Free The Bone Hunters by Robert J. Mrazek Page B

silence.
    â€œHell, I’ll go,” said Macaulay.
    Jessup took in his physical condition.
    â€œLook at him, Tom,” he said. “He’s drunk.”
    â€œJust hungover, Frank,” said Macaulay. “You ought to try rum more often. Maybe it would give you some guts.”
    â€œAre you all right to fly, Steve?” asked Hurdnut.
    Macaulay thought about it. Yes, he could fly. Whether he was hungover or sober, it was the one thing he could still do well. The Goose might not have been his old F-16, but those days were gone long ago along with the intoxicating thrill of leading his men in battle.
    â€œYou’ll never get her in the air,” said Jessup.
    â€œYou be shut the fuck up,” said Carlos with a menacing glare.
    Jessup turned and walked slowly to the door. Shoving it open, he went out without another word. The wind slammed the door shut behind him
    â€œYou won’t have to land out there,” said Hurdnut. “We’re in radio contact with the husband. We have his GPS coordinates. It’ll be dark by the time you get there and he’ll signal you his exact position with a Maglite. All you have to do is drop the package.”
    â€œYeah,” said Macaulay as the lights in the office fluttered for a few seconds and went out.
    The outer door swung open and a heavyset, dark-skinned man wearing a white lab jacket came into the room. He was carrying what looked like a plastic DVD case.
    â€œIs that it, Doctor?” asked Tom Hurdnut.
    The man nodded and handed him the case.
    â€œThere are two doses in there in case there is a problem with the first injection,” said the doctor.
    Hurdnut weighed it in his hand.
    â€œNeeds to be heavier,” he said. “We’ll insulate it with plastic and strap it to a brick with orange reflective tape. Steve, you’ll just need to come in low and drop it as close as you can to the base of the Maglite beam.”
    â€œYeah,” repeated Macaulay, looking out at the billowing wind sock on the pole outside the boathouse.
    â€œIt’s bad luck about the wheel strut,” said Hurdnut, and Macaulay nodded.
    A week earlier, the strut on the Goose’s right wheel well had been compromised after a rough landing. They were still waiting for parts. Otherwise, Macaulay couldsimply have run the bird up the launching ramp and then taxi over to the dirt landing strip for his takeoff and the landing when he came back. Now they were confined to the sea.
    â€œWhere you planning to lift off?” asked Hurdnut with a forced smile.
    â€œThe only place is the sheltered side of the inner lagoon.”
    â€œThat would be awful tight, Steve. You sure you have enough room?”
    â€œIt’s the only choice,” said Macaulay. “There are already six-foot seas in the harbor.”
    Ten minutes later, Carlos was rowing him out to the mooring in the big company skiff. Looking up at the darkening sky, Macaulay watched as a swarm of brown pelicans and cormorants headed inland. Smart move, he thought as the wind-whipped rain stung his eyes.
    â€œYou be crazy to go, Steef,” said Carlos.
    Macaulay held on to the gunwales as the skiff rode crazily down a deep swell.
    â€œI go with you, man,” said Carlos as they reached the Goose’s mooring ball.
    â€œNot this time, compadre,” said Macaulay. “You be too heavy to get us off.”
    Carlos stared at him morosely for a few seconds, the rain pouring off the brim of his Yankees hat.
    â€œI be buy you a Goombay Smash at Lana’s when you be get back.”
    â€œA deal.”
    The green water was roiling violently under the Goose’s hull as Macaulay stepped across the stern of the skiff to pry open the cabin door. Timing his jump to thewave action, he leaped inside. Seawater surged in behind him and covered the carpeted floor of the compartment. He shut the cabin door and moved forward to the cockpit.
    The Grumman Goose was tired. In