Mission Hindenburg

by C. Alexander London

  “This is Eriele,” said Amy. “She’s … well …”

  “Your cousin,” Eriele said, sticking her hand out for Ian. “I, like you, am a descendant of Luke Cahill, a proud Lucian, and I am happy to be of service if I may.”

  Ian shook her hand but remained skeptical.

  “You are, after all, the rightful leader of the family, are you not?” Eriele added.

  Ian’s lips cracked into a smile. “Indeed I am,” he said.

  “Good.” Eriele locked eyes with Ian. “We finally have a leader I can look up to.” She seemed then to remember the others were standing there. She glanced at Amy and offered a quick “No offense.”

  “Oh, none taken,” Amy answered with some sarcasm.

  “The airships are planning to take off again right away,” said Eriele.

  “No they aren’t.” Cara stepped between Eriele and Ian. “The demonstrations don’t start again until tomorrow.”

  Eriele shook her head. “With all the security breaches, the Greek authorities have revoked the permits for the entire Airship Xtreme contest after today. So the organizers have decided to give competing ships one more chance to reach the Karman Line. First one there today wins the prize. And only two ships have decided to participate.”

  “Let me guess: yours and Omnia Industries?” said Dan.

  Eriele nodded.

  “We have to stop yours,” said Amy. “I’m so sorry.”

  “The crew won’t just stand down without evidence of a real plot,” said Eriele. “They’ll think any attempt to talk them out of going up was just a dirty trick to keep them from winning.”

  “Then we’ll go on board and stop them,” said Ian. “We’ll do whatever we have to do to save their lives, even if they don’t want us to.” He puffed out his chest. “No one else is getting hurt while I’m in charge.”

  Eriele exhaled dreamily, and everyone but Ian noticed Cara rolling her eyes.

  Eriele was able to get them all on board as her guests, except Jonah, who she thought should stay on the ground so as not to distract the students.

  “In case there are any Jonah Wizard fans on board,” she explained.

  “While you’re all up there, I’m gonna sic some of my lawyers on Ham’s case,” he said. “See if I can get him out of jail.”

  Ian didn’t object and Amy knew why. If something went wrong up above, there’d still be at least two loyal Cahills left alive to try to stop the Outcast from causing his next disaster. Amy thought about asking Dan to stay behind, too, but there was no way he’d let her go up without him.

  “He has proven himself oddly knowledgeable about subspace engineering,” Ian said. “We might have use of him.”

  “Oh, might you?” Dan sneered. Amy thought of Ian as a brother, but her actual brother didn’t seem to.

  When they climbed the steps to board, Katlyn, the redheaded crew chief, stood at the hatch and objected to the new guests in no uncertain terms.

  “We aren’t some pleasure cruise!” she said. “No guests.”

  “They’re just kids,” Eriele said. “I’ll make sure they’re gone before takeoff.”

  “Fine.” Katlyn seethed but turned away to take care of more pressing matters of preflight preparation. They were allowed to board.

  “I don’t like this Eriele girl,” Cara whispered to Amy. “She’s a Lucian. Why is she helping us?”

  “Ian’s a Lucian and he’s leading us,” said Amy. “You trust him.”

  “He’s different,” said Cara. “He’s not like the rest of them.”

  “Maybe you’re just a little —?”

  “What?” Cara cut Amy off. “Jealous? Were you about to say I’m jealous? Me? Like Mr. Brit-fuff-fuff could make me jealous? Ha!”

  Amy let it go without comment. She knew from experience that Ian’s heart was as confused and impenetrable as the Minotaur’s maze. Ian and Cara could work out their relationship issues later, when they weren’t at risk of getting blown across the upper atmosphere in the worst aerial disaster of the century.

  “Eriele kept me from getting caught before,” Amy explained. “I’ll trust her until she gives me a reason not to.”

  Cara cracked her knuckles. “The moment she gives me a reason, I’m ready.”

  Noted, thought Amy. Best never to cross Cara in matters of the heart, Ian’s heart, particularly. I hope she knows he and I are just friends.

  Once aboard the airship, Dan started to geek out again about the space stuff, pointing at the nest of pipes and conduits that ran along the ceiling, explaining to Amy what they all did.

  “So that must be the helium control tubing,” he said. “And that’s the hydrogen. You see, the rigid aluminum shell above has all these rubber bladders inside. The ship goes up and down based on how much of the different gasses fill each bladder. The engines provide the drive thrust, but it’s the gas that gives it the altitude. As the atmosphere gets thinner, the mixture has to change to compensate. It’s, like, serious science stuff.”

  “So where do we look first for a way they might blow this thing up?” Ian wondered.

  “The bladder control room,” Eriele suggested. “It’d be the most likely place.”

  Amy looked at Dan, but he didn’t make a joke about the “bladder control room.” That was perfect Dan Cahill snark material. He must be really into this stuff if he couldn’t even muster a bladder control joke.

  “Some of the gasses you use are combustible, right?” Dan asked.

  “It was hydrogen that caused the Hindenburg to explode,” Amy said. “If I were going to try to blow one of these things up, I’d aim for the explosive gas.”

  She looked at Dan again, but he didn’t crack so much as a smirk at “explosive gas.” He was really into the space stuff if the phrase “explosive gas” didn’t crack him up.

  “Explosive gas,” she repeated.

  He didn’t giggle at all.

  It seemed like everything had been turned on its head lately.

  Amy was used to being the one providing the information, while Dan rolled his eyes and got distracted. She almost wished there was some historical artifact around that she could expound upon. She felt a little out of her element, not in charge and not expert in anything relevant to their mission. She began to wonder if the Outcast was right … had she really ever been fit to follow in Grace’s footsteps? Was she ever meant to be a leader in the first place?

  As they made their way toward the bladder control room, Eriele told Ian about all the possibilities the prize could open up. “Imagine having the sole government contract to put satellites into orbit cheaply and quickly, or to deliver cargo anywhere in the world in under ninety minutes. Or to drop bombs deep into enemy territory with the speed of a ballistic missile.”

  “Now you’re sounding like a Lucian,” Cara grumbled.

  “One would think an Ekat like yourself would enjoy the wonder of engineering that I’m allowing you to see,” Eriele replied.

  “Oh, thank you for allowing me to see it,” Cara said.

  “Cara, there’s no need to be rude,” Ian said. “Eriele is trying to be a good host.”

  “You’re on her side?” Cara scoffed. “Figures.”

  “I am not on her side,” Ian said. “I am trying to stop the Outcast. We are all on the same side. In fact, if anything, it is she who is on my side, as the leader of the family. In fact, I used to think you were on my side as well.”

  “So now it’s your side,” Cara said. “You just want my obedience, is it?”

  “It would be nice for a change.”

  “Guys, don’t fight,” Amy cut in.

  “I am not fighting,” said Ian. “I am merely trying to do the work I was born to do, while Cara is trying to undermine me by being … difficult.”

  “You think I’m difficult?” Cara crossed her arms. “Fine, perhaps I’ll go investigate the system network. I’ll be out of your way then. You and your new friend can be alone together without my difficulty.”

  “Fin
e,” said Ian.

  “Fine!” said Cara.

  Cara reversed course down the corridor and disappeared around a corner. Ian stared after her.

  “Just so you know,” Dan interjected, “you guys are not alone together. Amy, Eriele, and I are, like, right here.”

  “Come on,” said Eriele. “This way.”

  Just then three tones sounded over the loudspeaker.

  “Three minutes to departure,” said Eriele.

  “But we haven’t found anything yet,” said Amy. “If we don’t find out what the Outcast’s plan is, we can’t let this ship take off. It’s too risky!”

  “It’s too late,” said Eriele. “There’s no way I can get them to cancel. There’s a fortune at stake. They won’t stop the liftoff without absolute proof.”

  She opened a door and ushered them inside a small, dark room that smelled powerfully of bleach.

  “This isn’t a bladder control room,” said Dan.

  Amy giggled and covered her mouth with her hands, mortified. She was not someone who giggled at things like bladders, especially not at times like this.

  Dan cocked his head at her. “Real mature,” he said.

  “This is our custodial supplies closet,” Eriele said. “Hide in here. I’ll come back for you once we’re airborne.”

  “Airborne,” Dan repeated as the door closed and locked from the outside.

  Amy, Dan, and Ian stood side by side in the pitch-black closet as they felt the airship shudder and begin to rise.

  Amy pulled out her phone and typed a quick text message to Nellie to let her know they were going up.

  Her phone dinged almost immediately, but it wasn’t Nellie replying. It was Aunt Beatrice’s phone again, still being used by the Outcast.

  “What’s he say?” Dan asked.

  “ ‘What goes up, must come down,’ ” she read. “ ‘See you at the Karman Line.’ ”

  They stood quietly for a long time. Amy heard the other two breathing in the dark. The ship was rising up into the atmosphere and she didn’t know how they were going to stop it. If they failed, she and her brother and Ian and Cara and all the students on board were going to be vaporized with the world watching on the news. The thought made her want to scream. The closet felt suddenly so small, the walls closing in. All of Amy’s old fears of tight space, of heights, of failure, came roaring back. If she opened her mouth, she knew she’d stammer like she used to. She gripped her hands together to keep them from shaking.

  Get it together, she told herself. Now is not the time to panic. She had to stay calm if she was going to think of a way out of this. She had to stay calm for her brother’s sake.

  “So now we’re locked in a closet on board a flying bomb,” Dan said, his voice more annoyed than fearful. “Great leadership, Kabra.”

  Dan’s snark brought Amy back to her senses. If Dan wasn’t freaking out, then neither would she. Her hands stopped shaking.

  “It’s not Ian’s fault,” she said.

  “Don’t worry,” Ian added. “Eriele will be back to let us out in a moment. She’s a Lucian, after all. We can trust her.”

  “Trust her because she’s a Lucian?” Dan responded. “I have literally never heard that one before.”

  The Troposphere

  Cara stormed off to find the server room, a room that every complex computer network had. She figured it would be in a secure place that would also stay relatively cool, so it would probably be near the outer edge of the gondola. She saw the redhead named Katlyn walk by, and she pressed herself into a corner.

  I’m not being fair to Ian, she thought. He never actually meant to be a jerk. He was just too oblivious to notice when he was being a jerk. Ian would happily give his life to save any of theirs. He’d almost gotten himself thrown into jail to keep Ham out, and he didn’t even seem to like Hamilton Holt all that much.

  In addition to making big, quick decisions with high stakes for the whole family, he’d had to face his father today. He was under a lot of strain and it probably felt good to meet another Lucian, someone who made him feel like he was a leader, not someone who called him a Brit-fuff-fuff all the time. She decided that she should apologize. Before he could apologize to her. It was a win-win. She’d be the bigger person. She’d show Ian just how stubborn he was by being the unstubborn one for a change.

  That’d teach him. She smiled.

  She was about to turn back when she noticed a door ominously marked LIFE SUPPORT SYSTEMS: AUTHORIZED CREW ONLY.

  If the Outcast was going to strike, this would be a good place to start. She reached for the door. It was, of course, locked. There was an electronic keypad beside it, so Cara pulled a small spray bottle off the key chain in her pocket and gave two quick spritzes. There were five digits that had more oil residue on them than any others, telltale marks left by people repeatedly hitting those numbers. The problem was that even knowing the five numbers of the access code, she couldn’t know the order in which they were pressed, and she didn’t have time to try all the combinations. Maybe Eriele knew the code. As much as she hated to, she’d have to go back and ask.

  As she made her way down the corridor, she heard the three-minute tone sound. She picked up her pace, trying to get back to the bladder control room. She had to get to the others before this flying death trap took off. If she knew anything about her friends, she knew they wouldn’t leave this airship before they’d made sure it was safe, and she wasn’t about to get off as long as they were still on board.

  When the airship lifted off, she was flat out sprinting through the hallway, not caring who saw her.

  “Ian!” she called out, fear setting in. Through a porthole, the ruins of Athens fell away as the airship lifted up into the sea of white clouds, then passed through them to the endless blue sky. “Ian?” she called again.

  A passing crewman looked at her like she was crazy but kept on his way.

  And still the airship rose.

  Had the others left the ship after all? Was Cara all alone up there? No! Ian wouldn’t abandon her like that, would he? He couldn’t. He knew she didn’t really mean it when she made fun of him … right?

  She moved quickly down the hall the rest of the way. Dan had told them the Karman Line was sixty-two miles above sea level and that was this airship’s goal. 327,360 feet. They had to stop this airship before then, and if it was up to Cara to do it alone, then that’s what she would do.

  From everything they’d learned about the airship, she had about two hours until they’d reach they Karman Line. Cara wondered if she could sabotage the thing herself to force it to land safely.

  The altitude flashed by on a display: 34,000 feet. That was the height most commercial airlines flew. She watched as they rose above it. The sky outside the porthole was darkening. She was beginning to make out the earth’s curve, the light turning an inky purple, the sun glowing off the distant clouds. They were rising full speed toward the upper atmosphere.

  She recalculated in her head.

  Maybe they only had an hour. Maybe less. They were racing for victory … and their doom. She felt a lump in her throat.

  She found the bladder control room and tried the door.

  It was open, which was a relief. She exhaled slowly, hoping to find Ian and the others on the other side of the door, hoping she wasn’t all alone up there. She stepped inside.

  “Eriele,” she said, seeing the graduate student alone in the tight room, surrounded by levers and dials and keyboards. “I’m sorry I stormed off. It’s just that I’m so used to looking out for Ian that I can get a little possessive sometimes.” She tried to act casual, not to let the terror in her voice creep out. “By the way, where is he?”

  “He is stowed away with the others,” said Eriele, tapping at keys on one of the computers. Cara nodded, glad she wasn’t alone but also suddenly afraid not just for herself but for her friends. They were all on board now, and if they failed, they were all going to die.

  “I am glad you found me firs
t,” Eriele said. “You are just the person I wanted to see.”

  “Great,” said Cara. “I think we should just ground this thing ourselves, force it to land before it can explode.”

  “Excellent idea,” said Eriele. “I’m sure that’s just what they’ll think you did.”

  “What I did? What are you talking about?” Cara asked, but even as the words came out she saw the Taser in Eriele’s hand, and it was pointed straight at her. Fear had a bitter taste on the back of the tongue, but she didn’t taste it for long.

  Eriele fired.

  Cara jolted as she lost control of every part of her body. Electricity coursed through her, clamping her jaw shut, frying her nerves. She fell, shaking and shuddering, to the floor. It sizzled like a thousand fireworks going off behind her eyelids. She feared her hair had caught on fire but she couldn’t lift her arms to put it out. She could feel her vision blurring.

  By the time she could see clearly again, she was tied to a chair and the altimeter read 90,000 feet … and climbing.

  Moscow, Russia

  The taxi took Nellie and Sammy only through the first gate of the imposing Lefortovo Prison. The high yellow walls and guard towers told of a place where dangerous criminals were held, not for rehabilitation but for containment. During the Soviet era, it had been a KGB prison where thousands of innocent people were held for days, weeks, or even years, tortured until they confessed to crimes they’d never even dreamed of committing. Many entered those dark gates under the cover of night and never stepped out into the sunshine again.

  The current leaders in Moscow now used it to hold their own enemies, mafia contract killers, dangerous dissidents, and cold-blooded criminals of the worst sort. The man Nellie and Sammy were there to see was all of those at once.

  After they had cleared the sniffer dogs and the cold stares of the guards, the taxi driver let them out to walk the rest of the way to the main gate. They explained they were there to visit a prisoner and were let in to the public waiting room, where the clock ticked loud enough to echo off the cold institutional tile, and time passed as slowly as the trickle of mysterious sludge dripping from a pipe on the ceiling.