money,” Dino said.
----
—
They arrived at the FBO at 10:45 and saw the Gulfstream taxiing out for takeoff.
“Drive into the hangar,” Stone said to the driver. They were deposited at the foot of the airstairs door, and the waiting crew put their luggage aboard.
“They’re rolling,” Stone said to Faith.
“Got it. My bet is Midway. You want me to go ahead and file for there? We can always change our destination later.”
“Okay.”
Faith went forward and cranked up the auxiliary power unit, so they would have air-conditioning, then they closed up and allowed themselves to be towed out of the hangar.
One of the crew came back to where they sat. “Faith says they’ve already changed their destination to Midway.”
“Excellent,” Stone said. He turned to Dino. “It’s got to be Zanian.”
“I still don’t think that Marty is Zanian,” Dino said.
“You could be right, but I’m betting that Zanian is on that airplane.”
“I won’t argue that with you.”
----
—
They took off and headed in a northwesterly direction.
“Tell me again the significance of Midway,” Dino said.
“It was always a refueling stop. Juan Trippe, who founded and ran Pan American World Airways, constructed a building there, and his long-range seaplanes, the Pan Am Clippers, stopped for fuel.”
“I mean about the war.”
“After Pearl Harbor, our U.S. Navy codebreakers cracked the Japanese code. Japan was planning an attack, but they didn’t know where. There were references to a place called F, I think, and they thought that was Midway. To find out, they sent a coded message to Midway, telling the operator to send an open message that the island was having trouble with its water condenser. Before long the Japanese broadcast a coded message, which, when broken, said that F was having trouble with its water condensers.”
“So they knew it was Midway.”
“Right. So they sent a carrier and its escorts to a point northeast of Midway, to lie in wait, figuring the Japanese would attack from the northwest. They were right, and a three-day battle ensured, resulting in the loss of all four Japanese aircraft carriers and a lot of airplanes. It was a turning point in the war. The Japanese never won another battle at sea.”
They settled in for a long flight chasing the sun.
----
—
Late in the day, approaching Midway, Faith came back. “The Gulfstream just took off for Manila,” she said. “We heard them talking to the center. I’ve delayed our call to the center until they’re out of range. We’ll be on the ground about an hour, if you want to stretch your legs, then we’ll take off for Manila with a fresh crew.”
----
—
The old Pan Am building was still on the island, and Stone and Dino took a walk along the beach. The famous gooney birds were still nesting.
----
—
They took off. Then Stone and Dino got into pajamas, pulled the shades, and turned in for the night.
----
—
Faith woke them in time to shower, shave, and change into fresh clothes. Manila was hot, too.
----
—
Faith emerged from the cockpit as they were on their way out of the airplane.
“They’re not here,” she said.
“What?” Stone asked her, stunned.
“We’ll do a ground search at the airport, but as far as I can tell, they didn’t land at Manila. The Philippines are a big place, but I’ll see what I can find out.”
“We’ve come halfway around the world, and they’re not here?” Dino asked.
“They’re somewhere,” Stone said. “We’ll find out where, one way or another. Let’s charter a smaller airplane and search the island’s airports.”
“I checked on that,” Faith said. “There are three hundred and fifty-four airports in the Philippine Islands. I was unable to find out how many of them have runways more than five thousand feet long. Where do you want to start?”
Stone was struck silent.
26
Faith came back to the airplane after a trip to the tower. “Okay,” she said. “I’ve
----
—
They arrived at the FBO at 10:45 and saw the Gulfstream taxiing out for takeoff.
“Drive into the hangar,” Stone said to the driver. They were deposited at the foot of the airstairs door, and the waiting crew put their luggage aboard.
“They’re rolling,” Stone said to Faith.
“Got it. My bet is Midway. You want me to go ahead and file for there? We can always change our destination later.”
“Okay.”
Faith went forward and cranked up the auxiliary power unit, so they would have air-conditioning, then they closed up and allowed themselves to be towed out of the hangar.
One of the crew came back to where they sat. “Faith says they’ve already changed their destination to Midway.”
“Excellent,” Stone said. He turned to Dino. “It’s got to be Zanian.”
“I still don’t think that Marty is Zanian,” Dino said.
“You could be right, but I’m betting that Zanian is on that airplane.”
“I won’t argue that with you.”
----
—
They took off and headed in a northwesterly direction.
“Tell me again the significance of Midway,” Dino said.
“It was always a refueling stop. Juan Trippe, who founded and ran Pan American World Airways, constructed a building there, and his long-range seaplanes, the Pan Am Clippers, stopped for fuel.”
“I mean about the war.”
“After Pearl Harbor, our U.S. Navy codebreakers cracked the Japanese code. Japan was planning an attack, but they didn’t know where. There were references to a place called F, I think, and they thought that was Midway. To find out, they sent a coded message to Midway, telling the operator to send an open message that the island was having trouble with its water condenser. Before long the Japanese broadcast a coded message, which, when broken, said that F was having trouble with its water condensers.”
“So they knew it was Midway.”
“Right. So they sent a carrier and its escorts to a point northeast of Midway, to lie in wait, figuring the Japanese would attack from the northwest. They were right, and a three-day battle ensured, resulting in the loss of all four Japanese aircraft carriers and a lot of airplanes. It was a turning point in the war. The Japanese never won another battle at sea.”
They settled in for a long flight chasing the sun.
----
—
Late in the day, approaching Midway, Faith came back. “The Gulfstream just took off for Manila,” she said. “We heard them talking to the center. I’ve delayed our call to the center until they’re out of range. We’ll be on the ground about an hour, if you want to stretch your legs, then we’ll take off for Manila with a fresh crew.”
----
—
The old Pan Am building was still on the island, and Stone and Dino took a walk along the beach. The famous gooney birds were still nesting.
----
—
They took off. Then Stone and Dino got into pajamas, pulled the shades, and turned in for the night.
----
—
Faith woke them in time to shower, shave, and change into fresh clothes. Manila was hot, too.
----
—
Faith emerged from the cockpit as they were on their way out of the airplane.
“They’re not here,” she said.
“What?” Stone asked her, stunned.
“We’ll do a ground search at the airport, but as far as I can tell, they didn’t land at Manila. The Philippines are a big place, but I’ll see what I can find out.”
“We’ve come halfway around the world, and they’re not here?” Dino asked.
“They’re somewhere,” Stone said. “We’ll find out where, one way or another. Let’s charter a smaller airplane and search the island’s airports.”
“I checked on that,” Faith said. “There are three hundred and fifty-four airports in the Philippine Islands. I was unable to find out how many of them have runways more than five thousand feet long. Where do you want to start?”
Stone was struck silent.
26
Faith came back to the airplane after a trip to the tower. “Okay,” she said. “I’ve
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