第10节
o 29,' said Steve. 'But that doesn't mean anything if
we don't know how far we've travelled."
'I think I can answer that. I managed to get this mapping screen
working a while back. We're coming up to navref point Grand Rapids.
That means, lessee . . .
we've travelled 312 miles so far."
'Thanks. I'll get back to you." Steve began to button in the
numbers.
Jodi passed the map over to Kelso. 'Check how far it is from Grand
Rapids to navref Milwaukee..." Her fingers darted over the
calculator.
After a short while, Steve came back on the air. 'Got it. The
burn-off rate is one gallon every 22 miles. If this 29% reading is
accurate, we can cover another 195 miles.
How about you?"
'Not too good, Steve. With our extra loading we're only doing 18.9
miles to the gallon. There's only six left in the tank. According to
the calculator, that's 113.5 miles. But that doesn't take into account
this headwind we got blowing up our nose."
Steve glanced at his folded map. 'We still got a chance.
Lake Michigan is only 80 miles across."
Kelso's voice ricochetted round the inside of his skull.
'We aint got to Lake Michigan, you dickhead! Look at your frigging
map! We're just comin' up on Grand Rapids. That's a hundred an'
twelve miles from Milwaukee! Look out the windshield! That's a fuggin
ocean out there! You seriously expect me and Kaz to try and cross that
with maybe just enough gas for one hundred and thirteen?!
'What d'you want me to do?!" shouted Steve. 'Jettison fuel so I've
got the same chance as you? Get your brain into gear, Dave! We're
eight thousand feet up. If the motor cuts, you can glide another ten,
maybe fifteen miles."
'Oh, really? The man who didn't know he was flying with empty tanks is
now the expert on Skyriders! If you think I'm flying out over that
stretch of water just to find out if this thing glides like a fuggin
brick you got another think comin'! I want grass under my wheels when
the juice runs out. Me and Kaz are headin' south!"
Steve dropped back and closed in until they were flying with wingtips
almost touching. He looked across at Jodi Kazan who sat blocking his
view of Kelso. 'Jodi, for crissakes! Can't you do something?!"
She drew her right hand swiftly across her throat - the signal used to
tell pilots to cut the motor and which was also employed to indicate
the abandonment of a fruitless situation or discussion. 'I think he's
right, Steve. Have you seen what's up ahead?"
'Yeah,' said Kelso. 'Check the weather at two o'clock!"
Steve switched his eyes from Jodi to the northwest quarter of the
sky.
The long grey bank of cloud that had been poised ominously on the
horizon had begun to move while his attention had been diverted by his
lengthy investigation of the crowded instrument panel, the search for
the vidifax and the calculations of the plane's fuel consumption. The
cloud mass was now angling in rapidly across their front.
Clearwater levelled a finger at the ragged ash-grey wall of cumulus.
'Look! It carries the White Death in its belly!"
She was right. It was a snow cloud whose front edge stretched out of
sight in both directions and whose lumpy top layer rose, in places, to
almost double their present altitude.
Jodi spoke into the mike fitted to her borrowed crash helmet. 'We're
gonna have to run ahead of this, Stevie.
It must stretch from here to South Dakota. On the fuel we got left
we're not gonna be able to climb over it and flyin' through it ain't
gonna do us no good either. If we end up being forced to land in what
the good ole boys call a 'white-out' we could be in all kinds of
trouble."
'We're in trouble whatever we do,' grunted Kelso.
'This is as far as we go, Kaz." Easing back the throttle, he pushed
the control column forwards and over to the left and dived under
Steve's tail.
Steve caught an over-the-shoulder glimpse of the Skyrider as it slid
beneath him. He banked to the left and saw it reappear in front of
him. He cursed quietly and stabbed the transmit button. 'Breaker One
to Breaker Two. What's your new heading?"