BALDIE

Just as Matt was putting his cell phone down on the table, he looked up to see a white speck on the blue sky's horizon to the north of the Sunbreeze Hotel on Ambergris Caye in Belize. He looked down at his Patek Philippe wristwatch and said, "Right on time. Let's go down to the pier and invite the crew for a drink and tell them the good news."

The white speck continued to grow in size as it approached. Within a couple of minutes, the outline of an aircraft could be discerned. There was no noise. It just glided slowly down to the water.

The Flynn brothers, Matt and Murray, both smiled with a quiet delight. No words were spoken as they walked down to the pier.

Coming down to about 200 feet, the aircraft resembled a small version of the Space Shuttle. It was white and had four porthole windows on each side. As the craft banked slightly, the late afternoon sun illuminated the large bald eagle logo on the tail. Each brother thought to himself, "What a magnificent bird!"

The tourists who were standing in the beach surge couldn't take their eyes off the unique craft. They watched with real excitement as the aircraft splashed down about 200 yards off the end of the pier. The brothers walked out to the end of the pier followed by two bronzed honeymooners. As the craft, now a seaplane, approached the pier at about 6 knots, Matt and Murray each picked up a line for the tie-down.

The almost disbelieving new husband asked, "What is that?"

Matt replied, "It's a Baldie." The couple looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders. "What do you mean, sir?" the man asked.

Matt replied, "It's a new form of transportation between the Belize mainland and the islands like Ambergris Caye. It's quite safe because it's both an airplane and a seaplane."

"Can we look inside? Maybe get a ride someday? I'm a private pilot and would really enjoy the experience," the honeymooner said.

"Maybe someday," Murray said. "It's only a prototype undergoing tests."

The honeymooners sat on a bench as the brothers tied off Baldie. They could see the pilot give the thumbs-up gesture from the cockpit.

A minute later the hatch opened and a gangplank slid out to the pier. A male and female pilot strode quickly down the gangplank. A third person soon appeared in the hatch. The male pilot, a tall, handsome man with the demeanor of a Navy commodore, called out, "Aaron, shut him down for the night and bring the test laptop and Red Box to me at the veranda."

"Will do, Captain," he said with a small salute. The female pilot, a tall, slender figure with Asian features, walked over to Murray and gave him a peck on the cheek. He put his arm around his wife and nodded approvingly.

Matt asked the Captain, "Jim, is everything according to spec?"

The pilot responded, "Yes, AOK. I'll show you the data in the laptop."

"Fine. And we've got something important to tell you. Wait until you hear this!"

"Let's head into the veranda. José has a little concoction he wants us to try," Matt said. "And, seeing as we're now off-duty, an adult beverage is in order."

They all chuckled.

The pilots picked up their flight cases and the party of four headed into shore. About halfway down the pier, Murray turned around. He could see the male honeymooner intently inspecting the Baldie.

Ten minutes later the pilots had changed into their Tommy Bahama outfits and joined Matt and Murray at a table away from the bar in a secluded alcove ringed by orange hibiscus. They used this table so much, they often referred to it as their "Stammtisch," like a reserved table in a German bier stube.

A fifth person walked up to the table carrying a black ballistic fabric satchel. He was the Baldie co-pilot, Aaron Adams, who bore a striking resemblance to Matt Damon.

"Captain, here's what you asked for," Aaron said as he set the satchel down on the flagstone next to Jim Russell's chair. He took a seat across the table next to Maggie.

The captain reached down into the satchel and pulled out a laptop and powered it on. With Matt and Murray at his side, he watched as the display lit up with myriad colored charts. Captain Russell pointed to several of the squiggly lines and the brothers nodded approvingly.

Matt asked, "How was the vertical takeoff?" Captain Russell responded, "Here's the power profile. It was flawless and, indeed, much faster than the previous ones."

"I knew it!" Murray said.

Matt said, "The Red Box is outperforming our estimates." He looked around the table and asked, "Any questions?" Silence was consent.

The captain was putting away the laptop when José Flores, the debonair resort manager, approached the table with a tray of cocktail glasses.

"I hope you had a good day, my friends," he said as he warmly greeted the team.

"So what's the surprise, José?" asked Matt.

José set the tray down on the table and distributed the cocktails around the table.

"Well, in honor of your wonderful patronage here at the Sunbreeze these past months, I have invented a new drink. The team slowly raised their glasses and clinked them. They examined the beverage's yellow-orange hue and took a drink as José said, "Salut, my friends."

After a few seconds, Maggie asked, "What is it? It's fabulous. It feels so healthy!"

José quickly responded, "It's two parts Orangina and one part rum with a wedge of lime."

With pride in his voice, José announced, "It's a Baldie."

The table erupted in joyous laughter.

"I trust it's emblematic of a real winner!" José said.

Another round of laughter followed.

Aaron said, "This is terrific. I could really get used to these ... even for breakfast!"

Another round of laughter erupted.

Matt addressed José. "My friend, your hospitality is again overwhelming. Yes, this could be the team's drink of choice."

José smiled like a happy innkeeper who had pleased his guests, bowed slightly, and returned to the veranda bar. He called back to the group, "Let me know if you want another round. It's on the house."

Captain Russell then asked, "What's this good news you mentioned down on the pier?"

Murray looked intently at the surrounding foliage as if to detect any listening devices. Maggie knew what he was thinking.

In a very low tone, almost whispering, Matt said, "We've got our patents. The paper documents arrived by FedEx, and we just got off the phone with John Baldinger."

"Terrific!" exclaimed Aaron. Maggie's face lit up with joy.

Matt continued, "The Red Box is unencumbered by other claims. We have both design and process patents. There is nothing else like it on Earth. We are cleared to increase production of the current design. Just think — we committed to this...