Kaze looks around for cover--and to size up the terrain.
Janet cancels the connection on her ring. She feels uneasy that the impostor was looking at her when he spoke his last commends, but decides to talk it over with the others once they knew what this airship was about. In the mean time, she joins Kaze in looking for a hiding place, and encouraged the others to do the same.
There are many hiding places in the ruined forest, and many pools of shadow under fallen trees. Anyone who does not want to be seen won't be.
Voinovich spies the airship first, and points silently.
The ship is a two-engine framework job, with engines and gondola outside the gas envelope. The engines are huge, boomed well away from the hull to clear their massive propellers. Although not suited for heavy weather, this airship is fast and highly manueverable. A short-distance delivery or stunt ship, then. Airship enthusiasts (or veterans, like Belle) recognize it as a Curtis GeeBee. Six seats, 150 mph, 1000 mile range with full fuel tanks. It doesn't sail well without fuel.
The ship circles. Everyone's rings tingle again.
Kaze raises one delicate eyebrow.
Then she finds cover and answers the ring's summons.
Sky to Voinovich: "I lay you better than even money that we make that two thousand miles in time, and that Browning had it all laid out, clean as a whistle. What do you say, two cee notes at three-to-five?"
He is pulling out his roll of twenties when the airship motors are heard overhead. He looks up, frowns, then shrugs and smiles a rueful smile and puts the roll away. "Never mind. It was a sucker bet anyway."
Kaze's ring forms a blurry pattern; she hasn't mastered the scrying spell yet.
"Your connection awful," says a crop-haired fellow with thick glasses, really more like goggles. "Wait one."
He does his own scrying spell in the air, and the connection clears. Kaze can see four more faces gathered around.
"That's better," says the goggled man. "I'm Van Cortlandt, from New York. I've got four with me, plus our pilot, Mr. Kent. Victoria's Massive, Tojiro's a Brute, Angie's a Cog, and Lauren's the best Torch you'd ever want on your side. You've got fire below - can we put it out so we can land, or do you need the fire for some reason? If that's the case, we can drop ropes and haul you aboard, but if anyone's wounded, that's going to be painful."
"Oh, and before we set down, someone show himself. I don't have any idea where you are."
She looks at her comrades. The Western ones.
ReplyDelete"That is how Americans speak, is it not?"
(One correction: Sky did not take cover. He assumed from the first that the airship was friendly, so he is not hiding. He is, however, smoking.)
ReplyDeleteVan Cortlandt: "Okay, I see a guy in a white hat smoking a cigarette. Is that you?"
ReplyDeleteSky says, "What do you want to bet it's me? I'll give you five to three it's not."
DeleteWhen Voinovich nods at Kaze, she says, "Indeed, that is Mr. Masterson."
ReplyDelete"The fire was their doing so it is advisable to extinguish it.\
"Moments ago, we received a call, probably from their leader on Mr. Richter's ring, pretending to be Mr. Browning. He ordered us to San Francisco to assist in its defense against a major attack. I do not know if he has contacted other groups"
"It is likely they are at a training school. We know the location."
She adds:
"In addition to our original number, we have another. Saburo. A thorn. He fights with us."
Van Cortlandt: "Wait, WHAT happened in San Francisco? And who has one of our ... you know what? Never mind. We'll answer everything face to face, when we're sure we're really us."
ReplyDeleteThe fire dissolves as though by magic.
The Gee Bee turns sideways and starts drifting down to land. It seems to take forever.
Van Cortlandt says: "Air temp's dropping. We don't want to crunch this ship into the deck. Can you compensate?"
Voinovich: "That's me. I'm keeping my wound cold to control it. I can stop, if that's absolutely necessary."
Sky: "Wait, WHAT? Browning was not a fake! He relieved me of command! If he's a fake, then I'm in charge, and if I'm in charge, I officially say he is not a fake!
ReplyDelete"Um. Uh --what first tipped us off to the idear that he was a fake? Anyone? Casey? Kay Zee? How do you say your name again?"
"Kah-zhe, Mr. Masterson."
ReplyDelete"As to how we know the person to whom we spoke was simply masquerading as Mr. Browning:
"His syntax was in the manner of someone who was not well-versed in English. The sentence structure was much more reminiscent of that of our own Japanese language. Most have not or are not given the attention to detail in the study of Western languages."
"His use of honorifics, too, showed a distinct awkwardness."
"His attempt to get us to divulge information--and, unless I am mistaken, the mobile base stratagem is not one that the Knights of San Francisco employ. Very clever to get him to show his hand that way.
"He did not know Janet's proper name. He was unfamiliar with the colloquialism, 'Missy.'"
"He did, however, know Saburo's name."
"And, finally, when I gave him a bow of courtesy, he returned it, although he tried to prevent himself from doing so."
Voinovich smiles.
ReplyDelete"But apart from all that, it's mere guesswork," he says. "But if he can speak through your rings, he might be able to find you through your rings. If we head straight for St. Louis, he will know it."
"Might I suggest the rings be sent off in another direction, or left here?"