Free The Arctic Code by Matthew J. Kirby Page A

want.”
    â€œYeah.” He jabbed a thumb over his shoulder. “Back there.”
    â€œThat’s not what you said.”
    â€œWell, I—” He closed his mouth. “You know what? Fine. Whatever. Just don’t touch anything.”
    Eleanor brought her legs up and crossed them in her seat. “I won’t.”
    Luke positioned the headset’s microphone in front of his mouth. “Fairbanks Tower, this is cargo craft one-nine-three-zero Consuelo , reporting all systems go. . . . Roger that. . . .” He flipped a series of switches around and above him. Eleanor scanned the cockpit, with all its dials and gauges and controls, and noticed a little black-and-white screen with a fish-eyed video feed from the cargo hold. It appeared that Betty had unloaded all her crates. Luke watched the feed carefully for a moment and then flipped another switch. On the screen, the cargo door closed.
    Then it occurred to Eleanor. Luke had known she was back there. Had he been watching her the whole time ? She swiveled in her chair and looked directly at him while pointing at the screen.
    He shrugged. “I didn’t notice you until we were three hours out of Phoenix, but by that point I’d already lost too much time—” He snapped forward as if listening to something in his headphones. “Affirmative, Fairbanks Tower. Cargo craft one-nine-three-zero Consuelo , taxiing to runway.” He took hold of the yokeand the throttle, and the plane crawled forward.
    Eleanor hadn’t taken her stare from him.
    As he guided the plane, he shook his head at her. “Don’t look at me like that. You’re the one who illegally stowed away on my plane.”
    Eleanor faced forward in her seat. “That doesn’t give you the right to spy on me.”
    â€œAccording to ancient maritime law, stowaways have no rights. They can even be thrown overboard.”
    Eleanor squinted at him. “You just made that up, didn’t you?”
    â€œI’m sure I heard it somewhere,” he said. The plane reached a position at the end of a long, unpaved runway that appeared to be made of ice mixed with gravel. “Fairbanks Tower, cargo craft one-nine-three-zero Consuelo , am I cleared for takeoff? Over.”
    Eleanor wasn’t quite ready to let his lie go, but Luke’s focus had shifted entirely to the plane. He took hold of the yoke in front of him.
    â€œAffirmative. See you next time, Fairbanks Tower.” He pushed the throttle down again, but this time, the plane jumped, gaining speed fast enough to squeeze Eleanor’s stomach. “Here we go, kid,” Luke said.
    Taking off was a very different experience up here than it had been back in the cargo hold. Through the windows, Eleanor could see ahead of them and toeither side, and she felt a thrill at the way the world streaked by.
    Luke pulled back on the yoke, and the nose of the plane lifted off the ground, followed by the rest of her, and they were airborne. The plane climbed at a steep angle, the world falling away from them at a rapid pace, and she kept climbing until they were above the clouds.
    Several moments later, Luke leveled them off. “About two hours to Barrow.”
    Eleanor’s earlier irritation and embarrassment had faded. Luke might have been spying on her, but that also meant he hadn’t kicked her off. “Thanks,” she said.
    Luke took a moment to respond. “You’re welcome.”
    â€œSo, where are you from?” Eleanor asked.
    Luke shook his head. “No. We’re not doing that.”
    â€œDoing what?”
    â€œGetting to know each other.”
    Eleanor rolled her eyes and turned to look out the window. “Just trying to pass the time.”
    The engine droned.
    â€œAnchorage,” Luke said. “That’s where I’m from.”
    Maybe that answered the other question Eleanor wanted to ask, which was why Luke kept flying up here when other pilots