THE RETURN OF THE ROCKETEER
Chapter Two Cliff wiped his forehead with the sleeve of his coveralls. He, Peevy, and Goose were in their hanger with the doors and windows closed. The heat was intense, but Peevy and Goose were busy working on the rocket pack at a table in the corner, so they couldn't afford to have anything open in case anyone not from the airfield just happened by...or John Peterson. Cliff began to oil the parts on the Gee Bee. It had been two weeks since Peterson had assumed his position as owner of the airfield and already Cliff disliked him intensely. He had tried to be friendly to him ever since he arrived but Peterson seemed not to want his friendship. In fact, all he ever seemed to want from Cliff was information, about himself, where he went, and his relationship with Jenny. It irritated him to no end. He didn't mind telling some things about himself, but Peterson seemed to want to delve deep into his past, into things that were none of his business. He looked over at Peevy who was busying studying the schematic. The half-finished rocket pack was spread before them on the table. Every so often, Goose would stop working and consult Peevy on something before resuming whatever he was doing. "Peev?" Peevy looked up from the schematic at Cliff who was standing on the far side of the Gee Bee. "Yeah?" "What do you think of Peterson?" Peevy shrugged his shoulders. "He doesn't bother me," he said nonchalantly. Cliff stared at him in shock causing Peevy to put down the schematic on the table and give him his full attention. "Why? What's wrong?" he asked, suddenly confused. "Peev, he's been wanting to know everything about my past. I'm surprised he hasn't started asking you questions too!" By this time, Goose had stopped his work and was staring at Cliff. He looked over at Peevy and looked back at him. "He asks you questions?" Goose said. Cliff nodded. "Really personal questions. He wants to know things I'd never tell you guys, let alone anyone else." Peevy and Goose raised their eyebrows. "Why would he want to know?" Peevy asked. Cliff shook his head. "I don't know, Peev. He bothers me constantly. It's getting so when he comes out of his office, I'm walking the other way just so I don't have to deal with him. That's not the worst of it though; he's starting to bother Jen too." "Bother Jenny? You mean he asks her personal questions about herself too?" Peevy asked in disbelief "No, not about herself...about me...about us." Peevy and Goose gave each other confused glances. Cliff put down the oilcan and grabbed a rag. Wiping his hands, he walked around the Gee Bee and leaned up against it on the other side. "Here, I'll give you an example,” he said. "About a week ago, Jen came by with some sandwiches and milk she had made for us for lunch, so she and I decided to take them out back here into the field and make a picnic lunch out of it. I grabbed an old blanket and we walked about halfway out into the field and sat down. We were sitting there eating and talking with our backs to the airfield when I suddenly felt like we were being watched. I looked behind me and there was Peterson standing on the edge of the airfield just staring at us. He looked like he was trying to make out what we were saying. I decided to just ignore him and I went back to talking to Jen, but I kept my voice down so he couldn't hear me. By the time we finished our lunch and stood back up, he was gone. So I figured he was just trying to see what one of his employees was doing, you know? But when Jen was leaving, he came out of his office and got right in front of her. I was coming out of the hangar and I could see him just talking and Jen shaking her head. I started walking towards them and he suddenly stopped and ran back into his office with this guilty look on his face. I asked Jen what was going on and she said that he had been asking her about our relationship. She kept refusing to answer his questions and kept shaking her head 'no' but it just seemed to make him more persistent!" Peevy and Goose were stunned. Anyway, that's why I'm surprised he hasn't asked you or Goose about me yet." "Well, Clifford, now that you mention it, I think he has tried to approach me a couple of times. But someone always called me because they needed help with something and I don't think he got the chance. I didn't think anything about it. But after you told us that, I'm beginning to wonder if that's what he was trying to do." Cliff narrowed his eyes as he thought. "I don't think we shouldn't tell him about the rocket pack then," he said. "Somehow, I just don't trust him." Peevy and Goose nodded. "I think that's wise until we figure out what the deal is with him," Peevy agreed. Suddenly, there was a knock at the hangar door. Peevy and Goose grabbed a tarp and quickly covered the rocket pack. As Cliff walked to the door, they both stood in front of the table, hiding it. Looking back to make sure the rocket pack was hidden from view, he opened the door and sighed inwardly when he saw it was Peterson. "Good afternoon, gentleman,” he said looking over Cliff's shoulder to where Peevy and Goose were standing. “Kind of a hot day to have the hangar closed up like this, don't you think?" Cliff narrowed his eyes when he saw that Peterson was craning his neck trying to see around the hangar. His eyes finally settled on Peevy and Goose with a look of suspicion. "May I ask what you are doing in here?" He said when he finally looked back at Cliff. Biting back the urge to tell him to mind his own business, Cliff took a deep breath. "We're working on the Gee Bee," he said pointing back to the plane. "In a closed hangar?" Peterson said pointedly Cliff searched for a good reason when he suddenly heard Peevy behind him, "We usually work like this when we work on the Gee Bee. Other air shows do send spies occasionally to gather information about racing planes so they will have the advantage in the air races. We are merely taking a precaution so that that doesn't happen to us," Peevy said as casually as he could. Inwardly, Cliff thanked Peevy that he was able to come up with a credible explanation. He thanked God he had him as a friend. He had covered for him more times than he could remember. Peterson narrowed his eyes as he stared at Peevy. Cliff could see he didn't completely buy his story. But to his credit, he didn't press the issue further. He simply looked back at Cliff with an annoyed look. "I want you working, do you hear me? You better not be in here goofing off while you are on the job," he said angrily. Cliff nodded, holding back to urge to punch his lights out. "Sure thing, boss!" he said in a snotty tone. Peterson glared at Cliff before stomping back to his office. Cliff closed the door with a sigh of relief and turned to face Goose and Peevy. "I see what you mean, Clifford," Peevy said to him. Cliff turned off the ignition of Peevy's truck and walked up the steps to the front door of the boarding house. He had come to pick up Jenny for their weekly movie night. As he knocked on the door, he watched Miss Pye stomp to the entrance. She had never liked Cliff and she wasn't afraid to make her feelings known to him. "What do you want?" she said hatefully. Cliff sighed. "I'm here to pick up Jenny. You know, it's our night to go to the movies. We do this every week," he said annoyed. Miss Pye glared at him. She mumbled, “Wait a moment,” closed the door and stomped up the stairs toward the dormitories as Cliff rolled his eyes. He didn't know how Jenny was able to put up with a witch like her. After a few moments, Jenny came down the stairs followed by Miss Pye who by the looks of it was lecturing her. Jenny was nodding absentmindedly trying to be polite. Cliff shook his head. Every week it was the same routine. Just like clockwork. As Miss Pye opened the door, Jenny quickly stepped through into Cliff's arms. He leaned down and gave her a kiss on the cheek laughing inwardly as Miss Pye gave him a warning look. With an overly friendly wave to Miss Pye, Cliff and Jenny walked down the steps to the truck. Opening the passenger door, he waited while Jenny settled herself inside and then closed the door, walking around the back of the truck to the driver’s side. As he started the ignition, he looked up at the door and laughed when he saw Miss Pye still standing there, her arms crossed over her chest while she watched them. Jenny looked over at her and then looked back at Cliff. "She's just concerned about me, Cliff," Jenny said softly. Cliff snorted as he shifted the gears and the truck rolled off. "I think you'd be better off if you had a rabid German shepherd in charge of that boarding house," he said with a sly grin. Jenny giggled and took his hand in hers. "So what are we seeing?" she asked. "There's a new Marx Brothers movie that just opened. Wanna go see that?" Cliff asked. "Sounds good to me!" Jenny said with a kiss on the cheek. She sighed. She loved these nights out with Cliff. It gave them a chance to be alone and to enjoy themselves. She knew that Cliff hated that she was cooped up in the boarding house, but it was required that she lived there with the other aspiring actresses. It was much easier to reach them for casting calls that way. She looked over as they pulled up in front of the movie theater. She made a move to open the door when Cliff suddenly grabbed her arm. Looking over, she noticed that Cliff was staring intently at the rearview mirror and frowning. "Cliff, what’s wrong?" Jenny asked. "There's a black sedan behind us. It's been following us since we left the boarding house. No! Don't turn around," he said when Jenny began to look over her shoulder. "I'm gonna try something, I wanna see if this guy is really following us or not." As Jenny watched him nervously, Cliff shifted the gear and after checking for traffic eased out onto the road and began to drive away. He looked back and saw that the black sedan had done that same and was behind them a few car lengths back. "Damn," Cliff cursed under his breath. "The other car IS following us." Jenny looked up at him fearfully. Her breath beginning to come in short gasps. Cliff reached over and grabbed her hand to calm her nerves. "I'm gonna try to lose em," he said to her. Jenny nodded and slid closer to Cliff. She watched as he kept looking back in the rearview checking to see where the sedan was. Ever since the zeppelin explosion, she had harbored fears of something like this happening to them again. Cliff drove as fast as he could safely manage. He quickly turned onto another road feeling Jenny gasp in surprise as she hit his side. He thanked his lucky stars that his cracked ribs were on the other side of his body because he was sure he would have been in a world of pain by now. He quickly looked in the rearview mirror and frowned when he saw the sedan turn too. Gritting his teeth in anger, he turned again and quickly turned onto another road hoping that the sedan would think he had stayed on the other road. He sighed when he saw that the sedan was not fooled. He racked his brain trying to think of anything to get the sedan off his tail. Suddenly he noticed a police station up ahead on the right. He eased into a parking spot in front of the station and watched as the sedan passed them slowly. He looked over trying to see who it was, but the windows were tinted, much to his chagrin. After slowing down for a moment, the sedan sped back up and went on down the road as Cliff and Jenny watched it go, too shocked to speak.
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