Airship City

Epilogue

He stood outside the Chairman’s office, straightened up, and knocked.

“Come in.” Churchill’s voice carried clearly through the thick oak. Joseph pushed the door open, and entered.

“Ah, good morning, young man. Come in, please sit down.” 

He crossed the Persian carpet and took a seat in the left hand visitor’s chair.

“Miss Honeywell said that you wanted to see me, sir?”

Churchill cleared his throat. “Yes, I did. It’s about this business with the banker’s draft.” He nipped the end off a cigar, and lit it, puffing slowly. “Dreadful thing, you know. Most unfortunate.”

“Yes, sir. Although it has nothing to do with me.”

The Chairman regarded him from beneath a raised eyebrow. “Nothing? Do I need to remind you that the draft was found in your pigeon hole, and made out to yourself?”

Joseph felt his cheeks colour. “No, sir. I know that, sir. What I meant was, I didn’t put it there, and I certainly didn’t make it out to anyone, let alone myself.”

“Oh, I know that. No-one, and certainly not a bright young man such as yourself, would be stupid enough to make out a draft in their own name. Also, the block letters are a bit of a giveaway, yes? No, the problem I face is that too many people know of the draft’s existence. I must take action, otherwise people will talk, and nothing is more damaging to a bank’s confidence than innuendo and rumour. So I need to fire Cooper. Show the City that we won’t stand for any hint of malfeasance.”

Joseph nodded. He was with the Chairman there— no doubt in his mind that Mickey needed to go. But Churchill seemed to have something else on his mind as well. He leaned forward in his chair, looking directly into Joseph’s eyes. His face showed concern, and regret.

“But I need to do more.” He sighed. “I want you to know that I’ve thought long and hard about this, but unfortunately I can’t see any other way of resolving the situation satisfactorily. I don’t want to let any lingering doubts remain over this business.”

Joseph’s heart sank. This sounded like very bad news indeed.

“I need to let you go too.”

 Even though he had been dreading it since the start of this whole business, it was still an enormous shock. It hit him like a physical blow in the stomach, leaving him feeling weak and breathless. What would he tell his mother? How would he provide for her?

Churchill was still looking at him, concern in his eyes. “I really am sorry about this, Joseph.” He managed a half-smile. “But, do you know what, I suspect that it may turn out for the best. I know that you’re not very happy here. And, I happen to know someone who is looking for a new employee.”

He rose from behind his desk, and Joseph followed him to the door which led to his private ante-room. Opening it, he motioning to Joseph to go through. There was a man standing with his back to them, looking out of the window. He turned around as Churchill quietly closed the door.

“Hello, Joseph.”

Joseph was too surprised to say anything for a moment. Howard Hughes walked towards him, smiling broadly.

“I sure am glad to see that you got away from Monmouth and Vanross in one piece. Until I heard from Mr Churchill, we were a bit worried about you.”

Joseph found his voice. “Yes, sir, I did… manage to get away.  I— I’m sorry I didn’t make myself known to Mr Thornton. After the explosion.”

“Oh, that’s all right. I guess you weren’t too sure how welcoming he’d be! Don’t blame you at all.” A wry smile appeared on his face. “That explosion sure was something, wasn’t it? Saw it from one of our airships. I guess someone gave Monmouth a taste of his own medicine.”

Joseph could feel the colour rising in his cheeks again, but before he could say anything, Hughes continued.

“On the other hand, it’s a wonder such a shabby old wreck managed to fly for so long without exploding. That’s what we’re telling the authorities, anyway. Seems like the least complicated option.” He gave a quick wink, then his face became more serious.

“But I know what you did to save Aeropolis. Young Harry told us all about what you two did down in the gas envelope galleries. That was mighty quick thinking, and if you hadn’t done it…” Hughes trailed off, shaking his head.

“So I wanted you to know that I appreciate what you did. Ione now, she did what she thought was right, so I don’t apologise for her, and you have to admit it was pretty dumb to bring those detonators on board.” Joseph opened his mouth to protest, but Hughes held up his hand. “I believe that you didn’t know what they were. I’m just saying, if you’d have come straight to me with them, you wouldn’t have ended up on the wrong side of Ione’s gun! Anyways, all’s well that ends well, as the poet says.”

“How is Ione?”

Hughes smiled ruefully. “She’s OK. On her way back to the States. She’s still pretty darned annoyed with you, though. My daughter ain’t the forgivin’ type, I’m afraid. But give it time, she’ll come around.”

Joseph nodded, though it wasn’t what he’d hoped to hear. Still, it was more positive than he’d feared. He didn’t get much time to think about it, though, because Hughes wasn’t finished.

“Now, you may not know of this, but your father was gonna leave the Zeppelin company and come to work for me. It was all arranged, he was just doing the one final test flight for them.” He frowned. “I always knew the explosion was no accident. The ZA don’t take kindly to what they see as betrayal.

“Anyway, I’ve been talking to Andy Rowan, about your little flight in the Spitfire. To tell you the truth, I didn’t get much choice about it, he pretty much demanded to speak with me! He wants you in the Air Corps. And I’ve been thinking about it as well. I still want a Samson to work for me.

“What do you say, Joseph? Will you do it? Will you come and fly for me?”

Joseph stared at him, trying to process all the implications of what he was hearing. The thought of going back to Aeropolis, and actually living and working there, suddenly thrilled him. He remembered the feeling of soaring into the air in the Spitfire, and he longed to feel it again. The only cloud on the horizon was the thought of telling his mother. She won’t like it. Not at all. 

Well, it was his life after all. He was nearly a man. It was time for him to be true to his heritage. He stood up straight. I love you, Dad. I won’t let you down.

Hughes was looking at him. “Do you need time to think about it? Talk it over with your mama, maybe?”

Joseph shook his head. “No, sir. I’ve decided. I want to do it!”

Hughes beamed at him. “Excellent!” He rubbed his hands together. “Well, let’s go then. I’ll run you home, you can pack a few things, and we’ll be back on Aeropolis by noon. Come on!”

Joseph ran to catch up with the excitable American as he rushed out of the room. This is going to be amazing.

Author's Note

Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it! Please vote if you did. And try my other Aeropolis adventure Airship Stowaway. Book II of Joseph's adventures will start soon.