Payback

74

Dean untied the boat and jammed his hand against the throttle, pulling away from shore so quickly the hull seemed to soar above the water.

He left the communications system off; there was nothing the Art Room was going to tell him that he wanted to hear at the moment.

Eventually, he’d have to talk to them. But it would be better to wait until he was almost there.

Karr’s advice not to go gnawed at him gently, but Lia’s need overwhelmed it. As Karr had put it, the “sneak and peak” was easy enough for one person to handle on his own. Lia needed help.

Dean found the pilot sitting on the dock where he had left him, sipping a beer.

“You sober enough to fly?”

“Not a problem,” said the pilot. “Where?”

“There was a helicopter crash in the mountains about eighty miles north of La Oroya. I want to go there.”

The pilot’s expression immediately changed.

“I’ll pay five hundred dollars cash when we land,” Dean told him

“And fuel?”

“And fuel.”

“Let me see the money.”

Dean put his hand into his pocket and pulled out a wad of bills. “And don’t get any ideas,” he added, leaning forward not only to intimidate the man physically but also to show the shoulder holsters under his jacket.

“I am not a thief,” said the pilot. “I need sols for the petrol.”

“I got them.” Dean pulled out one of the maps he had folded into his pocket. “It’s somewhere around here, in one of these valleys.”

“Somewhere?”

“You think a crash is going to be hard to find?”

“From the air in a jungle, it may very well be, yes.” The pilot took the map. “Where were they flying from?”

“La Oroya.”

The man nodded. “This valley. But I have to tell you, it may be difficult to find a place to land where you’re talking of going. Those are the mountains.”

“We’ll worry about that when we find it.”