“First Flight”

The large crowd milled about the vast car park outside the Echelon Facility under a cloudless blue sky. A four-year-old Malinconico craned his neck, noticing a steady whirring coming from somewhere above the throng.
  “Everybody seems to think this is a big deal,” he thought. “What is it?”
  At that moment, a white civilian helicopter appeared, descending slowly to land on the tarmac beyond the roped-off mass of people. A Bell-206, perhaps?
  Courier One looked down at Malinconico, took his hand and made their way through the parting crowd to the copter where the young boy climbed the two steps up to the cockpit.

  Vague memories abound -- lifting off to watch down over the people in the lot, an array of avionics consoles, flight controls, headsets. The pilot took the copter higher, giving the two passengers a sprawling panorama of the entire Echelon Facility and environs. Most notable: a bird's-eye view of nearby train tracks, resembling the model railroad Malinconico enjoyed during the holidays.
  “What is the meaning of all this?” He was a quizzical youngster, with no answers forthcoming; the memories dreamlike.
  A few weeks later at home, Malinconico noticed a newsletter tacked up on the kitchen fridge. It was from Hertwall Codicil, Courier One's mission agency. On it was a photo of Malinconico pointing at a detail on the helicopter's hull.

  The caption read: “Young Malinconico (age 4), ward of Hertwall Codicil sales engineer Courier One, points out the Hertwall Ten-11L torsion latch assembly, the latest in high-carbon, forward flush latching systems. Through Orville market directives, Hertwall support is geared toward high security applications in the commercial and military sector. Malinconico enjoys drawing, swimming, exploring the Wedgwood frontier, and the colour blue.”