by Gary Paulsen
“Anytime.” His hand went to his forehead. A large purplish lump had already formed. It throbbed with pain when he touched it. “Ouch.”
Robin gave him a sympathetic look and helped him out of the parachute harness. “Unfortunately, you broke the tree limb’s fall too—with your head.”
“Great.” He winced and forced himself to sit all the way up. “How long have I been out?”
“Not long. It’s still early.”
“Could you tell where Pete landed?”
“No.” Robin picked up a small stick. “And I didn’t see any sign of a plane crash either.”
“He probably stayed with the plane until the last second, trying to call for help.”
“Maybe.” Robin drew designs in the dirt.
“Maybe? What do you mean?”
“While you were out, I had some time to think. What if Pete didn’t jump at all? What if he made the whole thing up just to get us out of the plane?”
Jesse looked at her sideways. “Are you sure that limb didn’t land on your head?”
“Think about it. What better way to get rid of two problems than to dump them out over the Cascades? If the faulty parachute didn’t kill us, the trees were bound to.”
“You’re talking crazy. Why would Pete want to kill anybody?”
“Because he’s mixed up in something too big for him and we have the proof. When I left you this morning, I went out to my dad’s car. Rodney was gone. Some goon had taken his place, and he tried to grab me. That’s why I ran onto the field. He was chasing me. His job was to get me, and the bad chute was meant for you.”
Jesse closed his eyes. “What an idiot. I played right into Pete’s hands. He probably faked the whole thing with the engine and I fell for it like a stupid sucker.”
“Don’t be so hard on yourself. I fell for it too. Besides, it just might work to our advantage.”
“What do you mean?”
“If you can get us down out of these mountains, we’ll be in a better position to spy on them than before. They might even be careless, now that they think we’re out of the way.”
Jesse lifted his right arm. A compass and altimeter were strapped around his sleeve. “These were my dad’s. He used them in the army.” Carefully he stood and took a deep breath. “I think Seattle is somewhere west of us. If we start now we should be there in a day or so.”
CHAPTER 9
“What I wouldn’t give for a tall glass of Irma’s ice-cold lemonade.”
“Cut it out, Robin. I know you’re tired—we both are. But a car is bound to come along this road sometime.”
“That’s what you’ve been saying for the last hour and a half. We’ve been walking through trees and brush for most of the morning and so far we haven’t seen anything but these old tire tracks you call a road.”
“Hey, we were lucky to stumble onto these tracks. And according to my compass, they’re heading in the right direction.”
Robin stopped to take a pebble out of her shoe, then ran to catch up with him. “Have you thought about what we’re going to do when it gets dark? They say it gets really cold in the mountains at night. Maybe we should be looking for someplace to stay.”
“Where do you suggest? The Hilton?”
Robin looked at him.
“Okay, sorry. I guess we could leave the tire tracks and hike over to that hill and see what we can find.”
“Wait.” Robin grabbed his arm. “Did you hear that?”
Jesse listened. “Over there. It’s an airplane. Maybe it’s Buck.” He started waving and jumping, trying to attract the pilot’s attention.
“It’s not Buck.” Robin tried to pull him away from the road.
“How do you know?”
“Trust me, Jesse. We’ve got to hide.”
Jesse hesitated and then bounded after her into a thick stand of trees.
The plane flew on.
When the noise of the engine had faded, Jesse stepped out of the trees. “I sure hope you know what you’re doing. That plane could have been our ticket out of here.”
“I know, Jesse. But what if it was Pete coming back to double-check on us? It’ll be a long time before Buck or our families even know we’re missing. Pete’s not going to tell them he made us jump. He probably told everybody he let us off at the airfield safe and sound.”
Jesse rubbed his aching forehead. “I didn’t think of that. Good thing one of us is using her head.” He started walking. “We better keep moving if we plan to make it back to town by tomorrow.”
“I don’t believe it! This really is a road. Look.” Robin pointed down the tracks. “A truck.”
A pair of wobbly headlights was coming over the rise just in front of them.
Jesse stepped behind a tree next to Robin. “I told you somebody would come along.”
They kept back to make sure it was safe. As the rickety old pickup drew closer, they could see that the driver was an elderly man who didn’t seem to be in any hurry.
“What do you think?” Jesse whispered.
Robin smiled. “I think we better hurry before we miss our ride.”
They raced to the edge of the road and the truck stopped. The driver rolled the window down and stared at them as if they were ghosts. “What in Sam Hill are you two doing way up here?”
CHAPTER 10
“Thank you for the ride, Mr. Phillips. I know it was out of your way to bring us clear out here to the airfield.” Robin slid across the seat and stepped out of the truck.
“No problem, young lady.” The elderly man leaned across the seat. “But next time, you and your friend be more careful when you decide to go on a hiking trip. Those mountains can be deadly if you don’t know what you’re doing. You’re lucky I came along.”
“We’ll try to be more prepared next time, Mr. Phillips.” Jesse reached to shut the door. “Thanks again.”
The old truck made a U-turn and headed down the road.
“Now what?” It was late afternoon. Jesse looked at the building in front of them. The only signs of people were in the lobby and on the airstrip. “Doesn’t seem like there’s much going on here.”
“First we better call our folks so they won’t send out the National Guard.”
“We can use the phone in Buck’s office. I have a master key. We’ll use the side entrance in case Pete’s still around.”
When Robin had finished explaining to Irma that she would be late, she handed the receiver to Jesse. “It doesn’t sound good. Irma hasn’t seen Rodney or my father’s car all afternoon.”
Jesse quickly made his call and sat down on the edge of Buck’s desk. “All set. My mom thinks I’m at your house learning about photography. I tried to call Buck, but there was no answer.”
Robin stood up. “I’m worried, Jesse. What if they’ve done something to Rodney?”
“Maybe we should call the police?”
“Right. I’m sure they’ll believe us when we explain that members of a drug cartel have kidnapped Rodney and tried to kill us.”
“We have your pictures.”
“Not anymore. I left them on the plane when we jumped.”
“What about the negatives?”
“I still have those—sort of.”
“Sort of?”
“I won’t be able to get my hands on them for a couple of days. I was afraid someone might come looking for them so I mailed them to our beach house for safekeeping.”
Jesse ran his hand through his hair. “I guess the only thing we can do now is try to find something the police will believe. Come on, we’ll start with Pete’s office.”
CHAPTER 11
“Here’s another one.” Robin held her finger under an entry in the logbook. “At least we can show that Pete makes regular flights to Guatemala and the surrounding area.”
Jesse closed the filing cabinet and yawned. “It’s not very much, but I guess it’ll have to do.”
“Look at this.” Robin pointed to the last entry. “He just got back from
a trip down there on Thursday.”
Jesse sat up. “Does it list the cargo?”
“No, just a lot of numbers.”
“Let me see.” He took the book from her and copied down the numbers. “All this stuff should still be stored in Hangar Three. Let’s go see.”
Robin quickly straightened Pete’s desk and followed Jesse down the hall. “It’s lucky for us that Buck trusts you with a master key.”
“Speaking of Buck, I sure wish he would answer his telephone. We really need to let him in on all of this before we go to the police.”
Hangar Three was more like a warehouse than an airplane hangar. Large cargo crates and cardboard boxes were stacked along the walls. A yellow forklift was sitting near the door.
Jesse flipped the lights on and showed Robin the list of cargo numbers again. “You check through the rows on that side and I’ll look over here. If you find anything, yell.”
Robin nodded and disappeared behind a wooden crate. Jesse moved across the room and started down the aisle between the rows of boxes.
A sound broke the stillness in the warehouse. The side door of the hangar grated open as it brushed the top of the concrete floor.
Jesse ducked behind the boxes.
He heard voices. One of them was Buck’s. Jesse sighed with relief and had started to step into the aisle again when he heard Pete talking too.
“Why are the lights on in here?”
“I probably left them on when I was in here earlier.” Buck limped over to the forklift and sat down on the step.
Pete looked around suspiciously. “The boys from the cartel will be here any minute. I told them you were on to us and that when you saw how much money was involved, you wanted a piece of the action.”
No. Jesse’s mind raced. Not Buck. There’s got to be an explanation for this. Buck’s not like those creeps.
The door scraped on the concrete a second time. From behind the boxes Jesse could see three men dressed in suits entering and carefully closing the door behind them.
Jesse recognized the leader, Corrubia, from Robin’s picture. The portly man shook hands with Pete while the other two waited near the door.
“I understand you have another problem for me, Reeves? Seems as if you’ve been bringing me quite a few lately.”
“I told you, Mr. Corrubia,” Pete said, scowling. “I took care of those kids. They won’t be around to bother anybody again.”
“Good.” The big man toyed with one end of his thick mustache. “What about him?”
Buck stood up. “I wouldn’t consider me a problem if I were you, Mr. Corrubia. In fact, I’d say you and I are going to be able to help each other considerably.”
“What makes you think I need your help?” Corrubia said with a sneer. “Reeves takes care of my deliveries to this area just fine.”
Buck studied the man. “You need to learn to think bigger, Mr. Corrubia. Why should you be stuck with only one plane and one pilot, when you could have all of my airplanes and my whole staff at your disposal?”
Corrubia’s eyes shone bright with greed. “I like the way you think, Sellman.”
Jesse slumped against a box.
It moved.
“What was that?” Pete snarled. “If you’ve set us up, Sellman …”
The two men working for Corrubia rushed to the box. They dragged a struggling Jesse out into the open.
Corrubia’s voice turned ugly. “I thought you said you took care of the kid.”
Pete grabbed Jesse roughly by the collar. “Where’s your girlfriend, kid?”
Jesse glared at him. “You ought to know, Pete. You killed her with that faulty parachute.”
Pete loosened his grip. “I didn’t tell her to wear it. In fact, I planned it for you. But like a good little Boy Scout, you brought along your own. Sounds like it worked out okay, though.”
Jesse spit in Pete’s face.
Pete punched the boy in the stomach and then slapped him hard, knocking him to the ground.
“That’s enough, Reeves.” Buck stepped forward.
“What’s wrong, Sellman? Squeamish?” Pete looked down at Jesse. “This brat could land us all in jail. We can’t afford to leave any witnesses lying around.”
“I just don’t like beating up on kids, that’s all. If you’re going to finish him, do it later, all at once, when you get rid of that other guy—the chauffeur.”
Jesse searched Buck’s face. It was hard and cold. He couldn’t believe this was his friend talking.
“Once again, Mr. Sellman has a point,” Corrubia said. “I suggest we move our business discussion to the plane. Reeves was going to fly us back down to my country in the morning. Why don’t we all go now? I can show Mr. Sellman our operation and we can dispose of … shall we say”—he gave Jesse an evil smile—“our little problem, on the way.”
CHAPTER 12
“The chauffeur—he is gone, Señor Corrubia.” One of Corrubia’s henchmen stood at the door of the plane, nervously looking at the ground.
“Gone!” Corrubia almost roared. “How could this have happened?”
“I don’t understand it, sir. I tied him up myself and locked him in the trunk of the car.”
Corrubia slammed his fist against the wall of the plane. “Idiots. It’s amazing the police aren’t already here. Reeves!” he screamed. “Get us out of here.”
Buck checked his parachute and sat on one of the plane’s makeshift seats beside a well-dressed woman who had been waiting for them when they came out of the hangar. “I’m starting to wonder about your operation, Corrubia. Do you always do things this sloppily?”
“Shut up, Sellman. My patience with you is already wearing thin.”
The airplane rolled down the runway and slowly ascended into the sky. It was dark outside now, and the lights of the city were plainly visible below.
Jesse couldn’t bring himself to look at Buck. He thought of Robin. At least she didn’t have to go through another plane ride. Maybe she and Rodney could get enough evidence together to put these guys behind bars.
“This is as good a place as any!” Pete yelled from the pilot’s seat. “Throw the kid out!”
Corrubia nodded at one of his men. Buck stood up. “Wait. I’ll do it. I kind of owe the kid something for sneaking around behind my back.”
The men looked at their boss. He nodded again. Buck grabbed Jesse by the back of his shirt and half-carried him to the door of the plane.
“Well, I guess this is goodbye, kid.”
“No, Buck! Don’t do—”
Jesse’s words were lost in the roar of the engine as Buck pushed him out the door.
Suddenly he knew what Robin must have felt when her chute wouldn’t open.
Except for one thing.
As Buck was carrying him to the door, he had clipped a safety belt around Jesse’s waist. Then Buck calmly jumped out behind him.
Buck’s chute slipped open gracefully and they floated quietly toward the earth.
“I knew you weren’t in on it,” Jesse said.
“Really? I could have sworn I had you going there for a minute.”
“Maybe for a minute.”
CHAPTER 13
Early the next morning, reporters swarmed the small airport, each trying to get a scoop on the drug cartel story.
“One more picture, Mr. Sellman. This time put the kids on your right.” A photographer snapped a picture of Buck, Jesse, and Robin standing on the field in front of a small airplane.
Several reporters were asking questions at the same time. Buck pointed to a woman in a yellow suit.
“How long have you been working with the FBI on this case, Mr. Sellman?”
“Sorry. Until the case comes to court I can’t answer specific questions about dates and times.”
A young man stuck a microphone in Buck’s face. “Were Jesse and Robin ever in any real danger?”
Buck smiled at Robin. “Not unless you call dropping two thousand feet in a free fall with no parach
ute real danger.”
More cameras whirred and snapped and the reporters all started talking at the same time again.
Buck held up his hand. “That’s all the questions for now. The FBI briefing took most of the night, and my friends and I are tired. Call tomorrow and we’ll be glad to schedule you an appointment.”
Buck put his arms around Jesse and Robin and firmly guided them inside the training hangar, locking the door behind them.
“Whew.” Buck sat down in the nearest chair. “Those reporters are something else.”
Robin pulled up the chair across from him. “I know you’re tired of questions, but do you mind if we ask a couple?”
“Go ahead.”
“Did you help Rodney escape?”
“No. Pete was watching me pretty closely yesterday afternoon. One of the FBI men dressed like an airport worker let him out.”
“I want to know something,” Jesse said. “How did you know Corrubia’s plane would have to make an emergency landing a few miles from here? You had to know. The police were waiting for him.”
Buck grinned mischievously. “Ever hear of a siphon hose? It seems the Feds borrowed most of Pete’s fuel while he wasn’t looking.”
“I don’t understand.” Robin frowned. “Why didn’t the authorities just round up Corrubia and his pals in the warehouse? Why let them take off at all?”
“Actually that was plan A. But when I found out Jesse was inside the warehouse, I got worried about his safety and went to plan B—jumping out of the plane—before they could do anything about it.”
Jesse fell into one of the chairs. “So you’re saying Robin and I were mostly just in the way?”
“I wouldn’t go that far. You guys are going to be able to give some pretty valuable evidence—Robin’s pictures, your eyewitness accounts of the deal Corrubia tried to make, and of course the threats on your lives. That alone should put them all away for a long time.”
“Now I have a question for you two.” Buck cocked his head. “How does it feel to be my first underage students who’ve made real jumps?”
Jesse leaned back in his chair. “Both of my jumps were pretty wild. I’m not sure I want to try it again real soon.”
