Free The Arctic Code by Matthew J. Kirby Page B

didn’t. “Ever been married? Kids?”
    Luke gripped the steering column. “Married once. Two kids. Robbie and Amanda. When the ice came, my ex took them south. I took to the air.” He turned to look at Eleanor. “What about you? Your mom’s in Barrow. Where’s your dad?”
    â€œNo dad,” she said. “I have an Uncle Jack, though.”
    â€œHe know where you are?” Luke asked.
    An instant guilt put Eleanor on the defensive. Uncle Jack was probably freaking out by now, calling the cops and everything. “I’m sure he has some idea. He’ll forgive me, though. Eventually. He gets me.”
    â€œThat a problem you have? People not getting you?”
    â€œPretty much,” Eleanor said. “People think I’m a freak. Maybe I am. No one I know would have stowed away on a plane heading to Alaska.”
    â€œWell,” Luke said, “not many pilots are crazy enough to fly up this way, so I guess that makes me a freak, too.” He paused. “What about your mom? Does she get you?”
    â€œSometimes,” Eleanor said. But there were also times it didn’t seem like her mom, or even Uncle Jack, truly understood her. At times it seemed like no one did. She shook that thought away and focused on the clouds, the blue sky, the blur of ice below. This was much better than riding in the cargo hold.
    â€œSo.” She bounced an eyebrow. “Lucius, huh?”
    He chuckled. “Only when I’m in trouble.”
    Eleanor grinned. “Betty was right, you know.”
    â€œAbout what?”
    â€œYou are a good guy.”
    His demeanor changed. The smile abandoned his lips and his eyes, leaving a hardness behind. “Don’t get your hopes up, kid.”
    F or the next hour or so, they didn’t say much. The ice sheet below gave way to the peaks of a mountain range pushing up through it, creating the appearance of an island chain. Eleanor started thinking about what she would do when she reached Barrow. The first thing she wanted to do was find someone with a snow vehicle she could hire, travel to her mother’s station out on the ice sheet, and start helping in the search.
    But that might have to wait. It was nearing four o’clock in the afternoon, which meant there wouldn’t be a lot of time before the sun set, and even Eleanor knew better than to go out onto the ice sheet at night.
    The eastern horizon had grown dark. It took Eleanor a moment to realize it was too early for that to be from the time of day.
    â€œWhy is it so dark over there?” she asked Luke.
    â€œPolar storm,” he said. “It’ll hit Barrow earlier than I was expecting. I’m barely going to haveenough time to unload and refuel.”
    â€œWhat happens if you run out of time?” Eleanor asked, but what she worried about more was her mom, stranded or lost or trapped somewhere out there, about to get caught in the same storm. Unless Eleanor managed to locate her first.
    â€œI’m stuck in Barrow until it passes over,” Luke said. “Could last a week, or longer.” He shook his head. “We’ll be landing soon. How quick can your mom come get you?”
    Eleanor shifted in her seat. “Um, not quick.”
    Luke paused. “Why not?”
    Eleanor didn’t think there was any reason to keep the truth from him now. They were almost at Barrow. “My mom is kind of . . . lost.”
    â€œWhat?”
    â€œShe went out on the ice sheet and her company lost contact with her.”
    â€œOkay, so who’s coming to get you?”
    Eleanor’s voice got quiet. “No one.”
    Luke’s face reddened. “Is anyone up here even expecting you?”
    â€œNo,” she said.
    â€œIce me, I knew something was off,” Luke said. “Should have listened to my gut and kicked you off back in Fairbanks. After I unload and refuel, I’mtaking you back to