Hypersonic Thunder: A Novel of the Jet Age by Walter J. Boyne

aircraft together, which is frightening enough, but then it will get really hairy! They’ll launch the Enterprise from the back of the 747, and it will glide down to land at Edwards.”
    “Who do they have lined up for the test crews?”
    “The best—Fred Haise and Gordon Fullerton form one crew and Joe Engle and Dick Truly form the other. Talk about talent! Haise was on Apollo 13, and helped engineer their safe return.”
    Rodriquez took Shannon’s arm and steered him over to a NASA staff car sitting next to the factory entrance.
    “Let’s talk in here.”
    Harry gave him a completely frank rundown on the situation at Vance Shannon, Incorporated, sparing no details.
    “She’s pretty well exhausted our capital and you know how Vance never wanted to be in debt. Well, Nancy’s hocked almost everything she owns, and is putting pressure on the rest of the family to do the same. Believe it or not, she actually asked me to agree to take a mortgage out on Dad’s house in Palos Verdes. I told her I couldn’t do it, it was just impossible to think how Dad would have felt about that. Fortunately, she hadn’t even brought it up to Tom.”
    Rodriquez whistled. “Pretty bad. I knew there was trouble. I never thought it would be like this. How is Tom taking this?”
    Harry leveled with him. “As crazy as it sounds, I think this is a good thing for Tom. He’s getting his confidence back as his strength builds up, and he wants to take the reins away from Nancy. He loves her as much as ever, but it galls him that she’s running the company into the ground.”
    “Will he object to me helping? God knows he’s been pissed off at me since day one, and I don’t want to get into any problems with him now. I’m too busy, and frankly, I’m fed up with it. I’ve got enough problems of my own without warring with Tom.”
    “No, it’s just the opposite. He’s sorry about the past, and he knows we can’t win this fight without your support. You may not be bosom buddies after this, but the feud will be over, believe me.”
    “Let me think about this, just for a minute. And I need to talk to Steve O’Malley, first, you know. He’s my partner, and I’m not surehe’ll be happy with me setting up your outfit as a rival again. Our guys have been picking up a lot of your business. Making you competitive again isn’t going to help our bottom line.”
    “I understand that, Bob. It is a hell of a thing to even ask you to do this. But I know how you feel about Vance, and the rest of the Shannons, even Tom. I’m counting on you to see your way clear to helping out and voting with us.”
    “What if we don’t?”
    “Then I think the company breaks up; Tom and I will split off, and Nancy will probably run it the rest of the way into the ground. Dad will be rolling over in his grave, watching everything he built up go to pot.”
    “I’ll call you tonight. Will you be back in Palos Verdes or are you staying over?”
    “I’m going back. I’ll be in Dad’s old office by about seven tonight. I’ll look forward to hearing from you.”
     
    September 17, 1976
    Palos Verdes, California
     
    H ARRY WAS ENSCONCED in his dad’s huge leather armchair, his feet on the ottoman, his hand near the phone, waiting for Rodriquez to call.
    Anna came in with a plate of sandwiches and a glass of iced tea.
    “You got a touch of suntan today, honey.”
    “It’s almost always sunny at Palmdale. I wish you could have been there to see the Space Shuttle. It is going to be fantastic. And it’s just the first step.”
    Anna nodded, pleasantly, her lack of interest manifest. Years of falling off the wagon and then laboriously climbing back on had taken its toll on her looks and her attention span.
    The phone rang and Harry grabbed it, heaving a sigh of relief when he heard Rodriquez’s voice.
    “Harry, I’ve talked this over with Steve. He’s concerned that bailing you out will put Vance Shannon back in business again, and that you’ll be a real