Free Peak by Roland Smith Page B

climbed, too—kind of." He shook his head. "It was a scary thing to watch."
    "Josh!"
    "So, I'll take you to the top," Josh said. "But only if I can do it without killing you. If you make it you'll be famous ... and you'll help your old man live in comfort for the rest of his life. My plan is to sell the business in a few years and retire on the proceeds. Are we square?"
    I wasn't sure about the famous part, and I wasn't happy about his reason for bringing me to Everest, but I did want to get to the top.
    "We're square," I said. "But no more caginess. I want to know what's going on."
    "It's a deal." He stuck out his gloved hand and we shook.
    "Josh!"
    He unzipped the flap and peeked out. "We'd better go and say hello before she causes an avalanche."

GASP
     
    HOLLY ANGELO LOOKED like a redheaded scarecrow dressed in pink goose down.
    She was over six feet tall with limbs like a daddy longlegs. As soon as she saw Josh she wrapped her arms around him with a shriek so loud every head for a quarter mile popped out of its tent like turtles coming out of their shells.
    Standing next to her were several curious Sherpas, three camera guys, a personal chef, and a massage therapist. The chef and the massage therapist were shivering and would be dead before morning unless somebody found them warmer gear.
    Josh wriggled out of her tentacles and held her at arm's length so she couldn't snag him again. "You haven't changed a bit," he said with his trademark grin. (Meaning, I think: "Holly, you are still a pain in the crevasse.")
    Her hawklike brown eyes darted around for her next victim, which happened to be me. "Peeeeak!"
    Luckily the drawn-out version of my name doubled her over with a coughing fit and she wasn't able to get to me. You would think that her chef or massage therapist would have come to her aid, but they just stood there shivering, watching their employer bent over clutching her knees.
    "Bad cough," Josh said, when she was finally able to right herself.
    "No big ... gasp ... deal. You know ... gasp ... the altitude and ... gasp ... dry air ... gasp ..."
    "We'll have Doc Krieger take a look at you." He was still smiling but the grin looked a little more genuine. He did not want to take Holly Angelo up the mountain any farther than he had to. In her current condition it didn't look like she was going to get very far.
    I followed him over to meet the film crew: JR, Will, and Jack. They all looked fit. He thanked them for coming up.
    "Happy to be here," JR said, then whispered, "Do us a favor, Josh. Put us as far away from Holly as possible."
    "No problem." Josh looked over at the gasping reporter.
    Holly was already telling the Sherpas where to pitch her pink tent, which was only slightly smaller than the HQ tent.
    Josh frowned when he saw she was erecting the monstrosity right next to his and my tent, but he didn't say anything to her. He looked back at JR and pointed to a spot about seventy-five feet away.
    "Best I can do."
    "Fine," JR said. He and the others headed over to the spot with their gear.
    Josh rubbed his temples. "I probably don't need to tell you this, but you need to be very careful about what you say to Holly. She's a reporter and anything you tell her is fair game. Just remember that she is more interested in herself and her career than she is in you."
    "What about the film crew?" I asked.
    "No worries there. We own the footage. When we edit it down we'll make you look good no matter how you screw up." He grinned. "Just kidding. Let's go over to the mess tent and I'll introduce you to the other climbers. Just keep in mind, they know you're my son, but we haven't told them that we're trying to get you to the top."
    "Why?"
    "Because they've paid upward to a hundred grand to summit. In a way, we're using their money to get you up there. They might get upset."
    "So, what am I supposed to tell them?"
    "That you're here with me and don't expect to make it past Camp Four or Five." He looked back over in Holly's