The Navigators (23 page)

I shook my head. “No. My life flashed before my eyes back there. It wasn’t pretty.”

“No?”

“Kind of boring, actually.”

“Well,” Melissa stood up and put her hand out to me. “Let’s see if we can add an exciting chapter, then.”

* * * * *

“Who is this?” A boy’s voice came over the Cinderella walkie talkie.

Barry hesitated. He held the little pink radio up to his mouth and thought for a moment. “Uh, this is official police business. We need to keep this line clear.”

“That’s bullshit. Who is this?”

“Hey, watch your mouth. I said this is police business. Now let’s keep this channel clear.”

“Screw you, mister. This isn’t police business. You’re broadcasting into our baby monitor. You woke my little sister up, you dick. Now my mom’s pissed.”

Fuck
.

“Now who are you, asshole? And who’s Melissa?”

Barry cleared his throat and sat up in the car. “Okay, kid, I’m warning you.”

“Oh yeah? What are you gonna do, tough guy? You’re talking on a baby monitor.”

Fuck!

“Who are you? And who’s Melissa?”

* * * * *

Melissa unfolded the little blade from the bottle opener. She tapped her nail against the canvas roof and shrugged. “Well, here goes nothing.”

Positioned just as Barry had suggested, with her weight on the support frame, she guided the knife into a tiny hole in the Sun Dome roof.

I took a deep breath. “If this does pop like a balloon, I’m going to be awfully upset.”

She held the knife ready. “Barry said it wouldn’t do that.”

“I notice he isn’t up here.”

She touched the blade to the hole. “Ready?”

“No.”

“One…

“Two…

“Three.” She pushed the blade in. The roof didn’t pop.

I drew a deep breath and let it out. Slowly, Melissa moved the tiny knife up and down, sawing away. A slit of about an inch appeared. Lights from inside the dome illuminated it a little brighter than the dull glow of the rest of the roof.

I strained to look, not wanting to get too close. “Can you see anything? Is it working?”

“I definitely feel air coming out.” She ran her hand over the opening. “I mean, it’s a strong stream, but this isn’t going to do the job.”

“Well, the canvas is pulled tight. Can you slice across instead of sawing?”

“I don’t know, it’s pretty thick. Let’s see.”

She grasped the knife with her fist and put it back into the hole. Leaning back, she pulled the blade toward her.

Whoosh!

A gust of air blew her hair up as she fell backwards to me. The canvas roof hissed its displeasure.

A twelve inch gash.

“I’d say that’s the way to go.”

Light beamed out from the cut. She readied the blade again. “Watch out, I’m going to scoot back as I cut – if I can.”

I backed up a few feet.

She re-gripped the blade and heaved. The canvas roof sounded like ripping sheets as the escaping air helped rip open the roof. The hiss grew to a roar.

She looked up and said something I couldn’t hear over the wind rushing out of the hole.

The support frame ran in big sections, making a kind of shadow grid across the roof. I backed up again as she turned to make another slice.

From over her shoulder, I saw the hole grow. I backed up a little more. “Slow down. Barry said to only make a hole the size of a door!”

She glanced at me, holding up the bottle opener. The blade had broken off. Then she looked back at the hole as it continued to open on its own. The noise from the air was deafening now.

The roof shook as a loud groan emerged from beneath us. Melissa crouched down. The hole widened, its loose end flapping upward like bed sheets in a hurricane. A four foot hole became ten. Melissa backed away as it chased her, growing wider.

The twenty foot section of roof seemed to explode upward in pieces.

She scrambled to her feet. “Let’s get the fuck out of here!”

* * * * *

“What the fuck is that?”

A guard inside the Sun Dome turned his eyes to the ceiling. A huge hole had opened in the roof and the whole building seemed to be shaking. His partner crouched in the middle of the basketball court next to the time machine. The quiet stadium was now filled with the noise of air rushing out the roof.

“Jesus Christ, it’s an earthquake!”

The lights attached to the support structure swayed, causing shadows to dance around them.

“What should we do?”

“Our instructions were to protect this thing at all costs.”

A light smashed next to them, sending glass in all directions. The hideous groaning of the roof grew louder.

“And I say fuck that, Joe. I’m outta here.” The officer ran for the door.

Joe looked up. Debris swirled up and out through the gaping hole in the roof. The ceiling lights danced crazily in the wind.

Another broke loose and exploded next to him. His co-worker shouted from the door. “Joe! That thing’s coming down. Get out of there!”

With his hands covering his head, Joe bolted. Another light crashed to the floor. He paused at the doorway. “What now?”

“What now? We get the fuck outside and call this shit in, that’s what now!”

“Ferguson’s gonna be pissed we left our post.”

A rack of concert lights crashed into the stands above them.

“Ferguson ain’t here. You can stay. I’m getting out.” With that, he ran into the parking lot. As more lights crashed to the ground and the roof began to sag, Joe made the only decision he could.

He got the fuck out.

* * * * *

Barry sat silent, thinking that after a few minutes the kid would grow bored and go away.

He was wrong.

“I know you’re out there, baby monitor guy.” The boy was singing now, taunting. Then, in an artificially high voice, he mocked him. “Where’s Melissa. Where’s Melissa? Ooh, mommy, I’m going to pee my pants if I don’t find Melissa.”

There was no stopping this brat.

He sang. “Me-
liss
-a? Where
are
you?”

God damn this little punk.

A second voice came over the radio. “Hello? Who is this, please?”

Oh, crap, it’s his mother.

Barry put his face in his hands. He calmed his voice. “Yes, ma’am. Uh, this is… the USF student volunteer security patrol.”

“Why are you talking on our baby monitor?”

“Well, we’re picking up, uh, cross talk on our radios in this area. We’ve had a number of complaints from some of the students—female students ma’am—about a young boy.”

The woman sounded irritated. “What are you talking about?”

“It seems a boy in the area has been sneaking over to the campus swimming pool to watch the female students sunbathe. Topless.”

“Are you talking about my Jimmy?”

“Jimmy! Yes, that was the name we were given, ma’am. There have been complaints of, well, lewd comments…”

“Oh, no.”

“…and fondling himself.”

“Jimmy!”

“Mom, he’s lying! He’s full of shit!”

“And bad language, ma’am. That sounds like our guy.”

“How many times have I told you!” Whacking noises came over the pink walkie talkie. Jimmy wailed in the background.

“I’ll be damned.” Barry started the truck. “Sorry, Jimmy.”

* * * * *

“Oh, God! Oh, God! Oh, God!”

Going down the concrete gutter was a lot faster than going up it—and a lot scarier. The ground was
way
too far down, and it was the only thing to look at. Behind us, the roof was creaking and groaning so loudly it sounded like it might collapse at any moment.

We were down in seconds, and back to our hiding spot at the dumpster.

I crouched in the shadows. “What happens next? Does Barry come get us?”

“Barry? We have to pick the lock first and open the overhead door. Then we’ll radio for Barry.” She dug in her pocket for the hair pins. “Let’s hope these work.”

She handed me the radio. “I’ll go over to the truck entrance door. You try to call Barry when I wave at you.”

“Are the guards gone?”

“Would you still be in there with all that going on? I don’t even want to be out here.”

“I
definitely
don’t want to be here.”

“Hey, toughen up.” Melissa smiled. “You owe me one, remember?”

“You said you didn’t save my life.”

She dashed for the overhead door. “I might have lied.”

Chapter Twenty-Six

M
elissa had been able to pick locks as a party trick since she was a child, just never while somebody was shooting at her.

Hopefully, that streak would continue.

“It’s all tumblers, Missy.” Mr. Mills twisted the long wiry lock pick in the keyhole. “You hold each one up with the pick, and then you can turn the knob. See? Focus on the tumblers.”

It was fun to watch a mini Houdini work her way out of a locked closet or bedroom in front of family and friends. After a while, she got good enough at it to work on other types of locks.

But that was a long time ago, and the stress of performing in front of an office full of her father’s employees at a Christmas party was a far cry from opening the security locks for the Sun Dome’s truck entrance with a few borrowed hairpins.

As the roof caved in.

And if the armed guards saw her, they'd stop her.

Put that out of your mind, Missy. It’s just tumblers. Focus on the tumblers.

She wiped her sweaty hands on her pants. She knew: work each pin, one at a time, slowly. Still, she knew she was rushing. Each time she had a few tumblers in place, the hairpin would slip or bend.

She glanced at the massive door. There was no way to drive right through it the way they do on TV. She took a deep breath and started again.

* * * * *

From behind the dumpster, I could see Missy squatting as she worked the lock.

I didn’t know how long it took to pick a lock—only what I’d seen on TV—but this seemed to be taking too long. From inside the stadium, the noise continued. Crashes. Groaning metal rafters bending under the increasing weight of the sagging canvas. If we didn’t get in there soon, the way to the machine might be blocked completely.

I thought about trying Barry on the radio. She said to wait, but at some point he needed to be called whether we got in or not.

My heart pounded. I checked around for the guards. Maybe they had left. Maybe they were watching the destruction from the other side of the stadium.

Maybe they would be waiting for us when we got inside.

* * * * *

“God damn it!”

The hairpins slipped again. The lock simply would not comply. Missy pounded the big steel door. “Open up, you son of a bitch.”

She blinked back a tear. “Everybody’s counting on me now. I am
not
going to let them down.”

Focus on the tumblers, Missy.

She glared at the cold steel lock. “Okay, you stupid lock, here’s what’s gonna happen.” She held up a hair pin. “I’m gonna do this one more time.” She took a deep breath. “I’m going to go slow, okay? I’m going to hold the pins in place firmly.” She slid the pin into the keyhole. “And you’re
going
to open up. Do you hear me?”

She inserted the second pin, holding the first one tightly in place. The wire bent a little, so she applied even more force, causing the pins to dig into her fingers. Then the third pin, holding the other two, squeezing her eyes closed against the pain. She slowly turned them.

Click.

The lock popped open.

Melissa exhaled. “About time.” She licked the blood off her finger and placed her forehead against the big door. “Thank you.”

* * * * *

Melissa waved her arms at me. Time to cue Barry. I stood up and lifted the little pink radio to my mouth.

Headlights appeared on me, bouncing their way toward us. I dropped back behind the dumpster, motioning at Missy. “Get down!”

The truck drove right at me, screeching to a halt in front of the dumpster.

“Did somebody call for a taxi?”

It was Barry. I stood and shielded my eyes from the glare of the headlights. “Good timing.”

He smiled. “Tell that to Jimmy. Where’s Melissa?”

“Barry!” She lifted the gate a few inches. “Peeky! Come help me. The gate’s stuck.”

I ran over to her as Barry hopped along behind me. He checked the door. “These overhead doors work on a chain system inside, like a pulley.” He looked at Melissa. “Slide under. It should be on one side of the door.”

He knelt down. The wind from inside blew his hair back. “Peeky, help me lift.”

Barry balanced on one foot so his broken ankle wouldn’t bear any weight. We put our hands under the big steel gate and lifted.

“Okay. I can get under that.” Melissa dropped to her back and disappeared under the door.

I bent over and called into the opening. “Be careful. There’s still a lot of stuff coming down.”

Barry grinned at me. “Told you.”

The gate began to rise with noisy metal rumble. Melissa appeared. “Break time’s over. Let’s go get our damn time machine.” With that, she turned and ran towards the stadium floor.

Barry stood up, watching her go. “She’s kinda Lara Croft all of a sudden, isn’t she?”

I nodded. “Yeah.”

“Kinda hot, isn’t it?”

“Yeah.”

We watched for another moment. “Okay.” Barry opened the truck door. “Get in.”

He drove down the ramp to the basketball court. There, in the middle of the massing debris, stood the time machine, resting on a simple wood palate. The stadium fans pumped wildly, creating a howling wind that escaped through the gaping hole in the roof and any other openings. Aside from a lot of noise and broken lights, not much else had happened yet, but above us the sagging roof was collapsing under its own weight.

Melissa waved at us from beside the machine. Barry pulled up next to it. “Peeky, you two should be able to lift it right onto the truck bed.”

I jumped out. Melissa was already lowering the tail gate. “Help me pull it over.”

I grabbed the machine and pulled. It moved easily.

Melissa shouted over the wind noise. “On the count of three, lift this end up.” She patted the machine. “Put it on the tailgate. Then we can just slide it in. Ready?”

I nodded.

A flash came off the roof of the truck, sending little sparks in all directions. A little round hole appeared in the truck bed. I looked at Melissa.

She pointed over my shoulder. “They’re shooting at us!”

I ducked down, holding the machine. “Let’s get the hell out of here!”

Melissa shook her head. “We’re taking this with us!”

“Hey, you guys!” Barry leaned out the truck door, shouting. “I think somebody’s shooting at us!”

“They’re missing on purpose.” Melissa crouched behind the time machine. “They won’t risk hitting the machine.”

Following her gaze to the source of the gunfire, Barry frowned. “Are you sure?”

“Pretty sure.”

I cringed.
“Pretty
sure?”

There was another thump as a shot hit the truck bed.

Barry grabbed the machine. “Let’s get it onto the truck and get out of here. Lift!”

We shoved the time machine into the back of the truck and Melissa slammed the tailgate shut. “Peeky, get in the back.”

“That’s where the bullets keep hitting!”

“Get in. You’ll get shot if you try to go around.”

Barry climbed behind the wheel. Melissa slid in behind him. “Move over. I’ll drive.”

She dropped the truck into gear and stomped the gas pedal. The pickup’s wheels squealed as she spun the truck around.

The two guards appeared in front of the vehicle exit, guns pointed.

“Get down!” Melissa hit the accelerator.

We sped toward them. The men fired a few shots, shattering the windshield. Then we were past them and out into the parking lot.

She punched the gas again and we raced away from the stadium

* * * * *

It must have appeared odd to see three people carrying a large bronze egg up the stairs and down the hallway to our motel room. That’s probably what got the young girl’s attention in the first place.

“That looks like a party.” She sipped a beer as we hustled by. “Some kind of bong?”

Melissa eyed the girl. “It’s a time machine.”

“Awesome.”

“Yeah.” Melissa smiled. “Hey, any chance you and your friends would want to trade rooms? I’m sure the manager was as cordial to you as he was to me.”

“Ugh. That guy gives me the creeps.”

“All the more reason to switch rooms. Then he can’t find you when he goes on break.”

The girl nodded. “Okay.”

“Thanks. We’re just over here, okay?”

The switch went smoothly. The party girl and her friends were happy to regain some anonymity from the pimply front desk clerk.

“You really have done this before, haven’t you?” Barry sat down on the bed. I found a place to sit on the floor.

Melissa patted the time machine as it rested in its new home. “Hey, I hung out with some party girls in high school. They just wanna drink, have a little quality time with their boyfriends…”

“Underage drinking.” Barry lifted his cast onto the bed. “I can’t believe my ears.”

“Hey, I didn’t say I did it.”

“No? What were you, the designated driver?”

She looked down. “Somebody had to be.”

Barry chuckled. “I think you just went up a notch in my book and simultaneously down a notch, too.”

I shifted on the floor, letting my back rest against the wall and closing my eyes. “I think it’s nice you watched out for your friends.”

“Speaking of which, we need to take stock of our situation and see what’s what.” Melissa peered out the window at the parking lot. “We have our time machine back. Now, we need to dump the truck before they track it down and find us here.” She glanced at Barry’s leg where it had become swollen above the cast. “Looks like you could use some medical attention, too.”

“No doubt.” Barry winced. “I’m sore as hell, but we can’t risk that right now.”

I opened my eyes. “There’s a pharmacy a few blocks from here. I could go get you something.”

“With what money?” He shook his head. “Or are we holding up drug stores now, too?”

Melissa put her hands on her hips. “Peeky, you could get to the free clinic over off Nebraska Avenue. It’s a pretty far walk but they’ll have something for the pain. I’ll ditch the truck and get another car for us.”

I rubbed my neck. “How will you do that?”

“Same way I got this one. I’ll just ask a friend to borrow theirs.”

“At this hour?”

“Well, I’m sure I know somebody who won’t mind, even if it’s late.” She glanced out the window again. “Either way, that truck outside’s gotta go. It is way too easy to spot.”

I visualized the truck bed. “Especially now that it has bullet holes in it.”

“Yeah,” Barry said. “That’s got to be priority number one.”

Melissa grabbed the keys off the dresser. “So we’re agreed. Peeky will go to the free clinic and I’ll find another car for us.”

Barry shifted his broken ankle on the bed. “What am I supposed to do?”

“Stay here and guard the time machine.” She went over to him. “Get some rest. You need it. That ankle looks like hell. You have little blood stains on your armpits, too.”

Barry pulled at his shirt. “That’s from the crutches. Turns out they’re Medieval torture devices.”

Melissa put her hand on Barry’s shoulder and slid a pillow behind his back. “If I can borrow a credit card or some gas money, I will. I’ll see about getting us some food and a change of clothes, too.”

“Pretty generous friends.” I rested my head on the wall.

“Yeah, they are.” She smiled. “We take care of each other.”

I opened an eye. “Even in the middle of the night?”

She nodded. “Especially in the middle of the night. I’ve held back hair for plenty of girlfriends as they yawned at the porcelain god to stave off alcohol poisoning. They’ll open the door for me.”

“We can move faster if we go together.” I stood up.

Melissa shook her head. “Can’t risk it. That truck is a big yellow Here They Are flag and none of us can afford to be seen together right now. They’d ID us in a second. I’ll ditch the truck behind the mall and then hike across campus to a friend’s apartment. On foot, on the grass, in the shadows. It’ll take a lot longer but we won’t get spotted.” She pointed a finger at me. “You do the same thing. Walk to the clinic, but try to stay off the main streets. Use the alleys that run behind the stores, and keep to the shadows. Get whatever you can for pain and swelling, then come back.”

She set the backpack next to Barry. “Meanwhile, you stay here and rest. Hang onto this in case there’s anything you can use in it.”

He rummaged through the bag. “There’s another bottle opener. Maybe I can cut off this cast and let my ankle breathe.”

“Don’t even joke about that.” She snatched the backpack out of his hand, dropping it to the floor. “There’s a snack machine downstairs. We have enough money for a few packs of peanut butter crackers. I’ll get you something to eat until we get back. Okay?