Carolyn Keene. This Side of Evil

Nancy kissed him quickly. “I’m fine,” she said. “What about George?”

George looked up, dazed. “Where are we?” she asked. “What happened?”

“We’re on our way back to the Cherbourg Building,” Ned told her, pointing to the lights on the rain-slicked streets below. The wiper blades on the helicopter made a comfortable thunk thunk. “You’re safe now.”

Nancy looked at George. “Did you see the person who kidnapped you?” she asked eagerly.

George frowned. “No, I didn’t see her,” she said slowly. “But I—”

“Her?” Ned broke in.

George nodded, looking pleased with herself. “I couldn’t see her face, but it was a woman. I’m sure of it. I could tell by her voice.” She grinned. “I got even, too—at least a little,” she added smugly. “I bit her, right on the hand.”

“You bit her,” Nancy repeated, in a wondering tone. Something was nagging at the back of her mind, but she still wasn’t sure what it was.

“Yes,” George said, “she came to bring me something to eat, and when she took the gag out of my mouth, I—”

But George didn’t get to finish her sentence. The helicopter engine had begun to sound funny, as if it had to work harder to keep going. Then, suddenly, there was just silence—a terrifying silence.

George grabbed Ned’s arm. “What’s going on?” she cried.

“Engine failure,” the pilot said tersely, snapping switches on the control panel in front of him.

Nancy stared at the panel. The gauges were all falling toward zero—all except the altimeter. It was spinning counterclockwise, faster and faster. Nancy’s stomach felt the way it did in an elevator, when it went down too fast. And then from behind her, she heard George’s thin, high-pitched scream.

“We’re going to crash! We’re all going to die!”

Chapter Sixteen

“We’ve got to find a clear spot to put down—and fast,” the pilot told Nancy. “I’m going to have my hands full. Get on the radio!”

Nancy looked at the radio doubtfully. “How does it work?” she asked.

“Pick up the mike. When you want to talk, press the button on the side. I’ll tell you what to say.”

Nancy picked up the large black microphone clipped to the instrument panel, the flexible cord dangling beneath it.

“Now, press the button and say, ‘Mayday, Mayday. This is Bell Whiskey Seven Seven One Zero Three Alpha. Over,’ ” the pilot directed. The copter lurched to the left and he righted it, but with difficulty.

Nancy pressed the button and blurted out, “Mayday! Mayday! This is Bell Whiskey Seven Seven One Zero Three Alpha. Over.”

“Now let go of the button,” the pilot commanded. “They can’t answer while you’re on the air.”

There was a long silence. Nancy wondered if anyone had heard them. Then she heard a crackle of static and a calm voice came through.

“Roger, Seven Seven One Zero Three Alpha. This is Montreal Air Traffic Control Center. What is the nature of your emergency?”

Nancy took a deep breath and tried to keep her voice as calm as the radio voice. “We’re having engine failure,” she said.

“Roger, Seven Seven One Zero Three Alpha,” the voice responded. “What is your location? Can you return to base? Over.”

“Negative!” the pilot replied. “We have total engine failure. We’re at twelve hundred, descending at seven hundred feet per minute.”

“The pilot says we’re going in, fast,” Nancy said, glancing down. “We’re somewhere just north of the river.”

“Hey, isn’t that City Hall?” Ned asked as he leaned forward, pointing over Nancy’s shoulder.

“We’re just southwest of City Hall,” Nancy added.

“Roger, Seven Seven One Zero Three Alpha. We have you on the screen. Suggest you try an emergency landing in Place Jacques-Cartier. Wind northwest at fifteen, gusting to twenty-five. Emergency equipment is on the way. Good luck.”

“Roger, out,” responded the pilot.

“Roger, out,” Nancy repeated.

“Okay, everybody,” the pilot said. “Hang on! I’m going to autorotate!” He began to turn the rotor control.

“What’s that?” George gasped.

“He’s changing the angle on the rotors,” Ned told her. “It’ll slow our fall a bit.”

As if an invisible hand had lifted them, Nancy felt the copter’s descent slowing. But they were already over the plaza, and she could tell that they were still falling too fast. They were going to crash! Feverishly, the pilot began to flip switches. Suddenly the lights went out. The cabin was pitch dark. A second later, with a sickening crunch, the helicopter slammed into the concrete.

Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41

Leave a Reply 0

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *