The 22nd Secret Page 25

  “Why don’t they sell it for less than it’s worth or give it to one of their children?” Pam asked.

  “They have four children. I know them. They all chose city life and they figure they’re in line to inherit millions. If the Smiths just wait, eventually the children will get control, sell the land, and divide up the money. If they tried to sell it to someone like me for less than it was worth, there’d be a huge fight. It would probably end up in court and destroy the family.”

  “That’s sad. How much is the land worth?”

  “I heard they’ve been offered as much as $50 million.”

  “Why don’t you buy it?”

  “Pam, I said $50 million. I don’t have that kind of money. Then to fix it up the way I’d want it for us. That’d cost millions more.”

  “That’s not that much money.” Pam said, “Trust me. We can afford it. You can have anything you want as long as you take me. Take me now, I’m ready.” Pam wrapped her free arm around Jim and pulled him on top of her. “We’ll pay cash.”

  It was six hours later. Jim and Pam had slept the peaceful sleep of lovers after hours of lovemaking.

  “There she is.” A whisper came from the snow, near some trees, 100 yards away from the lodge.

  “Man, look at that ass,” another whisper came from the same area of snow. The two members of Carnes’s special team were so thoroughly camouflaged in the snow and trees that even the most experienced soldier would have stepped on them before realizing they were there.

  “Man, I wish she’d turn around. Sergeant Pierce said he got a good look at her yesterday when she was on the porch with Mitchell. Said she looked just like Patty Lawrence. He said she was drop-dead gorgeous and just about jumped Mitchell’s bone right there on the porch.”

  “Well, that’s it,” whispered the other voice. “She’s in there with Mitchell. That’s where he’s got his planes. What do you think? They going to do it on the wing?”

  “What makes you think they’re doing it at all?”

  “Come on, man, you kidding? Everyone knows Mitchell spent one hell of a hot night up here snowbound with Patty Lawrence. We were deployed here a week ago and told to keep an eye on the place, prevent anyone from getting close. Then, yesterday Walker shows up here with a Patty Lawrence look-alike. She jumps all over Mitchell, according to Pierce, then spends the night. I don’t know how or why, but that’s Patty Lawrence and I’ll bet you $50 Mitchell fucked her brains out all night.”

  “Keep your money. Let’s keep an eye on that building. Maybe we can see something in the windows.”

  Jim awakened before Pam and gently kissed her forehead. He told her he was going out to the hangar to work on his plane. When she awoke he wanted her to make him three egg sandwiches and join him there. Pam kissed him back, said she would in a few minutes, and rolled over, tugging the blanket over her shoulder.

  Jim had been in the hangar for two hours before Pam joined him, carrying the sandwiches. There were two planes. One was the big Cessna Caravan Amphibian Jim used to transport guests to and from Bear Breath. It was equipped with pontoons for use on the lake when it wasn’t frozen. The other was a beautiful Stinson Reliant SR-9. Jim had removed the cowling and was working on the spotless Lycoming R-680 radial engine.

  “Oh Jim, what a wonderful plane.” Pam took one of the sandwiches out of the bag and handed it to Jim.

  “Yeah, it’s my baby.” Jim took a huge bite out of his first sandwich.

  “What year?”

  “’39. I didn’t know you knew anything about planes?”

  “Jim, I know a lot about a lot of things. It’s like new.” She stepped on the metal footstep and looked through the window at the interior. “How wonderful, is this a custom leather interior? Those seats look comfortable.”

  “Yeah, I had it done in Anchorage. I’ve restored the whole plane, belonged to my uncle. It was the first plane he used here at the lodge. He got a new one in ’62 and I bought that one when I bought the place.” Jim gestured toward the covered Caravan. “She kind of just sat here in the hangar collecting dust. No one used it for years and a couple of winters ago I got bored, so I started working on the engine. One thing led to another. Now I keep it equipped with skis in the winter and put pontoons on it in the summer. It’s a wonderful plane to fly. A lot of the guests ask for rides.”

  Jim sat on an old wooden picnic table bench along the wall next to the massive hangar doors. The two planes faced the doors and could taxi out and down the wooden planking into the lake or onto it this time of year. They were pulled by winches back into the hangar for storage and maintenance, up the same heavy wooden planking.

  Jim was scarfing down his second sandwich when Pam sat down next to him. “You like to work on your plane, Jim?” Pam asked. Jim nodded as he chewed. Pam sat looking at the huge Lycoming engine, admiring its intricacy and pondering its inefficiencies while she finished her sandwich.

  “I’m checking it out,” Jim said. “Getting it ready. I haven’t had it out for a month or so and I thought we could fly up to Anchorage this afternoon.”

  “Why? I want to stay here with you alone.” Pam wrapped her arms around Jim, pressing her chest against his arm. “Last night was wonderful. There’s nothing we need in Anchorage. We have plenty of food and you’re all I need.”

  Jim leaned forward and clasped his hands, leading Pam to let go. He rested his arms on his legs, and looked down at his folded hands. “I know I shouldn’t feel this way, but I guess I’m just a man.”

  “Feel what way?”

  “Well, it looks like I’m going to be a kept man. I’ve always been very independent, self-sufficient, more so after I bought the lodge. Well, now I guess I’ll just be living off of your money.”

  “Oh, Jim that’s just not true. I need you. I can’t survive without you.”

  “Well, isn’t that kind of the definition of a kept man? The woman wants him and pays his bills.”

  “What’s that gun doing over there hanging with your coat?” Pam gestured toward Jim’s coat hanging on an old coat rack, with the Luger in its original holster hanging with it.

  “Oh that? I don’t know I just thought–”

  “It’s there because Tom told you to keep it handy, right? It’s there because you’re my bodyguard and I need you for my survival. Literally, my life is dependent on your ability to protect me. The money is just as much yours as it is mine, or Walker’s. The money is there for us because we are Level 21, you, me, Bill, and a couple of other people. We’re Level 21. We’re it. There’s no military base no hardened bunkers, just us. So we get whatever you think we need to keep our secret safe.”

  Jim shot up and looked at Pam. “Bill?”

  “He’s one of us. Tom thought it was best for you to have someone here in Bear Breath to help you out if you needed it. Tom wants to buy the lodge. He’s retiring and…”

  “Bill? When did he find out?”

  “I’m not sure, probably on the flight back to Bear Breath yesterday.”

  “I figured I’d keep the place and let Bill run it for me.”

  “Walker figured that too, let’s let them work it out.”

  Jim stared at Pam, admiring her beauty. She felt it, making her blush. “I guess who owns what and how much money anyone makes really doesn’t matter.”

  “Not really. Isn’t it wonderful? We can do anything we want and so can your friend, Bill.” Pam’s eyes darted about his face.

  “I’ve got a little money I’ve saved,” Jim said. “About $50,000 and, well, I wanted to fly us up to Anchorage, put us up in the best room in town, and take you on a shopping spree. You’ll want some things, I'm sure. Your parents are coming in a few weeks for Thanksgiving and all. I want to spend most of the money on an engagement ring. It’s important to me that I do that myself. It’s important that it’s my money that gets you that.”

  Pam threw her arms around Jim’s neck and pulled her head next to his. “Oh, Jim that’s so romantic. You can’t imagine how muc
h that means to me. I’ll call my mother from the hotel room and invite them up for Thanksgiving. We can announce our engagement to everyone then.” She licked Jim’s ear, sending chills down his back. “I love you, Jim Mitchell,” she whispered. “I always have and I always will.”

  Jim grabbed Pam by the hair on the back of her head and pulled her head back. He placed her lips against his and kissed her sensuously. When they finally relented, they were absorbed with passion and didn’t want to stop. “You almost done here,” Pam asked motioning to the plane?

  “All I have to do is put the cowling back on. That won’t take that long. You can watch if you want.”

  Pam watched Jim replace the metal panels that covered the engine, adding the final pieces to the streamlined puzzle of his sleek, custom blue SR-9. Jim worked quickly and efficiently, having done this hundreds of times. Pam imagined him working naked. By the time he finished, she was ready for Jim.

  “Here they come again,” whispered the voice from the snow and trees.

  “Yeah, man,” whispered the other. “It’s hard to tell, but she sure does look like those pictures of Patty Lawrence they showed all over TV last summer.”

  “I don’t know. I can’t remember that well, never paid much attention.”

  “Well, I’m sure that’s her.” They watched the couple enter the lodge. There were three teams of two men assigned to observe the lodge. The rest of Carnes’s unit was dispersed in teams of two to monitor and prevent anyone from approaching the compound. The teams would rotate out every eight hours to avoid fatigue.

  “I’ll radio Bill,” Jim said. “Tell him to make us a reservation at the hotel, then go up and shower.” Jim hung his coat up and walked over to the radio.

  Pam fanaticized about Jim walking away from her, wearing only the leather pistol belt and his boots. “I’ll pack some clothes for us. Anything special you want to take?”

  “Yeah, my blue suit, I’m taking you to dinner at the best restaurant in town tomorrow night. It’s in the hotel we’re going to stay at, and I want to look good enough to be with you wearing the new dress I’m buying you.”

  “Okay. I’ll pack you a white shirt too, but I get to pick out your tie when we’re shopping tomorrow.” Pam didn’t like wearing dresses, but she would to please Jim. She laid down in bed and waited for him to get out of the shower.

  Jim opened the hangar doors in front of the Stinson. He strapped the luggage down in the luggage compartment and got in on the pilot’s side. Pam had already gotten in on the other side and was admiring the beautiful jewel like instruments. The bright noonday sunlight reflecting off the snow on the lake made the polished chrome detail sparkle. Pam sat with excited anticipation, looking out at the snow-covered lake as Jim prepared the plane for flight. He set controls and flipped switches in his routine order. The big prop slowly began to turn. Pam could feel the strain of the starter against the cold engine. Cylinders ignited one by one. Suddenly, in a burst of black exhaust smoke, the propeller blurred up to speed. The powerful, highly modified engine sent smooth rhythmic vibrations through the entire plane, shooting up Pam’s legs and through her body where it came in contact with the comfortably plush leather seat. Jim eased the throttle out just enough to slowly taxi out of the hangar. The sun sparkled off the polished blue paint as Jim pushed the throttle in and the plane slid down the ramp and out onto the smooth lake. Pam hadn’t flown in a small plane since that fateful flight a year ago. But the excitement of sitting behind the powerful engine was nothing like anything she felt in the puddle-jumper Lucky rented. Jim got out of the pilot’s compartment and closed the hangar doors. He returned, smiling proudly at her. Pam fastened her seat belt and shoulder harness, copying Jim’s movements as he fastened his.

  “Son of a bitch,” whispered one of the two voices from the snow. “Look at that plane. They’re leaving.”

  The three teams on patrol simultaneously radioed Captains Carnes. Their messages were identical – Mitchell and the girl were departing the location by plane. Tom had been given one of the radios the team used so he could monitor the activity from his motel room in Bear Breath.

  “Blue Berry, this is Bad Boy,” Tom’s radio crackled to life. “You copy that last transmission? Over.”

  Tom lay on his bed looking up at the ceiling, knowing that for the first time since he met Pam Koller she was no longer his responsibility. He wondered if Mitchell decided it was time for them to disappear.

  “Blue Berry. You copy? Over?” The radio interrupted his thoughts.

  He thought about it again. Maybe they were just going for a ride. Maybe it wasn’t any of his business anymore. Maybe it was Mitchell’s and Pam’s problem what they were doing. He felt like a father letting his child go Tom reached over to the nightstand, picked up the radio, and depressed the send button.

  “This is Blue Berry. I copied that. Over.”

  “You want us to try and stop them? Over.”

  Tom thought for a moment. He wanted to say yes. He wanted to say it was too dangerous for them to leave now. He wanted to say she couldn’t leave without more security. He knew he had to let go. He knew he had to let Mitchell decide.

  “Negative, do not interfere, over and out.” He would call a friend at the FAA and find out where they were going. That is if Mitchell filed a flight plan.

  Jim radioed the tower at Bear Breath. He requested and was granted a flight plan to Anchorage. Pam’s excitement grew as Jim eased the throttle out and the plane began to glide across the smooth lake. There was a slight breeze and the sky was a crisp deep blue. The brightness of the sky and snow gave everything crisp edges. Jim taxied to the far end of the lake.

  “It’s so powerful and smooth,” Pam said as Jim steered toward the distant tree-lined shore and idled the engine.

  Jim did a final check of the planes controls and gauges. “You ain’t seen nothing yet.” He eased the throttle out again and the plane smoothly accelerated across the snow covered lake. Jim continued to slowly pull the throttle out and the plane’s speed began to dramatically increase. When Jim stopped increasing the throttle and the tail of the plane rotated up, Pam was sure Jim had it wide open and would soon lift it off the frozen lake. Her eyes were focused on the shoreline as it approached at 80 MPH. She looked at Jim, who was confidently smiling and looking straight ahead, with his hand still on what Pam believed was the wide-open throttle.

  Although Pam could not have known this, the plane was actually already flying. Jim had let it lift undetectably off the snow covered ice until the ski landing gear was a foot off the snow. The occasional drift would hit the skis and blast snow out around the plane, giving Pam the sensation that the plane was struggling to lift off. Pam looked back at the shore with growing concern. He caught her looking at him out of the corner of his eye and raised his eyebrows twice “Yee ha,” he yelled. He increased the throttle from 50% power and pulled pack on the wheel.

  The powerful Reliant leapt into the air, climbing at a sharp angle and pressing Pam back into her seat.

  “Yee ha,” Pam yelled back while simultaneously laughing. The sudden change of direction pressed Pam against her seat. It was the same G-force reaction as riding a rollercoaster. Jim laughed with Pam, as though he was experiencing it for the first time too. After climbing for a few seconds, Jim rolled the plane into a gentle knife-edge turn over the forest and lodge. With the ground just a few hundred feet below and the wing perpendicular, Pam was held firmly in her seat by the G-force. She looked out the side window straight down at the lodge and the lake flashing by at over 100 MPH. She looked up at Jim, who smiled confidently. “Yee ha,” she said, squealing with excitement.

  Jim leveled off and as they came around to due west. “You ready?”

  Before she could answer, he pulled the throttle wide open and pulled back hard on the wheel. This time the plane shot straight up, pushing Pam down hard against her seat. The highly-modified plane climbed like a rocket at almost 200 MPH. The engine noise blasted as the time between cyli
nders firing blended into one continuous explosion. Jim slowly leveled off at 10,000 feet, normal cruising altitude.

  The two soldiers were poised directly in front of the approaching plane as it rocketed across the lake straight for them.

  “What’s he doing?” said one of the men, no longer whispering.

  “I don’t know, but he better get that thing up or he’s going to crash right into us.”

  Few events in the world could make these specially selected and trained men flinch, but the powerful Reliant bearing down on them before rotating into a knife-edge turn a hundred yards in front of them, skimming the trees above their heads was one of them. The blast shook the forest around them and the pine trees swayed and snapped back, releasing a shower of snow that swirled around them as the men ducked for cover.

  “Fuck,” yelled one of the men.

  “Son of a bitch,” yelled the other. They popped their heads up a moment later to see the plane ascending due west, just past the far shore.

  “I bet that was one hell of a ride.”

  Pam gaped at the pristine snowy landscape unspooling before her. Even though the seat belt and shoulder harness held her pinned to the seat, she heaved with excitement.

  “Do it again. Do something else. What a rush.”

  Jim put the plane through a number of rolls and loops as he followed his flight plan heading due west. He followed Big Bear River to the coast, then north along the coastline to Anchorage. After a few minutes of stunt flying, Jim trimmed the plane out for the smooth cruise to the coast.