Secondary Characters of "Cold Peace" - Charles "Chuck" or "Kiwi" Murray
Although only a secondary character, Kiwi is an indispensable character. Kiwi is first and foremost a friend to the principles. He is someone who is on their side and can be trusted even when things go very wrong -- as he will prove in the final book in the series. In the first two volumes he is more in the background, yet reliable and well worth getting to know.
Kiwi is a character in all Three of the volumes of the Bridge to Tomorrow Trilogy
“Bloody bastard!” Kiwi exclaimed furiously ashe slammed down the receiver and pushed out of the hotel phone booth. He shovedhis peaked cap onto the back of his head in frustration, revealing his redface.
Ron and Chips, standing just outside thebooth, pounced on him at once. “What did he say?”
“That bureaucratic arse says he ‘can’t’ let usfly from any RAF facility until he has orders from General Robertson making anexception for AAI aircraft! It’s nothing but bumpf! Sheer bureaucratic bumpf!”He resisted the urge to fling his cap down and stamp on it.
"Maybe we could fly from one of the U.S.bases?” Ron suggested.
“We’d spend nearly a full tank of fuel just toget there and they’re twice as far from Berlin!” Kiwi snapped back, thensoftened his answer by adding, “I know you’re just trying to help, Ron. I don’tmean to take it out on you, but this is just pure bunk! Pig-headedness!Arrogance! Bagshot’s an effing bastard!”
“Did you tell him patients are waiting to beflown out?” Chips asked.
“Of course! I told him there were dozens ofdesperately ill patients waiting. I told him their lives depended on us gettingthem out, and this was a high priority of the Berlin City Council — to which heanswered that he didn’t take orders from the Berlin City Council and allGermans could die as far as he was concerned!” Kiwi was so angry he was notkeeping his voice down and was starting to attract attention. This last commentharvested shocked and angry looks from across the lobby.
“Maybe we should go get a drink and do somemore brainstorming,” Ron suggested reasonably.
“You carry on. I’ve got ring Mr Goldman andlet him know we’re still stuck here and don’t know when we can get to Berlin.We don’t want the patients waiting around at Gatow, and maybe he can get amessage to Robertson.”
The mechanics nodded and headed for the hotelbar, while Kiwi returned to the telephone booth to ring David. He was relievedwhen Emily answered the phone and promised to advise David of the situation forhim. David had an unpleasant way of making Kiwi feel he was to blame whenthings went wrong, and he didn’t want to get a bollocking for this latestcock up.
As he started for the bar, however, Kiwi wasintercepted by Virginia Cox of the Times. “Chuck, Darling!” she calledout to him waving and smiling. “What a delightful surprise!”
Kiwi couldn’t think of anyone he wanted to seeless! He’d never forgive the way Virginia had set a trap for him once before.She’d asked for an interview about the launch of AAI and over lunch at theHotel Adlon, she’d charmed all sorts of proprietary information out of him. Afterflattering him through lunch, she’d brushed him off like a piece of dirt — andadded insult to injury by writing a misleading article. He looked her straight in the eye and asked,“Do we know each other?”
“Chuck Darling! What a card you are! You can’thave forgotten that lovely lunch together at the —”
He cut her off. “What I remember is youchasing after the next story before we’d even finished and then writing anarticle that twisted the facts enough to put AAI in jeopardy.”
She gazed at him with an expression of woundedsurprise that would not have shamed a Hollywood actress. “But Chuck! That’s myjob — chasing after stories, I mean. And I’m stunned, no crushed, thatyou didn’t like the article. I so wanted to do you justice in it. I thought itread—”
“Like we were a pair of crazy, barnstorming,bush pilots ignoring aviation regulations!”
“Chuck! That wasn’t my intention at all. Itruly wanted to show what a wonderful job you’d done.” She looked and soundedso profoundly sincere that Kiwi wondered if it had been a misunderstanding.
“Please, Chuck. Let me buy you a drinkand we can talk this through. What are you doing in Hamburg, by the way?” Shehad slipped her hand through his elbow and pulled him to her just enough so hecould feel her breast against his side as she led the way toward the bar.
Damn it! He couldn’t control his attractionfor her despite what she’d done to him. She was a corker anyway you looked atit with bright blond hair and legs to kill for. It didn’t hurt that she wasdressed now in a sleek two-piece suit, silk stockings and pearls. She’d beenthe debutante of the season ten years ago. Damn her! And except for thatembarrassing one-night-stand with a girl whose name he couldn’t remember, he’dbeen celibate ever since his wife left him seven months ago.
Virginia, meanwhile, had drawn him to thehotel bar, where Ron and Chips were gaping at him as the stunning woman led himin and then perched herself on a bar stool in a way that drew all men’s eyes toher legs. “What are you drinking, Chuck Darling?” she asked with aheart-warming smile.
No, Kiwi told himself, he was not going to getdrawn into cocktails and God knew what next. He gone off the heavy liquor eversince he’d failed his first flight test on twins and had had to retake it athis own expense. David had given him a second chance and he was not going toscrew it up. “A half-pint of that German beer they sell around here.”
“Holsten, I think it’s called,” she suppliedthe name with a glance at the bartender for confirmation. He nodded and she ordered,“A Holsten for the captain and a Cuba Libre for me.”
The bartender withdrew and Kiwi cautiouslytook his seat beside Virginia. Without physical contact, he found he couldthink a little more clearly. He concluded that the best way to stop her fromluring him into a new trap was to ask some questions of his own. “What are youdoing here in Hamburg? I thought you were covering the Airlift.”
“So, I am!” Virginia assured himenthusiastically. “That’s exactly why I’m here.” He looked at her blankly, andshe exclaimed, “The Sunderlands! Surely you saw the news? They flew into Berlinfor the first time yesterday, and I managed to get an exclusive interview withthe squadron commander operating out of Finkenwerde. But there’s no good hotelthere, so I’m staying here. I’m here half the time anyway because the AirliftStory isn’t all about Berlin, you know. It’s also about the organization behindthe Airlift and the departure fields, and ships bringing in supplies and allthat.” She seemed to realise she was talking too much and suddenly exclaimed,“What a wonderful coincidence to run into you! I assumed you were flying yourselfragged, getting sick people out of Berlin.” She paused, looking at him withbig, admiring eyes.
“Well, that’s what I wish I were doing andought to be doing!” Kiwi burst out, and without thinking added, “But a certainGroup Captain Bagshot, who happens to be in charge of the RAF effort, refusesto approve a flight plan for us unless he has express orders from GeneralRobertson!”
“Good heavens! What a lot of nonsense! Peoplemight die if they can’t get out of Berlin to get the medical attentionthey need! You can’t be serious?”
“Of course, I’m serious! We’re cooling ourheels here wasting money on hotel bills and airport fees while seriously sickpeople are trapped in Berlin all because Group Captain Bagshot is too stubbornor too cowardly to approve a flight plan!”
“He ought to be called out on this,” Virginianoted.
“What do you mean?” Kiwi asked, suddenly wary.
“Well, an article describing the plight ofsick children who can’t get out of Berlin—”
“Oh no you don’t!” Kiwi cut her off. “I wasjust telling you why I’m here. I don’t want you screaming about it in thepapers. Bagshot will have it in for us if you do that.” Not to mention, hethought to himself, David will kill me for blabbing again. “Promise me youwon’t publish anything about this!”
“Now, Chuck Darling, you know the rules,” sheadmonished with a flirtatious smile. “When talking to journalists, unless yousay upfront that something is ‘off the record,’ then anything andeverything you say can be used.” She said it in a nice way, but Kiwi knew shewas coldblooded when it came to her job — and he knew an article againstBagshot would ruin them.
He reached out and clasped her wrist in afierce grip. “I wasn’t talking to you as a journalist!”
Virginia looked down at his hand pointedly,and he removed it. They sat tensely side-by-side. Kiwi watched her like a hawk.Her face had become hard. Then something seemed to click inside her, and sheturned on a charming smile. “All right, Chuck, I won’t write anything about it.I just wanted to do you a favour. A little negative publicity often doeswonders to clear away pointless bureaucracy, but if you don’t want my help…”she finished the sentence with a shrug.
“No. I don’t want you meddling in my affairs.We’ll work this out in our own way. And that’s that.”
Their drinks arrived, and Kiwi lifted his beerin salute and Virginia replied in kind. As she put her glass down, Virginiaasked with a reconciliatory smile, “What are you doing for dinner tonight,Chuck? I’ve discovered this wonderful old beer cellar that didn’t get blitzed.It’s underground, you see, with big, vaulted ceilings and gigantic, wooden beerkegs. Very romantic.”
Did she mean that? Part of Kiwi was tempted,but he caught sight of Ron and Chips watching him alertly and he shook hishead. “No, I’m here with my ground crew and we’ll do something together. That, or”he had a better thought, “I’ll hitchhike to Berlin to discuss the situationwith Mr Goldman.”
“Oh,” she seemed surprised, almost hurt by hisrejection. She didn’t get turned down very often, Kiwi presumed.
“Maybe another time,” he offered, halfregretting what he’d just done.
The first battle of the Cold War is about to begin....
Berlin 1948. In the ruins ofHitler’s capital, former RAF officers, a woman pilot, and the victim of Russianbrutality form an air ambulance company. But the West is on a collision coursewith Stalin’s aggression and Berlin is about to become a flashpoint. World WarThree is only a misstep away. Buy Now
Berlin is under siege. More than twomillion civilians must be supplied by air -- or surrender to Stalin's oppression.
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