Chapter 5: The Northeast Special

As Sarah stared in horror, the plane she was flying in wound its way through the air, pilotless, doomed to fly until it ran out of fuel and crashed…if someone didn’t step in and save the day.  But of course, Sarah had no idea how to fly a plane.

“Relax,” Tracy said.  “I can land this!”

Sarah turned and stared at her friend in astonishment.  “You…you know how?”

“Sure!  It’s one of those things they teach us in spy school.  All we need to do is look for a nice place to land.  Now, let’s see now, is there anything…ah, look at that field down there.  It’s perfect!”

Sarah looked down, then wished she hadn’t.  “Um, Tracy?  That’s not an airport…it’s a farm—”

Tracy dashed forward and hopped into the pilot’s seat.  She reached out, grabbed the controls, and made a face.  “They make these seats too big,” she complained.  “No consideration for short pilots at all.  One of these days, I’m going to complain to Cessna…oh, Sarah, you might want to buckle in.  Since this isn’t a runway, the landing’s going to be a little rough.”

“A little rough?”

“Keep calm; I’ve got this!”  With the skill of a fighter pilot from World War II forced to make an emergency landing after getting his plane shot down, Tracy brought the plane towards the earth.  Sarah could feel her heartbeat quicken as the ground rushed up to meet them—closer and closer, though she had to admit, it seemed no faster than it did when a jet landed at an airport.  Then—

Thud! Bump, bump, bump, bump…

Sarah’s eyes were shut, and her lips moved in a silent prayer (she was too scared to pronounce any words).  Then, she opened her eyes.  She saw tall grass moving by the plane, a barn off in the distance, and the sky up above, where it was supposed to be.  No sparks, no flames, no twisted metal.  They’d made it!

“How did you do it, Tracy?” she asked.

“Oh, it’s easy, once you learn how.”  Tracy continued to apply the brakes until the airplane had come to a stop.  “It would’ve been nice to just fly straight to our destination, but since Ponson got aboard, we have to assume we’re being tracked.  We probably have a half hour—tops—to get away from here.”

“Where are we, anyway?” said Sarah.

“Beats me,” said Tracy, “though from the position of the sun, I’d guess—northeast Maryland.  Let me check!”  She pulled her phone out of her pocket and tapped the screen a few times.  “Cymbals and catfish!  We’re in Elkton!”

“Elkton?” Sarah was unfamiliar with the East Coast (outside of the major cities).  “Where’s that?”

“Northeast Maryland, like I told you.  Better yet, we’re really close …oh, this is going to be easy.  Let me check something else…” she tapped the screen a few more times.  “Yep, that should work.  Grab your bag, Tracy, and let’s get going.  We’ve got to walk two miles in thirty minutes.”

“Two miles in thirty minutes?  Where to?”

“You’ll see, you’ll see.”  Tracy pulled herself out of the pilot’s seat, went back to the cabin, and grabbed her bag.  She went to the door, pushed the button to open it, and motioned for Sarah to get out.

“Oh, and by the way,” she said, “remember when I told you I was in Philadelphia for codebreaking camp?  I was serious about that.”

Sarah shook her head.  “Nothing could surprise me at this point,” she said.  “Learn anything?”

“Not really,” said Tracy.  “Hopefully my students did!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Twenty-five minutes later:

“Ah, here we are,” said Tracy, pointing across a weedy parking lot.  “Elkton station!  There should be an Amtrak train along in about five minutes.”

Sarah stared dubiously at the rundown brick building in front of them.  A rusty shelter still shaded the platform, but weeds were growing through its cracked cement.  “This place looks abandoned,” she remarked.

“It is.”

“How do you know they’re going to stop for us, then?”

Tracy smiled.  “They will.”  She pulled her phone out and checked it.  “The train’s exactly three miles away.”

“Tracy…” Sarah wanted to ask her friend how she had so much power over the transportation schedules, but she decided against it.  Instead, she asked grimly—

“Are you sure my dad’s still alive?  What if they’ve already figured out the password?  Mightn’t they have killed him?”

Tracy wandered over to her friend and patted her on the shoulder.  “Even if they’ve figured it out, it won’t do them any good yet, because they don’t have the box.”

“Then why are they—”

“They think they’re going to get the box,” said Tracy, “and that’s why they’re banking on holding your dad.  But that’s not going to happen, Sarah.  I can promise you that.”

Sarah nodded.  “I’ve got another question,” she said.  “Do you—when you became my friend, several years ago, had you already been sent to protect me, or—”

Tracy laughed.  “Oh, no!  Nobody sent me to protect you that day…except God, I guess.  I just saw you were in trouble and came over to help you.  Then, I liked you, so I stayed your friend.  You have no idea how hard it can be to make friends in this business.”  Tracy brushed some dust off her suitcase.  “Real ones, I mean.  Crazy schedules, important missions—you remember how I was never able to come over to your place for a sleepover on Tuesdays?”

“Tuesdays?” Sarah thought.  “You know, now that you mention it, I do remember wondering—”

“Spy school,” said Tracy, “but I would have loved to.  I wouldn’t have even been assigned to protect you, Sarah, except we both happened to be in Philadelphia at the same time.  I can tell you this, though…I’m very glad it worked out that way.”

Sarah nodded gratefully.  She didn’t realize her friend was being modest.  Tracy’s organization was taking no chances with Sarah—they’d sent one of their top agents to protect her.  That’s why Tracy had been picked.  That, and another reason…but Tracy wasn’t allowed to divulge that one yet.

The train pulled into sight, right on schedule.  And, sure enough, it slowed to a stop as it reached the platform.  The door to the coach right in front of the girls opened, and a conductor waved to them.

“Hi, Lori Anne!” he called to Tracy.  “How’ve you been doing?”

“Marvelous, Mr. Simms!  Marvelous!  Oh, Mr. Simms, I want you to meet a friend of mine.  Isabel, this is Mr. Simms.  Mr. Simms, Isabel!”

Sarah gathered that she was being referred to as Isabel, so she nodded at the conductor.

“Very nice to meet you!” Mr. Simms said.  “Any friend of Lori Anne’s is a friend of mine.  There’s plenty of seats in this car, if you girls want to sit down!”

“Thanks!” said Tracy.  “We won’t be on long…only until Union Station.  Isabel here has a ballet recital.”

“Ah, I see!” Mr. Simms gave the girl a friendly grin.  “Better you than me!”

Grabbing her friend’s arm, Tracy led Sarah to two empty seats…as far away from any other passengers as she could find.  As they sat down, Tracy whispered to Sarah in an almost imperceptible voice, “You’re Isabel for the rest of this train ride, and I’m Lori Anne, and don’t you forget it.”

“Why?” Sarah hissed.

“Because there might be enemies aboard,” Tracy hissed.  “Also, here’s your ticket.  Mr. Simms will check it in a moment.”

“Oh, alright!”  By this time, the train had already resumed its travel, southbound for Penn Station in Baltimore.

Mr. Simms made his way through the car a minute later, scanning both the girls’ tickets as he went by.  Tracy smiled at him, but once he was gone, she reached into her pocket and pulled out another envelope, which she pressed into Sarah’s hand.

“Don’t look now, but this is your ticket,” she whispered.

“My ticket?” Sarah said.  “I just showed Mr. Simms our—”

“Your airplane ticket,” Tracy hissed.

“Airplane?  We’re flying out of D.C…”

“We’re not really getting out at Union Station…that was a bluff.  Just south of Baltimore, there’s a station at BWI Airport.  You’re flying out of there!”

“Where to?” Sarah asked.

“I can’t tell you that, and you’re not allowed to check the ticket until we get to BWI.  It’s safest for all involved.  I can’t tell you a lot of things from this point forward, but there are some things I have to tell you.  First, when we get to BWI, we might get separated.  I hope not, but we might.  Menace has a lot of agents, and it wouldn’t surprise me in the least if some are guarding the airport.  If so, I’ll have to distract them until you catch your flight.”

“But Tracy!  Isn’t that—”

“I’ll be OK.  The important thing is to keep you OK.  Now, if we do get split up,” Tracy went on, “don’t think I’ve abandoned you.  I’ve been assigned to keep you safe until you get where you’re going, and I’ll do just that.  Even if you don’t see me.  Here, take this.”  Tracy reached in her pocket again and pulled out a cellphone.  Only, it wasn’t the one she’d been using—it was another one.  “Don’t make any calls with this, but if it rings, answer it.  It’ll be me.  You can trust whatever I tell you over the phone.”

“Got it,” said Sarah.  “Anything else?”

“Yes,” said Tracy.  “Get on the flight your plane ticket is for, but don’t trust anybody until I tell you you can!  Not the pilot, not the stewardesses, not even your fellow passengers!  Most of them won’t have anything to do with the caper, but one or two might, and slips of information could prove fatal—for you.  You can make up whatever story you want, but give the same one to the same people.  Don’t get caught in a lie.”

“Alright,” said Sarah.  “What about when I get to where I’m going?”

Tracy glanced around, then leaned in close.  “You’re not headed to your final destination yet,” she whispered in a nearly inaudible tone.  “There, the instructions might be a little vague, but you’ll be told what to do.  Before then, everything will be clear.  You might not get contacted until after your flight, but don’t worry—you’ll be told what to do.  Just make sure you do whatever I say, no matter how crazy it sounds!  And believe me, this may get a little crazy before it’s all said and done.”

“Alright,” said Sarah.  “Thanks for everything.”

Tracy smiled.  “That’s what friends are for.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Baltimore was uneventful.  The only noteworthy experience the girls had there was that Sarah discovered railway tunnels.  She’d been expecting a view of the city all the way through, and she saw some of it, but most of it was a dark hole.  Oh, well.  Most importantly, no one threatening got on the train.  Tracy gave her the all-clear signal as they headed south.

BWI was a different matter.  This station was much smaller…and brighter.  The sun shone dandily on a new-looking cement platform, somewhat crowded, but not too packed.  Hurried-looking travelers stood about, waiting for the train, but no one seemed like they were in trouble.  To Sarah, everything looked fine.

Tracy didn’t see matters that way.  “Jumpin’ Joe Mauer!” she exclaimed.  “It’s Lubov!”

“Lubov?”

“Yes…oh, and he’s got Zherdev and Octavian with him.  This isn’t going to be easy.”

Sarah stared out at the platform, but it was too crowded for her to see exactly what Tracy was pointing at.  She trusted her friend enough, though, that fear began gnawing at her spine.  “What’s going to happen, Tracy?” she asked.

“Don’t worry,” said Tracy.  “Let me get off first.  Then, wait forty seconds.  After that, get up, head into the next car [Tracy pointed away from the door they’d entered by], and get off at the other end of that one.  Once you do, assume a normal pace, and head straight into the terminal.  Everything’s going to be fine.”

“You’re sure?”

Tracy grinned.  “Believe me.”  She stood up and made her way towards the door they’d come in by.  “Oh, Mr. Simms!” she said.  Mr. Simms—I need the black suitcase.”

“Certainly, Lori Anne!”  Mr. Simms opened a cabinet by the door and pulled out a—well, it was a HUGE suitcase.  In fact, it was practically as tall as Tracy.

“What’ve you got in there anyway?” Simms asked, handing it to her.

“Oh, you know, the usual.”  Tracy stepped out of the coach and waited for Simms to hand it to her.  As he did, he said in a clear voice—”

“Ooof!  This is heavy.  Almost like there’s a person inside!”

“Shhhh!” Tracy hissed.  “Don’t say that—”  She looked around, a worried expression on her face.

Sure enough, Simms’s comment had attracted the attention of three men in the crowd, who were now making their way towards her at a fairly fast rate of speed…

Sarah stared at her watch, counting intently.  Once forty seconds were up, she leapt to her feet and grabbed her bag from the overhead bin.  Dragging it behind her, she made her way to the next car, through that, and to the door at the far end.  Carefully, she made her way out.

Then, she glanced down the platform.  So far, her friend had seemed completely in control of the situation, getting out of at least two tight spots already.  But now, Sarah could still see her friend, way at the end of the platform, fleeing the three men she’d picked out from the crowd.  Right now, Tracy just looked like a scared kid of about twelve, fleeing helplessly from danger.

I hope she knows what she’s doing, Sarah told herself.  She was tempted to wave, but she decided not to, not wanting to attract any attention to herself.  Instead, she made her way towards the terminal.