“I think planting a nuke on American soil and killing a bunch of my fellow citizens is pretty simple, actually. Simply insane! You have every reason to work with me.”
“Why is that?”
“If that nuke goes off, North Korea will cease to exist. We’ll bomb it back into the Stone Age.”
“I completely agree with you.”
Pine was about to say something else, but then simply gaped at him.
Blum found her voice. “You . . . you agree with that?”
“Of course I do,” said Chung. “Why do you think I’m here?”
Pine said, “Why don’t you explain that to me? Because it doesn’t make any sense.”
“That is not my job to explain things. And if you can’t help me, then . . . ” He shrugged.
“Then what, you kill us? What would be the reason?”
“If I let you live, you will make my task much more difficult.”
“I guess I see your point,” said Pine.
“Your honesty does you justice,” conceded Chung.
“You seem far too nice for this sort of work,” interjected Blum.
“Your observations deceive you, madam,” said Chung. “I am not nice. At all. As, unfortunately, you are about to find out.”
At that moment, the train started up again.
It caught them all off-guard, and Chung stumbled backward a bit.
Pine slumped forward, her head between her knees, as though she were about to be sick.
Her fingers closed around the length of pipe. It was the tool the steward had used to lower the top bunk into place. Earlier, she had seen him slide it into a holder under the bunk after he’d finished making up their beds for the night.
She sat up and delivered a blow with the pipe first to Chung’s hand, knocking the pistol from it, and then striking his jaw.
He staggered backward against the wall.
Holding his face and his back, he straightened just at the moment that Pine hit him with a roundhouse kick, the force of which lifted him off his feet, and he flew against the window of the train car.
He bounced off the glass and catapulted forward at the same moment that Pine lunged for her gun that had fallen off the desk after Chung’s collision with it.
Pine slid along the floor, snatched her gun, hit the wall, turned, and fired.
The shot missed Chung, but smacked into the window and shattered it.
Chung exploded forward and kicked the gun free from Pine’s hand. He followed the kick with a hand strike to her side, which seized up her left side and drove all the air out of her lungs.
Shit, here we go again.
Chung straightened and was about to deliver a crushing kick to Pine’s head when he reeled backward, grabbing his own head.
Blum had hit him with the pipe.
Blood flowing from a gash on his head, he turned and was about to deliver a blow to Blum that would have killed the woman when Pine hit him from behind with a knee to the base of his spine, propelling him forward into the already cracked glass.
As the train picked up speed, Pine planted her legs firmly around Chung’s, pinning them together. At the same time her arms encircled his torso and kept his arms bound to his sides. She levered forward, forcing Chung’s face against the glass.
Pine got her delt under Chung’s right shoulder blade and pushed upward. She gave a heave, and slowly the shorter Korean was lifted off the floor, the toes of his nicked shoes now the only thing touching there. This was remarkably difficult, since Pine could not spread her legs and plant her feet to give herself the leverage to more efficiently lift Chung. She knew that if she allowed his legs an inch of freedom, he would disable her and then kick both of them to death.
She could have had Blum grab one of the guns, but she wasn’t going to make the woman cold-bloodedly shoot the Korean in the head. And she might miss and hit Pine; or since Pine was plastered to the guy, the bullet could pass through Chung and kill her.
But she couldn’t just stand here holding the Korean. That was not sustainable. The plan came together in her head in seconds.
“Carol,” panted Pine. “The window. The . . . seal.”
Blum looked confused for a moment, but then lurched over, gripped the red lever at the bottom of the window, and pulled it free.
Chung, seeing what they were trying to do, struggled to free himself. He rammed his head backward, catching Pine hard on the chin. Pain rocketed up her face and she winced. But she managed to hold him firmly against the broken glass as Blum pulled the rubber seal free from around the perimeter of the window.
Once that was done, Blum gripped the edge of the glass and tugged hard. It broke free from the wall of the train, slipped sideways, and then fell out of the opening. Air whipped inside the compartment, blowing the curtains straight out.
This was the moment of truth, Pine knew. With the window gone, so was most of her leverage holding him against it. Chung jerked and pulled and bucked, but without his feet being on the floor he couldn’t gain the necessary traction, and without that he lacked the ability to strike out.
The interior train lights started to flicker on and then off.
Pine continued to slowly lift the far shorter man, inch by inch, at the same time keeping his limbs pinched to his sides. Her torso, arms, and legs were like a tube, a tube that she was slowly, inexorably forcing Chung through by moving her arms and legs millimeters at a time. The horrific image of a constrictor working its victim down its gullet popped into her head, and it was not far off the mark. Except Pine wanted to cast off Chung, not swallow him.
As she leaned forward, his waist was now resting on the edge of the window.
That meant Chung was halfway out of the train window.
But so was Pine.
The train was only going about twenty-five miles an hour now. But it was accelerating.
The wind whipped into them. They were both facing downward. Aside from her views of Chung’s back, Pine could see the landscape sweeping past. The terrain was pancake flat. Lawrence, Kansas, was far behind them now and receding faster and faster.
Pine was reaching the edge of her safety zone. Another few inches and she would not be able to stay in the train compartment. Chung’s weight and the angle she was holding him at were straining every muscle she had to its breaking point. Then they would both go flying out the window. And though the train wasn’t going that fast yet, the collision with the ground could very well send them bouncing under the train wheels. And that would mean certain death for them both.
Panting for breath, she suddenly felt Blum behind her, gripping her belt and then leaning backward, serving as the extra ballast that she needed.
Pine readied herself. Even as she could feel Chung working his right arm free, her limbs too spent to contain it much longer, she counted to five in her head.
Hold it, Atlee. Hold the lift. Just another few seconds. Another few seconds and you got the gold.
She grunted and then screamed as the Southwest Chief leapt forward with a burst of power from its twin engines. The sudden jolt of acceleration nearly carried all three of them outside, but Blum had quickly leaned back so far that her weight provided enough of a counterbalance to offset the increase in speed.
Three . . .
Pine had to time this exactly right. She could not afford to allow Chung to cling to her arms or legs. She was so tired that if the Korean managed to remain in the compartment, they were both dead. She wanted Blum and herself to keep their vertebrae right where they were.
She was leaning out so far now that she could barely breathe with the wind hitting her in the face.
Two . . .
She tensed every fiber, every ligament, in preparation for the release. She could feel the throb of Chung’s heart against her chest. She could hear his gasps. She could smell his fear.
As she could her own.
One . . .
She pushed against Chung’s back at the same moment that she let go of the death gr
ip around the man’s arms.
She felt his freed limbs flailing in the air. The Korean managed to somehow turn to the side, his hands groping for the now-empty window frame.
They were nearly face-to-face as the lights on the train came on and this time stayed on.
She could see his features, as the wind sliding off the racing train pounded them both. She supposed they mirrored her own:
Terror.
He suddenly reached out and gripped her windswept hair, right as Pine let go of his legs.
His fingers pulled out some of her hair by the roots, even as his feet danced frantically against nothing.
She leapt back as he tried to kick her in the face.
And then the wind caught him, and he was fully out the window, unable to regain any sort of equilibrium.
For a moment, he seemed suspended in the air, and then, like a passenger sucked out of a depressurized plane, Chung was jerked violently to the right and in a flash disappeared from view.
Then Pine was falling backward and into Blum’s outstretched arms.
The two women lay there on the floor for several minutes, shaking and gasping.
Finally, they slowly rose as the lights in the train went off once more before again coming back on.
A few seconds later the door slid open and a steward looked in. When he spied the missing window and the curtains being blown around the compartment by the force of the wind, he cried out, “Oh my God!”
Pine dropped into a sitting position in the lower bunk and said, “We need another room.” She drew a deep breath. “This one’s broken.”
CHAPTER
50
Winslow, Arizona.
Not Flagstaff.
Pine and Blum alighted about an hour behind schedule at the station, which was part of a hotel complex. Pine had figured someone might be waiting for them at Flagstaff, someone whom they really did not want to meet.
Contrary to the song lyrics, they were not here to take it easy.
Yet in keeping with the Eagles’ theme, they did spy a woman cruising by in a flat-bed Ford.
Pine waved her hand, and Jennifer Yazzie pulled the truck over to the curb.
Pine and Blum put their bags in the truck bed and climbed in, sitting shoulder to shoulder in the cab.
“Thanks for picking us up, Jen,” said Pine after introducing her to Blum.
“No problem. What’d you do to your face?” she asked, looking at Pine’s swollen chin and cut lip.
“Hit a door.”
“Why do I not believe that?”
“How’s Joe Jr.?”
“Still giving us fits.”
“Sorry to hear that.”
“You want to go to your home, or office?”
“Neither one. And I was hoping that Carol here could stay with you and Joe for a while, if that’s okay.”
Yazzie glanced at Blum quizzically and then back at Pine. “That’s fine. I was surprised to hear you were taking the train here. I didn’t even know you’d left town. Where were you?”
“Back east. And, if it’s all right, I need to borrow some of your hiking and camping gear.”
“Heading out again?”
“Going to hike the Canyon.”
Yazzie said, “What, solo?”
“That’s the plan.”
“Why?”
“Got some time off. Haven’t been down there in a while. Want to stretch my muscles.”
“I could go with you.”
“What, in all your free time?”
“Well, Joe could.”
“He has even less free time than you.”
“It’s not smart to hike by yourself, you know that.”
“I wanted to go with her,” said Blum. “But, well, I’m not sure I’m up to it anymore. My knees and my hip. I’d just hold her back.”
Pine said, “I’ll take it nice and easy. It’s not like I’m going rim-to-rim in one day. I plan to spend a few days down there.”
“This have anything to do with the mule that was found butchered down there? And the missing person?”
“You heard about that?”
“This is not exactly New York City. Now, a missing person around here is not so rare, but a cut-up mule is something different.”
“Like I said, I’m just going down to chill out.”
“When are you planning to leave?” asked Yazzie.
“Tonight.”
“You just got back. It’s been a long trip. We can grab some dinner tonight and you can relax before heading out.”
“I don’t think I have time to relax, Jen.”
* * *
Later that day, Pine sat on a couch in the basement in the Yazzies’ home in Tuba City.
She had seen on the news feed that the Southwest Chief had encountered signal problems, which had necessitated the abrupt stop. There had been some electrical problems and a few bumps and bruises with passengers and crew, but no serious injuries. Freight trains used the same set of tracks, and care had to be taken because the signaling system was critical in making sure one train did not slam into another. There had been no mention of the shattered window.
But a body had been discovered near the tracks, the news had reported. No identification had been made.
Pine doubted one ever would be. But at least Sung Nam Chung was certifiably dead.
She had the borrowed gear all together and had gone over her checklist, which was about eighty items long. These included good hiking shoes with support and traction soles, trekking poles, a battery-powered headlamp, a wide-brimmed hat and sunscreen, a first aid kit, salty food, a whistle and signal mirror, something to sleep in, and a lightweight tarp, plus layers of clothing. She would also be taking a refillable hydration bladder with a flow system activated by biting down on the mouthpiece. And all that would weigh less than twenty-five pounds.
And, of course, she had her twin pistols. They were additional weight, but Pine figured they might be the most important items she carried with her.
If she wanted to get back alive.
Blum, who was staying upstairs in the spare bedroom, came down and joined her on the couch. She looked over the equipment. “What route will you take down?”
“Either Bright Angel or South Kaibab—I haven’t decided yet.”
“Have you figured out the location from the latitude and longitude?”
“As close as I could. I can’t pinpoint it exactly from that.”
“Which is even more reason for you not to go alone.”
“I can’t exactly call in a regiment of FBI agents, Carol. In fact, I can’t call anybody in, considering our own government apparently is in this up to their eyeballs somehow.”
“I could—” she began.
“No, Carol, you couldn’t.”
Blum looked away. “What happened on the train,” she began.
“You saved my life. No way I’m beating that guy without you there.”
“It was only fair, since I endangered your life by letting him capture me.”
“I think you can be excused for not taking him out all by yourself.”
“At least we were able to find that little girl’s mom.”
“Yeah, she was really scared. Little kids need their parents.”
“Yes, they do,” said Blum, looking at Pine, but she kept her gaze on the floor. She cleared her throat. “If there is a nuke down there? What are you going to do?”
“Hopefully, I can find David Roth and he can help me disarm it.”
“He’s been missing for a while now. He might be dead.”
“He might be. But I still have to try.”
“You realize that there are others out there besides the late Sung Nam Chung who want to find Roth.”
“I’m aware of that, Carol.”
“And they might have come to the same conclusion as you have. That he might still be in the Canyon.”
“Which means I might have some company down there,” said Pine.
CHAPTER
51
Ooh Aah Point.
The remarkable views from here had obviously been the genesis for the name.
Pine had traveled nearly a mile on the South Kaibab Trail and while doing so had descended about six hundred feet below the South Rim, which stood at about 7,200 feet above sea level. The Rim had been cool and pine scented. That would change dramatically the farther down she trekked. The South Rim averaged nearly sixty inches of snow a year, while Phantom Ranch received less than one.
Jennifer Yazzie had dropped her off at the trailhead.
“Joe called before we left,” she said as Pine was getting her gear out.
“You didn’t tell him—”
“No. But he did tell me something you might want to know.”
“What’s that?” said Pine as she strapped on her backpack.
“Joe said some feds have been poking around.”
“For what?”
“They were asking about you.”
“What agency?”
“That’s the thing. It wasn’t clear.”
“How could it not be clear? Didn’t they badge Joe and show him their creds?”
“Apparently not. And so he didn’t tell them anything.” She paused and smiled. “Not that he would have anyway, without checking with you.”
“Tell him thanks for me.” Pine slid out her trekking poles. “Anything else?”
“A military chopper landed at the Canyon airport earlier today. Joe heard about it from one of the rangers.”
“Unusual activity.”
“You don’t seem surprised,” replied Yazzie.
“That’s because I’m not.”
“If you’re in some sort of trouble—”
“Let’s just say I’m off the grid right now. And people you thought should be your allies, aren’t.”
Yazzie looked deeply concerned by this comment. “Look, Atlee, I don’t know what’s going on, but if you can get cell reception down there, call us if you need help.”
“You’ve done enough, Jen.”
“You’ve been a real friend to the community and, well, we care about you.”
Pine had given Yazzie a hug. “I’ll see you soon,” she had said, hoping that it would indeed be true. Right now, she would not have bet on herself.
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