Cliff's Good Deed

61 - A Rescue Attempt

There was no sign for the Cray Aviation Services hangar. Cliff took the airport terminal exit and recalled how most of the private hangars were located north of the main passenger terminal. He drove by a few unmarked buildings and wondered how he'd be able to find out which one was the right one. This late at night, there was nobody around to ask.

He got lucky when his headlights splashed across his Corvette parked beside a hangar entrance door. Cliff pulled Aaron's car beside his and shut off the motor. He took a moment to consider the situation. "I need a weapon."

Cliff popped the trunk, hoping to find a lug wrench. What he saw brought a smile to his face, a set of golf clubs and a baseball bat.

He grabbed the bat and headed for the entrance door. Finding it unlocked, he walked in just in time to discover an aircraft powering up. The hangar doors facing the runway were sliding open electronically.

Was Hannah aboard? She had to be. Nobody else was in sight and his Corvette had been parked outside.

The plane slowly taxied toward the opening doors.

Cliff glanced at the baseball bat in his hands, an impotent weapon against an aircraft.

Or was it?

The tail rudder swung to the side as the aircraft maneuvered toward the exit showing Cliff what he needed to do.

He ran to catch the accelerating aircraft. As he pulled even to the tail, the prop wash blasted him, nearly stealing his breath. Cliff swung the bat hard, bashing it against the rudder. The plane kept moving. Cliff continued to beat at the tail until the lower section broke free from its hinge.

The pilot applied the brakes. With no rearview mirrors to see what was happening, he was forced to shut off the prop and open the door.

Startled to see Cliff, the pilot, a short balding man froze. Cliff grabbed him by the waist and pulled him the rest of the way out of his plane. He stumbled but didn't fall. "Who the hell are you and what are you doing to my aircraft?"

Cliff ignored him and boarded the plane. Hannah sat with her head hung and eyes closed. James gawked at him wide eyed. "How did you...?"

Before he could finish his sentence, Cliff yanked the release lever of the man's seatbelt and hauled him from his seat. He physically threw James off the plane, sending him sprawling onto the concrete floor. He addressed the two men. "Don't move. If either of you tries to leave, I will run you down and bash in your skull with this baseball bat."

The pilot approached James and extended a hand to help him to his feet.

Cliff turned back to Hannah who was looking at him in surprised shock. The side of her face was cherry red. Her eye was swelling, and a spot of dried blood stuck to her upper lip where her nose had bled. One of the bastards had hit her.

Enraged, Cliff pivoted, intending to give the two men much worse than what they had given Hannah.

Hannah stood, seeming to understand his intentions. "Cliff, don't do it. You'll end up in prison. They're not worth it."

He jumped from the plane and faced the two men. "Which one of you cowards hit her?"

James stepped away from the pilot and pointed at him. "He did. He slapped Hannah."

"That makes both of you cowards," Cliff snarled. "One for hitting a woman and one for ratting out his accomplice."

The pilot spit onto the concrete floor and glared with defiance. "That's big talk from someone holding a baseball bat."

Cliff regarded the weapon. "Do you really think I need this to handle you two?" He handed the bat to Hannah who was now standing behind him.

The pilot yelled and charged him. Cliff let him come. At the last moment he stepped to the side and grabbed the man by his belt and trouser waistband. Using the attacker's forward momentum, he hurled him face first into the side of the aircraft. The man folded at the knees and puddled onto the floor unmoving.

Cliff turned to James who was backpedaling toward the hangar door. He held his hands in front of his body in a defensive posture. "I'm not the one who hurt her. I would never strike Hannah. I love her."

Grabbing James by the back of the neck, he marched him toward where Hannah was standing.

"Here he is," Cliff said. "You have the bat."

James fell to his knees in front of her and whimpered. "I'm sorry."

Hannah shook her head in disgust and dropped the bat.

"That's right," Cliff said. "Hannah isn't an animal like you are. Lucky for you she isn't." He hauled James to where the pilot was still on the ground but regaining his senses. The man was trying to sit.

Cliff handed Hannah his cell phone. "Dial 9-1-1 and get the police here. I'll watch these two. They aren't going anywhere."

Do you think James and Crawley got off too easy?