Briefcase Blues Intermezzo 4

Nora ‘Wicked’ Wickett
Specialty                  barnstorming
Aircraft                     Heaven Sent - Curtiss-Wright P2 Warhawk
Signature oneliner      “Here, catch!”

and

Margaret ‘Wild’ Wylde
Specialty                  barnstorming
Aircraft                     Special Delivery - McDonnell S2B Kestrel
Signature oneliner      “You can run, but you can’t hide!”

Nora Louise Wickett was left on the doorsteps of the St. Helen of the Blessed Shroud orphanage in Calumet City, Chicago in 1915. Margaret Thelma Wylde was brought in two years later, after her father had died during the Great War and her mother was killed during an accident. Both girls grew up together in the rigid life of the orphanage and became best friends. Developing such an intimate bond caused many people to think they were twins. Having no real family, the girls enjoyed it and actually encouraged the idea.
It became apparent from early childhood that these two girls were not made for sitting still in somber classrooms. The nuns running the orphanage often despaired to get them back in line. When the girls discovered boys, things went form bad to worse. As teenagers, the twins were pretty enough to make any boy in the orphanage turn their head in admiration. But just as the nuns were frustrated with the girls, so were the girls frustrated with the strict and quiet life inside the cold walls of the orphanage. Often they’d escape and find a way to the city centre of Chicago, where they’d spend hours watching the big city lights and busy streets. In 1930, when Nora was only 15 and Margaret was 13, they snuck into a movie theater and watched Hell’s Angels made by Howard Hughes. Their world was never to be the same.
They became delighted with the newly discovered thrill of flying, the ultimate symbol of being free. From that moment on, they dreamt of piloting their own craft, while pretending to pay attention in class. Their marks were dropping even further and they almost missed their annual outing two years later.
Much to the girls chagrin, it was strictly single-sex and the prospect of an entire weekend without boys didn’t do much to improve their mood. The change of scenery went past them unnoticed, as the girls sat and sulked indoors for much of the day. Their attention was caught by a distant buzzing and when they went to investigate, they saw a flying circus pass overhead. At least a dozen biplanes roared overhead and captured the spirits of the two girls. Without speaking, without even thinking, they ran after the planes and never came back. The orphanage listed them as runaways in July 1932.
Nora and Margaret used every skill in persuasion they had to join. Finally, their break came from Ivan Gates, the boss of the Gates Flying Circus. He recognized the love of flying in the twins' hearts, despite their obvious and feeble attempts to seduce him. He let them stay and work as announcers, knowing that a couple of pretty girls would help bring in customers. Working their way up from there, they became ticket sellers, mechanics aids, mechanics and finally, pilots. From the moment they set foot in the cockpit, their minds never really left that magical place behind the stick. They grew into two of the best pilots the circus had, performing the most dangerous of stunts. When the public’s attention was swinging towards the rise of the aerial piracy, the circus bought used military planes, complete with guns, to act out famous pirate battles in an attempt to keep the public coming. It was a profound success.
In 1935, having only reached the age of 20 and 18, they had their own names on the flyers and posters, promoting them as “Wicked and Wild, The World’s Most Daring Twins Of The Skies!” Both had a personal airplane and entertained hundreds of people each day.
It was at this height of their fame that disaster struck. When visiting the Confederation of Dixie in the hot and humid south, the twins were invited after the show by none other then president Robert Turner himself. During dinner, the president allowed himself a little too much to drink and tried to impress them with his riches gained from illegal business deals, fraud and embezzled tax money. Disgusted, the girls tried to leave, feigning nausea (which certainly had some truth in it). Turner got angry, stating that he “had paid good money to get them there”. After wining and dining the girls, the president thought to have the right to some additional ‘stunts’ in his bedroom. When he tried to rape Margaret, Nora came to her aid and the twins fought him off. Sobering up, Turner realized that the girls might have learned things about his administration best left secret and things took a grim turn. He pulled a gun and it was only their lightning-quick reflexes that saved them. A fight broke out and it was the more mild-mannered Margaret who was forced to shoot president Turner to save her big 'sister' and herself in self defense. Fleeing for their lives as the bodyguards came after them they rushed back to the circus, where they sought help from Ivan Gates. Even though the man trusted the girls, he also feared his precious circus might suffer under the negative publicity of a criminal investigation of this size. To save the twins and his circus at the same time, Ivan gave them each their personal plane plus the evening’s earnings to get a head start. Later, he told the
police that the twins had stolen the airplanes and money and that he had no idea where they’d gone.
Later, Nora and Margaret read in the newspapers that brave president Turner had survived an assassination by the devious twins. Supposedly, they were on the pay roll of hostile foreign powers, seeking to overthrow the peaceful government of the Confederation of Dixy. The girls were declared persona non-grata and a handsome bounty was placed on their heads.
The twins headed out to the Republic of Texas to hide. Even though they had no combat experience whatsoever, it didn’t stop the girls from buying live munitions and try to steal from the stealers. Lucky and unlucky for them at the same time, their very first target was none other then the Damocles, who was busy at the moment relieving a Texas Rangers airbase of its ample fuel reserves. Even though they didn’t stand a chance against the more experienced pilots of the Firebirds, Jason Grant was amazed by some of the most ingenious flying tricks he’d ever seen and promptly invited them aboard. Having no other choice (their planes were so shot up, they were barely flying), they agreed. That same evening, the twins joined the Firebirds and all their adventures.