She felt her cell phone vibrating in one of the pockets of her parka and fished it out to find Gracie on the other end.
“April, I’ve just been down to the Federal Building here in Seattle and filed for a temporary restraining order against the Coast Guard and the Alaska State Police to forbid them from monkeying with that tape, and I’ve asked for an expedited hearing for tomorrow morning to demand its immediate return.”
“I thought the D.C. lawyer was going to do that,” April said.
“Yeah, well, I did, too, but I couldn’t reach him, and I was closer to the facts and better equipped to handle it here.”
“You think we’ll get it? That injunction, I mean?”
“Yes, provided they don’t claim that they’ve already lost it or that it was blank. Since we have no idea what’s going on and who’s involved, we really can’t know what to expect. What’s happening there?”
April briefed her on Jim Dobler’s efforts to get permission for a salvage operation. “I’m not optimistic, Gracie. He’s a really nice guy and he’s trying hard, but even before the Coast Guard tackled us, he warned me how difficult it was in these waters to do anything.”
“And you can’t fly out there again?”
“Yeah, well, our flyboy cut and ran. I mean, I shouldn’t be unappreciative of what he did, but… as soon as officialdom moved in, he got spooked.”
“He left?”
“Yep.”
“Damn. Well, if Dobler can’t make it work, I’ll call my client back and see if he has any other ideas. Aside from that, could you, maybe, rent that video equipment and take a boat out there?”
“What if the Coast Guard is watching? They’d see any boat I could use.”
“Not a wooden boat, I’ll bet.”
“Like a rowboat?”
“Yeah.”
“Gracie, this place is out to sea. Even in an outboard I’d run a real risk of capsizing. The waves can get huge and it’s very, very cold water. After all, that’s what almost killed my parents.”
There was silence from Seattle.
“Gracie?”
“Yeah, I’m here. I’m… just thinking through this to see how we can get this resolved quickly.”
“Is there a greater need for speed than I’m already aware of?”
April could feel her hesitation.
“Gracie? Level with me.”
Gracie sighed. “Okay. Look, the captain’s not taking any of this well.”
“I know. I told you that.”
“No, it’s… worse. Your mom called me and she’s really spooked. She says she’s never seen him this despondent, and… I have to tell you this… the airline’s chief pilot called him up and instead of being supportive, basically threatened him.”
“What?”
“It’s about the alcoholism. He told your dad that if he couldn’t prove there was no alcohol involved, he’d be terminated regardless of the FAA’s ultimate decision on his license. The FAA apparently made sure the airline knows about the liquor purchase in Anchorage.”
“Oh, no!”
“I’m sorry to have to tell you, April, but you need to know. We really have to get this solved rapidly. Especially the drinking charge.”
“Dad’s union won’t tolerate that, will they? I mean, everything’s governed by union contract, isn’t it?”
“Yes, but I’m still going to rattle the airline’s cage. Don’t worry, I’m including the Air Line Pilots Association, and I’ve already warned the head of his union that a life hangs in the balance here.”
“A life?”
“Well, you know. The psychological impact on the captain.”
“Gracie, you’re… not suggesting Dad is suicidal, are you?”
“No! No, I… don’t think so. I’m just… I can’t imagine your dad even despondent. I’ve never seen him like that, and it scares me, too.”
“I’ve never seen him really down, either,” April said quietly.
“Look, I’ll do everything I can on this end, but… you may need to pull a really large rabbit out of a hat there to get that broken prop. Somehow.”
“I hear you.”
Ben Cole presented his identification documents to the security gate bordering the hangar at 1 P.M., and by 4 P.M. had all but convinced himself that whoever had loaded the renegade computer code on the Gulfstream’s computers before had failed this time.
Okay, that’s it. There’s simply nowhere else to look.
There were footsteps in the cavernous hangar and Ben got up to stretch and looked out the front entry, waving to the flight crew as they approached the Gulfstream.
“Hey, Ben!” the chief test pilot said with a smile as he started up the built-in airstairs. “Winky ready to go at long last?”
Ben winced at the nickname as the pilot chuckled. “You just hate that, don’t you?”
“Yep.”
They shook hands at the top of the steps.
“Seriously, Ben, are you satisfied that we’re ready?”
“I… yes, in one respect.”
“What’s that?”
“I know the — for want of a better word—virus that was infecting us is not aboard.”
“Thank God.”
“But… are you aware of the new T-handle on the flight deck?”
Ben watched the pilot’s face closely, but the expression never changed. “Yes. It’s supposed to physically pull Winky’s claws off the flight controls if nothing else works. I’ve been warned it will really damage the computer servos if we use it, but not the flight controls.”
“You’re sure it’s operational?” Ben said, his voice steady.
The pilot leaned around the edge of the cockpit door to verify the new handle was still there. “Well, let me grab the maintenance log.” He swung back out with the metal-bound logbook and opened it, flipping through several pages of maintenance write-ups and repairs.
“Here we go. Installation begun… installation canceled.”
Ben was nodding. “That’s what I thought. I—”
“Installation restarted. Modification complete, and here’s the sign-off,” the pilot said, holding up the log for Ben, who studied it for several seconds. “Problem, Ben? You look unconvinced.”
“It’s just that… I was out here on Wednesday and the T-handle was installed but connected to nothing, and the plans were on the seat with a ‘canceled’ stamp.”
“Well, that’s what it says. They stopped the job, then they restarted it and signed it off.”
“I guess there’s no way to easily test it?”
The pilot was shaking his head. “I’ve been warned. We pull that handle, we’d better be prepared to terminate the test for several days. It’ll disconnect, but it will break things in the process. It’s an extreme emergency backup.”
“Well, good,” Ben said, feeling confusion whirling around his head. “I wish I’d known that they’d finished it,” he added, deciding to avoid mentioning how scared he’d been that the impending flight would end in a fatal crash despite their best efforts.
“What are you planning to do after this, Ben?” the pilot asked.
“After the flight?”
“No, after the project. We get signed off tonight, they start building and deploying the Boomerang devices immediately, and we’re out of a job.”
“I guess I really haven’t thought about it. What do you mean they’ll deploy them immediately?”
The chief test pilot raised his hand and smiled. “Hey, you didn’t hear that from me, okay?”
“But… that’s true?”
The pilot was backing away with a broad smile, his head nodding in the affirmative. “Let the record read the defendant properly refused to answer Dr. Cole’s question because he had no need to know.”