D. MacHale - The Never War

I looked up at the chute again and saw Jinx’s plane flying on toward the airfield. I also caught another glimpse of theHindenburg. A cloud parted and the giant, silver nose poked its way out. I knew from the history lesson we got on Third Earth that the zeppelin was circling the airfield, waiting for the weather to clear so it could land. Man, that thing was huge! Jinx’s plane looked like an ant next to a football. It was awesome. The scary thing was, I was on a mission to make sure it would crash and burn. Worse, if I were successful, thirty-six people would die. This was about as horrible a situation as I could imagine. The only way I could keep going was to bring back the images of the horror that would follow if theHindenburgdidn’t crash. I had to look away from the zeppelin.

The ground was coming up fast. The key was to straighten up and relax. If all went well, landing was pretty much the same as jumping off a three-foot ladder. If alldidn’tgo well, I’d break both my legs and the show would be over. I grabbed the shroud lines, kept my head down, straightened my body perpendicular to the ground, and bent my knees. Soft knees…soft knees…that was my mantra. Soft knees absorbed the shock. Stiff knees didn’t. I hit the ground with both feet and rolled. It wasn’t the most graceful landing, but nothing broke. That’s a win in my book.

But I wasn’t out of danger yet. The parachute then became my enemy. If a gust of wind filled it while I was still attached, it would easily drag me along on an uncontrollable bumpfest. But instinct took over and I quickly released the buckles that held me in the harness. At that exact moment, the wind did kick up. The parachute snapped open as it filled with air and the harness was ripped off my body. If I had waited a second more, I would have been yanked along, out of control. Now the parachute simply flew away from me. I didn’t bother chasing after it. I stood and watched it fly away like a giant jellyfish with its tendrils dragging behind. I would owe the U.S. Coast Guard a new parachute.

What a rush! I had leaped out of a plane at three thousand feet and lived to tell the tale. But the truth was, it didn’t matter. This wasn’t about the jump. This was about getting to Spader. I had to force myself to get my head back together and plan my next move.

I was standing on a lonely road in the middle of nowhere. There was scrubby grass on either side of the road, broken up by a few lonely trees. It was probably farmland for grazing cows. Now what?

I then heard a sound. I didn’t know what it was at first, because for the past few hours I had been hearing nothing but the roar of Jinx’s engine and the shrill whistle of wind. This new sound was loud, harsh, and getting louder. Whatever it was, it was coming closer. I looked one way up the road and saw nothing. I turned around and saw it.

It was a silver bus, blowing its horn, headed my way. Yes! Jinx had put me exactly where I needed to be. Suddenly my insane jump from the airplane didn’t seem so crazy. I had gotten ahead of Spader and we’d soon be back together.

I started waving my arms like crazy. Either this bus was going to stop, or splat me like a bug on a windshield. The sound of gushing air told me that the bus driver was putting on the brakes. I guess he didn’t want to scrape me off his windshield. So far so good. The bus rolled to a stop in front of me and I ran to the door as it opened.

“Howdy, Lindbergh,” the driver said. “Lose your aeroplane?”

Lindbergh? Aeroplane? Oh, right. I was still wearing the leather flight cap and goggles. What a doofus. I quickly pulled them off and asked, “Okay if I ride to the next stop?”

“Sure enough, Wilbur,” he said. “Welcome aboard.”

I climbed onto the bus as the driver closed the door behind me. He hit the gas and we were under way. The bus was packed with people. My guess was that they were all coming down to see theHindenburgarrive. There was an excited vibe in the bus, like they were on an adventure. They were ready for the thrill of seeing the big airship.

I walked down the aisle, looking into every seat, expecting to find Spader. But when I reached the back of the bus, I hadn’t seen him. I turned back toward the front, double-checking each and every passenger. Could I have missed him? No way. But I got back to the front and still no Spader. It was time to get nervous again.

“Excuse me,” I said to the driver. “Did this bus come from New York City?”

“All the way,” he said.

“A friend of mine was supposed to be on this bus, but I don’t see him.”

“Who’s your friend?” he laughed. “Orville?”

Orville. Wilbur. Lindbergh. Ha ha, this guy was a real comedian.

“His name is Spader. He’s taller than I am and has black hair. His eyes are kind of Asian looking. Did he get on the bus in New York?”

“Look, Ace,” the driver said, “I don’t remember every Joe who rides my bus. Who do I look like? Sherlock Holmes?”

“No, but, this guy’s different looking,” I said, pressing the issue. This was 1937. I didn’t think there were many Asian-looking people riding New Jersey buses.

“Look,” he said impatiently, “if I saw him, I’d tell you. But I didn’t, so I can’t. All right?”

That was it. Spader wasn’t on the bus. But that didn’t make sense. If this was the bus from New York, then why wasn’t he on it? I fell down into an empty seat, beaten. My death dive from Jinx’s airplane was a waste of time and adrenaline. I had no idea what to do next. Worse, I was alone. Gunny was still flying through the storm. All I could do was ride to Lakehurst with the other tourists and figure out something once I got there. I glanced at my watch. It was 6:30. TheHindenburgwould arrive in less than an hour. Things were looking bleak.

A few minutes later the bus pulled into a gas station. The driver stopped at the pumps, then stood up and spoke to the passengers. “It’s another ten minutes to the airfield, folks,” he announced. “I need to gas up. It won’t take long, so don’t go wandering off.” The guy then left the bus to fill up.

This was torture. I needed to get to the airfield as soon as possible. Every minute was critical. But I didn’t know where I was going or how to get there, so I had to wait it out here with the tourists. I listened in to some of their conversations. They were all talking about theHindenburg. They chatted about how it was such an amazing ship and seeing it was like getting a glimpse into the future. Man, this was freaky. If they had any idea of how horrible that future was going to be, they wouldn’t be so happy.

I couldn’t stand hearing this anymore, so I tuned out. That’s when I glanced out the window and saw something that made me sit bolt upright in surprise.

A black car was on the other side of the pumps from the bus. Sitting in the driver’s seat was the goon who worked security for Max Rose! He was the guy who kept grabbing Spader and me in the kitchen of the hotel and bringing us upstairs.

Then, walking out of the gas station, I saw Max Rose himself. I couldn’t believe it. These were the guys I was chasing and here they were, right in front of me! I was back in business. I jumped up and ran out of the bus, nearly knocking over the driver who was trying to get back on.

“Mr. Rose!” I shouted. Max looked up, but didn’t break out in his usual confident smile. No, he was on his own mission now. He had to stop Winn Farrow from blowing up his criminal empire.

“Buck! I was wondering where you were,” he said. “Flash didn’t think you’d make it.”

Flash? That meant Spader. But when did he talk to Spader?

“Hobey-ho, Pendragon,” came a familiar voice.

I spun around to see Spader climbing out of the backseat of the gangster’s car! That’s why he wasn’t on the bus. He had hitched a ride with Max Rose.