Betty opened the letter.
David Farrar, an old friend (to use the term loosely), had
disappeared some time ago with her money and a leggy blonde to help
him spend it. She hadn’t expected to find a letter from him beside
her morning coffee. It read:
Betty, take a gander at
these. During a hit on a pleasure zep, I ended up in possession of
a certain briefcase. I found files inside, one for each of the
people listed below. You’re on the list, so I figured I’d give you
a heads-up. Hey, you never told me you were in the circus,
dollface.
So, how’s life treating you? You and Zachary taken any big hauls
lately? I hear there’re plenty of rich pickings down your way. You
hear of anything really big, you’d better let me know. Don’t
forget, you owe me one for that raid on Brandy Bill’s—and don’t be
a stranger.
Choke her easy, Beautiful.
D.F.
Betty snorted. She didn’t owe that bastard a thing. Well, at
least she hadn’t until she got the letter. For all she knew, the
information it contained might be extremely valuable. She looked at
the first packet and saw the name, “Nathan Zachary,” neatly printed
at the top.
35-NZ / Nathan Zachary
Leader: The Fortune Hunters, a band of air pirates.
Born Natan Zingari, in the southwestern U.S., Zachary flew in WWI
with the French Escadrille Lafayette. During the war he was shot
down and ended up in a POW camp, where the Germans incarcerated him
with Dr. Wilhelm Fassenbiender (brief 34-WF).
Zachary managed to escape the camp and make his way to Russia,
later to England. He studied finance at Oxford and returned to the
U.S. after graduation, where he built himself a small fortune on
the stock market. The Crash of ’29 dropped the bottom out of his
newfound wealth, however, and shortly thereafter he took to a life
of crime and formed the Fortune Hunters.
34-WF / Dr. Wilhelm
Fassenbiender
Fassenbiender was a child prodigy, recognized early
for his extraordinary intelligence. He studied privately with
renowned mathematician, G.F.B. Riemann, but later in life he
refused to design weapons for the Germans and they tossed him into
a POW camp. He met Zachary (35-NZ) in the camp and escaped with him
to Russia.
More than once over the years, Zachary has provided Fassenbiender
and members of his family with sanctuary from those who sought to
claim his genius for their own narrow causes. Though he’s not a
member of the Fortune Hunters, per se, he has been known to show
his gratitude by improving the design of their planes and
technology.
38-LT / Louis “Wild Card”
Thibodeaux
Leader: The Ragin’ Cajuns
Thibodeaux is the leader of the Ragin’ Cajuns, a renowned band of
air pirates. He spent most of his life in Louisiana, swindling big
spenders on the banks of the Mississippi and playing high stakes
card games on the bayou. Thibodeaux’s luck is legendary and is the
source of his nickname.
Zachary (35-NZ) and Thibodeaux carry on an active rivalry. As a
matter of fact, Thibodeaux is the thorn in Zachary’s side.
36-BC / Betty “Brooklyn”
Charles
Betty Charles was born in Brooklyn, but her parents
sent her to Minnesota to save her from the tough city streets. She
learned to fly in her uncle’s crop duster and later left home to
join the circus and perform with a wing-walking troupe.
Ultimately Betty landed a job as a commercial flyer shuttling
businessmen between New York and D.C. One of her regular passengers
was financial wizard Nathan Zachary (35-NZ). He somehow managed to
coax Betty into the life of a pirate, and she remains a member of
the Fortune Hunters.
Betty shook her head. Every detail was correct. She laughed
quietly. It had never occurred to her that she might some day merit
this kind of attention. She wondered to herself whether this meant
she was famous? Maybe infamous! The thought pleased her
39-MS / Maria “Bloody Mary”
Sanchez
Not much information exists about Sanchez, who was
orphaned and grew up in poverty. Her first professional experience
was in a pit crew for a racing pilot. She learned to fly from him,
and later went on to win the Republic of Texas Championship
herself.
Sanchez is currently a member of the Ragin’ Cajuns under the
leadership of Louis Thibodeaux (38-LT). When she’s not buzzing the
heads of Zachary and the Fortune Hunters, she’s fixing airplane
engines in her shop in the Arixo desert.
37-JK / Jonathan “Genghis” Kahn
Leader: The Red Skull Legion
Kahn and Zachary (35-NZ) have a longstanding rivalry. The two met
on Wall Street, but unlike Zachary, Kahn’s record of criminal
activity includes everything from small-time scams to murder. His
family, the famous Chicago Kahns, kept him out of trouble during
his early years. Later, Kahn earned enough money to cover his own
tracks. He worked behind a desk until he became leader of the Red
Skull Legion in search of hands-on mayhem.
Betty finished browsing the files. Everything they said about her
was true, so she presumed the rest was correct as well. She had
learned a few things about her colleagues. She tucked the packet
away in her trunk, determined not to worry about it. After all, she
told herself, when you’re a pirate, you have to expect that you’ll
make more than one person’s private hit list.
