“Thanks, Spence.”
Trask couldn’t have asked for better brothers. Yeah, they were often irreverent idiots, but they were giving him a lot of leeway with his future ideas for the business, and that went a long way to making him feel like an integral part of Diver Downeast.
After hanging up, Trask quickly got sucked down a rabbit-hole, researching WWII diving gear, and had just begun an impromptu drawing for his imaginary museum, when his phone pinged with a text.
Jett here. ETA at BHB, one hour. Keep an eye out for a Cessna 180, 1297-Lima-Peru.
Jett, huh? A good solid military handle if Trask had ever heard one. He immediately added the person to his contacts, then responded;Roger that. I’ll be there.
That was it. End of communication, and Trask already felt good about the pilot. No nonsense. Just the facts. Exactly how Trask liked things.
Trask donned his heavy winter coat, grabbed the keys to his new truck, and was just about to lock up when…
Shit.Spence hadn’t said anything about money.
Just in case his brother was back in class, Trask sent him a text.
Bro. Am I bringing cash? A company check?
His phone pinged almost immediately.
Randal is donating the stuff to us. He just wants honorable mention on a card or a plaque, wherever it ends up.
Trask’s mouth fell open as he texted back. Wow. What a score.
It is,Spence replied.Now stop bugging me. I’m missing shit.
As if.
Spencer probably had more experience diving for the merchant marine than all the instructors at the school, combined. But Trask liked to follow the rules, so he’d honor Spence’s wishes and stop texting.
Trask’s thoughts went back to the goods being delivered, and his excitement grew.
Of course, he didn’t know what kind of shape the diving gear would be in, so he might be getting ahead of himself.
Having been stored in a barn, the suit and boot material could be mouse-chewed, or leaky-roof-damaged. The thick, copper and brass helmets could be dented and scarred, but still, the acquisition had great potential, and it had kick-started Trask’s brain, big-time, so he wasn’t going to judge until he saw the stuff.
However good or bad the equipment turned out to be, he’d make it work.
Locking the office door behind him, he noted that the snow squall from this morning that had dumped an inch or so on the region, was already melting away in the mid-afternoon sun. Not that the clear streets would last long. There was always more snow in Maine, and Trask liked that. He’d been born to this weather, and having been stationed for a lot of his career in California, he’d missed it. He was looking forward to his first real nor-easter in years, which was actually being forecast for the following weekend when he was scheduled to train recruits in Orono.
He couldn’t wait. For either occurrence.
Turning toward his truck, a large hunk of snow from the building’s overhang chose that moment to break loose and fall down the back of his neck.
Fuck. Cold.
Okay.Maybe the universe was telling him it wasn’tgoing to beallunicorns and roses here, or… Maybe it was simply time to grow out his military haircut; give his tender skin some adequate protection until he got used to being a Mainer again.
He’d take it all under consideration.
Trask noted, as he walked toward his new, navy-blue truck, that the once pristine chassis was already dirty and salty, having traversed the heavily treated streets earlier. Trask would take care of that, soon. He preferred the shiny newness the vehicle had loudly declared as he’d driven it out of the showroom. But…the dried slushdidmake his ride blend in like a real native.
Once he was on the road, Trask turned up the heat, shed his coat, then blanked his mind as soon as a favorite song by Disturbed came on. He cranked the volume, appreciating now that his truck had come with a streaming service. None of the few available local stations this far north played much in the way of metal or heavy rock. But he was okay with that. Satellite provided him with more than enough choices.
The trip to Trenton went by quickly. The traffic was light this time of day. Still, the Staties were out, so he set his cruise control for four miles an hour over the speed limit to prove to himself hecoulddefy authority sometimes. To a degree. He wasn’talwaysan uptight rule follower.
Glancing at his watch, he saw that he was going to be early, so he pulled into a car wash.
