NorthWest (John Hazard - Book II) (15 page)

“I think I’ll hang onto this one. I want to show the team the new tools I got for this trip,” said John as he turned toward the rest of the group. “Come on, Emily. Let me help you get to know everybody right away so you’ll feel more at home during the flight.”

“More at home? Oh, sure, John,” she said ironically, recalling what her home had been like just before she left. “I think I’d rather feel more at your home. Last time I saw mine, the door was being kicked in.”

“Oh yeah. Sorry.” He felt sympathy for what she had been through.

Macy was standing nearby and pressed Emily for more information. “I’m sorry, did you say your door was being kicked in? Is there anything I should know about?”

John was quick to reply, “No, Macy. Everything’s cool. It’s a long story. How about we save it for later? It will make good drama when we tell it around the campfire in the dark.”

Macy still looked concerned. “Are you sure?”

Emily chimed in, “Yes, it’s not that important. We’ll tell you the whole story after we get where we’re going.” She forced a smile in hopes of reassuring her employer.

In the lull that followed, Macy took the opportunity to get everyone’s attention. “Hey, guys! Let’s grab some chairs and sit down. I have a couple of things to say before we leave.” Everyone grabbed one of the chairs that lined a wall of the hangar and pulled them over to form a circle. Marcus carried his over to sit next to Sherri.

“Okay. About five weeks ago, when I first decided to put this field trip together, I considered the possibility that we might be walking into some danger. Therefore, I instructed each of you to bring protection as you felt necessary to preserve your own safety. We are going into a national forest where there are wolves, bears, and other dangerous animals roaming freely, and we must be alert to that fact every minute of the day and night.”

Macy began handing out booklet printouts as she continued, “I also instructed you to research and review basic wilderness survival techniques. In the event that you were not as thorough as you could have been, I have printed some information for each of you. Even if you plan on spending all of your time in the presence of the group, there is still the chance that we could become separated or one of you may be lost.”

Marcus interrupted, “Anything come to mess with Ho-tep gonna be chompin’ on the barrel of my .45.” He nodded and gestured as he looked around at the group. “That’s what I’m sayin’.”

Macy continued, “That’s good, Marcus, but we need all individuals carrying weapons to be strategically located when we set up camp. Raise your hand if you have packed a weapon, please.” 

Five hands were raised, among them John, Marcus, Eddie, Macy, and Sherri. “My sweet girl is packing iron? Yeah, baby!” Marcus exclaimed when Sherri’s hand went up.

Macy continued, “I’m hoping that everyone had the sense to pack these in with their other gear and not give Mark a reason to be concerned about his safety as our pilot.”

Everyone nodded except John, who raised his hand then spoke out. “Hey, I kept my knife out of the pack cuz it has a nice sheath that fits right on the belt. That’s cool isn’t it?”  He patted the large buck knife on his hip.

“Sure, John. Just keep it sheathed in case we hit some turbulence up there. I wouldn’t want you to put your eye out.” She smiled at him and he returned a blank stare.

Macy spent a few minutes going over some basic information about what should be expected when they set up camp. When she was finished, she looked around to see that everyone was on the same page. “Now unless someone has to go to the bathroom, I guess we can get this party started. Anybody need to use the can?” Three of the girls raised their hands and Raj sheepishly joined them. “Okay then, take care of business and we’re out of here.” The four of them scurried off toward the bathrooms.

After they walked away, Macy turned and asked John, “Is that what I think it is?” She was pointing at the case sitting at his feet.

John nodded, “Yes, ma’am! If you were thinking that it’s my new Paranormal Investigation Super-Secret Toolkit, you would be a winner!” He grinned, proud that he was the only one with the forethought to bring some actual paranormal investigation tools.

“After we get in the air, and everybody is finished reading that document, I’ll pass these awesome some tools around and let everybody see how they work. I think everybody will agree, this is some really cool shit.”

“That’s what I like about you, John. You always think of everything.” Macy smiled at him, and he replied, “Not a big deal, Mace. Used to be a Boy Scout, and you know the Boy Scout motto?”

“Uh, be prepared?” she answered.

John showed his approval with a hearty “Hoo rah!”

“Hoo rah? Isn’t that marine talk, Boy Scout?” Macy shook her head and walked over to talk to Mark.

A few minutes later, the others returned from the bathrooms and Emily walked up to John. “Um… I was wondering… I know I’m supposed to be the camera girl on this trip, but I haven’t really seen any sign of equipment. Seems kind of strange, don’t you think?”

“You know, I didn’t either. I think we should ask about it.” He started walking toward Macy, “Hey Macy, got a sec before we get going?”

“Sure.” She looked up from the map she was studying, “What is it?”

“Emily here had a good question. Uh… what about the video equipment?”

Macy turned to Sherri who was standing next to the plane. She yelled over at her, “Sherri, you reserved the video equipment, right?”

Sherri interrupted her conversation with Marcus long enough to tick off the list with her fingers. “Two top of the line Sony cams, extra lenses, extra batteries, solar panel charging device, two light panels, reflectors and night vision. We also have two tablet screens for daily footage reviews. The guide is bringing everything when he meets us at the airport. Don’t worry, it’s all been arranged and verified.” Sounding confident, she went back to her conversation without missing a beat.

“Wow!” Emily seemed impressed that they would have such an extensive list of quality equipment. “That sounds like a lot of stuff to carry!”

“Oh, well. I didn’t think the camera operator would be solely responsible for carrying all of the gear. We’re going to divide it up among the group and the only thing you’ll have to carry is the camera, Emily. Just in case we stumble on something big, I want you to be able to record it.”

She looked at the rest of the team boarding the plane, “Besides, it’s a very small unit from what I hear. Uses very high capacity memory sticks rather than tape, so you can shoot as much footage as you feel you need to tell the story.”

John watched as the group began filing into the cabin of the plane. “Looks like they’re ready, Mace. I guess it’s time.” He smiled and held out his hand to shake hers. “Good luck, commander.”

She took his hand with a firm grip, “Thanks, John. And believe me when I tell you, if we encounter what I think we might, we’ll need a lot more than luck. We’ll need… ah, never mind.” With that, she walked toward the plane.

Emily looked at John with an uneasy expression. “What do you think she meant by that?”

Shrugging his shoulders, he responded, “She’s just being overly dramatic. If we had the camera right now, we probably should have recorded that. It would make a good start to your documentary.”

Twenty-Seven

Fifteen minutes later, the plane was taxiing onto the runway. Mark turned from the cockpit as he maneuvered into position for liftoff and yelled to his passengers, “Everybody, buckle up! We’re expecting some turbulence on this trip. Weather decided not to cooperate today.” He turned back and shoved the accelerator forward.

As the plane sped down the runway, two men in dark suits wearing sunglasses entered the terminal office.

“Hello, how can I help you?” the clerk asked cheerily.

As if she wasn’t already a bit suspicious of these guys wearing stereotypical special agent costumes, one of the men flashed a badge so fast that she really didn’t get a good look at it. “We’re looking for a woman named Emily Sparks? We have reason to believe she is here and scheduled for a flight to some location in the Northwest.”

“I’m afraid you just missed her. See that silver plane out there with the wheels lifting off the ground? She’s on that flight.” She looked at the men who seemed very frustrated at this point. “Is this some kind of medical emergency or something? Do we need to call the plane back?”

“No!” The men said in unison, and turned and left the building exactly the way they had entered.

When their black SUV had disappeared from the parking lot, the young clerk went to the back room and dialed Mark’s mobile phone. She waited as it rang one, two, three times. “Hello, this is Mark.”

“Hey, Mark, this is Cheryl. I’m sorry to bother you but…”

“Whoa, Cheryl? Cheryl… from Oakland? This isn’t about...? I swear I…” Mark was wracking his brain to remember a Cheryl.

“No, Mark. It’s Cheryl at the terminal desk! I’m really sorry to call you, but you know that woman on your flight, Emily?” She picked up a pen from the counter and twirled it in her free hand.

“Sparks? Yeah. What about her?” He flipped a switch on the control panel.

“Well, two guys dressed like Men in Black came into the office looking for her just as you were wheels up down the runway. They flashed some kind of badge like they were for real, but somehow I don’t think so.”

“What the fuck did they want her for?” Mark sounded frustrated as he banked the plane to the left.

“Well, they didn’t say exactly, but I thought you should know. Alright?” She hated talking to him when he was in a bad mood. He always started cursing when he was upset.

“Well, thanks, Cheryl. Maybe I can find out what the hell is going on. I’ll call you back if there’s anything you need to know.” With that he pressed the key on his phone to end the call. “Damn!” he said as he tossed the phone onto the seat beside him.

About an hour and a half into the flight, John was snoring, his head resting on the window of the plane. As Emily turned the last page of the survival document, Macy reached across the aisle and shook John’s shoulder. “Wake up, Sleeping Beauty. You said you’d share your toys when everyone was finished reading, and that would be now.”

“Nuh…” John wiped a bit of saliva from the corner of his mouth and looked around, “Are we there yet?” he asked smiling.

“No, John,” Emily said from across the small aisle. I think we have about fifteen more minutes before we fly over the spot where we will be searching for God knows what.” She looked out the window for a second and continued, “You said you were going to show us your toolkit and Macy was letting you know it was time.”

“Oh yeah.” He unbuckled his seatbelt, and reached down to the floor where he had placed the black case. Pulling it up onto his lap, he unfastened the latch and lifted the lid. The case was lined with a gray foam liner that was customized to fit perfectly around the four instruments it contained. It looked like something out of a spy movie.

Each instrument had a shiny chrome finish and was made with handgrips so it could be easily managed. John moved his seatbelt to the side so he could stand, and getting up from his seat, he turned to face the group while placing the case on his seat.

The ride was a little rough in a plane this small, so he steadied himself against the seat. He pulled the first device from the case and held it up so everyone could see it. “I’m going to tell you about each item and how it is used, and then I’ll pass them around so everyone can see them.”

“There’s an On switch on each of these devices that is right about where the trigger of a gun would be. If it turns itself off while you are holding it, just press this button to turn it back on.” He demonstrated by pressing the button with his index finger. The device emitted an audible tone as it was activated, which could barely be heard above the sound of the plane engines, and a small red LED lit up.

“This one is a barometric pressure sensor. It measures fluctuations in air pressure created by any mass displacing any given quantity of air.” He held it up and pressed the button.

“Right now the cabin of the plane is pressurized and the sensor is showing fluctuations as the air pressure changes due to natural leaks around the seals.” He smiled and handed it to Marcus who was occupying the seat directly behind his.

Marcus began turning the instrument around to look at it up close from every angle as John pulled the next device from the case and held it up for all to see. “This one is an infrared thermographic scanner. On this monitor it shows the patterns of heat and cold.” He pointed at the tiny display on the device.

“For example, if I point this at Emily…” He aimed the device at Emily who made a face at him as he spoke. “I can see a large red blob that gradually turns purple as the heat from her body dissipates.”

“Theoretically, if there was an unseen object that was colder or hotter than the temperature of the surrounding air, we would be able to see a color representation of that object as it came near.” Emily squirmed in her seat when he said this. He grinned at her and pointed the device at the floor adding, “Or not.”

John was passing it to Marcus who had already passed the first instrument on. “This is top of the line shit,” John boasted. “A lot of paranormal investigators only have laser thermometers, the kind that the heating and cooling guys use.” He grinned wide enough to show his teeth in a playful show of pride.  Marcus took it from his hand. By now the first instrument was on the return up the other side.