Touch the Sky (Young Underground #8) (7 page)

             
Henrik tiptoed into the pale light from the dirty light bulb and stopped in front of the door, the same door where the man with the crooked nose had been kneeling moments before. They could hear a murmur of voices from somewhere inside. Henrik held his finger to his lips while Peter kept watch to make sure no one else was coming.

             
After a minute, Henrik nodded and motioned for Peter to join him in front of the door. As Peter leaned closer, Henrik tapped him on the shoulder and whispered into his ear.

             
“
That
’
s Matthias in there.
”

             
A laugh from inside confirmed what Henrik had just told him. Even Peter could tell it was Matthias
’
s laugh.

             
“
Your men are pretty loud, Captain,
”
said Matthias, this time more clearly. He was speaking in English, and suddenly Peter was glad he had learned more of that language during the past year in school. He wished he could see who else was inside but didn
’
t dare look into the little porthole. Another man laughed, too.

             
“
My men, they
’
re just having a little fun,
”
said the other man, who was obviously the ship
’
s captain. He spoke in English, too, but with another accent entirely.

             
“
Yes, well,
”
Matthias cleared his throat.
“
Considering the fact that we are paying you perfectly good money for the use of your ship, I would prefer that we maintain a little more discipline.
”

             
Again the captain roared.
“
Discipline? You hire this ship and now you tell me how to run ship, too?
”

             
“
I
’
m just telling you
—”

             
“
Listen, my young friend. Where you want to go I think is crazy, but that
’
s your business. Running this ship, the
Acropolis
, is my business. Understand?
”

             
Matthias answered with something Peter couldn
’
t make out, but he didn
’
t sound happy.

             
“
All right, then,
”
continued Matthias.
“
Twenty thousand now, ten thousand when we pick up our cargo in Bremen, and the rest when we land safely. I will keep the guns under lock and key, unless there is an emergency.
”

             
Peter stood stiffly as Matthias continued speaking. It was the same voice Peter knew, but somehow Matthias seemed like a different person.

             
“
You sail in the morning for Germany, Captain, where you
’
ll get your cargo. I think maybe three weeks to finish loading. Then you turn right around back this direction, sail around Denmark, out through the English Channel, and through the Strait of Gibraltar into the Mediterranean. And not a word to anyone about your cargo. Agreed?
”

             
“
I understand, Mr. Karlsson. For this kind of money, we take you to the moon and back if you want.
”

             
Peter and Henrik both jumped when they heard the sound of a chair scraping the floor inside. Henrik motioned for Peter to follow him, and they both rushed down the deck, away from the door.

             
“
Come on!
”
whispered Henrik. It sounded as if Matthias was suddenly out on deck, and another group of loud sailors seemed to be coming from the opposite direction. This time, there was no convenient dark doorway to hide in. The boys looked from side to side, hearing footsteps from both directions.

             
“
This way,
”
Henrik finally pointed over the side.

             
For a moment, Peter thought Henrik was going to jump into the harbor, and he dug in his heels.

             
“
No!
”
Peter replied as Henrik disappeared over the side. Peter looked over to see his friend sliding down a thick rope toward the pier. He followed, holding tightly to the rope like a fireman sliding down a pole. In the process, though, one of his shoes slipped off and clattered to the pier below. The rope was slippery, and Peter lost his grip for a second and ran into Henrik. The next moment, they were tumbling down, landing in a heap on the dock.

             
“
Do you think they heard us?
”
asked Peter under his breath.

             
Henrik handed Peter his lost shoe as they rolled behind a small tractorlike truck.
“
Of course they heard us. Your parents heard us all the way back home.
”

             
Peter looked around Henrik
’
s shoulder to see two men at the top of the boarding ramp. One of them, he was sure, was Matthias. The other was much shorter and much rounder.

             
“
If this old tub gets us where we
’
re going, it will be miracle enough,
”
said Matthias. The men both laughed as Matthias walked quickly down the ramp.

             
“
We
’
re off at dawn, then, as you say,
”
replied the round man. He pushed a captain
’
s cap off his forehead and looked down from the deck, then turned around and disappeared back into his ship.

             
For several minutes, the only sound Peter could hear was the water below the pier and his own breathing. And from where they were hiding, Peter and Henrik could barely make out the faded lettering on the stern.

             
“
A
-
C
-
R,
”
Peter began to read.

             
“
O
-
P
-
O
-
L
-
I
-
S,
”
finished Henrik.
“
Acropolis
. It says it
’
s from Athens.
”

             
“
Greek. That
’
s what I thought.
”
Peter was about to stand up when another man slipped down the boarding ramp and hurried off in the same direction as Matthias. Peter caught sight of the man
’
s curly black hair.

             
“
That
’
s the guy we saw spying on Matthias!
”
Peter whispered once the man disappeared.

             
“
You mean the one who was listening through the door when we first walked up?
”

             
Peter nodded as they slipped away from the pier.
“
I wonder what
he
heard.
”

             
“
I
’
m not sure, but I think we heard enough.
”

             
“
Did you understand what that was all about?
”

             
“
Simple,
”
replied Henrik. He led the way back through the harbor to the city streets.
“
I hate to say it, but you were right about him. It has to be some kind of smuggling operation, the way they were talking about cargoes and payment and all that.
”

             
“
And eleven o
’
clock at night.
”
Peter shook his head.
“
People don
’
t do regular business this
late. The only thing is
—”

             
“
I know. Matthias. It
’
s like he
’
s two different people. And we just saw the other side of him that no one else knows about.
”

             
“
What are you going to tell your mom?
”

             
“
I
’
m going to tell her the truth.
”
Henrik hurried along with his hands in his pockets and his head down.
“
But I might need your help.
”

             
Peter wondered for a moment what he could do.
“
Tomorrow,
”
he finally replied,
“
we can both tell her. Maybe she
’
ll listen to both of us.
”

             
“
Yeah,
”
agreed Henrik, stopping at the corner of St. Anne
’
s Street, where he usually cut off to get to his apartment.
“
First thing tomorrow.
”

             
“
Tomorrow,
”
Peter said.
“
See you.
”

             
Peter hurried home, half jogging, half walking the last two blocks to his apartment. He felt in his pocket for his key, then felt the other pocket.

             
No
, he told himself silently.
I didn
’
t lock myself out without a key!

             
Peter gave a sigh of relief when he thought back to how he had left, less than an hour before. The deadbolt on their front door could only be locked with a key or from the inside, which he knew he hadn
’
t done. He tried the door, knowing it would be unlocked.

             
What?
He turned the knob again.
It
’
s locked!

             
Quietly but firmly, he pushed the door, but it wouldn
’
t budge. It was definitely locked, and he had definitely not locked it.

             
Great!
he sighed.
What do I do now? Sleep on the doorstep?

             
Peter took a step back and looked up at his second
-
story window. There
was
another way up, but he hadn
’
t ever dared to climb up the downspout. The pipe that drained rainwater from the roof ran right by his window and to the street, but it hardly seemed strong enough to hold his weight. But it was either that, or
...

             
He gave the downspout a tug.
Maybe
.

             
Peter rubbed his hands on his pants, crouched, and tried to get a flying start. But the pipe was slippery, and he struggled to get up a few feet.

             
Come on, keep going
.

             
He dug in his knees and gripped with his fingertips, but the pipe was too slippery. And five feet up, the pipe started to creak and groan, swaying away from the outside wall of their apartment building.

             
“
Peter!
”
someone whispered from the sidewalk.

             
Peter looked down over his shoulder to see Elise, wrapped in a robe and leaning out the front door.

             
“
Peter, get down from there. It
’
s going to break!
”

             
Peter gladly let go of the downspout and jumped back down to the sidewalk.

             
“
Boy, am I glad to see you,
”
he whispered.
“
I thought I was never going to get back in. Did you lock the front door after I left?
”