So What Happens To Me?

Seven

On Friday afternoon I collected the bank receipt from-Kendrick. I told him the kite would be delivered in the early hours on Sunday morning and there were no problems. I then sent a cable to Aulestria giving him the same information.

Then I returned to the airfield and put a call through to the National Bank of Mexico. I asked the executive with whom I had dealt if the money had arrived. He said it had and had been credited to the Blue Ribbon Air Taxi Service Corp. I could almost hear him bowing as he spoke. I relayed the news to Bernie and Harry.

‘Now it’s up to you two to deliver the kite.’ I said. ‘I’ve done my stint.’

All Friday afternoon, from 15.30 to 19.00, we three worked on the kite. I familiarised myself with the jets while Bernie and Harry worked in the flight cabin. No problems came up. Saturday morning was spent in the control tower while Bernie and Harry logged our flight schedule. My crew looked a little blank when I told them I wanted full fuel capacity. They filled the tanks while I watched.

The hijack takeoff was scheduled for 20.30. By that time it would be dark. In the afternoon we took the plane on a test flight around Miami and back. She behaved beautifully.

Harry had got the guns on board and I took charge of them. I concealed one of the Armalite AR 180 high velocity rifles in Essex’s bedroom. I put it under the mattress. This rifle fired a .223 dum-dum bullet that would kill instantly. The second Armalite I concealed in one of the staff cabins. The Thompson sub-machine gun, known as a Chicago Piano, I hid in the flight cabin. The six hand grenades I hid in a locker by the entrance door to the kite. The machine pistols we decided we would carry on our hips. I took Bernie and Harry around, showing them where I had concealed the weapons.

‘We may not need them.’ I said, ‘but if there’s trouble, you know where to find them.’

I could see Bernie didn’t like any of this and he looked pale, worried and he sweated. Harry just nodded.

Well, that seemed to be that. We had three hours to wait before we took off. I said I was going to pack my things, left them and returned to my cabin. I gave myself a drink, lit a cigarette, then after hesitating, I put a call through to my old man. This, I knew, was the last time I would speak to him. I realised as I was waiting for the connection that I would miss him and again I had doubts that I was planning the right thing for my future.

He came on the line after a delay.

‘I was cutting the grass Jack. I only just heard the bell.’

I asked him how he was.

‘I’m all right. And you?’

‘I’m fine.’ I told him we were night testing the Condor.

‘Is that dangerous?’

I forced a laugh.

‘Nothing to it. Dad, just routine. I have a few minutes to kill and I got thinking of you: I enjoyed my stay.’ I wanted to say something nice to him to remember me by. ‘That was a great evening we had together. We’ll repeat it.’

‘You’re sure this night flight is going to be all right?’

‘Sure, Dad.’ I paused, then plunged on. ‘I’ve got to go now. I just wanted to hear your voice again. Take care of yourself.’

‘There’s nothing wrong?’

‘Everything’s fine. Well, see you Dad,’ and I hung up.

I sat staring at the opposite wall. I felt it had been a mistake to call him. Now I knew he would worry. He was shrewd. I hadn’t ever called him long distance before. Well, at least I had heard his voice for the last time.

I gave myself another drink, then my mind switched to Mrs. Essex. I had a longing to hear her voice too for the last time, but I hesitated. This could be a dangerous call. I decided against it, but after wandering around my cabin and having another drink, I walked over to the telephone and dialled the number of the Essex home. I told myself if the butler answered, I would hang up but she answered.

‘Hi!’ I said.

‘Oh... you.’

‘Yes. Can you talk?’

‘He’s not back until Tuesday: yes. I can talk.’

That marvellous voice! I saw that body and those violet coloured eyes.

‘I’ve missed you,’ I said.

‘Let’s do something tonight Jack.’ Her voice was urgent. ‘Jackson is taking his wife to a show. He’ll be out of the way. Let’s meet somewhere.’

‘I can’t. We’re doing a night test flight on the Condor at 20.30. I’ve got to go along.’

‘Oh, hell! I want you Jack!’

‘How about Sunday night?’ I was now wishing I hadn’t started this and knowing on Sunday night I would be in Yucatan.

‘Can’t you get out of this test flight?’

‘Not a chance.’ I now really wished I hadn’t started this. I knew how determined she could be. ‘Let’s make it Sunday, huh?’

‘No! Jackson will be around: He’ll be around Monday too. It must be tonight!’

‘It can’t be done I’m sorry. I’ll call you later,’ and I hung up.

That was a mistake, I told myself. Why couldn’t I keep my stupid mouth shut? I looked at the time. It was just after 19.00. As I flung my things into a suitcase, the phone bell rang. Fearing it was Mrs. Essex, I ignored it. I went to the restaurant and joined Bernie and Harry for a steak dinner. Bernie looked uneasy. He scarcely ate a thing.

‘Did you talk to Pam?’ I asked.

‘She’s now on her way to Merida.’

‘She okay?’

He blotted his sweating face with his handkerchief.

‘I think so. She doesn’t like it, of course, but she’ll be all right once we join up.’

‘Yeah.’ To change the subject, I said. ‘How do you feel about landing the kite in the dark and the jungle?’

‘The Met report is good. I don’t see any problem.’

I shoved my plate away and looked at my watch. The time was 20.15.

‘Might as well get moving.’ I stood up.

Harry said. ‘Just for the hell of it, I stocked the fridge. We could get hungry.’

‘That’s a smart idea.’

‘I don’t believe in starving.’ Harry grinned. ‘If we get lost, a fridge full of food is a great morale booster.’

‘We won’t get lost!’ Bernie snapped. ‘Don’t talk wet!’

Harry winked at me and we followed Bernie out into the starlit night and climbed into a jeep. The three of us knew this was the last time we would be on American soil. It was a sobering thought and none of us spoke as Harry drove us to the waiting Condor.

The crew were waiting. The Chief Engineer, a guy named Thompson, gave me a thumb’s up sign as we got out of the jeep.

‘All correct, Mr. Crane.’ he said and grinned. There was something sly about that grin that made me stare at him, but when Bernie said, ‘Let’s go,’ I thought no more about it.

Bernie and Harry went to the flight cabin. I closed the exit door and then joined them.

Bernie went through the takeoff routine, then talked to Air Control.

‘Okay, Fred?’

‘Sure: no traffic around, Bernie. It’s all yours.’

A few minutes later we were airborne. We looked at one another.

‘Three million dollars, here we come!’ Harry exclaimed.

I stood around until Bernie headed out to sea. I was feeling restless. I left them and wandered into the conference room, looked around, then went into the kitchen. I peered into the refrigerator. There was a good selection of canned foods. I went past Essex’s suite and entered one of the guest cabins where I had left my suitcase. There was nothing for me to do for at least forty minutes. I lay on the bed, lit a cigarette and tried not to think of my future, but I didn’t succeed. I kept thinking I was walking out on a top class job, paying thirty thousand a year and I was also walking out on Mrs. Essex. A million and a half dollars! What the hell would I do with all that money? I asked myself. I would have to begin an entirely new life. It was all right to imagine living in Europe, but I couldn’t speak any language except my own. I was cutting myself of from a way of life I had known. Was money everything? So why had I started this? This was pretty late thinking, I told myself. I was committed now. In forty minutes I would be dead to my old man. to Mrs. Essex and to the various people who knew me. I had got beyond the point of no return.

I looked out of the cabin window and watched the lights of Paradise City, then Miami fading in the distance. I watched until a sea mist blotted them out and I realised I was seeing them for the last time.

Worried by my thoughts, I went back to the flight cabin.

Looking at the altimeter over Bernie’s shoulder, I saw he was climbing.

‘Another ten minutes,’ Harry said.

When Bernie got to twenty-five thousand feet, he levelled out.

‘Harry, you talk to Fred,’ he said, his voice husky. ‘I’ve got the shakes.’

Harry and I looked at each other. He raised his eyebrows.

‘No, you haven’t, Bernie.’ I said, putting my hands on his shoulders. ‘You dreamed this one up. You handle it.’

He shook of my hands and wiped his sweating face.

‘Look guys, should we do this?’ he said. ‘We have still time to turn around. Should we do it?’

‘What the hell are you talking about?’ Harry barked.

Bernie lifted his shoulders in a helpless shrug.

‘Yes.’ He turned his white face so he could look at me. ‘Will it work out Jack?’

I was suddenly tempted to tell him to turn around, but while I was hesitating. Harry grabbed the mike.

‘Fred!’ His voice was high pitched. ‘We’re in trouble. The two port engines are on fire. The goddamn extinguishers aren’t working!’ I could hear Air Control shouting. Harry cut in on him. ‘We’re ditching our position.’ Then he snapped of the radio. ‘Put her down Bernie.’

Like a zombie, Bernie showed the nose down and we screamed into a dive towards the sea.

Harry put down the mike.

‘Here we go,’ he said, ‘How did it sound?’

‘It almost convinced me.’ I was feeling shaken. My hesitation had settled my future.

‘I bet Fred is laying eggs.’

I was watching Bernie. He began to level out. ‘We were some eight hundred feet above the sea now. He took the kite lower. Then when we were three hundred feet and when I could see the waves, he headed for Yucatan.’

‘This calls for a drink.’

‘Yes, get me a coke Jack,’ Bernie said huskily.

‘Me too,’ Harry said.

I left them and went into the kitchen, opened the refrigerator and took from it three bottles of coke. As I began to break out ice, a voice said softly, ‘Hi! Jack!’

I dropped the ice container into the sink.

I would know that voice anywhere. I felt blood drain out of my face as I turned.

Smiling at me, in the doorway of the kitchen, was Mrs. Victoria Essex.

I was vaguely aware that the floor was vibrating and that told me Bernie was flying at maximum.

Cold sweat broke out all over my body. My heart skipped a beat and then began to race.

‘Surprised?’ Mrs. Essex laughed. ‘You said it couldn’t be done.’ She laughed again. ‘That’s fighting talk to me: nothing is impossible... so here I am. How long is the test flight going to last?’

I tried to speak, but my mouth had dried up and my racing heart made me breathless.

I just gaped at her.

‘Jack! What’s the matter? Aren’t you pleased?’

‘What are you doing here?’ My voice was a croak.

Her beautiful eyebrows came down in a frown.

‘Doing here? This is my plane! What do you mean?’

‘How did you get on board?’

‘What’s that to do with it? I told the Chief Engineer I intended to fly with you.’

I remembered Thompson’s sly smile.

‘This is a test flight.’ I was now over the shock and was forcing my brain to work. ‘Mr. Essex would blow his stack if he knew you were on board. This could be dangerous.’

‘I don’t give a damn! Lane need never know.’ She moved into the kitchen. ‘Aren’t you pleased?’

‘But Thompson will rat on you!’

‘Oh, skip it! He’s as scared of me as Jackson. I asked you: how long will the test flight last?’

‘Three hours... I don’t know.’

‘Let’s christen Lane’s bed. I want you.’

I wanted her right now like I wanted cancer.

‘They’re waiting for drinks.’

‘Give them their drinks: I’ll wait in the suite.’ She reached out and touched my face. ‘This is going to be a new experience for both of us.’

Her touch was like the kiss of death to me.

I watched her walk along the aisle and disappear into the Essex’s suite. My mind worked frantically. Questions without answers crowded into my mind.

Should I tell Bernie and Harry she was with us? Should we turn back? How the hell could we when Harry had told Air Control we were ditching? We were beyond the point of return! So what did we do? I tried to imagine the reception Mrs. Victoria Essex would get if those Mexican thugs caught sight of her and I flinched at the thought. I had managed to persuade Bernie to leave Pam out of the trip and she was a long way behind Mrs. Essex in looks. I had a feeling that neither Bernie nor Harry would give a damn about her: both had reasons to hate her. But she had that fatal thing for me, and I knew I wouldn’t stand by and see her raped by a bunch of greasers.

I decided I had to tell her what she had walked into before breaking the news to Bernie and Harry.

I took the cokes to the flight cabin.

‘You’ve taken your time,’ Harry said, grabbing the drink. ‘I’m dying of thirst.’

‘Sorry: the ice container was tricky.’

He grinned at me.

‘We have luck, not a ship in sight.’

‘No problems, Bernie?’ My heart was thumping.

He finished the coke and handed me the empty glass.

‘So far... okay.’

Harry was wearing headphones: one clamped to his right ear the other against the side of his neck.

‘Fred had called out the navy.’

‘Will we get there, Bernie?’ I asked.

‘Sure. At this height the radar can’t spot us.’

‘Okay. I’ll leave it to you two. I’ll take a nap.’

‘Going to try out the Essex bed?’ Harry laughed. ‘I guess that holy of holies couldn’t come alive without a woman.’

I rubbed the sweat of my chin.

‘See you,’ I said and left them.

I walked down the aisle, then went in the Essex suite. She was lying on the big circular bed. I could see she was naked under the sheet she had drawn across her.

‘Come on Jack,’ she said. ‘We haven’t much time,’ and she held out her arms to me. ‘Are the others busy?’ and closed the door and shot the bolt.

‘You’re in trouble,’ I said. ‘I’m in trouble too.’

She stared at me.

‘What does that mean?’

‘Right now, this plane is being hijacked.’

The sexy light went out of her eyes. Now her mouth turned thin and her face became a hard mask. Mrs. Victoria Essex wasn’t Mrs. Victoria Essex for nothing. Her brain worked as fast as quick silver.

‘Are Olson and Erskine stealing this plane?’

‘That’s it.’

‘Are you in this too?’

‘Yes.’

I had to admire her. She looked as unruffled as a bishop at a tea party.

‘Where are we going?’

‘Yucatan. We arrive in two and a half hours... with luck.’

She threw aside the sheet and slid of the bed. I watched her as she walked, naked, to where she had left her clothes. I watched her dress quickly and without fuss.

She then walked to the mirror and ran a comb through her hair. Satisfied she looked like the always glamorous Mrs. Victoria Essex, she turned slowly and regarded me.

‘We have time. I’ll talk to Olson. Was this his bright little idea?’

‘Yes.’

‘Then I’ll tell him to turn around and go back.’

She started towards the door, but I didn’t move and she confronted me.

‘Get out of my way Jack!’

‘Three million dollars are involved,’ I said quietly. ‘Not even you can talk Olson nor Erskine out of that.’

‘Get out of my way!’ Her eyes flashed. ‘I’ll talk to him!’

‘Get wise! Olson has no use for you. Erskine hates you. If you go to the flight cabin and sound off Erskine will knock you over the head and drop you into the sea. I’m telling you: you’re in trouble.’

She stared at me for a long moment.

‘Am I in trouble with you too Jack?’

‘I’ll do my best for you. Why the hell did you have to come on board?’

‘What does your best mean?’

‘I’ll do what I can to protect you.’

‘That’s kind of you.’ She turned away and wandered over to the big, circular bed. ‘I think I prefer to protect myself.’

Before I could move, she had drawn the Armalite rifle from under the mattress where I had hidden it and pointed it at me.

‘Don’t move!’ The snap in her voice made me stiffen. ‘No one is hijacking me! Don’t imagine I can’t handle this gun. Go ahead Jack, we’re going to the flight cabin.’

‘This won’t get you anywhere,’ I said. ‘I’m on your side, but we’ve got beyond the point of no return.’

‘No, we haven’t! Go ahead!’

I wondered how Bernie and Harry would react when I came into the flight cabin with her and the gun. I drew the bolt and stepped out into the aisle, I had an idea she wouldn’t shoot me if I turned on her and I suddenly didn’t give a damn. I opted to be neutral. If she could force Bernie to turn the plane around. I’d go along. If Bernie and Harry were smart enough to outplay her. I’d also go along. The ball was in her court.

Because I was half in love with her and because I really didn’t know what I was going to do with a million and a quarter dollars, I went like a zombie into the flight cabin.

Harry turned his head as I entered.

‘Short nap Jack,’ he said. ‘Your conscience worrying you?’

I moved aside and Mrs. Essex stood in the doorway, pointing the gun at him and Bernie.

Harry stared, his jaw dropping, then he made a move to get to his feet.

‘Stay still!’ she snapped.

Harry relaxed back in his seat.

‘For God’s sake, Bernie! Look who’s here!’

Bernie glanced over his shoulder, stared at her, stared at the gun and his face turned the colour of a dead, stale fish.

‘You’re not hijacking this plane!’ she said. ‘Turn around! We’re going back to the airfield!’

Harry grinned at her.

‘No, we’re not. And there is nothing you can do about it, baby. That gun means nothing. You start shooting and we’ll all dive into the sea.’

‘I said turn around!’

Harry shrugged.

‘Run away, hot pants, you bore me.’ He shifted in his seat so his back was to her.

‘Olson! Do you hear me!’ She was a tryer. ‘Turn this plane around and fly back to the airfield.’

Bernie said nothing. He stared at the instrument panels as if he hadn’t heard her.

She looked at me, her eyes blazing.

‘Make him turn around Jack!’

‘Yeah... go ahead Jack, make us turn around.’ Harry said and laughed. Then glaring at her, he snarled, ‘Get out of here, you spoiled, over rich hooker! Get out!’

She hesitated for a moment, then ran down the aisle and into Essex’s suite. She slammed the door.

‘Well!’ Harry stared at me. ‘How did she get on board?’

‘Thompson let her on.’

‘What are we going to do?’ Bernie’s voice sounded strangled.

‘Let the dagoes cope with her,’ Harry said. ‘Why should we care?’

‘No!’ I said.

His eyes hardened.

‘Oh, yeah? You getting it from her Jack?’

‘We can’t let her fall into those thugs, hands.’

‘So what? Why should we care... or do you?’

‘Yes, I care,’ I said. ‘Listen, Bernie, it’s one thing to hijack this plane but another to kidnap Mrs. Lane Essex! The heat will be...’

‘Oh, skip it!’ Harry snapped. ‘We’re all dead and in the sea... remember? Thompson will have reported she was on board. So Essex will think she went into the drink with us. There’ll be no heat.’

‘He’s right,’ Bernie said. ‘We didn’t ask her to come. Now she’s here, she’ll have to look after herself.’

‘Go and hold her hand Jack,’ Harry sneered. ‘We’re busy.’

I left the flight cabin and going down the aisle, reached the suite. I knocked on the door.

‘It’s me: Jack.’

‘Stay away! No one’s coming in here! No one!’

‘I’ve got to talk to you.’

‘No one’s coming in here! I’ll shoot first.’

‘You haven’t a chance. Come on, be sensible. Let me in!’

The vicious crack of the gun startled me. The .233 bullet smashed through the top of the door. It missed my head by six inches: too damn close for safety.

I hurriedly stepped back.

‘Next time I shoot lower.’

‘Okay, then you’re out on your own.’

‘And I’ll manage!’

I went back to the flight cabin and told them. Harry laughed ‘So why should we care? We deliver the kite. It’s up to the greasers to winkle her out: they’ll love it.’

‘Talk sense! No one’s going to get near her with that gun!’

‘All they have to do is to wait her out. It’ll be goddamn hot when we arrive and the air conditioners will be off. Without food and drink, how long do you imagine she’ll last?’ That was something I hadn’t thought of.

We had been flying now for fifty minutes, crossing the Gulf of Mexico, still at three hundred above the sea.

I sat on a stool behind Bernie while Harry listened to the radio, headphones clamped to his ears.

I thought of the woman, alone in the Essex suite. I wondered what she was doing. She certainly had guts! What would happen to her when we landed? Was it possible to conceal her. then get her away? I knew I would get no help from Bernie nor Harry. That was for sure. We would land in the jungle surrounded by Orzoco’s thugs. How could I get her away?

Harry said suddenly. ‘It’s on the air. The world now knows that the fabulous, glamorous Mrs. Victoria Essex was on board and she, like the intrepid birdmen crashed into the sea. It’ll be front page news tomorrow. How do you like it Bernie?’

Bernie didn’t say anything. He had been flying the plane now in complete silence. I could see sweat running down the back of his neck and his greying hair looked as if it had been ducked in a bucket of water.

‘I bet those greasers are smacking their chops,’ Harry went on. ‘Man! Will I get a bang to see them lay their paws on that bitch. She has it coming!’

‘Shut up!’ I said.

He looked at me, an ugly expression on his face.

‘You’ve gone soft on her, haven’t you, sucker?’

‘I said shut up!’ I got up and left the cabin.

‘Hi Jack!’

I turned.

Harry came out into the aisle and closed the cabin door.

He joined me. His eyes were vicious.

‘Let’s get this straight,’ he said, a snarl in his voice. ‘We don’t want any trouble now we’ve got so far. We’re all in this for three million dollars. Just what is this bitch to you?’

‘I’m not standing by and seeing her raped by a bunch of greasers.’ I said quietly. ‘We’ve got to get her out of this mess.’

He shook his head.

‘No! To hell with her! She once played me for a sucker and that’s something I don’t forget. She’s no better than a hooker. You start something and you won’t find me on your side. Understand?’

‘Is that right?’ I was getting mad myself now. ‘So what are you going to do?’

He glared at me.

‘No one — including you — stands between me and my cut.’ Then he did something I could never take. He began digging his forefinger into my chest to emphasise his words. ‘I don’t give a damn if you’re horny about this hooker...’

I hit him solidly on the side of his jaw. It was a reflex action and the moment I had done it, I regretted it. He went down like a felled ox and his head thudded against a row of metal studs, lining the floor.

I stared down at him, then knelt and lifted his head. My hand became sticky with blood. A cold chill ran through me. Had I killed him?

‘Harry!’

I could see he was breathing, but he looked bad. I laid his head down gently and stood up.

‘Thieves fall out?’

She was standing in the doorway of the Essex suite, the Armalite in her hands.

I stared at her.

‘Olson won’t get the kite down without him.’ I said breathlessly. ‘There’s something wrong with Olson! Do something! Get this man on his feet!’

‘I wouldn’t touch that sonofabitch if it cost me my life!’ she said, her face like stone.

‘It could do, you fool!’

I ran back to the flight cabin. Looking through the plexiglass I saw sandy beach and then jungle ahead.

‘Bernie! Harry’s had an accident! He’s knocked out!’

He didn’t say anything. He just sat there, his shirt and head soaked in sweat.

‘Bernie!’ I bawled at him. ‘Hear me?’

‘Don’t touch me.’ His voice was a husky croak.

‘Make altitude! We’re too low!’

We were now only two hundred feet above the dense jungle. He gave a shuddering sigh that chilled me as he pulled back the stick. The kite’s nose lifted. We were now flying fast over the jungle.

‘Higher! Get her up!’

‘For God’s sake Jack, leave me alone!’

There was something about him that scared the hell out of me. His stiff, set position, the sweat and now his voice.

I ran back into the aisle and shook Harry, but he was out to the world. Rushing into the kitchen, I drew water into a bowl, rushed back and threw the water in his face: this produced no reaction.

She still stood in the doorway, watching.

‘Do something!’ I yelled at her. ‘Olson can’t make the landing! Get this man on his feet!’

She turned, entered the suite and slammed the door. I heard the bolt snap to.

For a moment I stared down at Harry, then I rushed back to the flight cabin.

I saw we had lost altitude again and now we were flying less than a hundred feet above the dense jungle.

‘Bernie! Pull her up!’ I shouted.

He made a feeble effort to pull back the stick, then a moan of a man in agony escaped him.

‘Bernie! What’s wrong? Are you ill?’ I slid into the copilot’s seat. ‘Bernie!’

‘My heart... I’m dying...’ Then he fell forward. His body shoved the stick forward and the nose went down.

As I heard the undercarriage smashing through the tree tops. I flicked up the various switches, cuffing the engines. In the split second that remained to me I saw Bernie’s eyes roll back and I knew he was dead.

The crash flung me across the cabin.

Blackness came to me and I gave myself up as lost.