Belatedly he looked down at his altimeter, staring at the readout.
Four thousand meters.
His hand gripped around the plastic of the electronic device, gripping it tightly enough that splinters of pain ran up his fingers as they protested the cold and pressure. The plastic cracked.
There was no way that reading was right.
Once you got more than a few hundred feet above the ground it was nearly impossible to tell how high you were by eye, the distance just completely skewed the mind’s perspective so that a para-sailor simply had to rely on his instruments. If they were badly calibrated, he was in serious trouble, but Ron had checked the calibrations himself before he left. It didn’t make any sense!
Ron let go of the offending device and began to struggle with the controls of his para-foil, wrestling to get it to let some of the air go by. To slow himself, and drop free of the stream of biting cold air he was caught in. If he rose any higher.
Ron Somer shuddered, either from that thought or from the cold. He didn’t know which, and didn’t really think that it mattered either.
“The rescue chopper will be in the air in a couple minutes,” Gwen said as she and Anselm rushed out of the station and towards the Eliica parked in its charging nook. “But it’s having trouble tracking him. There are too many flyers in the sky, there’s no way to know which one he is.”
“Adrienne was here on her honeymoon.” Anselm said as he dropped into the Eliica’s passenger seat. “Interpol keeps a GPS lock on their agents.”
“The badges, right We do the same.” Gwen nodded, thumbing the start button, then sliding the electric vehicle into reverse.
Anselm just got the seat restraints on as the vehicle surged back, slamming him forward into the belt. “Right, but most officers like to keep track of their spouses too, at least if they’re doing anything unusual.”
“You think she might have him low-jacked” Gwen smirked.
“If he dropped his portable, it’s our only shot.” Anselm said grimly, fiddling with the computer built into the dash. “I should have remembered earlier. Can you call her from here”
“Don’t touch!” She slapped his hands away, then keyed in an order. “Contact Tower Arms Hotel.”
The computer blinked, then a face appeared almost instantly. “Yes Inspector”
“I need to talk to one of your guests, Adrienne Somer.” Gwen snapped as she drove.
“Right away.”
The tear-streaked face of the Interpol Inspector appeared on the screen a moment later, “Inspector Have you heard anything.”
“Not yet.” Gwen said sharply.
“Adrienne,” Anselm cut in, “We need to know, did you have a GPS unit made up for Ron”
She nodded, “Of course.I don’t know if he took it though.I mean, I trust him.”
“What’s the Serial” Gwen asked instantly.
Adrienne stammered as she got it out while Gwen punched it in. A moment later there was a chime as the computer denoted a satellite lock and showed a map on the screen. Gwen and Anselm frowned at it.
“Where’s that”
“It’s out in the desert.or over it.” She grimaced, “About fifty miles out.”
“He’s moving fast.” Anselm blinked. “Really fast.”
“He’s in the Jetstream.” Gwen cursed, twisting the wheel over and putting the car to the floor.
The acceleration shoved Anselm back into the seat as the electric car quickly climbed past three hundred and fifty kilometers per hour and headed for four hundred while the Inspector pointed it out into the desert.
The wind was still buffeting him around, but Ron didn’t feel so bad anymore.
A little tired, that was all.
His arms were worn out, he was worn out.
Wasn’t much point fighting the wind anyway, it wasn’t so bad. Soothing, rocking him to sleep. Part of Ron was screaming from deep down, yelling at him to keep fighting, but that wasn’t important enough to listen too now.
He was tired.
At least his arms and legs didn’t hurt anymore.
He smiled slightly.
It was too bad Adrienne wasn’t here.
She’d love the view. It was truly spectacular.
“Rescue Alpha One Niner, this is Inspector Dougal, Tower City PD. Come in.”
Gwen kept her hands on the wheels as she drove, and eyes on the road, letting the hands free communications system worry about getting the signal out. The Eliica’s top end of just over four hundred kilometers an hour was the result of years of research into electric motors and Lithium Ion battery technology, but at that speed it was the batteries that kept them on the road and upright.
Stacked low in the chassis of the electric car the batteries provided an incredibly low center of gravity and excellent stability, even at extremely high speeds. Which was important because Anselm was pretty certain that it wasn’t really intended to be doing this kind of speed over the kind of roads that existed through the desert.
On the computer screen the map showed the GPS signal as it rushed out to the east, angling a little to the north, moving almost as fast as the Eliica and without the constraint of the roads. If it speeded up any more, or even if it just stayed up there for much longer, it would easily outpace them and leave them behind in the literal dust of the Australian desert.
Anselm thought of the various ways you could die in the desert and tried desperately to remember what the range of an Eliica was on a full charge.
“Inspector, this is Rescue Alpha One Niner. Do you have any more information on your lost Thermie”
“Roger Rescue, he is carrying a GPS transponder.”
“Well that’s good news isn’t it Do you have the number”
“Roger, stand by.” Gwen said, then proceeded to belt off the number. “Confirm receipt Rescue.”
“Rescue confirms.” The man’s voice said, then came back with a whistle. “Hooo boy, he’s really moving. We might have to call ahead and try to get someone from Alice Springs up and looking for him.”
“Be advised, I am on the ground and in pursuit. The thermie is a skilled para-glider, we’re hoping that he’ll be able to get down out of the stream.”
“Watch your juice, Inspector. You don’t want to get caught out here anymore than he wanted to get caught up there.”
“Roger Rescue. Tower City Police, Out.”
Gwen looked down at the displays in front of her, then over at Anselm. “Relax. We’ve got a five hundred mile range on this thing. We’re not getting stranded.”
Anselm nodded tensely, his eyes on the sky.
There was no way he’d see Ron Somer, ten kilometers up, but he couldn’t help but look anyway.
Abdallah Amir looked up from his work, frowning as the commotion erupted around him.
“What is going on”
Mr. Jacob walked over to him, “A thermie got caught in the Jetstream, Amir. Apparently he was not prepared for the journey.”
“Damn fools.” Amir shook his head tiredly. “I suppose they have called for Rescue, of course”
“Yes Amir,” Jacob replied, “The military base to the north has dispatched one of their helicopters.”
Abdallah sighed in annoyance. It was probably nothing, but he didn’t wish to deal with the Australian military just yet.
Almost.
But not just yet.
“And everyone here is moving, why exactly”
“In case he survives and is returned, they must have the medical facilities ready.”
“Ah.”
Of course.
Abdallah Amir shook his head in irritation, but said nothing else. There was an image to keep up, of course. He left the others to their work, and remained focused on his.
“Gwen.” Anselm spoke softly, but his voice was tense. The incredible speed of the vehicle he was in was trying enough, but the fact that Inspector Dougal insisted on dodging snakes and other animals in the road was downright frightening.