THC 003 - Airbus A-320
(Home base: LIMJ, Norway. Chief pilot: Sir "Walrus" Sergio)

It was another hot blistering day for a couple of dESPair pilots deep in the desert. The early morning cold forgotten, with sunburned ears, they looked at the eager faces sitting behind their wooden desks in a makeshift classroom...

A few months earlier, the CEO of dESPair was approached by a gentleman of Middle East origin. dESPair having gained recognition for providing very specialised services, received a very interesting offer. For the sake of security and international politics, not much can be said about the deal that was struck between dESPair and a certain, incredible wealthy, oil
sheikh.

..in the classroom Captain Sergio, dESPair master pilot, was almost finished with the morning lesson. Emergency procedures for a certain complex military transporter. "Any questions gentlemen?" Sergio asked. There were none. "Excellent. Live exercise scheduled for 13 hundred hours. Assembly at 12 hundred 45, hanger A."

Through the next four months, the students (all ranking officers and pilots) were put through very intensive and specialised training, dESPair style.

Now what has this to do with the beautiful dESPair Airbus called Imagine you are asking. Patience dear reader...

"Sergio Sir!". Sergio looked up to see the chief liaison training officer running into his makeshift office next to the makeshift classroom. "Yes?" Sergio enquired. "Sir, I am sorry but training is suspended. There is an emergency that requires all military personnel of the Sheikh to be on standby!".

The Sheikh's daughter, a very wilful young lady, went on a shopping spree to Paris. Without her daddy knowledge or approval. Worse, without adequate security. Fatal mistake. For her personal security detail. She was kidnapped. Her security detail did not survive the encounter with the kidnappers.

Sergio immediately send a coded message to dESPair head quarters in ??? There, the dESPair staff used an extensive network of contacts in an attempt to trace the kidnappers. Such an operation that the kidnappers pulled off require very careful planning. By very professional people. dESPair is all to familiar with covert action planning and execution. For obvious reasons (to any old dESPair customer).

Within a few days, with some excellent intelligence received and by having a few lucky breaks, dESPair was able to trace the kidnappers location. To a remote villa. High in the Swiss Alps.

A rescue mission was planned. Once again, we can not divulge any
details as some very specialised dESPair equipment and modified
aircraft were used. Suffice to say that the young lady in question
was safely extracted, with no loss of life on the Good Guys side.

The lady was delivered to her father by Captain Sergio personally.

"My dear man, just reimbursing you and your company for your operational costs alone, in recovering my daughter is not enough thanks!" The Sheikh's English accent was obviously from an Oxford education.

"Thank you sir, but we only did what we had to do. Besides, they should have known better not to interrupt a dESPair training schedule." Sergio replied with a smile.

"Unacceptable old chap, I'm afraid. Like it or not, I and my people want to show our gratitude and thanks. Money is not the question. I want you to imagine. Imagine the biggest, imagine the most sophisticated aircraft you would like for your company. And it will be yours" the Sheikh insisted.

The rest is history as they say..


Captain Bruno / Capt. Vilk