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Post by DocQuantum on Aug 31, 2021 2:00:15 GMT
Origins of the Blackhawks
Blackhawks
Names Nationality
Blackhawk: None/ Bart Hawk/ Janos Proska None/American/Polish
Zeg/Kazimierc "Zeg" Zegota-Januszajtis Polish
Stanislaus: ?/ Stanislaus Drozdowski Polish
Vladham ? Polish
Olaf: Olaf Bjornson/Olaf Friedriksen Swedish/Danish
Andre: ?/Andre Blac-Dumont French
Baker/ Ian Holcomb-Baker English
Hendrickson: Hans Hendrickson/Ritter Hendrickson Dutch
Boris/ Boris Ziniviev Russian
Chop Chop: Liu Huang/Wu Cheng/Weng Chang Nationalist Chinese
Chuck: Chuck Wilson/Carlo "Chuck" Sirianni American
Rogers American
Theodore Gaynor American
Grover Baines American
Paco Herrera Mexican
Hank Hennessy American
Irving "Irv the Nerve" Haganah. Israeli
Antonio "Granite" Gallero Italian
Lady Blackhawk
Natalie Reed American
Sheila Hawke English
Zinda Blake American
Keng, Quan Chee, a.k.a. "Mairzey" Malaysian
Elsa Hendrickson Dutch
Violet Hendrickson Dutch/English
Blackie the hawk
Bravo the chimp
Equipment
Fighter Planes Helicopters
PZL P-50 Jastreb Fighter 1939-40 Multiple types
Grumman F5F- Skyrocket 1941-49 One-man Aero-cycles
Republic F-84 Thunderjet 1949-1950 Seaplanes:
Lockeed F90 1950-1956 Multiple types
Lockeed F90c 1957-1963
Republic F-105Thunderchief 1964-1968 Other Equipment:
Baroudeur Hawkhunter 1969-1977 Hawk Submarine
FU Cutlass 1978-1984 Safari Mobile (A turreted tracked vehicle)
Blackhawk Island:
There are three islands in the North Atlantic in the Mediterranean Sea in the South Pacific
The Blackhawks have minor differences in each of the their incarnations through the years that allow us to tell which world they're from: Earth 1, Earth 2, Earth X , Post Crisis or another alternate universe. Certain differences will separate them, starting with their names nationalities.
On Earth X Blackhawk never had a name; he was first introduced as a Polish national and then after the war he was an American. It was explained that he and his family were in Poland as Red Cross volunteers. Stanislaus, Olaf, Andre never had a last name mentioned. Zeg, Baker, and Boris during WWII had a brief membership before disappearing from the strip. Chuck's last name was Wilson. Hendrickson was German and his first name was Hans. Olaf was Danish.
Chop Chop's name was Liu Huang and he was part of Chinese nobility. His character spoke in a dialect that racially stereotypical and he was drawn in a similarly horrible manner, and he was in part used as comic relief. Even so, in the Golden Age Blackhawk comics he was seen as a brave heroic figure. He never did receive a Blackhawk uniform.
Sheila Hawke was the only woman to wear the Blackhawk uniform. Blackhawk Island had three different locations. The first one was in the North Sea, then Mediterranean Sea, and finally in the South Pacific.
On Earth 2 Hendrickson was Dutch and his first name was Ritter. Chop Chop, or Chopper's name was Wu Cheng (Mark Evaner gave him that name in Blackhawk #203)
There was a disgraced Blackhawk named Theodore Gaynor. The deceased Blackhawks-Baker, Boris, and Zeg possibly existed. Blackhawk Island was in the North Sea.
On Earth 1 Blackhawk's name was Bart Hawk. Ritter Hendrickson was Dutch. Olaf name was Bjornson and he was Swedish. Chop Chop's name was Liu Huang. Boris is the only one of the deceased Blackhawks known to have existed. Zinda Blake is Lady Blackhawk. They have two mascots: a hawk named Blackie and a chimp named Bravo.
Alternate Earths: Blackhawk's name is Janos Proska and he is Polish. The full names and nationalities of the Blackhawks are Olaf Friedriksen (Danish), Andre Blac-Dumont (French), Ritter Hendrickson (Dutch), Weng Chang (National Chinese), Chuck Wilson, or Carlo "Chuck" Sirianni (American), Stanislaus Drozdowski (Polish), Kazimierc "Zeg" Zegota-Januszajtis (Polish), Boris Ziniviev (Russian), Ian Holcomb-Baker (English) Theodore Gaynor (American), Grover Baines (African American), Paco Herrera (Mexican American). Natalie Reed is Lady Blackhawk and there is a secretary named Marzy married to Chuck.
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Post by DocQuantum on Aug 31, 2021 2:00:33 GMT
Part 1 The Man of Three Lands
Prologue Tuesday September 1, 1987
Hollywood California
Movie producer and director Lucas Stevens was under a tight deadline in filming his latest big budget movie: Blackhawk. He wanted to have the opening of his movie a year from today, on the fiftieth anniversary of the start of WWII. He needed a hit after the last to box office flops he had produced and directed. This would be a film adaptation of the sensational, all too revealing; some said muckraking, story of the Blackhawks by the author Cherie Howard.
Almost all of what the woman had written in her unofficial biography of Blackhawk was unsubstantiated. The Legion of American Veterans had called it a disgrace and there was widespread condemnation from multiple heads of states. Still the book was on the Metropolis' Daily Planet's top ten lists after more than three years and Stevens spent a small fortune when he bought the rights to the book.
According to Ms Howard's book Blackhawk was not the upright hero portrayed in the newspapers and newsreels of the nineteen-forties through sixties. She stated that the Blackhawks fame was based entirely upon lies. He real name Janos Proska, a captain in the Polish Air Force. Ms Howard grudgingly gave him credit for being an excellent pilot; though she claimed several of the Blackhawks were acknowledged to be better aviators than Proska. Indeed Blackhawk had gained international attention as an aviator in a famed round the world voyage by plane back in 1936. She also claimed that his mother died in childbirth and father committed suicide. She also stated that Proska was a member of the Communist Party in the 1930's
According to her research, he was not the brains behind the formation of the Blackhawks, but merely a figure head. She wrote that the true creator of the Blackhawks was his friend and fellow Polish aviator, Kazimierc "Zeg" Zegota-Januszajtis. Blackhawk was supposedly a hard drinking, whoring, two fisted fighter who went in whatever direction Zeg sent him.
It was, according to Ms Howard, it was the late Zegota-Januszajtis, who led Blackhawk and another Polish Airman, Stanislaus Drozdowski, through the early dark days of WWII. She wrote that Zeg used Blackhawk's fame as the three flew and raided the Germans before and after Polish capitulation. It was during this time that the fame of the Blackhawks grew.
Eventually the Blackhawks had to leave their homeland but British and French Representatives approached the trio in neutral Denmark. The Blackhawks, according to Howard became an international team due to Zegota-Januszajtis, who was the son of a Polish diplomat. But Zegota-Januszajtis died in 1942 and he never received the proper credit.
Howard wrote that the American Chuck Wilson filled the void along with the young Nationalist Chinese Blackhawk who went by various aliases. She also claimed that America financed the Blackhawks before the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. Chuck, she wrote, was an OSS agent who used the name Wilson as an alias. According to her research, his real name was Carlo Sirianni.
Ms Howard said she tried to find any living member of the Blackhawks, but was unsuccessful. None of the Blackhawks had been seen since1982. Some were rumored to have been seen during the Crisis, but they were decades younger than they could have been. Members of the American, British, and French intelligence agencies of the time declined to speak with her about the famed team of aviators; nor did other representatives of the various other governments that the Blackhawk were reported to have helped. So she spoke with the Blackhawk's foes, read their files, and tore down the legend of Blackhawk with revisionist history.
Stevens was making the movie in conjunction with Mammoth Studios. Mammoth had insisted on buying the rights to the True Story of Blackhawk from Stevens when they agreed to finance the project. Three Weeks in to production Mammoth Studios was bought by Cunningham Aircraft and today the studio stopped production.
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Post by DocQuantum on Aug 31, 2021 2:00:48 GMT
Prologue 2
Friday September 4, 1988
Hollywood California
Lucas Stevens was sitting uncomfortably outside the office of Mammoth Studios new president, a man named James Reed. Reed was a hot shot up and comer at Cunningham Aircraft, the new parent company of Stellar Studios. He was also the man who had pulled the plug on Lucas's production of his adaptation of Cherie Howard's unofficial biography of Blackhawk. Stevens' appointment was for three o'clock, but Reed had him wait until five pm.
Stevens had never met Reed, but he had seen pictures of the forty-eight year old executive. He had brown hair, a winning smile, and a record of turning around failing companies that Cunningham Aircraft bought and then sold at a considerable profit. According to their critics, Reed and his company were freebooting marketers who didn't give a damn about the employees of the companies they bought. Stevens had agreed with the critics even before his cherished Blackhawk movie was canceled. What Stevens hoped to do now was to buy back the rights to Howard's book so he could take it to another studio.
Stevens was surprised to see another man sitting in a chair in front of Reed's huge desk when he was finally allowed to enter Reed's office. Both men stood when Stevens came in. Steven's glanced at the man standing in front of Reed's desk. He was an older man of an indiscriminate age, but certainly old enough to be retired. He was tall, well over six feet with a strong, trim build. His hair was cropped close, but it was long enough on top of his head to see that he was entirely grey. The man walked with a limp when he crossed the room to shake Steven's hand as he said "I'm the Chief Financial Officer for Cunningham Aircraft." The man's grip was strong and firm and his hand was calloused and scarred.
He looked Stevens directly in the eye with serious light blue eyes behind horn rimmed glasses with a look that was neither warm nor harsh. Instead it was appraising. Stevens noted that the man had lots of small scars in his hands and several on his face as well. Unconsciously his face became quizzical but Reed interrupted his train of thought by asking the producer to sit down. Stevens sat down in the chair to left as Cunningham Aircraft's CFO returned to his seat on the right.
"I suppose you're here because you want to buy back the rights to your Blackhawk movie" said Reed as he came right to the point.
"That's right" said Stevens. ""I'll even give Mammoth a portion of the profits once it's made over at Galaxy"
Stevens didn't notice as the older man's face started to smile. "I'm afraid that's not going to happen, Stevens" said Reed. "We've just been over the books of Mammoth Studios and we've found the accounting practices here atrocious, bordering on criminal. I understand that it is basically the same way in every other studio. I'm going to clean that up before I enter into any deal with another studio."
Stevens' eyes widened at that statement. People had been trying to clean up Hollywood's crooked accounting problems for years. "That is not going to happen."
"Yes it will" said the older gentleman.
Stevens let the matter drop. If these two fools thought they could change Hollywood-that was their problem. He wanted the rights to his film back. "This has nothing to do with my film."
"Perhaps" said the older man. "Tell me Lucas, why do you want to do a movie that tears down a hero?"
Stevens thought a moment before answering. "Blackhawk couldn't have been a hero because he was an agent of the United States, Great Britain and various other countries during World War Two and the Cold War; governments compromise and corrupt those folks."
"Are you a pacifist Mr. Stevens? Asked Reed.
"Yes, I have been arrested multiple times in anti war protests" the director said proudly. "That's a matter of public record. I also think Howard's book is true."
The old man then asked "The trouble with people of your generation is they believe all sorts of wild ideas, like FDR knew that the Japanese were going to bomb Pearl Harbor before December 7th. You believe then that Blackhawk was a one time Communist?"
"Yes"
"That was of Polish Peasant stock?" the man continued.
"Yes"
"That he never truly led the Blackhawks?"
"Yes"
The older man said "Then you are an ignorant fool Mr. Stevens."
"What!" exclaimed Stevens; he was not used to being insulted by anyone, especially by an old man in a business suit.
The old man held up his hand and said "The reason you are a fool is because you have not independently checked Miss Howard's book against Polish History. A man of the peasant class could never have become an officer in the Polish military in the days before the Second World War. Nor could a communist. The Soviet Union and Poland fought brutal between 1919 and 1920. Poland and the Polish People are deeply distrustful of the Russians; and that is putting it mildly. Furthermore, communists were not allowed to be members of the Polish National Government."
Stevens heard the older man. "But that doesn't refute that Proska didn't really lead the Blackhawks, or that he was just a drunken whoring bastard; even if he wasn't a peasant or communist."
"True" said Reed as he reached into his desk. He pulled out a stack of envelopes. "In here are the microfiche of the Blackhawks' war and mission diaries, as well as their personal diaries. From these Mammoth Studios will be making a Blackhawk movie. A movie we would like you to direct."
Stevens thought it over for only a moment before saying "I have a man named Marstan who used to work for the second Killer Shark. He was a major source for Howard's book. He is working for me as Technical advisor. Do I keep him?"
"No" said Reed, You'll be using Mr. Drozdowski here" as his hand went out to the older man.
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Post by DocQuantum on Aug 31, 2021 2:01:01 GMT
Chapter 1
The Man known around the world as Blackhawk was born in the city Polish city of Krakow, which was then a part of Austria-Hungary. Poland did not exist; it had not existed as an independent nation for over a hundred and fifteen years. Poland had been split up between the Austria, Prussia and Russia. Russia, Prussia, and later Germany, Prussia's successor state of tried to obliterate the Polish language and culture like the British tried to erase those that belonged to the Irish. The Austrian-Hungarian Empire however was made up of multiple nationalities and the Hapsburg Government had a more relaxed policy towards its minority peoples in the beginning of the 20th century.
Blackhawk's father was a man of the lesser Polish gentry, not quite nobility, but not a member of the working class or peasantry either. The Gentry ran the lands manned by the peasants for the nobility. The noble house that the Proska family had served was that of the Pavolski Baron. The name Proska was not Polish but that was because of a century and a half of intermarriages. Stefan Proska however considered himself to be a Pole first and foremost. Stefan Proska was named after one of Poland's most famous kings, Stefan Batory – or Stefan I.
He was the second oldest son and he joined the Austria-Hungary Army as a cavalry officer in 1908 because that was his only opportunity for a career in the society in which he lived. He was stationed in the capitol city of Vienna when he met the American heiress Silvia Cunningham in 1910. She was an aspiring artist and patron of the arts who was in Vienna studying under the miniature painter Hugo Charlemort.
Silvia Cunningham came from Chicago. She was the only daughter of the famous 19th century industrialist Bartholomew Cunningham and Fawn Hawk-Smythe. Fawn Hawk-Smythe was half Sauk Indian. It would have been scandalous in her life time and in her daughter's as well if Fawn Hawk-Smythe's heritage was known.
It was the tightly kept family secret that helped in Sylvia's attraction to Stefan Proska; a man whose heritage also had to be, if not denied, played down, less it interfere with his career. The pair was married in 1911. Sylvia moved to the small Proska family estate while Stefan was almost continually assigned to duty stations where revolutionaries were stirring the ferment of independence among the indigenous populations of Austria-Hungary. It was a difficult duty for Stefan because of his own longings for an independent Poland.
The couple's first child was born on the last day of November of 1912. He was a black haired blue baby named Jan Bartholomew Proska. Stephan insisted that his son have Polish name while Sylvia wanted he son to have her father's. Thus Blackhawk's given name was a compromise between the two.
Stefan Proska was in Sarajevo on June 28th 1914-the day Austria Hungary's heir, Arch-Duke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated by a Serbian separatist. He was initially on the Serbian Front during the First World War and was severely wounded in that initial campaign.
In 1915 the entire family, including a recuperating Stefan, had to flee the family estate as Tsarist Russian troops sought to surround Krakow. In May of that year Stefan had sufficiently recovered to be transferred to the 3rd brigade of the Polish Legion, an elite cavalry unit also known as Pilsudski's Legion. He was away from Sylvia until the end of the war in 1917. Their second son was born in 1916. Jack Casmir Proska was born on 22nd day of April. He had brown hair and eyes.
Stefan had been interred in a German prison camp with 3,000 other Polish troops who refused to take a loyalty oath to the German Emperor in 1916 when the Legion was transferred to German control. There he became ill with typhus and never fully regained his strength.
He was freed at the end of the war and reunited with Sylvia. Sylvia had just spent four years of her own hardship in a strange country that had been on the losing side of a long and brutal war. She was able to convince Stefan to return with her to America after he made initial repairs to his estate. They made arrangements for the repairs to continue without his direct supervision in 1919. His patron, Baron Pavolski heartily approved of the sickly Stefan's trip.
Stefan and Sylvia enjoyed their trip to the United States. Bartholomew Cunningham's heart was captured by his two grandsons. His only son Jonathon was unmarried when he died during the war.
Constance "Connie" Proska was born in Chicago on the 15th of January in 1920. Like Jack she had brown hairs and eyes. She was adored by both her parents and older brothers.
In 1919 a war between Poland and the newly formed Soviet Union was developing. Stefan Proska received a telegram from General Pilsudski, the Polish Army's commanding officer, ordering him to active duty return to and Warsaw. Sylvia pleaded with him not to go. But Stefan was Polish patriot and said he had to go, but Sylvia and the children did not have to go with him. Sylvia refused to stay in America.
The situation for the Poles were desperate by the time the family arrived in Warsaw. The city itself was coming under siege on three sides by the Russians. General Pilsudski devised a massed counter offensive aimed at the Soviet center. Stefan Proska was now a deputy commander of the Polish cavalry units participating in the attack. The primitive tanks of the era, along with armored cars were also included. The American volunteer airmen of the Kościuszko Squadron were part of the attack that historians have called the first blitzkrieg. It was the air force that was chiefly responsible for the degree of success of the attack that shattered the Russian army and forced the Soviets to sue for peace.
Stefan Proska was still an unhealthy man. He resigned his commission as soon as the war was over. He did not participate in the parades that followed, instead watched them proudly with his family. As they did, eight year old Jan watched with awe. Jan and his family were kept as much away from the horror of war as possible. When the boy saw the planes of the Kościuszko Squadron fly over head he asked his father what they were. Stephan Proska said simply: "They are the future."
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Post by DocQuantum on Aug 31, 2021 2:01:13 GMT
Chapter 2
Eighteen year old Jan Bartholomew Proska was living Chicago with his grandparents in 1930 while he was studying aeronautics. Jan Bartholomew Proska was a genius. He had already had a degree in electronics from the Warsaw University, but America had better aeronautics degree programs. His parents remained in Poland attending to his father family's estates. His brother Jack and sister, Connie, were also still in Poland.
Blackhawk's grandfather was a major contributor the Illinois School of Technology and his grandson wanted to keep his relationship to the older man quiet. It was well known in certain social circles that the Cunningham's only daughter had married a Catholic and well beneath her station. Jan did not want the attention or the grief so he used an alias. He used a shortened version his middle name and introduced himself as Bart. He used one of his grandmother's hyphenated names to give him a sir name. Thus Bart Hawk was born.
In October of that year he met a young underage freshman from Texas named Chuck Wilson. Wilson was genius in the area of electronics and entered college at age seventeen. He was having a difficult time with the Spanish course he had signed up for to fill his language requirement. Wilson spoke Spanish fairly well, but had difficulty reading the Romance language. When their teacher heard Bart Hawk speaking diction perfect Spanish, as opposed to the Mexican dialect that Chuck used; she asked Bart to help the lad. Bart Hawk readily agreed to help the younger man.
The good-natured Texan became fast friends with Bart and two men soon became inseparable. Chuck stood an inch short of six feet with red hair and freckles. He had brown eyes and weighed one hundred and fifty eight pounds. Chuck was the only one who knew that Bart Hawk was really Jan Proska, but he would call Blackhawk Bart until the day he died.
America was in the beginnings of the Great Depression and in the midst of Prohibition1930. Chicago was a hub of gangster activity and the two young men accidently found themselves in the middle of a battle between an old time American law man and a new cigar smoking machine gun slinging mobster.
It started when the tow young men were walking down the street near a local speakeasy. They passed an alleyway where they saw three big beefy men beating on a small older bespectacled man. The two looked at one another a second before running down the alley. Bart got to there first as he tackled two of the men at once. Chuck slammed into the third goon before he could react to his friends' attack.
Chuck was used to fighting as brawling was one of his favorite pastimes back in Texas. Bart Hawk was not as experienced, but his father was a soldier and taught his son all he knew about hand to hand combat.
Chuck was pelting the man he was facing with a series of jabs before he dealt him a knockout blow. One of the men Bart had tackled had smashed his head down hard on the concrete pavement and was already unconscious when Bart took on the other. The man who was facing Bart had no desire to fight with an opponent who could strike back; he reached into his coat pocket and started to draw out his pistol. He never drew it out because Bart kicked him hard in the groin. He fell in a heap.
Bart and Chuck picked up the small bleeding man they rescued and led him out of the alleyway. They half carried, half dragged the man all the way to Chuck's small apartment. They made no attempt to hide where they were going and did not notice that they were being followed.
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Post by DocQuantum on Aug 31, 2021 2:01:25 GMT
Chapter 3
Blackhawk started to administer first aid to the older man he and Chuck had rescued. He jumped back when he saw that the man was armed with a revolver. He then immediately tried to take the gun away from the older man.
"Don't," said the man through his fat lips. "I'm a lawman. My name's Sheriff Hank Brown of Elkhorn Wyoming."
Chuck looked at his friend Bart and said "I've heard of him. He's Pow Wow Smith's deputy."
"Who?" asked Bart. He was raised in Poland and had little knowledge of the history of the American West that was not told to him by his maternal grandmother. He also knew what the text books said, but neither had any mention of Pow Wow Smith.
"Pow Wow Smith is a famous Indian sheriff" said Chuck. "Almost as famous as Johnny Thunder;" when Chuck saw lack of recognition in his friend's face he said "Never mind Bart. Chuck deftly changed the subject by asking the old man what he was doing in Chicago.
The old man grimaced as he said "I'm here to bring in a fellow named Mario Scalezzi. I have a warrant for his arrest because he shot up my town and killed a sixteen year old boy."
Bart looked at the man with questioning eyes before saying "Why didn't you go to the police if you have a warrant?"
"I did son. I tried to arrest that SOB several time for the past few weeks. But every time I go with the police-he's not there. I've heard the police here are crooked. Now I know at least some of them are. I went to that joint today to arrest that sidewinder myself. But I'm afraid I'm not as young as I used to be. Him and his cronies bushwacked me in that there saloon. If you boys hadn't come along...I'd surely be dead" said the somber old man.
"Well you're all right now sheriff. Chuck and I will help you bring that man in" Said Bart resolutely.
"We'll what?" cried Chuck as he realized how dangerous the streets of Chicago were with all the rival bootleggers shooting up the streets. Then he saw the serious look on Bart's face and nodded before saying "Bart's right old timer, we will help you."
There was a knock at the door and Chuck went to open when the old man rolled off the chair that Blackhawk had sat him on. He spoke in a stage whisper saying "Get down!"
Chuck turned at the man with a questioning look on his face while Bart Hawk tackled his friend just before the bullets from a submachine gun riddled the door and flew through the apartment.
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Post by DocQuantum on Aug 31, 2021 2:01:38 GMT
Chapter 4
Shards of wood from the door covered Bart Hawk and Chuck Wilson who where on the floor; Bart on top of Chuck because he had tackled the smaller red headed man when the sheriff of Elkhorn's warning. Bart knew something of the horrors of war since he grown up during both the Great War and the Soviet-Polish war, but neither he nor Chuck had ever been shot at before. The old man had been in many shoot outs as Pow Wow Smith's deputy and had drawn out his pistol as the remains of the door flew open.
Standing in the doorway was a man with a double barreled sawed off shot gun. The gun was being lowered at the two young men when the sheriff's gun went off. Hank Brown put a bullet between the gangsters' eyes before the man finished his motion. The gun went off in the direction of the ceiling instead.
Chuck rolled off to one side as he reached for the dead man's gun. He couldn't remember if both shots had been fired, but he believed that his best chance for survival was to be armed and prayed that there was still one shot left.
The young man who would in the future be known as the world famous Blackhawk, Bart Hawk listened as hard as he could. He recognized the sound of a submachine gun being reloaded from the time he spent with his father on military fields. He rushed out and attacked the goon who had initially fired into Chuck's room. He quickly disabled the man and had him on the ground with a wrestling hold.
Chuck and Sheriff Hank Brown came out of the room. The old man whistled as he said "My, my boy-you caught Mario Scalezzi, the very man I want."
"It don't matter old man. My lawyer 'll have me free by the end of the day. The cops 'll have ya fill out all sorts of paper work an by then I'll be out on bail an you'll never get dis close agin." said the crook through gritted teeth as the hold Bart Hawk had him was purposefully painful.
The old sheriff said "That's true."
"Sheriff, can you deputize Chuck and I. We can get this man to Elkhorn by train while you deal with the police" asked Bart. They could hear the sirens even as they spoke.
"Yep" said the old man. "I'll see you in a week boys."
Chuck Wilson realized that he was throwing away the college degree his parents were expecting him to get in Illinois. These gangster friends of Scelezzi would come after him if he stayed in Chicago because they were going to know who he was and where he lived. Still he trusted Bart Hawk's judgment.
Bart kept his hold on Scallezzi as they went down the stairs and out on to the street. Bart noticed a car with its motor running. He looked over at Chuck, who still had the double barreled sawed off shotgun. Deftly hiding from the view of the driver he walked over to the front of the vehicle even as Bart Hawk walked down the street in the other direction.
The driver of the car got out and was reaching for something in his coat when Chuck said "Reach for the sky" with a smile because he had always wanted to say that.
The man turned in chuck's direction. A pistol was in his hand, a pistol that the man dropped the moment he saw Chuck's shotgun aimed at him.
Bart Hawk came up from behind and told the driver of the car to get away from the vehicle. Bart got in the car with Scelezzi and told Chuck in a loud voice to drive to train station. They saw several police cars as they drove away from street where Chuck lived. Once they were away from the scene Bart told Chuck to change direction and head to the airport.
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Post by DocQuantum on Aug 31, 2021 2:01:50 GMT
Chapter 5
Ohiyesa Smith was pouring coffee into the cup that rested on his old desk. Hank hadn't changed much of anything in the office since Ohiyesa had retired twenty years earlier. The man known as Pow Wow Smith had changed though, his hair was white, his face wrinkled and his right arm hung uselessly at his side. Time caused most of the changes, but the damage to his arm came from a bushwacker. He was shot in the back in 1908. He nearly died and his wife Fleetfoot convinced him to retire.
Elkhorn was turning into a quiet community when he was shot. But a young fool of a kid whose father Ohiyesa had put in prison tried to get revenge. Hank shot the youngster, who was still in prison after twenty years and would no doubt die there.
Ohiyesa was doing his old deputy a favor while Hank by coming back to Elkhorn and doing to police duties that he had given up years before. Ohiyesa wasn't a man for nostalgia. He longed to return to the reservation that was now his home. He wanted to return to his wife, his children, and grandchildren. But Hank Brown was an old friend, so Ohiyesa reluctantly put the tin star back on his chest. Only this one signified that he was a deputy. Hank had wanted to give Ohiyesa his sheriff's star but Smith refused it.
Sheriff Hank Brown went to Chicago to retrieve a gangster who shot up his town and killed a sixteen year old boy while Smith protected the quiet town. Smith looked at his withered useless right arm and shook his head. His revelry was interrupted when he heard the sound of a motor overhead. Planes were a rare sight in Elkhorn. He looked out the window and saw a few town folk actually come out into the street to see the plane.
Ohiyesa went back to his musing and coffee. He rose from his chair and went outside when the noise from the plane's motor got louder. His eyes widened when he saw that the that large plane land was landing just outside of town. The people in the main street of Elkhorn were franticly running about hither and thither. Ohiyesa calmly went back into the jail, grabbed a shotgun and then walked to where the plane landed.
When He arrived at the landing site, along with most of the town, he was surprised to see the gangster Hank Brown had gone to Chicago to retrieve. The man was in handcuffs. Two young men, barely out of their teens were on either side of the man.
One was a ruggedly handsome man with a cleft chin and black hair. The other was a freckled faced, red head. Both men stood over six feet tall and had a strong build. The dark haired man said to the surrounding crowd "Hello, Your sheriff, Hank Brown deputized us and told us to bring this man here. We're supposed to turn him over to Ohiysea Smith."
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Post by DocQuantum on Aug 31, 2021 2:02:06 GMT
Chapter 6
Bart Hawk and Chuck Wilson had arrived at the airport with the captured Mario Scalezzi. Chuck took the man to the large plane that belonged to Cunningham Motors. Bart's grandfather owned Cunningham and Bart planned on flying the plane out to Elkhorn.
Bart went into the airport and called his grandfather. He said that he had to borrow the plane for a while because he had been deputized by a sheriff from Wisconsin and was going to bring a prisoner back to stand trial.
Bartholomew Cunningham did not know what to make of his grandson's request, but he knew the boy was serious and granted the boy his boon. Bart then took a look at the maps and was able to fly to Elkhorn on dead reckoning, an amazing gift for any pilot.
Scalezzi made all kinds of threats to the young men as they flew him to the scene of a crime he committed. The young did not know it yet, but these were the kinds of threats they would receive for the rest of their lives.
They were greeted and treated like celebrities once they had Scalezzi in the town's jail. Ohiysea Smith stayed at the jail while the town whooped it up with its two young guests. Chuck stayed at the saloon and enjoyed himself. The more serious Bart Hawk decided to stay at the jail with Smith.
Bart Hawk and Ohiysea talked long into the night as Bart wondered what the older man thought was going to happen. "Well I guess some of Scalezzi's men will be on the morning train and that he would be there to meet them. Bart offered to help the former sheriff and Ohiysea agreed.
Bart had stay in the jail with Ohiysea during the night but in the morning he went over to the hotel and woke Chuck, who was suffering the worst hangover he had yet experienced in his young life, the next morning. He told Chuck to watch Scalezzi while he and Sheriff Smith went to meet the train.
Pow Wow Smith had his saw-off shot gun in his hands as he walked over to the train station, while Bart carried a pistol the older man had supplied him with. Sheriff Hank Brown came off the train surrounded by half a dozen tough looking men. Ohiysea Smith and Bart had worked out a plan.
Two of the men went to get the group's luggage from the porter. Ohiysea looked at Bart, who drew his pistol and told the two men to "freeze" when they were standing seven feet away from the others. The other men then started to draw various weapons of their own then.
Now the famous Pow Wow Smith stepped out with his saw-off shot gun. The gangster had to know that they all would be dead men if the old man fired. Hank Brown had seritipiously moved to the back of the crowd of gangsters.
He also picked the pocket of one of them, the one who had been threatening him with a knife for most of their trip from Chicago. That man had the bright idea of forcing the sheriff to the front of the group until he saw that Hank Brown had his knife aimed right at his gut. Pow Wow, Hank and Bart led the would-be-rescuers of Scellezzi to jail. There was a trial two weeks later. Scellezzi was sentence to the electric chair and the others were sentence to ten to twenty years.
During this time Bart Hawk and Chuck Wilson during this time Ohiysea and Hank taught Bart and Chuck what they knew about police work and after the trial Ohiysea offered to take Bart back to the reservation so that he could teach Indian ways because he ha learned of Bart's American Indian heritage. They were from different tribes, but Ohiysea saw the nobility in Bart and saw his need to know about his grandmother's people.
Chuck stayed in Elkhorn and became Hank Brown's deputy while Bart learned much about Native American ways. He learned how to track, hunt using only a bow or spear. He learned how to tell signs about on coming weather. He learned a complicated sign language. Ohiysea also taught Bart Hawk how to quick draw and fire a pistol with deadly accuracy. He was as good as the old legends of the west when his training was done.
Bart received a telegram from his grandfather three months after the trial telling him that his father was very sick and that he needed to return to his native Poland. He left Elkhorn. Ohiysea Smith and Hank Brown; he would never see either of the old men again, but he would carry the lessons he learned from them for the rest of his life. Chuck Decided that he would stay in Elkhorn, but Bart Hawk would reunite with him when the freckled faced American became the last member of the Blackhawks.
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Post by DocQuantum on Aug 31, 2021 2:02:21 GMT
Chapter 7
Bart Hawk flew to Chicago and met his grandfather Bartholomew at the airport. Bart wanted to immediately fly on to Idlewild Airport in New York and the fill up his plane's gas tanks before crossing the Atlantic Ocean. His grandfather insisted that the younger man come home with him first and pack up some clothes. He also demanded to be told why Bart had kept him company plane in Elkhorn for all those months.
Bart told his grandfather the story of his meeting and training under the famous Pow Wow Smith before saying "I have plenty of clothes back in Poland Grandfather, "I must go to Papa if he is as sick as you say he is."
"He is dying Bart, but he has a few weeks, maybe even a couple of months. A couple of hours won't make much of a difference. And you have no doubt out grown all you the clothes you left in Poland. You certainly can't get into any of the ones you brought over with you."
Bart grudgingly agreed with his grandfather's logic and stayed the night at his grandparent's mansion. He was awake and packed before dawn. He had a hearty breakfast and was seen to the airport by his grandfather. The plane had been serviced overnight by order of Bartholomew Cunningham and was ready at sunrise for the old man's grandson, known in America as Bart Cunningham to leave for his native Poland where he was known as Jan Proska.
Bart hugged his grandparents' goodbye and took to the skies alone. He landed at Idlewild Airport in New York and refueled for his transatlantic flight. While there he double checked he weather across the sea and saw that it was clear all the way to the continent.
He did not have any trouble with his initial solo transatlantic flight. He flew over Nova Scotia and Greenland just to be safe but did not encounter any difficulties until about a hundred and fifty miles away from the British Isles over open seas. A hellacious storm came seemingly from out of nowhere. Bart saw his wings were freezing up. Suddenly he lost all radio contact.
His engine then started to sputter. The man who would become the world's famous aviator known as Blackhawk swallowed hard. He looked hard for a scratch of land to put his wounded plane down instead of the unforgiving Atlantic Ocean. He saw a small speck on his horizon. It was directly on his course to Europe. He scoffed at the idea because it was not listed on his charts. His disbelief grew as he approached the island and saw how large it was.
The gale let up as he approached the island and stopped when he landed. He came out of the plane and saw that the skies were still filled with the storm clouds. He inspected his plane. There was no damage. It was as if someone or something wanted him here.
He did a brief search of the island in the immediate area of his plane, but decided against doing a thorough search of the island because it was getting dark. He had a meal of beans cooked by the fire. He had never had pork and beans before his sojourn to Elkwood and found he really liked this staple of the cowboy's diet.
He had trouble falling asleep because of the way the storm had suddenly appeared; but his sleep was deep once he finally succumbed to the arms of Morpheus. He had the strangest dream while he slept.
He was no longer human, but rather a large black hawk. Vaguely he felt that this new form should alarm him, but instead he felt quite comfortable-all most as if he was at home. He was by a small pond in the camp of a rotund man with curly white hair and matching scraggly beard. The man wore a sleeveless brown fur coat and pale tan britches with soft matching boots and ragged red cape. The man was humming as he rummaged through a sack. The hawk tried to talk to the man but all that came out was the cry "Hawka"
The man turned and smiled at the Blackhawk. He spoke to him in Latin, a language Blackhawk learned while attending school in Poland. "Well, well, well...it is time; after all these years for the Blackhawk to come and rule the roost" said the old man with a smile.
Blackhawk looked at him and tried to ask him what was this all about but again-all that came from him beak was "Hawkaa"
The old man continued to rummage through his sack as he said "Forgive me Blackhawk, for we have not been introduced. My name is Malagigi. I was the one time magician of King Charlemagne and the greatest knights of the Holy Roman Empire. Later I was the travelling companion a man much like you; a warrior from New World and man reared in Europe by Viking Warriors. He was a warrior of two continents and cultures."
Blackhawk did not try and speak again. Instead he listened as the man went on. "Europe was a dangerous place in my day Blackhawk. War was a constant thing. Now war is coming again to the world. Not just Europe; the world. Descendents of warrior cultures are going to try and take all that is good in the world. Most of them don't even realize the evil they are doing-but they will follow orders because that is what warriors do. The children of tribes of the Rhineland and Rome are going to unite with the Scions of the Samurai and wreck a devastation upon this planet unlike anything this world has yet seen."
Blackhawk wanted to question this strange man, but again, all that came out was the cry "Hawkaa."
"I am certain that you have heard of the legendry King Arthur and his knights-they were long dead when I walked the earth, But King Charlemagne tried to achieve something like that. His knights came from as many countries as would give him allegiance; even those knights from nations that were not aligned with Charlemagne and gave their personal allegiance to him, sat at his table. But the times of kings is past. Many say the time of knights are past as well. Not so. You my Blackhawk will lead a new team of knights. International knights who will fly in your air chariots instead of on horses. The decadent would-be destroyers of the world will be stopped by you and your knights many, many times. Here is your base. You will know when it is time to gather your knights."
With that Blackhawk woke with a start. He was surprised to see that it was daylight. He tried to shrug off the dream as a case of food poisoning from bad beans. He was going to leave right after rechecking his plane, but something made him search the island. He stayed the day and searched the entire slab of land and found that it would be an ideal airbase with its own fresh water supply from a small pond.
At the pond he found a small stone with Latin writing chiseled into it. "Here lies Malagigi, and companion of Arak and Valda" Blackhawk instinctively gave the sign of the cross. He paused in silence and left the island that would be called Blackhawk Island in a little more than a decade.
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Post by DocQuantum on Aug 31, 2021 2:02:37 GMT
Chapter 8
Jan Proska arrived in Poland two weeks before his father's death. He, his brother, Jack, his sister, Connie, took turns relieving their mother, Sylvia, who insisted someone should be by her husband Stefan around the clock. When not engaged in this the family talked about their plans and hopes.
Jack and Connie were going to America to stay with their maternal grandfather and go to school. Connie had already decided to become nurse, but Jack was undecided as to what he was going to do with his life. Jan too was undecided as far as an exact career. He knew that his father would want him to pursue one in the military, probably in the cavalry. He enjoyed horses but loved flying. He knew that aviation and flying was what best suited him.
His father awoke groggily to see his eldest son at his bedside. This pleased him very much because he had wanted to talk to Jan. "Jan, my son," he whispered. "It is good to see you."
"It is good to see you too Papa" said Janos leaving out the part of how he hated seeing the man like this.
The older man smiled back at Jan. "I have secured a position in the officer corps-if you want it Jan. The only thing is-it breaks our family's tradition of being cavalrymen. The last war taught me that the day of the horse on the battlefield is over. It also taught me that the day of the airplane has arrived."
A very stunned Jan said "when do I have to decide?"
"Talk to General Mesak, he'll be at my funeral"
"You're going to get well Papa" Janos lied.
"No son, I am not. I have lived a good life and am leaving this world contented. Could you ask your brother to come in; I want to talk to him as well."
All three of the Proska siblings had their last conversations with that father that night. Silvia also spoke with her husband one final time that evening. Stefen Proska passed from this world on the night of November 22, 1933.
Stephan had a military funeral and many old soldiers and veterans were there for the fallen comrade. Among them was General Mesak. Janos approached the older man after the funeral.
"My personal condolences Jan" said the general.
"Thank you sir" replied Jan. "My father said that I could have a commission in the Polish Air Corps. Is that true?"
"Yes"
"When do I need to report?"
Given the loss in your family...I'd say January 2nd."
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Post by DocQuantum on Aug 31, 2021 2:03:22 GMT
Part 2 the World-Wide Tour
Chapter 29 (no chapters missing -- just misnumbered)
Captain Jan Proska had been in the Polish Air Corps for three years and was rapidly advancing in rank. He knew that his advancement was only partially due to his abilities. He also came from a noble heroic line and many of the old military stalwarts truly cared for Proska's father. The other reason was his mother, the wealthy American born heiress Sylvia Cunningham Proska. Sylvia had moved back to America with her younger children. She had taken control of Cunningham Industries last year after her father; Bartholomew Cunningham had had series of debilitating strokes. She wrote her eldest son often explaining how the family's fortunes were okay but the aeronautics component to their company was in trouble. Cunningham Industries did not make specific things; it instead augmented existing products on aircraft and other products.
Captain Proska was in quandary as well. The Polish Air Force had a handful of state of the art Polish built the art fighters in the PZL P7. The only defect the fighter had was that their range wasn't enough to cover all of the country. He had been trying to devise a method increasing their range without having the planes lose the armament or its offensive punch. His mother suggested that the planes be adopted to carry disposable drop tanks filled with fuel; sort of a carry on gas tank. Proska was intrigued at his mother's suggestion and made some designs that he sent on to Cunningham Industries.
While Cunningham Industries were making prototype designs the young captain tried to convince a military that consisted of many officer who still believed it was better to fight a war from the saddle of a horse than the cockpit of a plane. He got nowhere. He threw a pewter mug of vodka down into the fire in frustration when he received his latest rejection notice from the upper echelons of the Polish military establishment. The other three junior officers took note of their wing commander's obvious frustration. The three men knew and respected their captain, but Jan Proska had kept his relationship with these three strictly professional and had not shared his attempted effortd to prod the air force into increasing the PZL P7's range.
The three lieutenants stared at one another. Kazimierc Zegota-Januszajtis, known to the Squadron as "Zeg" was the second in command of the wing. He had an infectious smile and a crop of curly red hair. He was the son of diplomats and like almost all of the Polish Officers Corps; he was of the noble class, albeit he came from minor noble stock. He looked at his fellow officers and saw that Proska's mood intimidated them too much to approach their black haired commander.
Lieutenant Stanislaus Drozdowski was a newly transferred pilot from Warsaw. He sat back because he was new to the unit. He was tall and reedy. In some way he looked more like a classic German officer with his short cropped blond hair. He was an intellectual who spoke seven languages and was rumored to be a wizard at math. He was also one the very few none noble members of the Polish officer corp. Stan had joined the air force because he had not been able to find suitable employment at any of Poland's universities after he attained his last degree.
Lieutenant Vladham Bryzinsik was the youngest member of the squadron. He was a full-fledged baron with big puppy dog eyes and shoulders that rolled downward. He had had a hard life despite his title as he had been raised in Russia before Poland was recreated after the Great War. Vladham did all he could to not be noticed. He was a member of the Polish Nobility and that meant he had to join the military for at least a time; or else attention would be drawn to him.
Zeg grabbed he bottle of vodka that he, Stan, And Vladham were drinking from as he stood up and picked the pewter mug Proska had just thrown down. Zeg poured some vodka from his own bottle into the mug and then went back to the table with his companions. He picked up his own glass and with the mug in his other hand he walked directly the scowling Proska. Zeg sat down uninvited and handed his commander his pewter mug. Proska was going to tell Zeg to go away, but the curly headed man's winning infectious smile caused Proska to involuntarily grin.
"What is the trouble my captain?" asked Zeg. "Unable to claim the heart of some American move star?" everyone in the squadron knew that Proska was Half-American.
Proska laughed at the audacity of the question. He shook his head saying no he briefly outlined what he had been trying to do for the last several months. Zeg listened with great interest. Stan and Vladham too strained to listen in on the conversation. Soon the four of them were at the table drinking and talking about much more range they could get from a drop tank.
"It doesn't matter how much we think this would help us be prepared to defend our homeland-the generals don't believe it is worth it" proclaimed Proska.
"What if we could get them to change their minds?" said Zeg.
"What do you think I've been trying to do Zeg? said Proska.
"You have been talking to the military about military matters. Our fighter is Polish built-if we can demonstrate a greater range; other countries would buy the plane and that would help the economy. Sometimes we need to not think only like soldiers."
"So how would you show off our planes?" asked Stan.
Proska already knew. His eyes glistened with glee at the possibility. "We fly them around the world."
"You and Zeg Captain...." said Vladham.
Proska cut the young baron off and said "No Vlad the entire wing, all four of us." Proska held out his mug in a toast the others followed, but Vladham prayed to God that the others would forget about this mad idea in the morning.
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Post by DocQuantum on Aug 31, 2021 2:03:41 GMT
Chapter 30
It took several months of work and planning for the young flyers to plan their trip around the world. They had to coordinate with the countries they would land in because they were fly fighter planes, unarmed fighters, but war planes none the less. They also had to coordinate with Cunningham Air for spare parts, extra tanks, and ground crews.
Janos was in overall charge but it was Zeg, who convinced the government, not the military that it would be a good idea and a boon to Polish Manufacturing Industry, which was less than twenty years independent and already producing state of the art equipment. Through his parents Zeg also had the diplomatic connections to help the Polish Government arrange for the air wing travel arrangements and the publicity that would accompany them as they flew across the globe.
Stanislaus had a much different assignment. He helped Proska with the design of the actual attachment; but Stanislaus' real genius came with another aspect of their mission. He was the one who calculated to the last drop how much gas the air wing would need for each leg of the flight across the world. Stanislaus knew he had to take in weather conditions so he gave them approximately twelve extra minutes of flying time to reach their destinations. He was only worried about the vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean but Proska told Stanislaus that he had complete faith in him.
The color scheme of the wing's four planes was being designed by Vladham. The young baron had talked to his commander and suggested that they use the Polish National Colors of red and white in stead of the camouflage the planes were usually painted. Proska thought it was an excellent idea. The Polish Flag has three horizontal strips two red ones on the outside and white in the center; using this as a model Vladham designed the color scheme. The four planes bodies were now painted white. The tail wings, the ends of the main wings and the very front of the planes were painted red. Vladham had the Polish flag emblem place on the tail section of the plane and again over by the motor. In the center by the cockpit he had something else drawn: a black hawk's head in a circle.
Proska looked at the finished product. The hawk's head reminded him of the dream he had had just before his father's death. "Why did you paint that hawk's head Lieutenant?" he asked
Vladham was now worried that he disappointed his commander explained "Sir I know that Cunningham Air is based out of Chicago. I did some research about the city and found out that they have sports team called the Blackhawks. There was also an American Indian leader named Blackhawk who fought a series of wars there with the settlers. Since this is a fighter plane and the drop tanks come from Chicago I thought we should have the emblem representing both the warrior spirit and Chicago.
Vilna was the largest Polish city northeastern city in the 1937 borders of Poland. The air wing took off with much fanfare. They flew across their entire homeland and into Czechoslovakia, land in the central city of Brno. Proska had proven his point. He also made enemies in the Polish High Command. More importantly he had come to the attention of the German Luftwaffe. Herman Goering sent one of his best men, Baron von Tepp to steal the drop tank technology and sabotage the Polish aviators by any means possible
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Post by DocQuantum on Aug 31, 2021 2:03:55 GMT
Chapter 31
From the Central Czechoslovakian City of Brno the aviators flew over Hungary and landed in Ploesti Rumania. The German Baron von Tepp attacked on the third day. He wanted to strike mid-morning when the sun would hide his approach. He attacked the unarmed planes alone so that the chances of someone discovering German involvement would be less He attacked the Poles over the sparsely populated Bulgarian Balkan Mountains.
The four Polish flyers flew in silence when von Tepp struck. He came up from behind with his machine gun's blazing. Blackhawk was in the overall lead, with Zeg slightly beside him on the left. Stanislaus was the lead pilot on the right with Vladham on the outer most right side and just a bit behind Stan.
Von Tepp roared in with his guns blazing from behind against the aviators who would eventually become the Blackhawks. Vladham's plane took the most damage from Von Tepp's first firing run. The other three poles disbursed as Vladham desperately tried to maneuver his wounded plane.
"Captain Proska!" cried the young Pole "My plane's not responding. I'm losing altitude"
"Calm down lieutenant" said the wing commander in a reassuring voice. "Vladham, can you steer at all?
"Yes...I believe I can get the plane to move either right or left, but my decent it become uncontrollable."
Blackhawk cursed silently as he scanned the skies for their attacker. He then happened to glance down and saw a clearing in the mountainous woods with flat land that was large enough to land Vladham's damaged plane. His wing would have to do some truly fancy flying. The kind of aerial stunts he had seen pilots do at American air shows.
"Zeg...Stan ... there is a clearing to the east of here. Each of you get a wing under Vladham and guide him in. you're going to have to bank out of there with out much room, but it is the only way we can save all four of our planes and the mission" said Blackhawk.
All of the other Polish pilots wanted to know what Proska was going to do about their attacker. They kept silent because they knew that the man who attacked them was probably also listening to them.
Von Tepp was indeed listening to them. He spoke fluent Polish, a language that he considered beneath him. He was born in raised in a part of Poland that had been partitioned to the old German Empire. He learned it only so he could understand if the servants were insulting or stealing from their German betters. He had nothing but contempt for any other nationality other than the Germanic Master Race.
Below Von Tepp Zeg and Stan came to fly just under the wingtip of Vladham's stricken plan on either side. Vladham thought he was going to lose control of the plane and it was going to crash. The young baron looked on either side of him and saw the two senior lieutenants smiling at him and felt an inner assurance that he was going to get down safely with his plane intact.
Stan was their residential mathematical genius and he did not like the odds, he broke radio their self-imposed radio silence as he saw the trees coming up on them. "Zeg, we need to coordinate this carefully. On the count of three we need to come up and become Vladham's new wings. On the count of three...I'll start..one."
Zeg tried to moisten his suddenly dry lips but found now saliva as he said "two"
Vladam looked at each of the pilots as they had called out. Then he said "three." Vladham felt the other two planes lift his wounded bird. He knew he was going to make down to the clearing.
Von Tepp swallowed just a small bit of his autocratic German arrogance as he saw the three Polish airmen turn their three planes into one. The plane had three fuselages, a gigantic wing, and must have been almost impossible to maneuver; but most importantly to Von Tepp-it made an easy target as it lowered itself towards the clearing. He was gleeful as he set his sights on the three planes.
He banked into a steep dive as prepared to fire. His plane was suddenly jarred and he started spinning wildly out of control. He looked to his left and could not believe what he saw. His entire left wing was missing. Quickly he exited his dying craft and parachuted into the woods below.
Blackhawk was smiling grimly when he had attacked the plane that plane that had strafed his men with the only weapon he had available: the drop tank. While the unmarked plane was setting his men up for another attack Blackhawk was lining the enemy for a direct hit with his gas tank. He dropped it at a distance of fifteen feet between the planes.
Meanwhile the other three Polish aviators were coming down to the trees. The top most branches were hitting the planes. "Vladham" said Stan, "once we're in the clear Zeg and I have to bank out of here. You will have to land your plane on your own."
"Will do" said Vladham. "Thanks for getting me this far."
"Stan" said Zeg "we'll have to count again."
"No time Zeg-just say now!" countered Stan as they continued their descent.
"Now" said Zeg. Both planes banked out from under Vladham's as the slowed down. Their wings were not more than a foot off the ground. Then they gunned their engines and climbed; praying that they could rise above the trees before the clearing ended.
Vladham prayed too. He prayed that he could stop his plane before the end of the clearing as he landed.
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Post by DocQuantum on Aug 31, 2021 2:04:09 GMT
Chapter 32
Vladham was repeatedly saying the Hail Mary prayer as he landed the plane in the open field. He successfully touched ground and taxied his stricken plane so that it was under a canopy of trees that would be difficult to spot by air. The other three Blackhawks flew over head protectively. They had no ammunition and knew that they had only a certain amount of fuel to get to their next stop, Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria.
Jan Proska came to a quick decisive decision, a trait that would be indicative of his long career as the leader of the Blackhawks. "You two stay in the air" he said to Stan and Zeg. "I'm going down to access the damage to Vladham's plane."
He landed perfectly and taxied next to the youngest pilot in the wing. "Report" he said brusquely.
"Nothing major Captain Proska; I could fly this bird I had the spare wires for the wing flaps and rudder controls. There is no serious damage to the fuselage or gas tank" explained Vladham.
Proska smiled before saying "radio the others and give them a detailed report of what we will need to you airborne again." After Vladham gave Stan and Zeg a list of what he needed Blackhawk radioed the others. "We're also going to need fuel gentlemen. Be sure to tell the folks from Cunningham that I'm going to need another drop tank as well. Stan you do the math. Get on to Sofia, Vladham and I will camp out tonight. Tell the public crowd that we were attacked by an air pirate. America has been known to have had them, but do not tell them the nationality of the plane.
"What about the ambassador and the embassy's military attaché?" queried Stan
"I want them to have detailed report Stan" replied Blackhawk.
"Roger" said Stan as he and Zeg flew off.
Vladham frowned at that news as his stomach was empty now. "Bring some food with you too" he radioed much to the amusement of his fellow fliers.
"We'll be fine Vladham. Clean your pistol though; just in case that plane had friends on the ground.
Zeg and Stan touched down at the Sofia Airport with a great throng of people were at the airport. Once the two Blackhawks landed the pair separated. Stan talked with the ground crew while Zeg headed for the dais crammed with several officials from Poland and Bulgaria.
Zeg talked briefly with the officials saying only that there had been a slight problem. To his Polish superiors he said "Stan will give you a detailed report. He then addressed the crowd and spoke of the magnificent flying of Blackhawk. How he had saved the wing when it was attacked by a mysterious air raider. He used the name Blackhawk as opposed to Jan Proska, or even Bart Hawk because he believed it had a ring that sounded good in any language. Blackhawk and the Blackhawks fired the imagination.
After speaking Zeg went amongst the crowd and shook hands with the assembled well wishers. He was a born politician and diplomat. Stan however was busy doing the mathematical calculations for how much fuel they would need for tomorrow. He was also planning on what he was going to write in his reports to the ambassador and embassy military attaché.
Zeg came to his with a beautiful young girl on each arm and a leering smile on his face. "Come Stan" he said, "We need to go to the embassy."
"Are we taking these two lovely ladies with us?" inquired Stan hopefully.
"Yes, we are. May I introduce Magda and Beatrice" said yes.
A limousine drove the four of them to the embassy. Stan was told to report to the ambassador's office immediately. Once there he gave a full report as to what had happened and was told to immediately type up a full report. Glumly he went to the ambassador's secretary and asked to borrow her typewriter.
Zeg soon stopped by and said the girls had left. Stan noticed Zeg's disheveled hair and that his fly was open. Stan gave him a questioning look. Silently Zeg mouthed the word "both;" to which Zeg winked and started to whistle off tune as he left.
Stan noticed the ambassador's secretary had disapproving look on her face.
"That man is a disgusting pig" she said "He was when he was assigned here in back in 1932 and still is"
"You know him then" said Stan as he agreed with the attractive middle aged woman. He noticed that she wore no wedding ring and asked her out for dinner saying he would like to try the local cuisine. He then emphasized just diner-nothing more.
Stan went to the assigned bedroom that he and Zeg were to share and said he was going out to night for dinner with Marta, the Ambassador's secretary.
Zeg laughed and said "You will be very disappointed my friend because she is as frigid as an ice cube.
Later that night, much later, Stan returned to their shared room. Zeg was aroused from his slumber when Stan turned on the light. Zeg looked at clock to see that it was well past four o'clock in the morning. Stan smiled at Zeg and said "You are wrong my friend; Marta is not cold like an ice cube-she is hot like an ember of coal."
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