Rocket Racers by Victor Appleton

Author:Victor Appleton
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Aladdin Paperbacks

“So you think you can convince C. J. to let you fly Sue’s airplane?” Bud asked me as we sprinted down the tarmac. Up ahead, C. J., Karim, and Andy were standing around Karim’s rocket racer. He had just put his helmet on and was ascending the ladder to his cockpit.

“It’s worth a shot,” I said.

“Miss Garcia,” Bud shouted. All three turned to face us as we slowed to a stop.

“Tom, Bud, how is Sue doing?” C. J. asked us.

“She’s all right,” Bud replied. “And so is her racer. Forty-eight hours and it’ll be back in flying shape.”

“Big deal,” Andy interrupted. “She’s out of the race. You can’t fly with a broken arm.”

“I’m afraid Andy’s right,” C. J. said. “Unless Tom invents a way to make bones heal overnight, I’m afraid it’s down to just Andy and Karim. Although, quite frankly, Tom, I’m not sure I can go forward with the race. Two accidents in two days doesn’t bode well. I don’t want to admit it, but I’m thinking your plane might not have the kinks straightened out yet.”

Now that my competitive spirit was up, this was the last thing I wanted to hear. Bud spoke up.

“Don’t you see?” he said, raking his hands through his hair in exasperation. “Tom uses Sue’s racer.”

“No way!” Andy again. “No way is that going to happen. If Swift here can’t control his airplane in a time trial, how is he going to keep someone else’s plane from crashing into mine?”

“My plane was sabotaged,” I shouted.

“Oh, yeah? Prove it.”

“Gentlemen,” C. J. intervened. “Calm down. There’s nothing in the rules that says that one pilot can’t substitute for another.”

“Well, last I looked, the race is tomorrow,” Andy threw back at her. “So unless her plane can be repaired in less than a day, it’s just going to be Karim and me.”

“Perhaps,” Karim said as he descended the ladder. “May I pose a question, Miss Garcia? Could I put off my time trial until tomorrow afternoon? In light of the recent crashes, I would feel much safer if I were able to inspect my racer again before I flew.”

C. J. frowned. “I don’t know, Karim. I have a lot of money invested in the rally tomorrow.”

“If you postpone it until the day after tomorrow, you might draw a bigger crowd. It will give the press one more day to report on the crashes. It’s not a pretty thing, but accidents catch the public’s attention,” Karim added.

C. J. paused. It was evident that she was running through all her options before she replied. Finally she nodded.

“Karim, I think you’re right. We might even draw a bigger crowd if it’s held on a Sunday. I would hate to think that we would have to cancel the rally altogether, after all the work everyone has put into it. So, Karim, if after you inspect your plane you are confident enough to race, I think we can go forward.”

Karim smiled widely. Andy scowled and stalked off. He had been bested and was clearly not happy about it.

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