‘enough’.

“Hold on tight, Beckers. I’m gonna try ta land this bird on that silver bullet.”

Milking every inch of glide, the CT-37 bounced on the top of the balloon’s surface four times. The tires caught in the Mylar fabric covering the balloon. RIIIIIIIIP! A long gash was cut in the fabric. Helium gas from one cell poured out, and the front end of the balloon began to droop.

Inside the cockpit...

“Captain, the balloon’s deflating!” Mad Dog whined anxiously as he noticed that they were losing altitude.

Angrily Karnage snapped, “Don’t you think I can’t see that with my own magnificent eyes?”

"Then shouldn't we get off of the balloon?" Mad Dog suggested.

“I am the only one who gives the orders around here, you estupid fleabag!” He smacked Mad Dog across the snout, then yelled frantically, “Abandon blimp! Back to the Iron Vulture!”

The air pirates parachuted out of the zeppelin.

“The pirates have left the party,” Baloo said, watching the white parachutes of the pirates drift out over the ocean.

Hand over hand, Baloo and Rebecca scaled down the balloon and into the gondola. They swung themselves into the cockpit.

“You go free the prisoners, Becky.” Baloo spat on his hands before seizing the steering wheel. “I’m gonna try ta land this oversized party favor.”

Rebecca staggered to the kitchen in the rear of the gondola to let the other passengers and flight crew out.

The descending, out-of-control dirigible scraped against the left side of the cliffs. Baloo yanked the stick to the right, propelling the airship against the right side of the cliffs. At that moment, theZen Zeppelin’s pilots rushed into the cockpit with Rebecca close behind. The zeppelin pilots pushed buttons and pulled levers. However, they left the flying to Baloo.

Left. Right. Left. Right. Banging against the sharp, rocky cliffs, the balloon was ripped to shreds. With only one partial cell of helium remaining, Baloo managed to splash down safely in the harbor.

“Whew!” the big bear sighed in relief, wiping cold sweat off his brow. “First time I ever crash landed a balloon.”

The heavy mass of Mylar, formerly the balloon keeping them aloft was now dragging them down into the dark waters of the harbor. Salt water seeped in through the chinks around the windows and doors and sloshed around their ankles. The water was rising fast.

Frantic shouts came from the passengers.

“We’re sinking!”

“Oh, no! We’re all going to die!”

“My shoes are getting wet!”

“We’re going to drown!”

“I can’t swim!”

The general consensus was “We’re doomed!”

Baloo thought fast. He came up with an idea. “No, we ain’t gonna die! Stay calm, folks! We gotta stay calm!” he yelled over the panicked shrieks of the other passengers. “Hey, listen up!”

Rebecca put her fingers in her mouth and emitted an ear-piercing whistle. Immediately, silence fell over the crowd.

The big bear shot her an admiring look, causing her to say modestly, “I’m a mother.”

Baloo continued with an undertone of calm urgency in his voice - almost as if he were addressing a frightened child - “We’re all gonna get outta alive, but we gotta work together an’ do it fast. First thing we gotta do is everyone find a buddy.” He grasped Rebecca’s hand and held their hands up. “Like this.”

All over the room, people began linking hands. They eagerly awaited further instructions.

“Everyone got a buddy?”

The minx waitress didn’t look too happy that her partner was the short, dapper raccoon, but she nodded anyway.

“Good. Step 'B' is we’ve gotta push those dining tables into the water top side down. The way I figure it, we can use ‘em for rafts.” When people began to file into the dining room, he reminded, “The most important thing is don’t lose your buddy!”

Men pushed the tables out the door, being careful that they landed legs up. As Baloo had predicted, they floated like corks. Everyone carefully boarded the makeshift rafts. Luckily, the surf wasn’t very turbulent and the weather was mild.

“Everybody got their buddy?” Baloo inquired loudly.

A chorus of “Yeses” arose from the passengers and crew.

“I’ve got mine,” Rebecca said, giving his paw a fond squeeze. “I’m so proud of you, Baloo.”

Across the harbor was a small blue and white aircraft bobbing up and down on the waves. The mustached canine policeman on patrol was astonished. In all his years on the squad, he’d never seen anything like that strange fleet with that huge shapeless lump behind them. He dropped his donut and reached for his night binoculars. Surprised to see unidentified vehicles carrying several people each floating towards them, he prodded his partner awake. “O’Malley, wake up! We’re being invaded by a...what are those anyway?”

O’Malley, a clean-shaven canine with a tan snout, picked up the microphone. “Harbor patrol, come in. This is Sergeant O’Malley. Request backup in checking out suspicious vehicles near the cliff opening. Repeat, request backup in checking out suspicious vehicles near the cliff opening. Over.”

With lights flashing and sirens wailing, eight harbor patrol motorboats converged on the Zen Zeppelin’s passengers and crew.

A cheer went up from the survivors.

“We’re saved!”

“Hurray!”

“Yay!”

The zeppelin survivors were transported to shore via the motorboats. Besides a few bumps and bruises, no one was hurt. They watched as the crumpled wreckage of the zeppelin was towed away by a tugboat.

“Looks like we made it out just in time,” Rebecca murmured to Baloo standing beside her.

Lester and Elmira approached the two bears.

“Anyone who can successfully land a punctured zeppelin is an ace pilot in my book, Baloo. I’d be honored if you would fly my cotton, say, starting next Monday?”

Baloo’s face broke into a wide grin. “No problem-o,” he answered confidently, shaking Lester’s hand as if it were a pump handle.

“Thank you, Mr. Lester.” Rebecca also shook the crane’s hand with a broad smile. “We look forward to doing business with you.”

“We’ll be in touch, sugars,” Elmira replied as the couple walked away and got into a cab.

Baloo looked down at Rebecca, who stood beside him, her small hands wrapped around his arm. He placed a paw over both of hers with a warm smile. “What a night, huh, Becky?”

“You could say it ended a little flat,” she chuckled. “Get it, Baloo?” She gestured to the deflated balloon. “Flat?”

“Yeah, but before that, it really took off,” the big bear guffawed as he helped her into a taxi.

“Especially after we became friends again,” Rebecca said quietly, looking up at him with a soft gleam in her eyes.

Drawing the bearess into his embrace, Baloo murmured in her ear, “Yeah, friends. Whatta ya say we hit a hamburger stand on the way home, Beckers, an’ discuss what we’re gonna do ‘bout Higher for Hire outta the red an' back inta the black?”

“You’re still hungry after that five course meal?” she cried in disbelief.

“Hey, all that savin’ the day stuff works up an appetite.”

“Oh, Baloo, what am I going to do?” Rebecca threw her hands up in exasperation.

“Pay for burgers an’ fries?” Baloo turned out his pockets. “I don’t have any cash on me.”

“Sure you do. You have the five dollars that I gave you.”

“ThatI won,” Baloo heavily emphasized the fact that he defeated her. “Why doncha admit it, Becky? This ol’ bear knows somethin’ about business after all.” The tone in his voice was just begging her to join in the fight.

Rebecca grinned. This was more like their old sparring matches, not the battles that they had been having lately. Frankly, this sort of ‘fighting’ invigorated her. Folding her arms across her chest, she said with feigned animosity, “Something, but noteverything, flyboy. There’s a huge difference. Why, I bet you wouldn’t know a ledger from a ledge.”

“Ya wanna bet on that, boss lady?”

“You’re on, Baloo.”

Once more, they were going to shake hands, but Baloo stopped short, retracting his hand quickly. “Hold on a prop-spinnin’ second, Becky. Exactly how much are we bettin’?”

“How much do you have?”

Baloo handed over the five dollars with an exaggerated sigh. “You drive a hard bargain. Here. Ya might as well take it now.”

Rebecca giggled. “Thanks.” She snapped the bill between her hands. “Just enough to treat my one-and-only pilot to a malt on the way home.”

Grinning, the big bear said, “You’re an A-okay gal, Rebecca.”

The stars shone down on their cab as it sped through the streets of Cape Suzette.

The End

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