Prologue:..
It was a warm summer afternoon...the Caribbean Sea reflected the sun that would soon set on the horizon. A lone seagull trying to spot some tasty fish in the water below...

C'mon, c'mon, tasty ones...ah there! ready to dive and...WHATHE--??

And the lone seagull is startled and barely dodges the huge yellow seaplane that passes by it like a blur!

"Baloo!! They are gaining on us!!" a young bear cub in a green sweater yelled while standing on the co-pilot chair, head poking through the window to see the 5 smaller planes flying behind them and approaching, each plane bearing the infamous Air-Pirate Symbol.

"Hang on to yer cap Lil Britches!" the big gray bear with the yellow pilot shirt and hat behind the yoke of the yellow plane yelled as he pushed it forward, sending the seaplane into a dive toward the blue ocean and pulling back at the very last moment. Behind them, one of the planes was not so lucky and crashed into the waters.

"That Big Oaf with his widdle little fancy tricks shall NOT escape this time, Yes no?? Fire!! Fire!!" bellowed the pilot leading the small squad, a fox with wolfish features - or a wolf with fox features, depending on who you ask!- dressed in a blue coat, gray pants and boots and speaking with a heavy french accent.

And following his orders, the other pilots started firing at the large yellow cargo plane! The big gray bear swerved his plane from side to side in a zig zag pattern, managing to avoid  most bullets but not all: some hit against the hull loudly and one broke his rear mirror!

"Man, I guess that means I ain't getting a Christmas card from old Karny this year!" joked Baloo. One could wonder how the big bear could make jokes in a situation like that but the young cub and navigator, Kit, knew better. His Poppa bear was nervous and their plane - the Sea Duck - was fully loaded with cargo, and very heavy, so their chance of outmaneuvering the pirates was getting smaller and smaller as they approached.

"Baloo! We gotta loose the cargo or they'll catch us!" Kit yelled, looking very worried now.

"No worries kiddo! You see, it's July 17!" Baloo grinned as he hit the throttle as much as he could, the twin Superflight 100 engines screaming as they were pushed to the limit.

"July 17?? What that has to do with....OH!" the young cub's face lit up as he understood everything.

In his cockpit, Don Karnage grinned as his squad was about to get the Sea Duck down as a Christmas turkey...and he would finally get his hands on his former protegé and the dim-witted pilot bear! He would scrap that silly yellow plane and make trophies with the parts! Perhaps even a statue of his handsome self, yes no? 

But the pirate captain was awaken from his reverie by the loud boom of an explosive shell detonating between them and the Sea Duck.

"Captain! Battleship!" Mad Dog yelled frantically from his cockpit. Indeed, there was a huge battleship right below them and the Sea Duck was heading right for it! The ship many cannons were firing and covering the cargo plane, and if the pirates insisted on the pursuit, they would surely be brought down one by one.

"That darn Baloo!! RETREAT!! Back to the Iron Vulture men!!" screamed the pirate captain as they turned their planes around and fled - almost all of them as one plane was brought down by the ship's fire and the pilot parachuted into the ocean. A military boat accompanying the ship soon darted to retrieve the downed pirate.

"Thanks fellas!" Baloo bellowed waving from his pilot window at the sailors standing on the deck of the U.S.S. Fireclaw Battleship. After a few passes around the huge vessel, he pulled up and resumed his course to Cape Suzette.

"So that's why you weren't very worried about pirates on this run! Because you remembered the radio announcement of battle maneuvers here scheduled for today!" Kit cheered as he sat back on his seat.

"Yeppers! Looks like Ol' Karny didn't hear 'bout it though!" Baloo grinned as he sat back and rested his big feet on the yoke, guiding the plane steady. - You see, kiddo, ol' Baloo here can use his head!

"AND his belly!" joked the young cub "We escaped the pirates but we are late again! How do we escape Rebecca?"

"Aw, Becky won't mind it as long as we get there with the cargo, and we have it! But why somebody need twelve crates of Pigmy crafted pottery?" The big bear wondered.

But soon the famous cliffs of Cape Suzette came into view and he dismissed his thoughts....they were home at last.

[i]- Chapter 1 -[/i]

[i]- Higher for Hire -[/i]

"TWO HOURS LATE!! AGAIN!!" The small bearess dressed in a pink sweater and purple pants screamed while her finger jabbed at Baloo's chest. She kept walking forward, forcing the big gray bear to walk back until he bumped and fell sitting on his old easy chair.

"But Beckers, The Air Pir--" the big pilot started but he was cut off quickly.

"Again the Air Pirates!! You are an Air Pirate magnet! Just like the other twelve times this month!" she stomped her little bare foot on the wodden floor of the office. Rebecca was indeed not pleased. "Besides, I heard on the radio about the U.S.S. Fireclaw firing at Pirates and saving a big yellow cargo plane at 4:37PM! Sounds familiar? You should BE here at 3:00 sharp!!"

She sighed and walked around looked at the mountain of paper on her desk. Business was better than ever but she was so busy doing the sales, taking care of the accounts and managing Baloo - a full time job that alone! - that she hasn't had much time for her daughter or even herself. Stress was starting to pile up as much as those papers!

"Miss Cunningham" the respectful young cub started "if Baloo were on time, then we would not have found the Battleship and the pirates would have the cargo now."

She looked at Kit and smiled...that indeed made sense. Wasn't it better to be happy that both of them AND the cargo were there safe and sound?

"Alright, Baloo. You are off the hook. THIS time! But you have been late with almost every delivery this month! You NEED to get your head in the game, buster!" The small bearess warned. As she had done so many times before.

"Yes Boss Lady! Ol'  Baloo here is a changed bear and you'll see yer cargo on time every time now!" the big bear promised, while crossing his fingers behind his back. Another promise, as so many before. Those two were incorrigible. 

"Mommy? You promised..." a little yellow girl bearcub with pigtails on her ears looked up from the side of Rebecca's desk at her mom. Indeed, she had been promised a nice stop at the ice cream shop and some frosty pep with her mom. 

Rebecca picked up her daughter in her arms and smiled "Well, it's late sweetie, and Mom still has so much work to do..."

The big bear stepped in and in a surprise move, got Rebecca's trenchcoat from the hanger and quickly helped her get dressed into it. "A promise's a promise Boss lady! C'mon, I'll close the shop fer you! You two get some R&R, Doctors Orders!"

She opened her mouth to protest but she didn't. Instead, she just smiled and gave Baloo a hug and whispered a "thank you" to him, then she gave Kit a kiss on his forehead and smiled at her daughter "Well, honey? The ice cream shop awaits us!"

Molly nearly exploded and jumped into her mom's arms, and both bearesses left the office.

Baloo looked around and scratched his head.

"You know, Lil Britches..." he started "ol' Beckers been going thru nights here...she gotta ditch this paperwork thingie or she'll go nuts!"

The bearcub jumped on Baloo's belly which prompted a 'whoof' sound from the big bear.

"Or hire some help..." Kit said.

"Hah! Would you really wanna some suit'n'tie type here helping Beckers order you round?" the pilot scoffed. "She just need ta get out and have some fun! Work ain't everything, you know? Talking about it...time for some munchies, ma favorite kinda fun!"

And with that both bears headed to the kitchen, Baloo's belly already growling in anticipation.

[i]- Cape Suzette, Downtown -[/i]

The yellow bear cub rubbed her tummy and smiled as she gazed at her empty ice cream glass. From the stool next to her, Rebecca finished her own, smaller ice cream and smiled. She loved to make her Molly happy.

"How was that, sweetie?" she asked, taking a napkin and wiping her daughter's muzzle.

"Yummm...thanks mommy!" Molly grinned, then looked at her doll. "Sorry Lucy, but you are to little to have ice cream."

"Oh, I think Lucy won't mind skipping ice cream, honey..." giggled Rebecca. "now, time to go home...Danger Woman will be on the radio in one hour."

"Yay!" the little girl jumped off the stool at the mention of her favorite show and hastily made through the ice cream shop door.

Rebecca had to park their car on the other side of the street, and was checking the keys in her purse as they crossed. Her mind, however, not all there, as she had spotted a "We are Hiring" sign on a business at the street and muttered how she had to place an ad. So absent-minded she was that her keys fell on the street.

"The keys to Danger-mobile!" announced Molly as she leaned to get them, Rebecca looking down at her playful daughter.

Then the next moment was a blur. as their whole world lit up when the truck lights blinded them, the driver hitting the brakes as hard as he could, making the tires screech on the tarmac.

That's when all the air left Rebecca's lungs when she was shoved hard off the truck's path and onto the street, falling on her side with a loud gasp of surprise, while a thud was heard behind her when the heavy vehicle stopped.

"MOLLY!!" was the first thing she said, still dizzy but getting to her feet to see the front of the truck, a million thoughts coming through her mind as she feared for her daughter.

But what she saw was not her daughter, but a man's body dressed in dark blue jeans and a checkered blue shirt, laying on the street before the truck and curled to the side.

"M-Mommy?" a small voice came out and Rebecca darted to the man's side, afraid of turning him...but in his arms, there was her beloved yellow bear cub...safe and sound.
 
"Oh Molly! My baby!" she picked her daughter in her arms and hugged, fighting off tears for the relief she felt.

Then reality came back and the truck driver, a big gorilla was next to them. Inside the ice cream shop, people were already calling for police and ambulance. 

"Are you ok lady?" asked the worried driver, then he looked at the unconscious fella on the street "I'm sorry, but you two crossed the street by surprise and I tried to stop, but then that guy came outta nowhere and pushed you and held the little girl! But he seems hurt!"

Rebecca carefully checked the man after setting down Molly. It was a bear, with almost coppery fur, apparently in his late twenties, by his side, a broken pair of glasses. He wasn't bleeding at least, which she felt it was good, but when she touched his head he moaned.

"NNn...what the hell did you put in my coffee, Sam?" he whispered and then he was out cold.

Fortunately the ambulance and police had arrived and were already isolating the area and getting him checked. They escorted Rebecca to the side and asked her and the driver a few questions, filling a report while the bearess half-replied and half-tried to spot how their rescuer was, but soon he was taken away in the ambulance.

"Will he be alright?" she asked a dog police officer.

"We will see Ma'am, but you are lucky he showed up. He's being taken to Cape Suzette General Hospital. Right now, we need to ask you a few more questions..."

A few more questions for a police officer maybe, but for a shaken Rebecca, quite a bit. The driver, however, seemed to be even worse as the gorilla was trying to explain to the cops what happened, making wild gestures with his arm and hand, slamming his fist against his palm, making strange crashing sounds and opening his eyes wide as he waved his arms up and then lied on the street with his tongue out, which prompted the questioning police officers to exchange glances between each other and shake their heads.

Eventually however, mom and daughter managed to arrive their home.

She walked through the door, carrying her sleeping daughter in her arms and closing it behind her with her foot. Then she carefully carried Molly to her bedroom where she placed the young girl in her bed to sleep. She felt somewhat guilty and wanted to go to the Hospital to see if that young man would be ok, but she could not leave the bear cub alone in the apartment and just go. 
But she would make sure she would go there in the morning. She was worried. And as she got changed into her nightgown and lied in her bed, sleep would not come easy for the brown bear woman.

[i]-Next Morning, Cape Suzette General Hospital-[/i]

Rebecca walked in and walked straight to the receptionist at the information counter, a strange looking white bunny girl dressed as a nurse, with huge green eyes and a pair of stethoscopes around her neck. 

"Good Morning." greeted Rebecca. "I'd like to..."

"Hi Welcome to Cape Suzette General Hospital! Are you sick? You look sick! lemme check you!" the bunny girl blurted and got up on the counter, placing a finger on Rebecca's left lower eyelid and pulling it down to check it "Oooh you look sick! Have you been drinking coffee? I have been drinking coffee! it's good for you!" and then before the bear woman can say anything the crazy bunny pries her jaw open and places a stick on her tongue, looking deep inside "ooh minty! you brushed your teeth, good!" she then takes the stethoscope and places the chestpiece on the bear woman forehead "Eeep, can't hear anything! You are really sick! Don't worry, I have this great laxative!" and, from who knows where, she takes out a spoon and a bottle that doesn't look like anything Rebecca would drink in a million years and starts opening the cap.

"MISS WIGGLEBUN..." a stern looking middle aged Otter with glasses and dressed as a doctor stood before them both, with a large notepad tucked under his left arm. "Mr. Grubbles from room 14 needs his medicine...and for the last time, please, stop placing our receptionist under quarantine! I assure you that she is very healthy!"

"Okay Dr. Jones!" the bunny said bubbly and quickly hopped off the counter and walked humming happily to room 14, opened the door and entered, greeting "Hello Mr. Grubbles!!" and closed the door behind her. Rebecca could swear that she heard a man screaming and pleading for help from the room and winced.

"I am sorry, Ma'am, our new intern is a bit...eager to help. I'm Dr. Jones." the otter offered a hand which Rebecca shook. he was just a little taller than herself.

"Pleased to meet you Doctor. I am Rebecca Cunningham. I came to see a patient, a bear in his twenties I believe. See, my daughter and I were almost run over by a truck yesterday but that brave man saved us in the last moment, but he got hit in our stead..."

"Ah, yes." the doctor said "The young man from last night...he was quite in luck. He only got a minor concussion and a bruised elbow. He quickly recovered conscience and was very lucid. We kept him under observation for the night, but we released him a couple hours ago."

Rebecca was relieved by those news, but somewhat disappointed that she could not thank him personally for saving her and Molly's lives. Still, that was solved now, and she had to get back to Higher for Hire. She had a business to run and an ad to place.

And at Higher for Hire, a certain bear pilot was juggling phone calls and about to go crazy.

"Ah yeah, Mister Brown...hey, You the guy from them blue flamingoes right? Man, do You know they come from Cape Suzette and are painted in Thembria? One Minnit! Hullo? Mr. White? Mangoes, really? No, no! See I luv Mangoes! Pay us in Mangoes? Uh, I guess ma boss won't like that..."

The bear woman in trenchcoat quickly walked through the door and, spotting the sad scene before her eyes, she took over, gently shooing Baloo from her desk and taking the phones.

"Hello Mister Brown! Oh of course we can deliver them, no problem! But we have a policy of air-dropping those these days because of Thembria's custom regulations! Sure! On Tuesday then Sir, thank you! Mister White! Yes Sir, we do love Mangos but we don't trade them, we only deliver them! Very well, Sir, it's a deal then!"

She hung up and sighed. Then she picked one of the phones again and dialed a number.

"Cape Suzette Gazette? Rebecca Cunningham from Higher for Hire. I'd like to post a job ad please. Yes, the economic size, repeating every day for the whole week. It will say 'Office helper wanted and Higher for Hire. Bonus for knowledge in accounting, management or marketing. Call us on...'"

"Aw man..." Baloo winced. "Beckers, c'mon, we don't need an uptight business type here!" which prompted Rebecca to glare at him "Well, Ah mean, yer not like that! You are...hum...You! But nobody knows this place like you, see?"

She finished placing the ad and smiled at Baloo's attempt to convince her.

"Baloo, look at this desk! We are getting good customers and business is booming, but the paperwork is also a lot more. I need someone who can help me organize this a bit. Come on, it's not as if I am hiring another pilot!" she reasoned.

He chuckled "Yeah right! Coz You know that I wouldn't let anybody else fly ma Duck!"

"Don't forget it's MY Duck buster!" she grinned but her words did not come so serious, as she knew they could upset Baloo. "And if I have someone helping me here, perhaps I can then spend more time with Molly! I won't have to work the office during the weekends."

"Hey, yeah!" he agreed. "Shortstop would like that! And we can all go fishing together on some weekend!"

"See? It will be helpful! You gotta admit that this was another GREAT idea!" she crossed her arms and grinned
.
And the week passed. We found Rebecca sitting on the floor by her desk, since even her chair now was full of papers, her hands under her chin and a very frustrated look on her face.

"That was a TERRIBLE idea!" she finally blurted out.

Baloo sighed from his easy chair "Sorry Boss Lady, but I toldja. Remember the first one?"

Rebecca groaned as her memory instantly recalled the first one she interviewed...

	[i]A smug looking leopard in a business suit sat cross-legged before the desk. He immediately started:

	"I have come to deliver my considerable knowledge and experience to this quaint little business. You have done well, for a woman, but I will take this place to new heights. We can turn this into a real name and then sell it for such a profit, more money than you probably ever imagined in your little dreams, and invest it into a market that promises to be the biggest in the future: Kumquats!"he grinned, flashing pearly white teeth and fangs.[/i]

"I swear that I almost asked you to throw him through the window, Baloo." she grinned at the big bear.

"Woulda been happy to please, Beckers!" the pilot chuckled.

Kit stopped polishing his airfoil for a moment. "And the one after that..."

	[i]The big, fat warthog dressed in thembrian military gear stood before Rebecca's desk.

	"And we will run this business as a tight Thembrian concentration camp!" the hog said as he slammed his fist on the desk "Deliveries will be on time or pilots will be shot! Regular work day of 23 hours from Monday to Monday!" another slam "We will crunch the numbers, squeeze the resources and burn the gas to make this reflect our military superiority and ideal! Hail the High Marshall and the Great Patriotic Flounder!"[/i]
	
"And don't ferget the guy who thought he was going to count beans... and the one who thought he was being hired as the CEO of a big business and thought coming ta this place was a test and we'd take him to a big building downtown later...and the weasel guy who was a former mobster and said he knew how to handle with all the numbers in a permanent way..." Baloo went on "Man, are all those suit'n'tie types a buncha yahoos or what?"

"It seems so, Baloo..." Rebecca sighed. "All I know is that after five days of interviews, we couldn't find anybody and the paperwork keeps piling up! I am going insane! Can't we find ONE normal looking office worker who can actually help?"

And at that moment, the sound of a motorcycle stopping outside was heard.

"Must be the delivery boy with the parts Wildcat ordered..." Rebecca whispered. More paperwork.

Kit peeked outside the window and nearly double flipped. "Only if delivery boys now use very fancy motorcycles!"

Then came a knock at the door. 

"Come in, please." Rebecca answered. She got up from her sitting place by her desk and stood by it, trying to look as professional as she could, but when the door opened, her jaw nearly fell on the floor. Standing at the open door, dressed in jeans pants, a leather jacket, gloves and with brown eyes that gazed from behind glasses, were that same golden brown bear who saved her and Molly the other night. "YOU!! It's YOU!" she exclaimed.

Kit and Baloo looked surprised at their boss and then at the stranger at the door, who seemed equally surprised and apparently not knowing what Rebecca was talking about.
 
"Uh...it's...me? Well, I am me...I guess?" was all that the surprised bear in glasses could say.

Rebecca crossed the room and suddenly hugged the stranger, who was taller than her but shorter than Baloo, and much leaner too."It's me! That night, the truck, my daughter!"

The stranger's face illuminated and he smiled down at her, returning the hug "The mom and daughter crossing the street! That was you?? Are you two ok? How is the little girl? Was she hurt?"

"Waitaminnit Beckers...that near miss you told us about...this was the guy?" inquired Baloo, who stood up and was now walking toward them.

"Yes Baloo! This is him!" she smiled at Baloo then looked at him "Molly...my daughter, the little girl, is safe and sound thanks to you!"

The golden brown bear blushed a bit "I just saw you two and the truck and did what anybody WHOOOF!!" he wheezed when Baloo slapped his back and then grabbed him by his shoulders in a bearhug - literally. 

"If You saved Molly and Beckers, man, then yer good in ma book! Baloo's the name and if You ever need to fly anywhere, count me in!" the big gray bear boomed and then shook the smaller bear's hand, prompting a wince from him when his paw was nearly crushed.

"But..." Rebecca started "how did you find me? And what can we do for you?"

After Baloo set the not-so-stranger bear down and he adjusted his glasses, he smiled and pulled out a newspaper clip "Well...I actually didn't know you worked here...I saw this ad on the paper and thought I would try for it...see...I am an accountant."

For a moment, the silence in the room became awkward. Baloo scratched his head and measured the brown bear with his eyes. With a leather jacket and worn jeans he looked like anything but an accountant. 

Rebecca, meanwhile had her mouth open in disbelief as if the stranger had just told her absurd unbelievable news. An accountant? THAT? I mean, he saved Molly and her, and had a good heart it seemed, but from that to being a formal professional...it was a huge stretch.

"I...hum..." she blinked "well, yes...yes, we are interviewing...I am Rebecca Cunningham, the owner of this business...this is Baloo, my pilot, and this is Kit, my navigator. Welcome to Higher for Hire, Mr...?"

"Ah, Goldwing, Ma'am. Jon Goldwing" he smiled but Kit instantly recognized the name and pointed out.

"Goldwing? As in Goldwing & Stein Corp, the former aircraft makers? You are related to them?" the knowledgeable navigator smiled and looked at the brown bear as if trying to read him.

"Aircraft?" Jon chuckled "Hehehe, no, I'm afraid not. I am just an accountant, and don't know the first thing about airplanes."

"Well, Mr. Goldwing" Rebecca said crossing her arms "do you have a resume with you?"


[i] - End of Chapter 1 - [/i]