Alan Cook - Run into Trouble

“It’s days like this that separate the winners from the also-rans. If we can pick the best route, we may be able to gain some time on the others.”

“If…at the moment it appears that everyone else is copying us.”

Or vice versa. One of the maps Drake had gotten his hands on was a topographical map that indicated altitude changes. He motioned for Melody to slow down a little and let the other runners pass them. He had the topo map in his hand, folded to show this stretch of the road.

“The road switches back on itself and passes quite close to here at a higher altitude. There appears to be a path connecting the two sections. If we can find it and follow it without killing ourselves in the process, we may be able to cut off quite a bit of distance.”

Several minutes later, the two plunged off the paved road onto a dirt path of dubious parentage. They ran on the hard, dry clay, trying to avoid ruts and fissures, between sections of dense and prickly brush that they didn’t want to have to bushwhack through. After a few anxious minutes, during which the steepness of the terrain made them wonder whether they were headed in the right direction, they came upon the other section of the paved road.

They turned onto it, thankful for the firmness of the asphalt and the knowledge that they knew where they were and took a quick glance to the right before they ran to the left.

Melody said, “I don’t see anyone.”

“Since we didn’t spend that much time on the shortcut, I think we can safely assume that we’ve taken the lead.”

They still had the lead when they passed Diablo Canyon where the nuclear power plant was under construction. They ran across a cow pasture to connect with a road that went through Montana de Oro State Park.

Melody watched the placid animals watch them and tried to look for cow pies at the same time. “We’ve seen seals, birds, crabs, and cows today. I’m assuming that all but the cows are native to this area.”

Drake laughed. “It’s not the cows you have to worry about, it’s the bulls. Although I suspect you won’t find a bull in the same pasture with cows.” He shifted his gaze to the blue water beyond the cliff. “If I’m not mistaken, that rock is called Lion Rock.”

Melody looked at the large rock that did indeed resemble a lion.

“What’s that in the water next to it?”

“It’s a boat of some sort.”

They detoured closer to the cliff but kept running. Something didn’t look right to Drake.

“That’s a bad place for a boat. It appears to be a very rocky area.”

“The way it’s tilted, I suspect it’s come upon hard times. It’s a strange looking boat. I’ve never seen a boat that looked like that.”

“It looks like a small submarine.”

Drake flashed back to the day on the beach at Malibu. He vaguely remembered seeing a shape in the water that rapidly disappeared after the shells were fired. At least he thought he had seen a shape. Maybe it was his imagination filling in details. The Navy and Coast Guard still hadn’t found anything. This place was remote enough that there was a good chance nobody else had spotted the boat if it hadn’t been there long. “I’m going to report this to Blade.” “Maybe there’s a pay phone in the park.”

“I’m not in any hurry to start World War Three. Let’s wait until we finish the run. Especially since we’ve got an excellent chance of gaining on everybody.”

Melody looked behind them. The closest runners were specks in the distance. “Anything you say, guv.”

She had seen enough violence in her life to echo Drake’s sentiment. She hoped that the boat would not turn out to be sinister. They angled over to the park road and continued their fast pace, determined to put more distance between themselves and the other runners.

Drake and Melody ate dinner in a Cayucos restaurant with several of the other runners. Nobody mentioned seeing the boat at Lion Rock, so the two didn’t bring it up. Either the others didn’t go close enough to the cliff to see it, or they didn’t think it remarkable. Regardless, Drake and Melody didn’t want to be the ones to start rumors.

They had moved into fifth place during the day’s run. Although they had gained on the two leading teams, they were still far behind them in elapsed time.

Tom invited the two to join a card game in one of the rooms of the motel. Melody, who had lost her roommate and needed to take her mind off Grace, said she would sit in for a while. Drake was still following his nightly routine of bathing, stretching, and going to bed early. He excused himself.

The message light on Drake’s telephone was flashing when he returned to his room. The message was to call a number collect. No name. Drake recognized the number as one belonging to Blade. He had talked to Blade earlier. Blade must be working late. Drake placed the call. Blade answered, repeating the number. The operator asked him if he would accept the charge from Oliver Drake.

Blade said, “Yes, ma’am.”

The operator said, “Go ahead,” and clicked off the line.

“Well, you old son of a bitch, you may be on to something.”

“Always glad to be of service to my country.”

“We haven’t yet landed personnel on the objective, but we’ve got choppers doing flyovers and taking pictures. It looks like the real thing.”

Blade was taking precautions in case somebody was listening in, so it must be important. How important, Drake wondered? “Is this going to start the big one?”

“Too soon to tell. Curious things going on. This place is remote, but not that remote. We think that it’s only been there a short time, probably since last night.”

“It was abandoned and drifted onto the rocks?”

“Unlikely, considering its location. Also, strange coincidence. You were present at the original incident. Now you’re the one who makes this discovery.”

“The other runners were present in Malibu. And any one of them could have made this discovery.”

“True. But you’ve all got the same employer. I’m sending Slick up there. He’ll meet you tomorrow.”

“Not during the run. We can’t afford to stop.”

“You’re really into this thing, aren’t you? I fear for your energetic lifestyle. When I get the urge to exercise, I lie down until it passes. All right, Slick will meet you tomorrow evening.”

“I’m not sure where we’re going to stay-”

“Don’t worry your pretty head about that. I think we can probably find you. Don’t underestimate us.”

“I’d never do that.”

Today’s run goes from Cayucos to San Simeon (Hearst Castle) by way of Cambria, a lovely tourist trap. If you’re up to it, we’ll take a tour of Hearst Castle this afternoon. Stay on Route 1 the whole way, but be very careful. In some places there isn’t any shoulder. Run single file on the left side of the road along the narrow stretches and keep a sharp eye out for cars. The good news is that the road is fairly flat. The altitude never gets much above 200 feet. Because it’s Saturday, there will be weekend traffic.

What they didn’t expect to see were hitchhiking hippies, off to commune with nature in the Big Sur where their troubles would vanish in a puff of smoke. The girls, ranging from twenty-something to teenage, wore long hair and long skirts with loose blouses covering bare skin and lugged bedrolls or backpacks. The boys had equally long hair, and except for their dress, it was sometimes difficult to tell one sex from the other from behind.

Most were headed north; they stationed themselves on the right side of the road, trying to grab rides with weekenders who had carloads of children. When a Volkswagen camper with flowers painted on the sides that wasn’t already packed came along, it was like manna from heaven to them.