A month later, Charles called.
He had a client who needed an aircraft for a weekend.
Could Richard help?
Richard explained that the jet wasn't available for charter.
Charles sounded disappointed.
Then asked whether there were other options.
Richard said he could inquire through approved channels.
He didn't.
Instead, he began examining the aircraft's schedule.
Several days later, he called Charles back.
He told him that the aircraft would be positioned near the destination during an approved company trip.
Perhaps, Richard suggested, there might be an opportunity to coordinate transportation around an existing movement.
Charles became interested.
The conversation drifted into increasingly dangerous territory.
What began as casual discussion evolved into the idea of carrying people under the guise of positioning flights.
Richard rationalized the plan.
The aircraft would be flying anyway.
The clients were experienced private travelers.
He could ensure that the necessary safety requirements were met.
And the company might never notice the difference between a legitimate business movement and an improperly authorized passenger trip.
That reasoning ignored the central problem.
The aircraft wasn't his to offer.
He had no authority to accept private payment for using it.
And concealing the true purpose of a flight from the owner and operator compromised the integrity of the entire scheduling and compliance process.
Richard understood those facts.
But Charles was persuasive.
And the promise of additional money became harder to ignore.
The first unauthorized arrangement was small.
A short flight involving a wealthy acquaintance of Charles.
Richard presented it internally as a company-related positioning movement supported by an informal verbal authorization.
The booking records were incomplete.
The operations team questioned the unusual itinerary.
But a scheduling manager accepted Richard's explanation after he provided the name of a senior company executive.
That executive was Edmund Royce.
Edmund was Horizon Aviation's former administrative director.
He had previously overseen certain travel arrangements for the corporate group and still maintained relationships within the aircraft management company.
By then, his formal authority had been reduced.
But Richard continued treating him as someone capable of approving flights.
Edmund enjoyed that perception.
He liked being contacted.
Liked being asked for favors.