47 SA Flyer MagazineJed sniffed the fuel sample.
Smells OK. He held the tester
up and examined the liquid
in the faded dusk light. No
sediment, no bubble – looks
OK. He finished his pre-
flight and raced back into the
terminal building to get his flight
bag.
Mikhael rushed down the
stairs towards him. “I’ve got
your bag, Jed. I’ll meet you at
the chopper.”
“OK, I’m just going to write
the flight details on the board.”
A voice wafted from behind
Jed, “I’ll do that for you, Jed.
I’m on my way up to the office
now. Paper-work and then its
home for me. No flying, but
lots of coffee ... hope I sleep
tonight.”
“Thanks, boet.” Jed spun
around and tailed Mikhael to
the R44 on the tarmac. Man, I
hate being rushed!
Once airborne, they
headed north to Mamelodi.
Jed scrutinised the sky ahead
of him. Clear all the way. As
they approached the extended
centre-line for Waterkloof, the
radio crackled, “Control room
here. We’ve picked up signals
from the vehicle. It’s now in
Pretoria CBD.”
Jed called Waterkloof
Tower and immediately
launched into a sharp U-turn
and headed back for the N1.
Jed grimaced. His stomach
felt wrung-out. Something’s not
right. What have I forgotten? To
distract himself, he gazed at the
night sky.
“Doesn’t the Milky Way look
magnificent? I know we can
only see about 2,500 stars, but
it’s incredible to think that there
are over two hundred b-i-ll-
ion stars and, including earth,
probably at least a hundred
billion planets in the galaxy.”
Mikhael looked up at the
sky. “Twink-le, twink-le litt-le
star ...”
Jed smiled, “It’s good to
see you relaxing in the chopper
again.”
Mikhael chuckled, “Ja,
those few sessions I had with
the counsellor made a huge
difference. I never realised how
badly I was affected by being
in that crash with Donny. That
post-traumatic stress stuff sure
clobbers your mind. BUT I’m
so pumped now. Like I used to
be when we were on a chase.
Let’s go get these thugs.”
Jed burst out laughing,
“Boet, I’ve missed you.
Welcome back!”
Laughter helped Jed relax,
“I’m catching your buzz. Let’s
go get them.”
As if in unison, a voice
from control room blurted over
the radio, “Car now headed to
Atteridgeville.”
Jed gently turned to the left.
Mikhael’s track pack sprung to
life. “Signals! Strong signals.
Wahoo, we’re onto them!”
Jed and Mikhael scanned
the streets below.
“Spot anything?”
“Nothing!”
“OK, I’ll carry on flying
westwards for a bit.”
“Signals are getting
stronger. We gotta get a visual
soon. If they get any stronger,
the car will have to be strapped
to our skids!”
Jed grinned and made a
call to the ground crew, “We’re
overhead Atteridgeville.”
Jed looked down, “Gees,
the roads are busy.”
“Signals are getting
weaker.”
“OK, I’ll do a 180 and head
back.”
“Signals have picked
up again, but there’s no car
headed to Pretoria. I reckon the
suspects saw us and ditched
the car.”
Jed continued to fly on hiscurrent track, while they both
scoured the area.
Mikhael stated flatly, “Oh-h
look, see that big Acacia tree?
I bet they’ve abandoned the
car under that tree and done a
runner.”
Jed chortled, “Sorry boet, I
know you were champing at the
bit, but I think we’ve been done
out of excitement for the night.”
Mikhael, boxed his hand
through the air. “Man, I was up
for the chase! I was pumped for
some action tonight! Cowards!”
Jed orbited the tree and
descended in an attempt to
get a visual. When Jed was at
500 ft, Mikhael checked the
tailgate and said, “Ja that’s our
car alright. No sign of suspects- wimps!”
Jed pulled power and
climbed away to the north. Jed
muttered, more to himself than
Mikhael, “We’ll be well clear of
those power lines.”
At a 1,000 ft, Jed
contacted ground crew, “Johan,
we’ve found our vehicle in
Atteridgeville. Where are you
guys?”
Johan answered, “We’re on
your six. We’ll head on over to
you. I’ll put the roof emergency
lights on. That should help you
spot us.”
Seconds after having
spoken to Johan, there was
a sudden eerie silence: the
engine had died. Instinct kicked
in. Jed shoved the collective
down.
Adrenaline spurted. Jed
barked, “Where are those
power lines? Mikhael!”columns
Hand fuel pump in back of
bakkie filled up with water.