by J. T. Cross
The living room was quiet. Kelly was curled up on the couch asleep, with her arms wrapped around her new doll. Kate and Stuart were in the dining room, sitting at the table huddled over the model airplane. They didn’t notice him walk into the room, so he stopped for a moment and watched them work.
Kate pointed to one of the pieces. “That’s the elevator. If you wiggle it just a little bit, it will come off the plastic thingy. He watched as Stuart gently worked the piece free and held it in his hand.
“What’s it for?” he asked.
“That’s what allows the pilot to make the plane go up or down. In my plane, if I pull back on the wheel that goes up like this,” she said moving her hand like an elevator at the back of the model. “If I push forward on it, the plane goes down.”
“Wow, that’s rad,” Stuart said.
“I’m going to put a little glue on the back of the tail, and then you push it on until it snaps in place.”
“Okay.”
He watched for a few moments and sensed a peace he hadn’t felt in a long time.
“Good job, Stuart,” she said and patted his back.
“How’s it going,” Luc said, as he walked over to the table.
“Look at my plane, Dad. Isn’t it cool? Kate really knows a bunch about planes. When I get it all done, I’m going to paint it and put it on the shelf in my bedroom.”
Luc picked up the plane and looked it over. “That’s a nice job you guys are doing.”
“Thanks,” Stuart said, beaming.
Luc put it back down on the table and looked at his watch. “Hey kiddo, it’s 10:30. It’s kinda late. I think you should climb in bed, so you can get a good night’s sleep.”
“No Dad, I’m not tired. I want to finish the plane with Kate.”
“You can finish it tomorrow.”
“If you want, I can help you tomorrow,” said Kate.
“Is that okay, Dad?”
“Of course.”
“You have a good night, Stuart. I’ve enjoyed working on the plane with you,” she said and gave him a hug.
Luc watched him run down the hall to his bedroom. When he turned around, Kate stood behind him holding Kelly.
”I’ll carry her to her room,” she said.
“Follow me.”
Luc led her to Kelly’s new bedroom. He pulled back the covers and Kate laid her down. After they tucked her in, they went back to the living room.
“Thanks so much for cooking dinner and spending the evening with us. I guess you can see I’m going to have my hands pretty full for the next couple weeks.”
“You’re a lucky man to have a family like this.”
“Yeah, I’m feeling pretty lucky right now. I think I’m going to turn in early tonight.”
She reached up and looped her arms around his neck and looked up to kiss him. He met her halfway, and they kissed. A confused feeling swirled through his chest, and he slowly pulled back.
“I’m sorry. It’s been a long day, okay?” he said.
“It’s only 10:30, Luc, the night’s young.”
“The kids haven’t been here in a long time. They will probably be in my room before too long, saying they can’t sleep. I don’t think this would be a good night.”
“Watch me walk to my car. It’s dark out there..”
Luc walked over to the front door and opened it. “Let’s get together tomorrow, okay?”
Kate looked at him with a dejected smile. The happiness he’d seen in her eyes earlier was now gone.
“Kate, don’t be sad. I’m just really tired. I’ll see you tomorrow. We’ll do something fun.”
He walked her out to the front porch and watched her climb into her Blazer and start the engine. He waved good night then closed the door and went to his bedroom.
He lay down onto the bed with the lights off and let his mind wander. From his room, he could hear her engine running. She always let it warm up for a few minutes before she drove off.
* * *
Serena watched the white Blazer back out of the driveway and drive off. She scribbled down the license number on a piece of paper and wondered why she was leaving. She was reasonably sure it was Kate. Not typical behavior for two lovebirds, she thought.
She picked up her cell phone and called Victor. He answered on the first ring.
“Yes,” he said.
“I’ve got a license plate I’d like you to check. I believe it’s the plate for Luc’s girlfriend’s SUV. I got a good look at her when she came out of his house. I just want to make sure I have the right person.”
“Give it to me.”
She read it off the paper.
“I’ll get back to you.”
She sat in her car and waited, trying to ignore the fact that both her feet felt like little blocks of ice. If that was Kate, she seemed like she was a decent person, someone who probably didn’t deserve to die. That was interesting, she thought. Did anyone really deserve to die, or to live for that matter? She guessed that Victor probably deserved to die. She thought about that for a while until her cell phone rang.
“Hello,” she said.
“The license belongs to a 2003 white Blazer registered to a woman named Kate McGrew. Need anything else?”
“No.”
“Good. Meet me at my motel room tomorrow afternoon at five. It’s going to take me at least a day to build a device.”
“What would you like me to do tomorrow?” she asked.
“Why don’t you see what you can find out about Kate? Figure out where she keeps her plane. I’m going to need access to it if we’re going to plant a device on it.”
“Okay.”
“Thursday morning we’ll firm up our plans and get the show on the road.”
“See you then,” she said and hung up.
She drove back to her motel and climbed into bed. It had been a long day, and she was cold and tired. As she lay under the covers in the dark, she thought about tomorrow. She would go to the Fairbanks airport and ask around about Kate McGrew. She’d see if any of the mechanics knew her. It was amazing, the things you could find out when you wore tight jeans. She slowly drifted off to sleep.
* * *
Wednesday morning Serena got up early, and after a quick breakfast, headed for the Fairbanks airport. She spent the early part of the morning talking to, and sometimes flirting with, several aircraft mechanics. By 10:00, she had learned that Kate McGrew kept her plane at a small private airport in Auburn.
She went back to her motel and dropped off the rental car. She pulled out a map of the area and located the Auburn airport. It looked like she could simply follow Highway 99 north to Auburn then veer off to the west and get a visual on the airport. She took a taxi back to Fairbanks International, put her plane through a quick check-out and took off.
After she climbed to a comfortable cruising altitude, she found and then followed Highway 99 until she was over Auburn. To the northwest, she spotted the small airport and contacted the tower for permission to land. She was instructed on how to locate the proper runway for the wind direction and, a few minutes later, brought the airplane in for a landing.
Once on the ground, she taxied her plane to the fuel station. She got out and talked to several people and found out whom to see about renting a tie-down space for the plane.
At the airport office she used the credit card to pay for a month’s rent on a spot. She taxied her plane to the tie-down and parked it. She pulled several straps out the back and secured the plane to steel eyelets that came out of the asphalt. She had no idea what type of wind they got at that airport, but she didn’t want to take any chances.
She spent the next hour walking around the small airport, getting to know people. She let them know she was interested in becoming a bush pilot.
An aircraft mechanic who worked out of that airport told her she would be the second female bush pilot at that airport, the first was a lady named Kate McGrew. She asked about Kate, and he gave her directions to the hangar she
used for her delivery business.
It was 12:30 by the time she ended up at Kate’s hangar. She felt pretty proud of herself for having tracked her down within a few hours. She noticed the hangar door was open, so she walked in.
Inside was a Cessna 180, one very much like her own. She saw a husky man with a short gray beard loading the plane and assumed she had the wrong hangar.
“Hi there,” she called out to the man.
He turned around with a look of surprise then smiled at her. “What can I do for you?”
“My name’s Gina West. I just flew in this morning, and I’m new in the area. I’m thinking about upgrading my tie-down with a space in a hangar. Do you know who I could talk to about renting or leasing one?”
The man walked over to her and reached out his hand. “My name’s Chuck. Nice to meet you. I don’t really know much about renting hangars and such, but I work for a lady who could probably tell you. Her name’s Kate and she’s in her office. I’ll take you in to meet her.”
Serena smiled. She had the right hangar after all. She followed Chuck into the office and saw Kate up close for the first time as she looked up from a small desk and smiled at her. Serena thought she was an attractive woman with her curly blond hair and green eyes.
“Hi there. My name is Gina West,” Serena said.
“Nice to meet you, I’m Kate. I’m sorry, but if you’re looking for a flight today or tomorrow, I’m not doing any,” she said, apologetically.
“No, that’s not why I’m here. Actually, I’m thinking of starting a business as a bush pilot, and I’m looking into renting a part of a hangar.”
“Oh, really,” Kate said, smiling.
“It’s always been my dream to work up in Alaska, and when my uncle passed away and left me an inheritance, I decided to follow my dream.”
“That’s exciting. This time of year, there’s plenty of work for pilots up here.”
Serena spent the next few hours getting to know Kate. The time passed quickly. By two in the afternoon she knew about Kate’s boyfriend, how he hadn’t called her that morning because he was busy with his kids, that she loved flying, and that her favorite dinner was steak and lobster. She also learned that Kate had few female friends and was starving for girl talk. She intended to provide that.
Serena looked at her watch and realized it was getting late. “I have to get going, but it’s been nice getting to know you, Kate. I might see you tomorrow when I come down to clean out my plane and see a mechanic about a problem I’ve had with the engine.”
“See you later,” Kate said.
Serena walked outside the airport and called a taxi on her cell phone. When it arrived, she had the driver take her to her motel room.
Back in her room, she took her sexy clothes off and put on a pair of loose jeans and a flannel shirt, as the weather was turning cold. She gathered her things together, including some copies of technical papers on the Cessna 180, compliments of an aircraft mechanic who had invited her out to dinner. It never hurt to look sexy, she thought.
She locked the room up and got in her rental car. She pulled out of the parking lot and began her drive across town to meet with Victor.
Chapter 16
Luc dropped his hammer to the ground and jumped down from the tree. He looked up at the tree house he and Stuart had started building. It was looking good, if he did say so himself. Building a tree house with his son was something he had wanted to do for years, and he was thoroughly enjoying it.
He watched Stuart carefully climb down the stairs they had just finished hammering into the trunk of the tree. Stuart walked over to him and looked up at.
“It’s so cool, Dad. I’ve never had a tree house before. Do I have to let girls into it when it’s done?”
“Just your sister,” Luc said, resting his hand on Stuart’s shoulder.
“I guess that would be okay.”
Luc was feeling hungry, and he was pretty sure that the kids were, too. “I think we’re done for the day out here. Let’s go in the house, and I’ll rustle us up some dinner.”
“Can we have pizza?”
“Maybe.”
Luc went into the kitchen where he dug into the freezer and found a large frozen pizza. He turned the oven on and popped it in.
He went into the living room to check on Kelly and found her curled up in a blanket on the carpet watching cartoons. Thirty minutes later they were sitting at the table eating pizza.
“I’m going to take you guys hiking tomorrow. Have you been hiking before?” he asked them.
“No, but we want to go,” said Stuart.
Luc described the area he wanted to take them to and how beautiful it was. By the end of dinner, Kelly and Stuart couldn’t wait to go on a hike.
Luc was putting the plates into the dishwasher when he heard the phone ring in the living room. Stuart ran to pick it up.
“It’s Mom,” he called out.
Luc came into the room and pushed the speakerphone button. “Hi Christie.”
“Hi Luc. How are the kids doing?”
“Everything is going great. What’s up with you?”
“Things are starting to move pretty fast. Tomorrow, Northern Energies will have a helicopter waiting for us in Manatuk. Philip wants to do a preliminary survey of the area where he thinks the ore is located. We’ll be flying up to Fairbanks and then on to Manatuk first thing tomorrow morning.”
“So soon?” Luc asked.
“Philip and Jim are anxious to get a jump on this.”
Luc’s mind began to race. Things were moving way faster than he thought they should.
“I’m not sure the village elders are ready to talk about a deal yet. I haven’t even had a chance to approach them with the information.”
“It’s just an exploratory trip. Nobody’s going to be trying to finalize any deals. It’s all set up, Luc. Philip just got off the phone with Roland.”
“I guess it’s a little late to call it off now,” he said.
“It is. We’ll be flying up in one of Northern Energies corporate jets. I’ve arranged for the pilot to stop over in Fairbanks on the way to Manatuk. I was wondering if you could bring the kids out to the airport, so I could see them before we continue on to the village?”
Stuart yelled, “Mom, are you going up in a helicopter? Can me and Kelly come? We’ve never been in a helicopter before.”
“I’m not sure there’ll be enough room, Stuart. When we get there, we’ll know more,” Christie said.
“Please Dad, please can we go? We’ve never been in a helicopter. We want to see what it’s like,” Stuart said.
“I want to go, too. I miss Mommy,” Kelly said.
“Actually Christie, that’s not a very safe area,” Luc said.
“If they came, I’d make sure they stayed in the helicopter with the pilot.”
Luc felt his disappointment growing.
“I was planning on taking the kids out for a hike tomorrow and showing them some of my favorite places.” He immediately realized that what he’d just said must have sounded pretty boring to the kids, compared to flying in a helicopter. Once again, Christie was winning.
Kelly began to cry, “I want to go up in the helicopter with Mommy. I miss her.”
Luc realized this wasn’t a battle he could win, and after all, the kids were there to have a good time. He certainly didn’t want to ruin it for them.
“If there’s room, and it’s okay with the pilot, I guess it would be okay with me,” he said.
“Yippee,” cried Kelly.
“Cool. Thanks, Dad,” Stuart said.
“Do you think you could fly into the airport in Auburn instead of Fairbanks? It’s very close, and it’s the one Kate flies out of. It’s a lot closer to my place and more convenient, too.”
“Actually, we can fly anywhere we want. Roland has given us carte blanche with the aircraft.”
“That’s great.”
“When we get back in the evening, maybe I could join yo
u and the children for dinner and tell you what we found during the survey. I’m sure Philip will be busy analyzing his photos and samples.”
Luc found the thought of having dinner with Christie dangerously exciting. He shouldn’t do it, but he knew he couldn’t turn it down either. “That sounds great, Christie, I’m sure the kids would love it.” And me, too, he thought.
“We’ll see you at the airport then around one. Bye, kids, I love you,” she said and hung up.
Chapter 17
Victor sat at the small table in the motel room and finished soldering the last component onto the small explosive device. He preferred that people not know he had a master’s degree in electrical engineering and had received explosives training in the military. The less people knew about him, the easier it was to keep them off-balance and guessing when necessary.
After the military, he had spent time working as a mercenary for several governments and had greatly expanded his knowledge of improvised explosives and various aircraft layouts. He had committed to memory the design and schematics for this type of detonator.
A knock on the door made him jump, even though he hadn’t yet connected the blasting cap or the small amount of plastic explosives he would eventually mold around it.
He pulled the curtain aside and looked out. The afternoon had turned bright and blustery. He saw Serena waiting at the door, her hair blowing in the wind. He gathered up the things on the table and put them in a small box, set them aside, and opened the door to let her in.
He opened the curtains wide filling the room with light as they sat down at the table.
“There’s something about Luc Moon that doesn’t add up,” he said in a suspicious tone as he gazed out the motel window.
“According to Roland, he’s just an outdoorsy kinda guy who works on a search and rescue team. What else is there to know?” Serena said.
“I’d swear I’ve seen him before, sometime in the past. That’s all I can say. You know how I am, I don’t like any unanswered questions about someone before I terminate them. In this kind of business, not knowing your prey can be fatal.”