Touch the Sky (Young Underground #8) (10 page)

             
“
Contact! Stand away!
”
Matthias shouted, and the roar of the engine coming to life turned the rest of their conversation into sign language.

             
Elise knew what to do when Matthias pointed at the two ropes that held the airplane in place. Peter studied the blur of the spinning propeller and waved without turning to the side, afraid his parents would see his worried expression and stop the plane.

             
“
I know what you
’
re thinking,
”
boomed Matthias, and Peter leaned over next to him to hear.
“
And I promise you, we
’
re not going to be doing any acrobatics. You don
’
t need to worry about anything happening to me this time.
”

             
Peter nodded to show he understood, and he repeated the same words to himself.

             
You don
’
t need to worry. You don
’
t need to worry
.

             
Their runway was a patch of the inner harbor, smooth as glass and a free channel away from ships. Without looking back, Matthias steered straight for the harbor opening and yanked out the throttle. Peter gripped the sides of his seat as he was pushed backward, and once again his stomach seemed as if it stayed behind in
Helsingør
. The feeling of water below them dropped away, and Matthias banked lightly to the right.

             
“
Wave!
”
shouted Matthias. Below them, on the pier, the send
-
off party of Peter
’
s parents, Elise, Henrik, and Mrs. Melchior was waving bravely. Peter put his hand to the window, spread out his fingers, and felt the vibrations of the engine. Matthias circled the plane, like a rising spiral of smoke, and headed straight out to sea.

             
“
I
’
m not sure I like the thought of you two boys spying on me last night,
”
said Matthias.
“
But I have to tell you, I appreciate your help.
”

             
Peter nodded, not sure what to say. He checked the buckle on his seat belt for the fourth time.

             
“
Listen, it
’
s not going to take long to catch up with this old ship. When we get there, I don
’
t want you to say anything to anyone. Just do as I say, all right?
”

             
“
Sure.
”

             
“
And when you see this man, don
’
t say anything. Don
’
t stare at him or give it away. Just tell me as soon as you can. In private.
”

             
“
I understand.
”

             
Peter finally peeked through the window on his side of the plane. The bright blue ocean glittered as it had the day before, only they weren
’
t flying as high this time.

             
“
The
Aliya
is going to be just ahead,
”
Matthias continued.
“
We
’
ll be able to see its smoke in a minute.
”

             
“
I thought the ship was called the
Acropolis
?
”
Peter questioned him.

             
Matthias smiled.
“
You
’
re pretty sharp, Peter. We
’
re changing the name to
Aliya
, the Hebrew word for
‘
going up,
’—
as in
‘
going up
’
to the land. Good name for a freighter, don
’
t you think?
”

             
“
Sure, I guess.
”
Peter remembered the slimy feel of the ship from the night before when he
and Henrik had been on board.
“
As long as you know how to spell it.
”

             
Matthias laughed, and somehow it made Peter feel better. He studied the horizon, looking for the smoke trail that would give away the old ship they were following.

             
“
You keep saying
‘
we,
’ ”
Peter said a couple of minutes later.
“
Do you mean the people you work with? Who do you really work for?
”

             
“
You still don
’
t trust me.
”
Matthias sighed and shook his head.
“
I suppose I don
’
t blame you.
”

             
They both stared straight ahead. The blurry green coast of Sweden lay off to the left, decorated by the occasional white towers of churches and small cities. And off to the right, near the more familiar coastline of Denmark, a tugboat was snuggled up next to a long black barge. Finally Matthias cleared his throat.

             
“
It seems I
’
m telling quite a few of my secrets today,
”
he said. He undid the top button of his plaid shirt and stretched his neck from one side to the other.
“
Have you ever heard of the
Haganah
?
”

             
He pronounced the strange word slowly, like
ha
-
gah
-
NAH
. Still, Peter shook his head.

             
“
I know,
”
Matthias said.
“
Haganah is about as strange a word to your ears as
Aliya
. It
’
s all Hebrew.
”

             
Another pause.

             
“
The Haganah is the Jewish Defense Agency,
”
he continued.
“
We
’
re not exactly legal
—
in the eyes of some, that is. But then, neither am I.
”

             
Peter put up his hand.
“
Wait a minute. I
’
m not sure I
’
m following this. There
’
s the
Al
-
lee
, what was it?
”

             
“
Aliya
.
”

             
“
Right. There
’
s the
Aliya
and the Haganah, but I
’
m still not sure what you
’
re doing.
”

             
Matthias checked his controls and brought the plane down a little lower. In the distance, Peter thought he could see a plume of black smoke from a ship straight ahead. Probably the
Acropolis/Aliya
.

             
“
That
’
s okay,
”
Matthias went on.
“
It
’
s better that you don
’
t understand. I
’
m on a list of illegal persons. Sometimes a person doesn
’
t get a lot of credit for doing the right thing.
”

             
By that time, Peter was sure they were approaching their target. Matthias switched on a small radio and unclipped a microphone.

             
“
Aliya
, this is Victor
-
Bravo
-
Seven
-
Five
-
One,
”
he said into the microphone.
“
Are you there, Captain Papanikolas?
”

             
The radio crackled for a moment, and Matthias repeated his message. Then a gruff voice responded, the same one Peter and Henrik had heard the night before.

             
“
This is
Acropolis
, Karlsson,
”
answered the voice.
“
What do you need?
”

             
“
I want to do a drill.
”
As he spoke into the microphone, Matthias looked at Peter and winked.
“
Let
’
s see how fast you can get the crane working and this plane on deck.
”

             
There was another pause, and Matthias frowned. The old ship was almost right below them.

             
“
Did you hear me?
”
Matthias asked his radio.

             
“
Yeah, yeah,
”
the captain finally replied.
“
You
’
re the boss.
”

             
Matthias grinned and returned the microphone to its place.
“
Watch this,
”
he told Peter.
“
They promised me they could load my plane onto the deck of the ship in less than five minutes. Now we
’
re going to see if they can deliver.
”

             
He brought the plane in low over the top of the
Aliya
, right through the column of black smoke from its smokestack. On deck, a couple of men stood watching. One waved as the plane buzzed not twenty feet over the ship. Matthias made a wide arc of a loop far in front of them, coming down in a shower of spray on the ocean.

             
“
Good thing it
’
s calm,
”
said Matthias.
“
It gets a little tricky when there are any waves.
”

             
As they rocked around, he turned the airplane to face the same direction as the ship while the freighter slowly glided up to them. On the deck above, a large crane had been swung into motion, one of the dinosaurs Peter remembered from the night before. Its long arm swung out to greet them while Matthias got back on the radio.

             
“
Hey, Papanikolas, tell them to be careful with that thing, all right? I don
’
t want a hook through my wing.
”

             
Peter looked out the back window, up at the cable and hook that was being lowered for them.

             
“
These boys, they know what they
’
re doing, Karlsson,
”
the captain replied.
“
Don
’
t worry, eh?
”

             
Matthias kept the engine of the airplane idling, so they were just barely moving forward, like the ship that was now beside them. Men shouted from above, and Matthias turned to Peter.

             
“
Two things. Remember what I told you about what will happen up on the ship. Don
’
t say anything and just follow me. And the second thing, I want you to slip over here into my seat once I get up top. Don
’
t steer it
—
just keep us from zigzagging. And when I give you the signal, I want you to turn the engine off, like this.
”

             
Peter nodded nervously as Matthias showed him the ignition key, just like in a car. Then the man slipped out his door and disappeared up on top of the plane.