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Chapter 6: Friday Morning (cont)
Charlotte
threw herself out of the door of the airship with a yell and extended her hands
out to her sides. She felt a gentle tug on her shoulders as the wingsuit
harness pulled her body upward under the
lift of the wings. She could see the train in the distance, emerging from a
mountain valley. The locomotive looked brand new, the morning sun gleaming off
the polished chrome of the giant, streamlined engine. It was moving faster than
any train she’d seen.
She tested
her control of the wingsuit. Tilting to the left and giving a twitch of the
feet, she swooped to the left. Back to the right and she swooped back. Her
adrenaline began to kick in as she felt how responsive the suit was. She tilted
the wings back and pointed her head down, feeling the rush of acceleration as
she sped toward the railroad tracks below.
“WOOO
HOOO!!!” she shouted inside her helmet. Nobody would be able to hear her, but
she couldn’t resist a yell. This felt amazing.
She was
now parallel to the track and speeding downward. Easing her body upward, she
leveled out and continued to glide. She felt the rocket ignition button under
her left thumb. Here goes nothing. She pressed the ignition and heard nothing.
A bum rocket? For Pete’s sake! Now what? She pressed the ignition two more
times, still nothing. What would she do in a race?
She
remembered that she had a few of Kostas’s tools on her belt. One of them was a
cutting torch. She locked the left wing into the full forward glide position
and grabbed the cutting torch from her belt. She clicked the piezo and the
torch blazed to life. It was an awkward position, but she was able to reach her
arm back far enough to clear the rocket. She pulled the throttle with her right
thumb and heard the rocket release fuel into the combustion chamber. The fuel
caught on the torch flame and the rocket sprung to life.
Instantly
she was accelerated forward. She felt the acceleration pushing on her body. She
watched the world spinning around her and realized that she was in a barrel
roll. The rocket thrust was not as forgiving as the gliding had been. She tried
to pull her left arm forward, but was struggling against the acceleration. She
dropped the torch and pulled as hard as she could on her arm. She released the
throttle and unclicked her heels, doing everything she could to slow down
without stalling the rocket.
She
finally pulled her left arm into the wing, and felt herself stabilize in the
face-down position. Satisfied, and full of adrenaline, she clicked her heels
together again and pressed the throttle fully. She was thrown forward faster
than she’d ever been before. When she piloted an airbike, it was always
hampered by the balloon’s drag. This suit was streamlined and aerodynamic. She
sliced through the air unlike anything she’d felt before. She got her bearings
and saw the train below about 500 feet and overtaking her.
She pushed
the wings backward and dove, full throttle toward the train. The suit felt like
it was at its limits. She felt like she was going 120 or more. She’d never gone
this fast on an airbike. She positioned herself over the train and slowed down
to match its speed. Slowly, she lowered herself until she was only a few feet
over the top of the train. The armored car was the last car on the train, and
she lowered herself into position at the back of the car.
She
carefully locked the suit’s wings and slowly moved her right arm out of the
wing. Carefully, she grabbed a railing on the roof of the car. There was a
carabiner on her wrist that she clipped to the rail. She cut off the rocket and
pulled her left arm out of the wing. Tucking the wings back into the suit, she
pulled herself onto the top of the car. She unhooked the cable from her
shoulders and clipped it onto the railing. She gave a wave up to the airship
where she knew someone was watching through the spyglass.
***
“She’s in
position.” Phineas shouted, watching through the spyglass.
“Hang on
to something.” Dr. Montebanque warned the others.
They all
grabbed onto a rail or chair, and Dr. Montebanque slowly applied the brake to
the winch. As the cable slowed its unraveling, the airship suddenly
accelerated. The crew were thrown from their positions, hand-holds being
useless against the rapid acceleration.
“I told
you to hang on.” Dr. Montebanque shouted. He flipped a switch and began turning
the giant wheel of his power winch. Higgs and Phineas both gave him a hand
reeling the winch with the assistance of a massive spring. The ship was now
keeping pace with the train, moving much faster than it was ever designed for.
The crew could hear the balloon tugging at its struts and stays, fighting the
resistance of the wind against the massive object. Higgs was waiting for the
balloon to give way and feel the entire ship plummeting toward the earth and
certain death. But that feeling never came.
The ship
was still a few thousand feet away from the train, rapidly making up that
distance. Kostas grabbed his backpack, preparing for his job. He wrapped a
towel around the back of his neck, and tucked the other ends into his vest. “No
time to spare.” Kostas shouted to the others. He grabbed a hook-shaped tool of
some sort from his bag and walked to the airship door. Edging himself out onto
the runners of the ship, he worked his way around to where the power winch
cable exited the craft. He looped a length of rope around the hook and fastened
it to his wrist. He hooked the cable and jumped.
“OPAAAAA!”
He shouted as he zipped down the cable toward the train car. The wind rushed
past his face, and sent his hair flying behind him in the breeze. When he got
close to the train, he turned his body so that the hook rubbed harder against
the cable, creating friction. Sparks flew from the cable and he felt himself
slow down. He released one hand and pulled the towel from around his neck. He
wrapped that towel around the cable and held on tight, slowing himself down
more. The train was approaching quickly. He turned his feet toward the train,
and allowed them to take the brunt of the impact.
When
Charlotte saw him collide with the train car, she shouted, “You’re crazy, man!”
“Is not crazy,
at least I was attached to cable. You flew like bird.” The two embraced briefly
and Kostas went to work to break into the car.
“I had to
drop the torch.” Charlotte shouted, her voice barely heard over the rushing
wind.
“Is okay.
There is always more than one way in.” Kostas replied. He wrapped a strap
around his shoulders and chest and clipped it to the train to keep himself
stable. He looked through his bag to find the tools he needed.
The train
car was built from two-inch steel. The doors were reinforced and locked with
several double-keyed locks. They were difficult, but not impossible to pick.
There were no windows on the car, and seemingly no weak points. Kostas decided
that the rear door was his best option. He worked his way off the roof and onto
the back ledge of the train. He looked up toward the airship, which was getting
closer by the second. The rails below rushed by at a dizzying speed.
He began
to pick the first of a series of locks. It was a model he hadn’t worked with
before. He pulled his autopick out of his bag. It was a slim device that would
simulate a key. Once in place, the autopick moved the lock’s pins in sequence
until it found the right combination that would turn the lock. He began to dial
the clockwork gears that adjusted the pins. It was taking too long. He wouldn’t
have the door open by the time they arrived in the city.
Drastic
times call for drastic measures. He pulled a flask of gunpowder from his bag,
and loaded it into a tiny bellows device. Inserting that into the first lock,
he pumped the small blower, filling the lock with gunpowder. He did the same
with the three other lock cores. Stepping to the side, he proceeded to smash
each lock with an exploding cap. Each one resulted in a loud explosion.
He looked
into each lock. They were all hollowed out and he could see through into the
car. A final lock was still engaged, controlled from the inside by a wheel.
From the outside, the wheel could be turned only by the simultaneous turning of
all four of the keyed locks. Since he’d blown those locks, he wouldn’t be able
to turn the mechanism. He pulled a series of slim rods out of his bag and
clipped them together one by one.
He stuck a
slim mirror through one of the holes and fished the other series of rods
through another hole. He could hear the airship approaching. It would only be
another minute. He wanted to have the door open by the time they were here. He
gave the rod a twist, and a joint bent itself toward the wheel. He worked a
dial at the base of the rod and a small grasping device emerged from the tip of
the rod. He maneuvered it into place on the wheel, and began to turn the wheel
with the rod. After one full turn, he heard the door click open. He pulled out
the rod and stuffed it back into his bag.
Kostas
opened the door and saw the most incredible thing he’d ever set eyes on.
Part 22 >
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