Daniel followed him into the cool, damp belly of the plane, his eyes quickly adjusting to the dimness. When they found Jerry, the men shook hands all around again, vigorously thumping one another on the back the way they’d done in college. With smirks and self-conscious grins, the three of them hunkered down together, hands jammed into their pockets. The display of emotion and friendship was over, now it was time for business.
Jerry was the shortest of the three, but what he lacked in height he made up in pure, hard muscle. He had bright, inquisitive eyes and curly red hair that stood out like a fire bush around his ears. Daniel always thought he looked like a precocious squirrel. But he was a good buddy, the kind of guy you wanted on your side no matter what. Well, they were on his side now and hadn’t asked why.
“Okay, fella, let’s hear it,” Rocky said, uncorking a bottle of Jack Daniel’s. He offered it to Jerry, who took a swig and then passed it on to Daniel. Daniel took a good pull, wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, and passed it on to Rocky.
Thirty minutes later two pairs of eyes stared back at Daniel in wonder. “This has the makings of an Academy Award film,” Jerry said quietly, trying to wring one last drop from the now-empty bottle. “Daniel, this could be…hell, it’s…” Jerry turned to Rocky. “I think we should go along, Rock. This turkey could get caught by the Germans and he’d try and talk his way out of it.” He sounded worried, which surprised Daniel. When he replied, Rocky sounded just as worried.
“So you’re intending to pull off something much bigger than a reconnaissance tour to size up the situation,” Rocky said flatly. He took in and let out a great breath before continuing. “You could get stuck there, Daniel. Just because we get you in doesn’t mean you’re going to get out.”
Daniel placed a hand on each of his friends’ shoulders. “I know. And that’s why you two are staying here. If there’s one thing you two are good at, it’s covering your asses. Now I need you to cover mine. I’m simply out of town on business, emergency business. Check with my secretary, she’ll be expecting you. Return whatever calls look like trouble. Especially from Reuben. I wouldn’t put it past him to fly East if he gets an urge to. I think I rattled him last night. He’ll be able to get through on the phone to the island now, and Rajean will have him call the office. Reuben has this…this sixth sense when it comes to me, and he’ll act on it. He’s not to know, and neither is my secretary.”
“Daniel, what if something goes wrong?” asked Rocky. “What if you do get stuck; what do you want us to do?”
“Whatever you have to. The Red Cross will be our go-between, right, Jerry?”
“That’s the ticket,” Jerry said, patting the curving wall of the Red Cross transport plane.
The men talked then of details, coming up with solutions to potential problems. When they had finished their conversation, Daniel spoke. “Then I guess I’m in the hands of the angels, as the saying goes. You know, you guys are the greatest—Jesus, there’s a war going on; France is full of Germans; my world is upside down, and you…I didn’t know where to turn…and I know this is probably the craziest thing I’ve ever done, but I have to do it. You have to understand, I am what I am because of Mickey and Reuben. I can’t turn my back; I just can’t. If you hadn’t come through, I’d probably…”
“Be swimming your way over,” Rocky said, finishing Daniel’s sentence. “We thought of that,” he continued cheerfully. “Look, Daniel, we understand, and both of us feel you’re doing the right thing. We’re worried, and that’s natural and normal. We’re here for you for whatever that means, and don’t give another thought to things here. We’ll handle that.”
When the last round of backslapping and handshakes was over, the three men walked to the plane’s open door.
“Anytime you’re ready, this bird is cleared for take-off. Top priority and all that shit.” Jerry grinned. “Here,” he said, holding out a small velvet sack.
“What’s this?” Daniel asked, feeling the weight of the bag in his hands.
“It’s a bag full of goddamned diamonds. In case you have to pay for…you know…anything…” Jerry said, and cleared his throat.
Daniel’s eyebrows shot up. “I hope these aren’t the family jewels,” he said lightly. His throat was so constricted, he thought he would cry.
Rocky was next, dangling a money belt in front of him stuffed full of French francs. “You never know,” he said, shrugging. “I had my father tap a line of credit for you at the Paris bank. I don’t know if it will do you any good, but it’s there. The franc is…by the time you need it, it might be worthless. All of this is just a precaution, Daniel.”
There was nothing for Daniel to say, and he didn’t try. Jerry’s and Rocky’s eyes were as misty as his own as the three men stood and walked to the yawning opening of the transport. “I guess I’ll be seeing you…whenever,” Daniel said, his voice faltering.
“You better have some good French wine with you when you get back,” Rocky called as he and Jerry climbed down the stairs.
“I’ll take a real French maid, one with…” Jerry put his hands in front of his chest and drew them out as far as they would go, his eyes twinkling.
“You wouldn’t know what the hell to do with her, who are you kidding?” Daniel shouted back. He could hear both men whooping as the plane’s engines began to sputter. With a last wave Daniel turned to settle himself safely for the long journey.
Jerry and Rocky watched as the huge big-bellied plane taxied down the runway. As the wind swirled about them, they stood and waited until the plane was a speck in the now-clearing sky. “If he’s who he is because of this Mickey and Reuben, then we’re who we are because of him. Do you agree, Jerry?”
“All the way.”
They walked back to Rocky’s waiting car in silence, both of them fighting the urge to cross their fingers and pray.
“Do you think it’ll be okay?” Jerry asked. “I don’t know if I could do what he’s about to do. That loyalty, where the fuck does he get it? We have it all, Rock—the money, the power, the mainline families…You know what he comes from….”
“Daniel’s special. And we’re doing what we have to do just the way Daniel is. He rubbed off on us, and I’m glad. Look, there’s nothing else we can do for now. Should we camp out at his office, or what?”
They clambered into Rocky’s gleaming roadster, the last of the day’s raindrops beaded on its highly polished surface. “I closed my office,” Jerry said sheepishly. “I gave everyone a month’s vacation. My old man is probably drawing up my commitment papers as we speak.”
Rocky grinned. “You’re bonkers, but you aren’t the only one. I did the same thing.”
Both men looked longingly toward the western horizon. If Daniel had given the word, they would have leapt into what they were now considering an adventure.
At last Jerry reached over and patted the steering wheel. “Start this baby up,” he said resignedly. “I think we should head for the nearest bar and tie one on. We’ll be more than sober by the time Daniel gets to France.”
“In that outfit?” Jerry said, pointing to Rocky’s hairy calves. “There isn’t a place in town that’ll let you in.”
Rocky shrugged. “Then I’ll buy the fucking place! And you can hold the mortgage.”
“I know this tailor on Fourteenth Street…”
Chapter Two
It was a warm, golden day, the kind California was known for, the kind pictured on glossy travel brochures