Eye of the Storm (7 page)

From the heavy bag of equipment, Newton pulled out four harnesses and tossed them to Sherri. She quickly sorted them into size order and showed Sam how to buckle himself into his. Meanwhile,
Newton attached a rubbing strip to the edge of the building and then, with a device that looked like an oversized drill, he made easy work of slicing four small holes into the rooftop in a precise
line, each about a metre apart. The machine made a barely audible hiss as it cut through the dense surface material of the building, leaving Sam wondering how on earth it worked.

Next out of the bag came what looked like four small plastic wheel cases. Newton studied each one before placing it next to one of the holes he had made. Then, using his curved claw, he hooked
something from inside the first case and forced it down into the hole he’d made for it. There was a soft, satisfying
clunk
as it locked into place. One by one, he did the same with the
others before beckoning Sherri forward. She checked his work and nodded to him.

Newton pointed at Sherri and then at the first case. Again, she nodded. Bending down, she picked it up and attached it to her harness with what looked like a classic carabiner clip – a
metal loop with a sprung gate that rock climbers and abseilers used. She signalled Sam forward to the second case.

‘Now remember what I said earlier,’ she warned softly, connecting Sam to his case. ‘This first switch setting on the casing will allow the inertia reel to lower you down to the
right height. If you mess with it and click it too far, you’ll simply descend all the way to the ground and you’ll be of no use to us at all. It won’t pull you back up if you go
past. Only click it to the second setting as you swing through the open panel into his room.’

‘Got it.’

‘OK, here goes. Good luck, Sam.’

‘You too.’

Sam watched as she twisted the lever on the side of the casing until it clicked once. Nipper and Newton were still getting into their harnesses as Sherri took two paces and leapt off the top of
the building. There was a fizzing noise not unlike the sound of the runner across the zip wire earlier and Sherri dropped from view.

If Sherri can do it, so can I,
Sam thought.
I’ve got to have faith in myself.

Stomach churning, he stepped to the edge and looked down. He could just make out Sherri some distance below. She seemed stable against the side of the building. It was a long way to the ground.
Don’t think about it, just do it!
he told himself. Taking a deep breath, he stepped out into space, and his entire body tensed as he began to fall. The fizzing whizz of the cable
escaping its encased drum peaked for no more than a couple of seconds before he felt the deceleration effect of the drum.

Sam’s eyes snapped open as his right shoulder thumped into the side of the building. He pushed away awkwardly and his body spun a full 360 degrees before he impacted the surface again.
This time he was ready. Hands and feet spread and poised, he cushioned the second touch, bouncing lightly away and down. Another touch and he was stable to the right of Sherri. She grinned at him,
eyes sparkling with excitement.

There was another whine, followed rapidly by yet another. Sam looked up to see the two raptors descending towards them, Newton on the far left and Nipper to his right. Both dropped fast, looking
awkward and unbalanced as they came. Nipper, who was clutching the drill-like tool that Newton had used to slice holes into the roof, stabilised about two metres below Sam and Sherri. Newton bared
his teeth as he came to rest parallel to Sherri and gave several angry-sounding clicks. He pointed at a panel to his right, but Nipper was too low to reach it.

‘I think Newton forgot to account for the weight of the equipment when he set the tensioners,’ Sherri whispered. ‘He’s not happy.’

‘So what happens now?’

Before Sherri had a chance to reply, Nipper provided the answer. Transferring the full weight of the heavy cutting tool to his right hand, he grabbed the rope with his left and hauled himself
up. The tension in the rope had not been far wrong, so Nipper did not have to bear much weight. However, while the manoeuvring didn’t tax the raptor’s prodigious strength, the result of
Newton’s slight miscalculation made the next few moments difficult. Wielding the cutter with one arm looked all but impossible, but Sherri sidestepped and helped stabilise it from
Nipper’s right, while Newton directed where to cut from his left and between the three of them, making no more than a barely audible hiss, they made short work of cutting the entire
door-sized panel away from the side of the building.

As the panel came fully loose, Sam and Sherri were waiting. They lifted it away from the surface without a sound and held it steady while Newton repositioned himself to take it from them. As he
took the weight, Sherri leaned across and clicked his inertia reel through to the second setting. He dropped away, holding the panel, inertia reel fizzing as he went. Nipper let go of his rope and
dipped below the level of the hole, while Sherri kicked away from the wall and swung on her rope in an arc that took her in through the opening. As she crossed the threshold, Sam heard the click as
she switched the lever on her drum to its second setting. He watched as she landed lightly and vanished inside.

Sam did his best to copy Sherri’s example, but it was not as easy as she made it look. Fingers ready on the inertia reel switch, he pushed away from the wall and swung in an arc towards
the opening. However, rather than swinging in cleanly as Sherri had, his left shoulder brushed the side as he entered and he spun through 180 degrees. In a panic, he clicked the switch through to
the second setting, but he did so a second later than was ideal. He had already started to swing back outwards as he dropped, meaning he was right on the lip of the freshly cut hole. Arms
windmilling in an effort to regain his balance, he teetered on the brink of the dizzying drop outside.

Just as he was convinced he was going to fall, Sherri’s hand grabbed the back of his shirt and dragged him back into the room. Regaining his balance, he turned, scanning the dark room for
David Earhart. The bed was empty. His heart sank as he completed the visual sweep. This was definitely a human’s living space, but there was no sign of anyone.

‘Where is he?’ he whispered.

‘Good question,’ Sherri muttered back. ‘According to our information, this should be his room, but it looks like acquiring David is going to be a bit tougher than we bargained
for.’

As soon as she saw the flashing lights of the police checkpoint ahead, Niamh felt dark, overwhelming panic rise inside. She would be caught again.

Tony’s aunt, Jo-Ann, was a petite woman in her thirties with an eye for clothes that made her look younger and Niamh had been able to borrow a fresh set of clothing. She had also tied up
her hair into a high ponytail, but the realisation that this was not going to be enough of a disguise had come too late. A policeman was flagging down the car. What could she do? Tony took hold of
her hand and squeezed it. She flicked a glance at him and then it struck her. She knew what she had to do.

‘Just go with me here,’ she whispered.

His aunt slowed the car and wound down her window as they approached the checkpoint. As she did, Niamh put a hand behind Tony’s head and pulled him towards her. For an instant, he
stiffened with shock, but he got the idea pretty quickly as she pressed her lips against his in a long, passionate kiss, drawing his head round in front of hers. Tony’s arms found their way
round her torso and he leaned right across her, settling into a comfortable position and blocking any view the policeman might get of her. To her delight, Tony was a good kisser and she realised
that as deceptions went, this was by far the most pleasurable one she had ever tried. Relaxing, she began to move her lips against his.

‘Evenin,’ Officer. What’s up?’ Jo-Ann asked.

‘We’re lookin’ for a runaway English girl,’ he replied. ‘You may have heard about her on the news.’

Jo-Ann paused for just an instant before answering. Niamh’s heart was beating like crazy. Would Jo-Ann say anything about her being English? If she did, the game would certainly be up.

‘Can’t say I’ve heard anythin’ and I can’t help you, I’m afraid,’ Niamh heard her say. ‘Just runnin’ these two kids back to my
sister’s in Big Pine. Not seen any strangers today.’

The policeman played the light from his torch over them through the window. It didn’t stay on them for more than a second or two. ‘Sorry to keep you then,’ he announced
suddenly. ‘Have a good evenin’.’

The car began to move, but they continued the kiss until they were well beyond the roadblock. Niamh’s heart was pounding – partly from the excitement of her narrow escape, but more
as a result of the intimacy with Tony. Finally, he pulled away.

‘That was unexpected,’ he whispered.

‘Hmm. Sorry about that,’ she replied.

‘Don’t be. It was a good idea.’

‘And it was nice,’ she added softly, glad that the darkness in the back of the car was hiding the heat burning in her cheeks.

‘It was, wasn’t it?’ He sounded pleased.

‘So what’s the game, you two?’ Jo-Ann asked over her shoulder. ‘You got cosy rather suddenly back there. And don’t think I can’t hear you whispering. Do you
know anythin’ about this missing girl?’

‘Us?’ Tony exclaimed, sounding for all the world as if he was shocked that she could ask such a thing. ‘We’re just gettin’ to know one another, that’s all.
Why would we know anythin’ about a missing girl?’

‘I don’t know,’ she said, a note of suspicion still clear in her voice. ‘It’s just that . . . oh, never mind.’

Niamh wanted to tell Tony not to get too cocky, or to go thinking that her kissing him meant that he could now kiss her whenever he felt like it, but neither comment found its way from her
mouth. Her left arm was still behind his back and his right was still draped round her shoulders. Both felt more than good. She leaned her head against his shoulder and looked through the gap
between the front seats at the road ahead. It was quiet, rush hour having finished some time ago. They had passed one checkpoint, but there would be others if she was to try to leave the Keys
again, and she could hardly take Tony with her all the way to Miami and kiss him at every road block.

As nice as that might be,
she mused, half considering the idea. The chance of it working was minimal. They had been lucky this evening. The fact that Jo-Ann had been driving them had
probably swung it. If they had been on a bus, the policeman would almost certainly have questioned them and there was no disguising Niamh’s English accent. The moment the police heard her
speak, she would be detained for sure.

Jo-Ann had been lovely from the moment Tony led Niamh into her house and introduced her as his foreign exchange friend, Tamsyn Rodgers. Sticking with her story about falling off her bike, which
was consistent with her injuries, had seemed best. Jo-Ann didn’t question it, and had been most sympathetic and gentle when cleaning up her cuts and scrapes, applying suitable dressings with
a practised hand. They had sat chatting for over an hour before Jo-Ann had suggested they stay for a meal and offered to drive them back afterwards to save walking to the bus stop. Niamh was
grateful for Jo-Ann’s kindness, but knew she could ask no more of her. If she was going to get away from the Keys altogether, she would need to find a more convincing disguise and possibly
another mode of transport.

There had been no chance to do more than give Tony the barest account of her adventures since leaving on the bus early that afternoon. As they pulled into the Dales’ driveway, Niamh
wondered what she would do now. There was another car in the drive, which meant one of Tony and Carrie’s parents was home.

‘Don’t worry,’ Tony whispered, as if reading her mind. ‘It’s all sorted. You’ll see.’

Niamh climbed out of the car and clasped her hands together, uncertain of what to do next. Tony was quick to walk round to her, arriving just as the front door opened. There was no mistaking the
lady there for anyone other than Carrie and Tony’s mother. She looked just like a mature version of Carrie.

‘Jo-Ann! How lovely to see you! Thanks for bringin’ Tony home,’ she enthused.

‘You’re welcome, Lara. It gave me an excuse to stop by.’

‘Come in then, come in. And you must be Tamsyn – welcome. Carrie was just tellin’ me about you and asking if you could stay over for a few days while your parents are away.
There’s no problem with that at all. We’d be delighted to have you stay.’

‘See?’ Tony’s hand in the small of Niamh’s back propelled her gently forward.

‘Thanks, Mrs Dale,’ she replied. ‘That’s very kind.’

‘Please call me Lara, Tamsyn. Mrs Dale makes me sound like my mother-in-law!’

Niamh was ushered inside where Carrie was waiting to give her a welcoming hug. While Lara and Jo-Ann headed for the kitchen area to make coffee, Carrie, Niamh and Tony slipped away into
Carrie’s room and closed the door behind them.

‘So what happened?’ Carrie asked in a rush. ‘I was amazed when Tony texted me to say that he was bringin’ you home. I watched you get on the bus to Miami this afternoon.
How did you end up in Key West?’