled and said, "Last guy that tried that found himself flying in

the air and in ten pieces."

Penny laughed and said, "That was my idea. Last time I was here, someone took a

shot at me. They had dug a shallow ditch out in that field and waited there for

a chance to take a shot at someone important. I figured it was better to provide

them with a tempting spot to wait."

Wryly, the soldier said, "It worked."

"Remind me not to get in a fight with you," replied Oscar. Thinking about it, he

realized he would have made the same recommendation. It was better to control

your environment than allow the environment to control you.

They entered the hanger. Three oddly shaped helicopters were parked in the

center of the large building. Oscar looked at them, puzzled by their

construction. They were basically frames, without sides, tops, or bottoms. There

were two cloth buckets that passed for seats, one for a pilot and one for a

passenger. He asked, "Is this what we are taking?"

"Yes," answered Ed looking over the craft. They were modified versions of the

one that he had used in Antarctica.

"I guess they are still putting them together," commented Oscar. There wasn't

any protection for the crew. He leaned over and looked at the carbon-carbon

composite strut that connected the tail rotor assembly to the body of the plane.

Laughing, Penny had watched Oscar walk around one of the helicopters. She said,

"They are nearly perfect stealth copters. The lack of metal means that it has

almost no radar signature."

"You expect me to go up in one of these?" asked Oscar shocked at the idea. He

looked at the bizarrely shaped propeller atop the helicopter. Rather than

straight and flat, it was curved with three bends along its length.

"You bet," answered Ed with a grin. He was actually looking forward to piloting

one of them.

"We are using them for Black Ops almost exclusively," said Penny.

Looking at the helicopter, skeptical that it would actually carry them, Oscar

asked, "So what do we do now?"

"Sleep. We have four hours until dark. We leave at dark thirty," answered Ed.

Oscar turned from the helicopter and noticed a dozen people watching them from

the side of the hanger. While Ed walked over to talk to the men, Penny asked,

"How's it feel to be back in service?"

"Good," answered Oscar. It actually felt good to be wearing the red robe and

working. The few minutes on the tarmac had reminded him of the time spent in the

desert. It was a relief to be moving and doing things rather than spending his

time in school. The months of living a lie had taken a toll on his spirit.

"I noticed that there was a little more bounce in your step," remarked Penny.

Her first opinion of the man sitting in the dining room had not been all that

good. It seemed to her that he looked dull and barely there. Now he was active,

his eyes flashed with life, and he smiled with ease.

"Yeah, school has been a little rough on me," said Oscar. His hand moved over

the medallion and he added, "It's felt like there's a huge hole in my life

without the medallion."

She flinched at the thought of losing the medallion. It was almost beyond her

ability to imagine life without it. As a shudder ran through her body, she said,

"I didn't think about that."

They moved over to the room reserved for them. Entering, Oscar took in the three

cots and smiled. The sleeping arrangements here were just as minimal as at the

school. Stripping off his cloak and robe, Oscar laid down on one of the cots

setting his pistol in easy reach. He watched as Penny disrobed and saw her

artificial leg. Surprised, he said, "I didn't realize that you had lost a leg."

"No big deal," said Penny as she settled onto one of the other cots. Pulling the

cover over her body, she said, "In case you're curious. I lost it before my

service to the God began."

"In battle?" asked Oscar wondering if she had a battlefield experience with the

God in the same way that he had.

"No. In a car with high school friends after a party," answered Penny with a

sigh. She was the only one to survive the crash. She had been the only one

wearing her seatbelt and credited it with saving her life. That had been three

years before she had encountered the God while hiking in Colorado.

"Sorry," replied Oscar.

"It was our stupidity. High school kids out for a ride after drinking at a

party. We thought we were invincible."

Oscar didn't know about that. His high school years were not filled with parties

or joy rides in cars. He had been a klutz. Everyone in school kept his or her

distance from him. Being accident-prone ruled out feeling invincible. Even the

bullies found that his accidents could cause as much damage to them as their

treatment caused him. High school was not a time of friends.

This train of thought led him to consider his time at the college. A surprising

number of students enjoyed his company. Thinking about it, he realized that he

had more friends than he ever thought possible. His roommates supported him when

he was down. Gabby, Abby, and Greg were always hanging around at meals, laughing

and making jokes. Even, moody and quiet Cole challenged him. Would he have had

those people as friends if they had known he was a Druid? He wasn't sure of

that. As thoughts about his friends back at school rattled through his brain,

Oscar fell asleep.

The sound of Ed getting out of his cot woke Oscar. Looking around, he noticed

Penny waking. As she sat up, he couldn't help notice her body. She had the kind

of body that a lot of women would kill to have and men would die for the chance

to make love to it. He didn't doubt that her leg would throw off most men, but

the rest of her was perfect. Shaking his head, he climbed out of the bed.

It only took him a minute to slip into his robe and cloak. He slid his pistol

into his pocket with practiced ease. Fully dressed, he waited for Ed and Penny

to finish. Ed grumbled, "I could use some coffee."

The words were barely out of his mouth when there was a knock upon the door.

Moving to the door, Oscar opened it making sure that his hand was on his pistol.

Despite the fact that they were surrounded by American troops, he didn't trust

their safety to anyone else. The soldier held up a thermos and several foam

cups. He said, "We thought you might want some coffee."

Oscar accepted the thermos and cups with a grin. He said, "Thanks."

The three of them poured themselves a cup of coffee and sat around not talking.

Ed was not talkative when first waking, Penny was busy adjusting her artificial

leg, and Oscar was wishing that Georgia and Debbie were with him. It wasn't

quite the quiet before a storm, but there was a tension in the air. Once the

coffee managed to wake Ed, he said, "We had better get ready."

Oscar stood and announced, "I'm ready for battle."

Smiling at the little man, Penny said, "We need to pick out our supplies."

"Oh," replied Oscar.

The trio left their room and walked over to the far wall of the hanger. Three

tables were set up with weapons and ammunition. Seeing the Russian-made AK-47,

both Penny and Oscar picked one up and grabbed a dozen ammunition clips.

Noticing their choice, Ed asked, "Why that one?"

"It's the same as the enemy uses," answered Oscar as Penny nodded. Oscar put the

clips in a pocket of his robe.

"So?"

"It makes the same noise as their guns. It makes it harder for them to identify

where you are based on your shots during a firefight," answered Penny. She

noticed Oscar nodding his head in agreement.

"If you fire a different gun, everyone within a half mile knows exactly where

you are," added Oscar as he picked up the grenade launcher. There was an ammo

pouch for carrying grenades. He grabbed one of them and filled it with grenades.

Penny noticed his choice and asked, "Grenade launcher?"

"Sure. I like to create as much confusion as possible," said Oscar. He added, "I

would have liked to have a couple of RPG launchers, but that isn't really an

option here."

Penny nodded as she picked up two pair of night-vision goggles. She handed one

of them to Ed and said, "You'll need these."

Accepting the goggles without comment, Ed stored them in a pocket of his robe.

Oscar looked over the rest of the table and picked up a pair of night-vision

goggles and a knife. Shaking his head, he didn't see any other weapons that

would be useful. When he reached the pile of MREs, he stopped and put a few of

them into his pocket.

Looking around, he realized that he was missing a canteen for water. There was a

pile of clear plastic water bottles, but he didn't want that. He commented, "No

canteens."

"You're right," said Penny. She looked around the hanger and noticed two

soldiers watching them from a distance. She called over to them. "We need three

canteens."

Ed asked, "What's wrong with bottles?"

"I don't like them. They're fine for back at camp, but I prefer a canteen in the

field," answered Oscar. The clear shiny plastic tended to reflect light in an

unpredictable fashion. The dull canteens didn't reflect light and that made them

safer.

"Same here," commented Penny surprised at how Oscar agreed with her view of

fighting.

Oscar looked at the camouflage paint and shook his head. Picking up a container

he opened it and smelled it. Shaking his head, he set it back on the table.

Penny had already put one into a pocket of her robe. Surprised, she asked, "Why

did you put it back?"

"It smells," answered Oscar with a shrug. He added, "I don't bathe often when

I'm in the field and if I do, then I never use soap. I eat the same foods as the

enemy so I smell like the enemy. Usually that means I end up eating spoiled

Russian rations."

"Why smell like the enemy?" asked Ed.

"You don't smell yourself, but do you smell things that are different from you.

I smell like the enemy so that they won't smell me," answered Oscar.

Penny had groaned at the mention of Russian rations and said, "You spent a lot

of time in the field, don't you?"

"Yes," answered Oscar without further explanation. He reached a pile of radio

activated claymore mines. Going back, he picked up a backpack and started

filling it with mines and the radio controls.

"You've got seventy-five pounds of mines in that bag. Isn't that enough?" asked

Penny surprised at the quantity of mines that he was packing away in the

backpack.

"Nope. That's your bag. I'm going to fill another one for me," answered Oscar

matching his actions to his words. He didn't want there to be a safe place to

stand within four hundred yards of where ever he might hole up.

After the canteens had been provided and filled with water, the trio went over

to the helicopters. The pilots were already standing beside their machines. None

of the men wore military gear. Instead, they were wearing tight fitting

coveralls. Oscar went over to one of them and asked, "Is this safe?"

"About as safe as they come," replied the pilot.

"I'm Oscar Meyers."

"I'm Paul Decker," replied the man.

"Army?"

"CIA," replied Paul, "not Army. Can't have a military incursion into a foreign

country."

"Oh," answered Oscar. He tended to avoid the politics of his work.

The man took his grenade launcher and stored it in a plastic net attached to the

side of the helicopter. He grinned when Oscar offered him the rifle for storage

and said, "You'll want to carry that in case someone starts shooting at us."

"Oh," replied Oscar. He didn't like the idea of being that exposed.

Paul pushed the helicopter out of the hanger and then checked it over one last

time. Seeing the nervous expression on Oscar's face, he said, "Don't worry. This

is the Skeeter V3. It's the fastest, quietest, and meanest little helicopter in

our fleet."

"Fast?"

"We've got over six hundred miles to go and we'll make it in less than seven

hours," answered Paul. He handed a helmet to Oscar and added, "Put this on. We

could make it in four hours, but the wind would beat you up."

"Oh," replied Oscar as he shoved the helmet over his head.

"Hop on," said Paul as he climbed into the front seat of the helicopter. The

voice came from speakers within the helmet. In a calming voice, the pilot said,

"This is no worse than riding a motorcycle at hundred miles an hour. Tie

yourself in and then cover yourself with the net. It'll keep your clothes from

making noise."

Oscar struggled to get into the chair. After tying the seat belt, he looked over

the side at the ground below. His ass was just a few inches off the ground. He

found the net and covered himself with it. It stretched and held him tight while

leaving his arms free. He had hardly gotten settled when he noticed that his ass

was ten feet off the ground. He'd never heard the rotor start spinning. With a

sinking feeling in his stomach, Oscar said, "Oh my goodness."