D. MacHale - The Never War

Mr. Caplesmith got a little flustered and said, “Well, because you’re such a famous, uh, pilot person.” He had no clue about what made Jinx Olsen tick, and Jinx Olsen knew it.

“Let’s be honest,” she said. “You’re happy to see me because Uncle Sam is paying you to put on a big old party tomorrow night, right?”

Mr. Caplesmith was embarrassed, but he knew better than to lie to her. “Well, you could say that,” he said sheepishly.

Jinx smiled and gave him a friendly punch on the arm. “No problem. Just so we all know the score. Where’s my room?”

Mr. Caplesmith tried hard not to grab his arm in pain. He looked around and saw me.

“Bell boy!” he ordered.

I ran up and stood at attention. Mr. Caplesmith liked that.

“Please take Miss Olsen up to room fifteen-fifteen.” He gave me the room key.

I reached for Jinx’s bag, but she didn’t give it up. “I can handle it, chief,” she said with a smile. “Just show me the way.”

“Yes ma’am,” I said, and made for the elevator. Jinx followed right after me. I glanced back quickly and saw Mr. Caplesmith massaging his sore arm. It was hard not to laugh. Jinx Olsen was the coolest person I had met since starting work at this hotel, aside from Gunny of course.

“You’ve got a pretty exciting job,” I said. “Making rescues with the Coast Guard and all.”

“Yeah, real exciting,” she said. It didn’t sound like she meant it.

“It’s not?” I asked.

“It would be if they actually let me do it once in a while. It’s not easy getting the call, being a woman and all.” We arrived at the elevator and Dewey started us on our way up. He even got the controls right the first time. He must have been practicing. ”That’s not fair,” I said to Jinx. “If you’ve got the chops, you should be flying the missions.”

“You know how many times I’ve told them that?” Jinx said. “But they’d rather trot me out on these public relations tours where I won’t get scratched. Heck, I’m a better flier than most of the boys in my squad, but because I’m a woman, well, I don’t get the chance.”

“Do you know Amelia Earhart?” Dewey asked.

“I’ve met her,” answered Jinx. “Nowthatgal is a flier!”

“Amelia Earhart?” I asked. “Isn’t that the woman pilot who disappeared when she was trying to fly around the world?”

Dewey and Jinx looked at me like I was from Pluto.

“You must be mistaken,” Jinx said. “She’s leaving on her round-the-world trip the end of this month.”

Oops. First Earth. I was talking about something that hadn’t happened yet. I wasn’t wrong though. I remembered seeing a TV show about Amelia Earhart. She never made it. I didn’t have the heart to tell them. On the other hand, they never would have believed me because I was talking about the future. Luckily, we had arrived on the fifteenth floor.

“We’re here,” I announced, and hurried out of the elevator before I had to talk any more about Amelia Earhart. I opened up room 1515 for Jinx and told her that if she needed anything, she should call Gunny, the bell captain, and he’d make sure one of us took care of her. She thanked me and gave me a twenty-five-cent tip. Not exactly a lot of cash, but it would pay for another Marx Brothers movie.

“You know something?” I said. “You may be having a tough time, but someday soon there will be a lot of women fliers. People are going to realize they’re just as good as the guys. Things will change. I guarantee it.”

This made Jinx smile. She came across as pretty tough, but I’ll bet that was because she had to survive in a macho man’s job. But in that brief moment, her guard came down, and I saw beyond the bold front to the real person.

“What’s your name, chief?” she asked.

“Bobby Pendragon.”

“I’m Jinx, Bobby. Thanks for the kind words. I’ll remember them.” She winked at me and we shook hands.

I liked Jinx Olsen. Her confidence and cockiness reminded me a lot of Spader. I hoped she was going to get the chance to prove herself someday.

The party in her honor was the following night, and it was a real fancy deal. The ballroom on the twenty-ninth floor was all decked out with red, white, and blue decorations. There must have been a thousand colorful balloons floating up on the ceiling. The men wore tuxedos and the women were in long, formal gowns. I recognized some old-time movie stars, but didn’t know their names. There was one guy I definitely recognized though-it was Lou Gehrig. Even out of his Yankees uniform, I knew who he was.

There was a big orchestra playing for people to dance. The musicians all wore white jackets and looked like they had stepped out of an Abbott and Costello movie. I even recognized some of the music they were playing. Like I always said, if you want to learn about classical music, watch old Bugs Bunny cartoons. If you want to learn about old-time swing music, watch Abbott and Costello movies. Who says TV isn’t educational?

There was a long table set up on one side of the room for the dignitaries. That’s where Jinx sat, right in the middle. She was wearing a dress but looked totally uncomfortable in it. I felt sorry for her. This was the price she had to pay for being allowed to fly. She had to be a goodwill ambassador and put on a happy face for the world. I guarantee she hated it.

The rest of the room was full of tables where people ate and drank. This was where Spader and I did our thing. A whole bunch of other waiters were brought in for the party, and we all wore these short white jackets, black pants, and white gloves. It was pretty cake work. We were each assigned to a table and had to shuttle back and forth to the kitchen, bringing out the food. Basically all I had to do was make sure I didn’t spill anything.

The reason I’m telling you guys so much about this party isn’t because it was such a gala, fun affair. Bo-ring. It’s because of one particular table of guests. Sitting prominently, right near the long head table, was Max Rose and his crew. I couldn’t believe it. Here was a swanky party put on by the U.S. government and sitting front and center was a known gangster. My guess was he was there because he was the most important guest of the hotel. I guess when you’re the best customer, you get privileges…even if you’re a mobster.

Gunny made sure that Spader and I were assigned to Max Rose’s table. We both hovered around him and his guests, taking care of their every little whim. But what we were really doing was listening to everything being said, hoping to catch some clue as to what LZ-129 was, or what was going to happen on May 6.

“Buck Rogers!” shouted Rose when he saw me. “My favorite spaceman. They got you working as a waiter, too?”

“Yes sir, Mr. Rose,” I said. “Nothing but the best for you.”

He laughed. I think he liked it when somebody was a little bit cocky. Especially if they complimented him. “Keep the wine coming, Buck,” he said. “I’ll make it worth your while.”

“Yes, sir!” I said. This was good. I planned on being right by his side every chance I got. All the seats were taken by various thugs I had seen coming in and out of the hotel. Unfortunately Ludwig Zell wasn’t one of them. But the chair next to Rose was empty. I hoped that it was reserved for our Nazi friend. I had just popped a bottle of champagne and was pouring it for Rose, when the guest who was assigned to the empty chair finally showed up. It wasn’t Zell.

“Sorry I’m late, Maxie,” came a woman’s voice. “It took me forever to find the perfect gown to wear.”

I looked up and nearly dropped the champagne bottle. It was the movie star-looking woman who caught me in Max Rose’s office.

She looked at me and winked. My heart stopped. I was afraid she’d say something about what had happened in the office. That would be death. My death. She picked up her champagne glass and held it out for me to fill.