Two-Dollar Bill

58

THE HEAT from the explosion caused a huge thermal, and the helicopter rode it upward, threatening to roll again. Stone got hold of himself and got hold of the stick. The airspeed had bled off to sixty knots, and he was afraid of stalling again. He shoved the throttle forward, and held the stick centered between his legs, hoping aerodynamics would do the rest. But now there was something new-a thumping vibration that rhythmically shook the chopper.

The instrument panel was a vibrating blur, so he looked outside to orient himself. He was flying up the river toward the George Washington Bridge, and he didn't have enough altitude to clear it. He pushed the stick down, and a moment later, the bridge passed over him. He eased back the stick, trying to gain altitude without advancing the throttle. He thought he must have lost a rotor tip in the explosion, and he didn't want to put any more strain on the machine.

Finally, he was at the top of the Palisades, the high cliffs overlooking the Hudson, then he managed to gain another couple of hundred feet. He remembered that Teterboro was southwest of the bridge, and he eased the chopper into a shallow left turn. The vibration increased, but soon, he was on the right heading. Then he saw a big business jet a few miles ahead, making an approach, and he followed its line of flight toward the runway. He had the airfield in sight.

He found a radio in the panel, but he couldn't for the life of him remember the frequency for Teterboro tower, so he tuned in 121.5 mhz, the emergency frequency, and pressed the push-to-talk switch. "Mayday, Mayday, Mayday," he said. "Helicopter approaching Teterboro from the northeast for emergency landing. Teterboro tower, if you can hear me, clear the way, because I've never landed a helicopter, and I think I have a broken rotor tip."

"Stone?" A familiar voice

"Dino?"

"Right behind you, pal."

"Helicopter, Teterboro tower," an urgent voice said. "We have you in sight; cleared to land anyplace you want to put her down. Suggest runway one niner, if able."

"I'll do the best I can," Stone replied. "Dino?"

"Shut up and fly the chopper," Dino said.

Stone took his advice. He began trying to slow the helicopter; he was too hot, and he pulled back on the throttle and held his altitude to bleed off airspeed, the way he would do in an airplane. He could see the runway, now, and he was about two hundred feet above it. He pulled the throttle back to idle, and the thing began dropping like a rock. He added power, but he was still high and hot. He chopped the throttle again and yanked back on the stick. The sky filled the windshield, and with his peripheral vision he could see the ground coming up fast. He passed over the runway, losing altitude, in a nose-up position.

The helicopter struck tail first, and still Stone held the stick back. Then it slammed into the ground, and strangely, there was water everywhere. Stone, who was not wearing a seat belt, was thrown forward, striking his head on the windshield. The last thing he heard was the noise of the rotor chewing up the ground, then everything went quiet.

THE VOICE came from a distance: "Stone?" A small voice. "Stone?" Somebody shook him and pulled him back into his seat. Stone opened his eyes and looked around.

"Peter?"

"Here I am, Stone."

"Are you all right?"

"Yeah, and I did what you said."

"What?"

"I got behind the seat and stayed there. It was sort of like a ride at the carnival in Charlottesville, but not as much fun."

The air was filled with approaching sirens, and Stone was aware that a helicopter was landing a few yards away. He looked out the window and saw that they had come to rest in shallow water, a swampy area between a runway and a taxiway. Twenty yards away he saw his own airplane, parked with others in the infield. Then he passed out.

HIS DREAMS were not good: They were a montage of Billy Bob, Arrington, Peter and Tiffany Baldwin, who always seemed to be screaming at him. Then, slowly, they faded and he found himself in a darkened room. Sunlight peeked from behind Venetian blinds. Someone was holding his hand.

"Stone?" A woman's voice.

"Go away, Tiff," he said wearily. He had had enough of her.

"It's Arrington."

Stone turned his head and looked at her. "It is, isn't it?" he said, relieved.

"You're all right; you just had a couple of bumps on the head. You lost a little hair, and you have a few stitches, and your head is sort of swollen, but you'll be just fine. All you have to do is rest."

"I'm hungry," Stone said. "Am I on drugs?"

"The doctor gave you something when they stitched your head up yesterday. He wanted you to rest."

"Yesterday? And now it's today?"

"That's how it works, Stone: yesterday, then today."

"Can I have a bacon cheeseburger?"

"I'm not sure that's on the menu, but I'll get you something." She picked up the call buzzer and pressed it. A moment later a nurse came in, followed by Dino and Lance.

"Okay, Lance," he said. "Now you can court-martial me."

Everybody began laughing.