“MAYBE THAT OLD Chinese guy was right,” muttered Yukari. “I should’ve waited until dark.”
There weren’t any trains or buses from Santiago to the base on the northeast shore of the island—the base needed to be somewhere isolated. A single road, barely wide enough for one truck, wound its way through the mountains from Santiago to the base. Rocket Road. On foot, the going wasn’t easy.
Mr. Cheung had suggested that Yukari wait until the evening when the people at the base came to town for dinner. Then she could simply catch a ride with someone on their way back. But Yukari had consulted a map in the restaurant, and the base was only fifteen kilometers away. She figured it would be a three-hour hike at most. She weighed her options after leaving the restaurant and finally decided to hoof it. Now she was regretting that decision.
Rocket Road straddled the Shiriba Mountains, which rose as high as thirteen hundred meters above sea level. The road threaded its way through the valleys, making the journey much longer than it appeared on the map. At times the path was steep enough to give a double black diamond ski slope a run for its money.
Yukari had pushed ahead, but youthful exuberance had given way to exhaustion before she had traveled even a third of the distance to the base. Even standing still, she could feel the midday sun beating down on her, sapping her strength and wringing every drop of water out of her. At times the jungle canopy made a tunnel that afforded some protection against the sun, but after spying a python in the branches of a tree, Yukari was disinclined to linger in the shade.
Yukari found a large stone in a small clearing at the side of the road and sat down. She wasn’t sure she had the energy to turn back and make it to town, much less press on to the base. Tired and alone, Yukari was on the brink of despair when she heard the sound of an engine approaching.
“Yes! A car!” Yukari bounded off the rock. She walked to the middle of the road, planted her feet, and waited.
The noise suddenly grew louder. A huge car came speeding out of the shadows at the far side of the clearing. It was a Humvee. The driver slammed on the brakes, bringing the car skidding to a stop in front of Yukari.
“Trying to get yourself killed?!” the driver shouted in Japanese. A large man who looked to be in his twenties sat alone in the car. He didn’t look happy.
Yukari ran up to the driver-side window. “Could you give me a lift?”
“Outta my way, kid, I’m in a hurry.”
“I was heading to the base, but I don’t think I can make it.”
He unlocked the passenger door. “Time’s a-wastin’.”
Yukari climbed in. From the outside, the Humvee looked like a Jeep with a roof, but inside it was spacious, big enough to seat four across a single seat. “Better buckle up. It can get a little bumpy.”
“Right.”
The man slammed his beast of a vehicle into gear, and they sprang forward. Yukari sank into the hard seat as the car jostled her every which way.
She glanced over in the driver’s direction. “So…”
“Yeah?”
“You going to Santiago?”
“Hamamatsu.”
“What?”
“Hamamatsu. That’s home.”
What was up with this guy?
The Humvee sped through the jungle at terrific speed, brushing past plants that encroached too close on either side. Over the whine of the engine, Yukari made out a low, methodic whir coming from behind and a little above them as well. Whatever it was, it was getting closer.
“Damn, that was fast.”
“What’s that sound?”
“HSS-2. Security chopper. But they have to catch me first!” he said, upshifting the double clutch and slamming the accelerator to the floor.
The roar of the helicopter blades was almost deafening. A shadow crept over the hood of the Humvee. Overhead a large boat-shaped object seemed to hover. A voice rang out over a loudspeaker, drowning out even the sound of the blades. “Pull over now, Yasukawa, and we can still keep this civil!”
Yukari cast a sideways glance at the driver’s seat. Apparently his name was Yasukawa.
“I’m not stopping till I’m back in Hamamatsu!”
“You’ve got to the count of three before we open up with our Baby Mark II. One!”
Yasukawa’s foot didn’t move from the pedal.
The Humvee climbed a steep grade, going airborne as it topped the rise.
“Two! This isn’t some slack-spined Self-Defense crew you’re dealing with. We will fire, Yasukawa!”
“Do me a favor!” barked Yasukawa.
“Who, me?!”
“Wave your hands so the chopper can see you.”
“But they said they were going to shoot—”
“If you don’t want that to happen, better start wavin’.”
Yukari leaned out the passenger-side window. The helicopter was trailing them at a distance of about fifty meters. A man leaned out an open side door, pointing something with a long, slender barrel at them.
Yukari waved her arms like mad.
Yasukawa flipped a switch to turn on the Humvee’s bullhorn and shouted into the mike. “See this kid, Kurosu? You want her blood on your hands, be my guest!”
The barrel belched flame.
Yukari ducked back inside the car with a yelp.
Something whizzed past her head, exploding where it struck the road in front of them. The Humvee leapt through the rising flames like a lion at the circus.
“You said they wouldn’t shoot!”
Rocket fuel burned on the hood of the car. Yasukawa kept driving. “Kurosu doesn’t want me to make it to town.”
“Kurosu?”
“Chief of security—damn!”
FWOOMP!
The second shell exploded ahead of them, bringing a large gum tree down across the road. Yasukawa jerked the wheel hard to the right, sending the Humvee into the jungle.
“Out!”
Yukari pushed the door open and slid to the ground.
“This way! Run!”
Yukari hurried down a steep trail after Yasukawa. “Why do I have to run?”
“If Kurosu catches you, he’ll use you as a hostage.”
“What? That’s psycho!”
“That’s island fever.”
“Island fever?”
“Far as he’s concerned, what happens on the island stays on the island. This whole damn place is a loony bin!”
Yukari kept running. Soon they were out of the jungle and in a familiar sweet potato field. They could see Santiago on the far side.
The helicopter had gained some altitude now, but it didn’t show any signs of breaking off the chase.
“He wouldn’t dare shoot at us in town,” said Yasukawa, jogging across the field.
“But they’re watching us.”
“We’ll lose ourselves in a crowd. Next stop, Chinatown.”
“Then what?”
“Shut up and move.”
Soon they were in the backstreets of Chinatown. They ducked low, keeping close to the walls of the houses. After darting in and out of what seemed like the hundredth alleyway, Yasukawa walked up to the back of a house and rapped on the door.
“Yo, Cheung! It’s me, Yasukawa! Open up!”
The door swung open.
“Look here! Mr. Yasukawa and young lady. What’s wrong?”
“Let us in. I’ll explain later.”
“Okay, okay.”
Mr. Cheung stepped aside to let them in. They were in the kitchen at the back of the restaurant.
“Got any empty rooms?”
“Aiyaa…” Cheung sighed. Then, with a wink, “You not waste any time. This way, please.”
They climbed a flight of stairs up to a small twin bedroom. Apparently the second floor of the Tianjin Restaurant was a hotel.
“Enjoy yourselves. You want something to drink?”
“You got the wrong idea, Mr. Cheung. We’re on the lam.”
“On the lam?”
Yasukawa produced a one hundred Solomon Islands dollar bill from his pocket and pushed it into Cheung’s hand.
“If anybody from the base comes poking around, we’re not here.”
“Ah, I see. I will keep you on the lam, Mr. Yasukawa,” Cheung said with a wink.
“One more thing. I need you to get a boat down to Clepp Point for me. Something that’ll get me to Santa Isabel.”
“Leave everything to me. You rest here until tonight. I bring you tea.”