Wild Cards IV - Aces Abroad by George R. R. Martin

Author:George R. R. Martin [Martin, George R. R.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: General, Fiction, Fantasy
ISBN: 9785550707807
Publisher: Bantam Books
Published: 1988-02-01T00:00:00+00:00

It was hard to arrange for a helicopter with the ape on the loose, but the base commander owed him more than one favor. The pilot, headgear under his arm, was waiting for Jayewardene at the chopper. He was dark-skinned, a Tamil, part of the military’s new plan to try to integrate the armed forces. The aircraft itself was a large, outdated model, lacking the sleek aerodynamics of the newer attack ships. Olive paint was peeling from the chopper’s metal skin and the tires were balding.

Jayewardene nodded to the pilot and spoke to him in Tamil. “I had requested a bullhorn be put on board.”

“Already done, sir.” The pilot opened the door and crawled up into the cockpit. Jayewardene followed.

The young Tamil was going through a checklist, flipping switches, examining gauges.

“I’ve never been in a helicopter before,” Jayewardene said, buckling his seat belt. He pulled against the belt, testing it, not exactly happy that it was fraying around the edges.

The pilot shrugged and put on his helmet, then cranked the engine, took the stick, and engaged the rotor. The blades whopped noisily and the helicopter lifted slowly into the sky. “Where are we going, sir?”

“Let’s head down toward Ratnapura and Adam’s Peak.” He coughed. “We’ll be looking for a man on a flying elephant. American aces.”

“Do you want to engage them, sir?” The pilot’s tone was cool and professional.

“No. No, nothing like that. Just observe them. They’re after the ape that escaped.”

The pilot took a deep breath and nodded, then flipped on the radio and picked up the mouthpiece. “Lion base, this is Shadow One. Can you give us any information on a flying elephant? Over.”

There was a pause and crackle of static before the base answered. “Your target reported heading due east from Colombo. Approximate speed one five zero kilometers per hour. Over.”

“Acknowledged. Over and out.” The pilot checked his compass and adjusted his course.

“Hopefully we can find them before they locate the ape. I don’t think they have any real idea where to look, but the coun­try isn’t that large.” Jayewardene pointed to dark clouds ahead. As he did there was a flash of lightning. “Are we safe from bad weather?”

“Fairly safe. Do you think these Americans would be stupid enough to fly into a storm?” He pointed the chopper toward a thin spot in the wall of clouds.

“Hard to say. I don’t know these people. They’ve handled the creature before, though.” Jayewardene looked down. The land beneath was rising steadily upward. The jungle was broken here and there with tea and rice fields or water reservoirs. From the air the flooded rice paddies looked like the shards of a broken mirror, the pieces reassembled so that they almost touched each other.

“Something ahead, sir.” The pilot reached under his seat and handed over a pair of binoculars. Jayewardene took them, wiped off the lenses with the tail of his shirt, and looked in the direction the pilot was pointing. There was something. He rotated the adjusting knob and brought it into focus.

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